I have always had mixed feelings about believers in the U.S. who complain constantly about the persecution they experience for their faith. That is because there is a history of persecution of Christians with real blood on the ground. Actual blood. Torture. Corpses. And this is the reality today. I know people who have been killed. I’ve spoken in churches in other parts of the world where bullet holes are still visible. Christian persecution is real.
One cannot deny that there are strong anti-Christian cultural forces at work today in the U.S. which require thoughtful and substantive responses. Real apologetics (like the Christian leaders did in the second century to respond to the rumors and biases against them). Real witness. Not just complaining.
Then week before last I was stunned to see the cover of Newsweek magazine with the article title: “The War On Christians.” I thought it might be a sarcastic reference to religious rancor in the U.S. right now. But it wasn’t. It was a chilling report by Ayaan Hirsi Ali about the many places in the world where real martyrdom is occurring.
She calls this active Christian persecution Christophobia. It is happening today. We need to know; we need to care; we need to pray. For the details of this story you can read the details in Ayann Hirsi Ali‘s Newsweek article: “The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World.”
Ps Mal,
This is true reality that more than anyone else Chrstians are persecuted religiously. There is huge misunderstanding in Muslim mind that American/Western politics is equal to Christianity. Though they both are connected Christianity is all about following Christ and leading people to experience abundant life in Christ. Unfortunately many few Muslims know this fact and they are not at all in a position to speak this out, of course, without being persecuted themselves by the fanatics. In my limited knowledge Evangelical Christians haven’t done much to clarify this misunderstanding. This is where Christ comes first before our country. In India we are blessed to be away from the politics and atleast there we are saved from such misunderstanding. Though that has affected us from influencing India with Christ’s teaching.