Religious Persecution

The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins... Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. - Isaiah 51:3

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  - Psalm 112:6

I had a conversation with a friend from China today. He wanted to help me with a story of religious persecution, but he was hesitant: he hadn’t been questioned, detained, imprisoned, or beaten for his faith. What could he say about persecution? 

So instead of asking for some big, news-worthy story of dramatic persecution, I asked him about what he has learned about persecution through his experiences. This was his list. Maybe these aren’t dramatic, but these are stories. Stories from a brother in Christ blessed to grow up in the Chinese church. 

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

1) The church in the Middle East has been persecuted for thousands of years. 

Right now, I am sitting in the Logos Center at the Saint Bishoy Monastery of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Wadi El-Natron, Egypt. Coptic and Egyptian Christians have suffered persecution for thousands of years. The Coptic (Egyptian) Church began with the martyrdom of Saint Mark in the streets of Alexandria in the first century. The persecution of Christians in the Middle East continues to persist to this day. 

During the first of my three years in Jordan, and every year after, I was overwhelmed by the love and hospitality shown to me by my Muslim neighbors during traditional Christian holidays. Each year at Christmas, Palm Sunday, and Easter, my friends and colleagues wished me “eid mubarak” or “blessed feast/festival.” Normally, I heard this phrase around Eid Al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two Islamic holidays. But, it was also used, to my surprise and delight, to wish me a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter.

A man in India named Piyush recently asked himself a crucial question: “Is following Christ worth it?”

Like the majority of people living in India, Piyush grew up in the Hindu faith. He regularly went to the temple to worship hundreds of gods and goddesses along with members of his family and community. 

Open Doors International, the organization which produces the annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, assesses that there are 245 million Christians who experience high levels of persecution—one in nine Christians of our world today. That number is climbing in recent years. We often distinguish these brothers and sisters as members of the persecuted church while identifying ourselves as members of the free world church.

A Note to My Conscience: You are welcome to serve at the throne of Christ, because it is a throne of grace.  You may not sit on the throne because you can't be trusted to render a verdict of mercy.  Your job is not to condem me.  Your job is to call me from the pigpens back to my Father's house. In doing so you will be my prophet.  - Brad Jersak