Persecution of Christians
A report prepared for the UK Foreign Secretary by the Bishop of Truro states, “Across the globe, in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Christians are being bullied, arrested, gaolied, expelled and executed. Christianity is by most calculations the most persecuted religion of modern times.” To give an idea of the numbers involved, the charity, Open Doors, shared the following statistics for 2022, which they say are a conservative estimate:
- 5600 Christians killed for their faith.
- 2100 churches attacked or closed (mostly in China).
- 124 000 Christians forcibly displaced from their homes because of their faith, almost 15 000 of whom became refugees.
- 360 million Christians suffering high levels of persecution for their faith in over 50 countries.
North Korea has long been the world’s most notorious country for persecuting Christians and, according to all the agencies which monitor persecution, it remains in the number one spot. This dictatorship is a brutally hostile place for Christians to live. If discovered by the authorities, believers are either sent to labour camps as political prisoners or killed on the spot. Even owning a Bible is a serious crime and will be severely punished.
Nigeria has a Christian majority in the south of the country, but Islamic militants from the north conduct raids on the Christian community; the Nigerian government denies it is religious persecution and so the raids continue with impunity. In sub-Saharan Africa, Islamist extremism has spread well beyond Nigeria. Open Doors fears that Nigeria will soon trigger “a vast humanitarian catastrophe” across the continent.
Christians face most physical violence in Nigeria, Pakistan and India. During the Covid pandemic there was a great deal of discrimination, especially in Pakistan and India, with Christians often being refused help and food aid.
Christians are persecuted for a number of reasons, which include: Islamic oppression (8 of the top 10 persecuting countries), dictatorial paranoia (Syria and Uzbekistan), Communist and post-Communist oppression (North Korea and China), and religious nationalism (India and Myanmar).
In the United Kingdom, we should be thankful to have laws which protect our religious freedoms. However, there is an atmosphere, certainly in the workplace, where one must be very careful of expressing a Christian opinion, especially when it is opposed to the current wholesale acceptance of abortion, same-sex marriage, gender fluidity etc. There are many examples of discrimination and heavy-handed officialdom, but they cannot be compared with the persecution experienced in other countries. We must not permit our current religious freedoms to be eroded. In our progressively “liberal” society, some honourable vocations such as medicine, teaching and working as a registrar are becoming intolerable for some to continue in without violating Christian principles. There is a steady drip, drip of subtle, and not so subtle, erosion of freedom of speech with the expression of some opinions being described as hate crimes. This may yet lead to the censoring of the preaching of the gospel and must be resisted at all costs. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13).
As for those who are persecuted and discriminated against for taking the name of Christ on their lips, we should prayerfully “remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Heb 13:3). FRD
The Church of Scotland General Assembly
One problem discussed at the recent General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was its numerical decline. It is now estimated that 60 000 people attend in person on a Sabbath with another 45 000 online. This amounts, very roughly, to 1% of the total population of Scotland attending in person, and 2% in all. With more than 1000 churches to maintain, and ministers to pay too, the financial problem is obvious. Prominent and historic churches are being closed in many places. In Inverness, the East Church and the Old High Kirk have already closed, and in Aberdeen, four West-end congregations, Holburn West, Midstocket, Rubislaw and Queen’s Cross have just been amalgamated into Fountainhall Church. Three buildings are being retained, one of which hosted a “successful” farmers’ market last Sabbath. The Christian witness is being taken away from Scotland and the overwhelming majority of people are on their way to eternal torments in hell.
The Assembly also discussed how to get people into hell more quickly (although few thought of the discussion in that way). The “Faith Impact Forum” moved a motion affirming the Church’s opposition to Assisted Dying, but a countermotion in favour of “exploring more deeply the diverse views held by Kirk members” carried the day. Liberal religion, irreligion and false religion are bringing Scotland very low. “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Is 66:24). DWBS
Women Pastors and the Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), is one of the largest denominations in the United States. It consists of 47 000 congregations, with a total membership of more than 13 million. It has appeared in the news after expelling two of their congregations – one a “megachurch” in California and the other in Kentucky – because they had female pastors. The Convention’s “mission statement” states that the office of pastor should be “limited to men”. Hence the two congregations were stated to be “not in friendly co-operation” with the SBC.
One of the pastors claimed, “This is a sad day for Southern Baptists because they are losing gifted and talented and called women of God, as we continue to proclaim the gospel”. The women may well be gifted and talented, but we can be sure that God did not call them to the gospel ministry. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak” (1 Cor 14:34), but he was not writing in a private capacity. He was not merely giving his own opinion; he was writing Scripture as a man inspired by God, and we must follow the principle: what Scripture says God says. Ultimately it is God who is saying, “Let your women keep silence in the churches” – which ought to be a permanent principle in all Christian churches.