Christian persecution: nothing new

Each year in early November Christians around the world pray for those who are persecuted for their faith as part of International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP)

by James Morgan

In recent months persecution against Christians around the world has received more attention. While it appears the number of incidents has increased, is this the case, and if so, why? And what is the nature of the persecution?

To paraphrase Webster’s Dictionary, persecution is the act of injuring, afflicting, or harassing with unjust punishment for alleged offences. The definition explicitly refers to inflicting pain from hatred towards those adhering to a particular creed or mode of worship.

Several recent events have highlighted the mistreatment of Christian minorities around the world, and implied they are becoming more frequent. The most prominent was the bombing of a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt on New Year’s Day, leaving 22 people dead. Coptic Christians make up 10 percent of Egypt’s population. They often complain of mistreatment in society and accuse the government of not doing anything to confront rising Islamic prejudice.

Up to 70 Iranian Christians were detained during the Christmas season without any legal reason or due process, according to Elam Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping Christians in Iran.

Voice of the Martyrs, another organization concerned with the persecuted church reported that on January 4 of this year, the governor ofPakistan’sPunjab province was shot dead by one of his bodyguards for defending Christians against a new national law against blasphemy towards Islam. Similarly, a Christian woman in Pakistan was sentenced to death under the same law, her husband and children subjected to harassment forcing them to flee their home. A radical cleric placed a $6000 price on her head.

In Afghanistan, where western military forces are fighting to contain fundamentalist elements, a man was detained in May, 2010 because of his Christian faith and remains in detention, according to the World Evangelical Alliance. Also in Afghanistan, a Christian convert has been jailed for his faith since May 2010 and faces execution.

In Vietnam, Voice of the Martyrs reports the government recently cracked down on Christianity by preventing a major Christmas celebration at a convention centre in Hanoi. In Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), a pastor was arrested, beaten unconscious, and authorities demolished his home and Bible school. He was later released.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the World Evangelical Alliance reports the military dictatorship in Myanmar (formerly Burma), ordered the closure of a Baptist church for not supporting the military-controlled political party.

Why the interest?

While many of these incidents were reported by organizations concerned with the persecuted church, most of them received significant attention from the mainstream, secular media in Canada and the United States. This increased attention from secular media indicates the issue has increased in significance.

But is this a matter of increased persecution or increased media attention? Material released by Christian organizations dealing explicitly with the issue and statements from church authorities would indicate an increase in persecution.

Open Doors, an organization founded in the 1950s, originally focused on serving persecuted Christians behind the Iron Curtain. Today, much of its concern is for Christians in Islamic countries and Southeast Asia. Each year, it issues a World Watch List of the top ten most difficult countries in which to live as a Christian. Not surprisingly, for 2011,North Korea is number one, but eight other countries are those with Islamic majorities and in seven of those Open Doors believes persecution has increased.

Following North Korea is Iran, where the government is clamping down on house churches. Third place is Afghanistan where government legislation is unclear about the rights of Christians, and converts of Muslim background are often persecuted and Christian aid organizations are accused of evangelism. In fourth is Saudi Arabia where citizens are forbidden by law to convert to Christianity, fifth place Somalia is in near anarchy and warlords prevent Christian aid organizations from supplying food to people. The government in the tiny island nation of Maldives falsely states the country is 100 percent Muslim, earning it sixth place on the list. At number seven is Yemen, where the government seeks to expel all Christian aid workers, and Iraq has risen from seventeenth place to eighth, due to Christians being targeted in an anti-western backlash. The two biggest incidents were in May when a bomb attack killed buses full of Christian students, and in October 2010 when terrorists attacked at Baghdad church.

Uzbekistanis in ninth place due to increased arrests of Christians and intimidation from the Muslim clergy, and negative portrayal of Christianity in the media. Finally, in tenth place is Laos. Christians in the communist Southeast Asian country bordering Vietnam face legislative restrictions on practicing their faith. Converts often face societal pressure and believers are often arrested and subjected to extreme physical and emotional pressure to renounce their faith.

So, why the apparent increase in incidents of persecution against Christians? A member of a Lutheran Church–Canada congregation in western Canada, who requested his name not be disclosed for security reasons, is a passionate authority on Christians living in the face of persecution. Much of his enthusiasm comes from his wife, a convert to Christianity from Islam. “She came to faith in Christ as a result of a direct revelation from Him—well before she met me,” he says.

As for the reason behind increasing persecution of Christians in Iran, he believes the country’s hard line Islamic government feels threatened. “The significant growth of Christianity in Iran in recent years has undoubtedly got the government very worried. Since the 1979 revolution, it seems that at least 250,000 Iranians have come to Christ, compared to a very small number before then. What really threatens the fundamentalists is when someone converts from Islam to Christianity—they see this as apostasy.”

Dr. John Stephenson, professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines Ontario confirms that radical Islam is the wellspring for much of the persecution. “The overwhelming source of violent, often lethal persecution of Christians in the world today, is Islam,” Dr. Stephenson succinctly notes. The B.C. source however cautions that while Islamic fundamentalists might be the current primary focus, they are not the only source, noting that Christians in India have also suffered at the hands of Hindus. Overall, he believes the increased media attention the issue is receiving confirms “that Christians around the world are increasingly being targeted.”

Christians have died for their faith as martyrs since the very beginning

A history of persecution

Although persecution is increasing, there is proof these kinds of incidents have happened since the beginning of Christianity. Dr. Stephenson gives several examples. “From the moment the Islamists burst out of Arabia upon Mohammed’s death in 633 AD, Islam has been spread by force,” he says, adding that in countries where Islam became dominant “Jews and Christians, as ‘people of the book,’ were often permitted the second-class existence of ‘dhimmitude.’” However, this second class status meant those of faiths other than Islam were subjected to penalties and fines. “In today’s Egypt, the Coptic Christians—who are descendants of the original Christians—are severely harassed…the Copts have long been a martyr church,” Dr. Stephenson says, adding that if history had taken a different course, a similar situation could exist today in parts of the world with a Christian heritage. He says that while the educational and media establishments of our present time “demonize” the Church for the Crusades, they were in fact “at root an act of self defence,” on its part.

“If Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne, had not defeated the Arabs at Poitiersin 732 AD, all of Western Europe would have been forcibly Islamized,” he concludes and adds that a similar situation existed in 1529 whenVienna was under threat from the Turks. The preface to the Augsburg Confession refers to this in its first sentences: “A short time ago Your Imperial Majesty graciously summoned a diet of the empire to convene here in Augsburg. In the summons Your Majesty indicated an earnest desire to deliberate concerning matters pertaining to the Turk, that traditional foe of ours and of the Christian religion, and with continuing help he might effectively be resisted,” writes Philipp Melanchthon. Dr. Stephenson notes the Turks actually besiegedVienna over a century later in 1683.

Christians have died for their faith as martyrs since the very beginning. The New Testament book of Acts records the martyrdom of Stephen. Dr. Stephenson refers to Revelation 2:14 where Jesus stands against those who follow false doctrines. “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to Idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” In this verse he explains that the Lord Jesus “stands fast in His confession of the truth and patiently bears the consequences in the shape of the world’s wrath,” meaning “Christ himself is the first martyr.” He continues his explanation, stating that Christians in the second century were persecuted for beliefs and practices non-Christians perceived them to have—including atheism—since they had rejected the Greco-Roman gods. The Eucharist, when celebrated behind closed doors was seen as a front for wild orgies, or cannibalism, since the believers said they were eating the body and blood of Christ.

Field perspective

Dr. Roland Miller, a retired professor of religious studies and long-time LCMS missionary to India now living in Ottawa, notes Christians should not always expect everything to be peaceful for them throughout the world. “It’s part of being a disciple as Jesus said it would be,” adding that Christians have endured previous hardships under the Nazism and communism in Europe.

The closer you get to the Middle East, the harder it is to be a Christian

How do we respond to persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world? This is something Christian theologians and church leaders of every variety have started addressing lately. Pope Benedict XVI, in his annual New Year’s Day address, referred to the difficulties facing Christians such as the church bombing in Egypt, the blasphemy law in Pakistan, and restrictions on religious freedom in communist countries. “I ask all those in authority to act promptly to end every injustice against the Christians living in those lands. In the face of present difficulties, may Christ’s followers not lose heart,” said the Pope bluntly, a rarity for an address that is usually fairly general in scope. Father Raymond J. de Souza, in his regular column in the National Post followed up on the address by posing the difficult question of is it acceptable for us to respond with force to defend our faith?

Dr. Miller prefers a more peaceful approach when it comes to how Christians approach Muslims. He notes “the closer you get to the Middle East, the harder it is,” to be a Christian, and that in Canada there are 650,000 to 750,000 Muslims and no overtly difficult relations with them. “We’re living with them day after day in normal relationships,” says Dr. Miller, who is critical of the media for distorting how the relationship between the two faiths is portrayed. He would like to see efforts to de-radicalize Christian-Muslim relations instead, through strong interfaith dialogue, which he believes is already happening successfully at the grassroots level. He notes that Christ Risen Lutheran Church in Ottawa recently invited local Muslims to have tea with them at the church. The Muslims also invited the Lutherans to tour their mosque.

While similar to persecution, discrimination is treating someone or something differently or to make a difference in how rules or laws are applied. This better represents what Christians in the western world often encounter, rather than the outright intimidation and violence faced in other countries. This sort of discrimination often comes institutionally. Such examples include the recent suspension of a Christian health worker in the United Kingdom after she voiced her opinions, to her colleagues—not patients—on the risks involved with abortions. The Catholic Herald in the U.K. recently reported that Charles, the Prince of Wales, whenever he ascends to the throne, would like to be known as “defender of faiths,” rather than “Defender of the Faith,” thus diminishing institutional support for Christianity as the bedrock belief of Britain and its historic empire.

The European Union left out all Christian holidays from its 2011 day planner but kept in the festivities for other faiths. A spokesperson for the EU calls it a “blunder,” and notes that all religious holidays could be omitted in the future to avoid controversy.

Closer to home, disgruntled individuals have come close to what could be considered persecution. Over the 2010 Christmas season, vandals placed posters with anti-Christian and pro-abortion messages on the construction site of a new Youth For Christ facility in Winnipeg, and at a nearby Anglican Church. While disturbing, these incidents should not be labelled with the same severity applied to the violent situations in other parts of the world. They are probably more an indication of the increasing secularization of western society and the need for the Church to maintain its strength and relevance in the midst of change.

Whether at home or abroad, Christians can face adversity knowing that Jesus declared them “blessed.”

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5: 10-11).

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