PERSECUTION International Christian Concern | September 2014
A Very Dangerous Place Strategies Against The Local Church
A Spectrum of Persecution pg3
Catch 22 pg5
A Dangerous Place pg7
Your Bridge to the Persecuted Church
A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Jeff King, President International Christian Concern
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political figure and historian from the early to mid-1800s. In 1831, he went to America on a mission from the French monarchy to study America’s prison system, but instead used the time to study and understand what made America great. The product of this journey was the famous book, Democracy In America. In it, he said something that is quite extraordinary. I ascended (America’s) mountains and valleys. I visited (factories), markets, emporiums of trade. . .courts, and legislative halls. I sought everywhere in vain for the secret of America’s success, until I entered the church. It was there, as I listened to the soul-equalizing and soul-elevating principles of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why America was great and free, and why France was a slave. Empty Pews & Selections from Other Sermons on Timely Topics, Madison Clinton Peters; Zeising, 1886 Tocqueville’s insight into the power source of our mighty and ascending country that would rule the world for next 150 years was incredibly insightful, but is missed by almost all. . . .except for Satan!
Yet, why does Satan spend so much time attacking the local church (God’s outpost), and its soldiers (the called-out ones who man the fort). It is because the building and believer can become (and often are) a channel for God to invade Satan’s territory, deep behind the enemy’s lines. This works only if the believer is “all in” with God. In the persecuted world, this “all in” mentality is common as believers lose all to follow Him. When a believer is “all in” then the Holy Spirit, the real transforming power from heaven, is unleashed. The river of life (do a Bible study on this phrase) starts to flow into the land; the prisoners are released, the lame are healed, and the dead come to life. The book of Revelation uses the metaphor of a river of fresh water flowing from the throne of God and making salt waters fresh and bringing life to everything it touches. This is why Satan targets the local church. His focus should awaken you and I to a deep truth; we can only truly live with power and hope if we are “all in” with God and His power is flowing through us. If you have wandered away from The Source, then take time right now to turn back and ask for His river to flow through your heart! Then, join me as we support these outposts and soldiers behind enemy lines who have given up everything to follow the King of Life!
Satan knows that the humble local church can be a wellspring of life from heaven in the vast desert of despair, death, and decay, that he seeks to establish on earth. It is a very dangerous outpost of heaven, deep behind enemy lines that can produce hope, life, and growth. Now I know the idea of the local church being dangerous is counter-intuitive. The local church is not impressive by the world’s standards. The building is usually old and at best, modest, in terms of niceties and style. Its people are not usually the captains of industry, leaders of government, or the members of the intelligentsia.
Jeff King President, Persecution.org, International Christian Concern
A SPECTRUM OF
PERSECUTION By Ryan Morgan The car looked like it had been hit by a rocket. Twisted metal, broken glass and shrapnel were strewn everywhere. The owner and his wife looked up at me to see my reaction even as my friend, who was all too familiar with this type of incident, looked up and down the street nervously. We were standing in the middle of an Indonesian island that most of the world had never heard of, even though it had been the site of many untold massacres. Two days before, Islamic jihadists had tried to blow up this Christian couple, who faithfully served in the church next door, with a bomb full of metal fragments attached to their car. The radicals, I was told, were probably close to us and after delivering quick prayers and some a ssistance, my friend and I were whisked away. The story above is the closest I have come to witnessing violent persecution with my own eyes. The memory is seared into my consciousness, even though the lives of the targets were spared. A Spectrum of Persecution Yet if we only pay attention to the most violent and headline
making cases of persecution, we miss the fact that there is a whole spectrum of persecution that affects millions of Christians across the planet. According to the most comprehensive report yet on the subject conducted by the Pew Forum, an unbelievable 64% of the world’s population lives in nations where government restrictions are either “high or very high (see chart on next page).” Incredibly, 74% live in nations very high levels of social hostilities towards religion. According to the research, Christians face restrictions or hostility in a massive 151 nations, more than any other faith or religious group.
Catch-22
What does this spectrum look like? In Azerbaijan, the government passes a classic piece of Catch-22 legislation requiring legal churches to re-register with the government and then denies their registrations. The government shuts down the only church in an area of 40,000 residents. In Egypt, churches could not be built or even repaired without government approval. For decades, it was almost impossible to get approval to do either.
Government Restrictions
In China, anyone who chooses to pastor or worship outside of the government led “Three-Self” church can be arbitrarily arrested and it is against the law for anyone under 18 to be brought to a church. In Kyrgyzstan, Christians are kept from burying their dead by Islamic groups unless they convert to Islam. In Laos, Christians are charged with murder after praying for a sick villager who later dies.
Mob Violence
In Sri Lanka, mobs of Buddhist monks whip up hatred towards Christians and lead attacks on pastors, church services, and church buildings. A car owned by church workers bombed by Islamic jihadists in Indonesia. ICC trip, October 2012
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A Spectrum of Persecution
As you pull back and study persecution you realize that persecution is much more than the imprisonment or murder of pastors. There is in fact a spectrum of persecution that makes it devilishly tough to combat.
Hope at the End of the Spectrum
While we focus on and will always rush to aid those who are suffering from the brutal end of the persecution spectrum (bombings, shootings, rape, torture, and murder), we must not forget our brothers and sisters who must daily persevere, often for their entire lives, under discrimination, government restrictions, and mob attacks. We must also never forget that the spectrum of persecution always begins and ends with hope. Time and again in the persecuted Church we see where God “bestows on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning” (Isaiah 61:3) and as Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish. . .the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). Today, from the ashes of decades of appalling persecution in China, a beautiful church the size of which the world has never seen before is arising. Across the world where Christians have chosen to remain faithful and endure, we see the seeds of revival beginning to spring forth.
KYRGYZSTAN AZERBAIJAN
CHINA
EGYPT SRI LANKA
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CATCH-22 A dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. The phrase “Catch-22” comes from Joseph Heller’s satirical anti-war novel that was popularized in a 1970 film starring Alan Arkin. Arkin is the captain of a bomber in WWII who, after seeing too many other pilots die in mission, decides he has to escape the Air Force if he is to stay alive. To get relieved of his duties, he tells his superiors that he is crazy. The reply he receives is non-sensical and purposefully leaves him trapped without any option but to keep doing what the military wants him to do. “An airman would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he’d have to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t, he was sane and had to.” This maddening (non) logic is exactly what Christians experience in many countries as they face government restrictions on their activities. They constantly live in a Catch-22!
In many countries, you can only legally meet for worship if you register your church with the government. Problematically, these governments often never grant church registrations and in fact, the required forms for registration often don’t even exist! If you then choose to meet without the (non-existent) registration approval, the police will fine you an exorbitant amount, they may jail you, or sometimes you are only beaten. In this common scenario, Christians have a choice: they either worship illegally or stop meeting for worship. Catch-22! Governments hostile to Christianity often censor Christian religious material saying citizens can only own books on one particular “list” while refusing to publish a list of approved books (this would expose the government’s control of religion). In this case, Christians have a choice: smuggle books and hope they’re on “the list” (risking raids, prison and fines) or never own materials which will help you grow in your faith. Catch-22. 5
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The film Catch-22, released in 1970, was based on the book from Joseph Heller.
These Catch-22s even extend to death and the grave. Some Muslim towns only allow Muslims to be buried in certain cemetaries. Loved ones are told that they can’t bury their dead unless you sign papers saying you deny Christ. So the choice layed before them? Deny Christ or keep your dead loved one’s body in your home. Catch-22. Azerbaijan Despite tight government religious restrictions, Greater Grace Protestant Church (GGPC) in Baku,
Azerbaijan was a legal church approved by the government. In 2009, the State demanded that all religious organizations re-register with the government. Despite having correct paperwork, GGPC’s registration was rejected. Church members battled in court and the congregation continued to worship “illegally” often vacating the property upon receiving tips of impending police raids. Sadly, in January 2013, the church ran out of legal options and the church was ordered to be shuttered. For the 40,000 residents near the capital of Baku, there is now NO legal place of worship for the Christian faith. Sri Lanka This country, known for its beauty and “peaceful” Buddhist religion harbors an ugly not-so-secret, secret. Despite their loud declarations of religious freedom, in the last 20 years they have fallen from grace and may soon be on our government’s (USCIRF) list of countries with the worst religious freedom record (Countries of Particular Concern). Buddhist monks are continually leading violent mobs to tear down churches and beat up Christians in an effort to get them to leave their towns and villages. The police and government close down churches whenever they like. If pastors complain, they are told, “Your building is illegal. You don’t have the legal registration to meet for worship.” However, there is actually no legal document that a pastor can fill out and submit to the government to become a “legal” place of worship. Catch-22! China The government created the Three-Self Patriotic Church. The house churches refuse to be controlled by an atheist government that has arrested and killed their pastors, and shut out the Gospel for decades. The Chinese government doesn’t allow unregistered churches to have church buildings. Therefore, Christians will meet in someone’s house (a house church). The government can raid house churches in the excuse that they are not registered even though to do so would “gut” the house church and suppress the Gospel. Catch-22! Uzbekistan There is a list of banned Christian books in Uzbekistan. The government says these books are dangerous but won’t say why and won’t publically disclose the list. Therefore, at any time and without warning, the government can raid your home and if they find any of these books can jail, fine, or beat you.
This makes it nearly impossible for Christians to know what they can and cannot own and gives authorities carte blanche to consider any religious book as contraband. This has resulted in exorbitant fines (10 times the monthly wage) and jail time. Christians go to extraordinary lengths to smuggle in Bibles and books that will teach them about Jesus, but live in constant fear, wondering whether or not the books they own are on “the list” or not, and if they will be discovered and go to jail. Kyrgyzstan In Kyrgyzstan, a 73-year-old Christian woman who had converted from Islam, died in a village in Kyrgyzstan. She had asked her Christian family members to bury her according to local Muslim tradition because this was the only way she would be allowed to be buried in the village cemetery where her relatives and ancestors were buried. However, on their way to the funeral the family was stopped by the local Imam and other villagers. Her son said that, “at first the Imam demanded that three relatives write a statement that my mother was not a Christian and that she was a Muslim.” Under the pressure, and knowing how desperately their loved one wanted to be buried there, they obliged. However, then the Imam presented a new demand saying that her son and his two sisters, who were there for the burial, must “renounce our Christian faith. We did not do this.” The family was forced to leave their mother’s dead body in their home for four days before authorities barged in and forced them to bury her in another cemetery, away from the family plot.
SUMMARY
Many Christians live in the crazy-making non-reality of a Catch-22 existence when targeted by their governments. This can keep them (by design) in a state of constant anxiety. Keep them in prayer if you would, so that they would be wise to the devil’s schemes and understand his constant tricks designed to keep them off balance and focused on their struggles, rather than spreading the good news of the way to life.
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