C. H. Fisher

There is great persecution occurring in various parts of the world against Christianity. Some of this persecution is so severe that it is reminiscent of the terrible persecution of the Early Church. In my opinion, the modern persecution is more difficult to fathom because of the advancement of civilization and the fact that Christianity is more than two thousand years old. In some countries, such as China, indigenous people have adhered to Christianity for decades. It is not like a new religious belief system has entered the country threatening to take over. Therefore we ask ourselves why this sudden and very devastating persecution is being executed against Christianity.

In my opinion, the reason this is occurring at the moment is because hatred of Christianity is flowing from powerful agnostic intellectuals and the leaders of false religions has increased. In fact, Christianity is viewed as the greatest hindrance to global unity. Some religious leaders have stated their concerns that Christianity may also prevent the unity or peace between all the religious belief systems. This was first brought to my attention when I read an account of the 1993 meeting termed "The World Parliament of Religions."

The agnostic and atheistic intellectuals have denounced Christianity as a religion for weak-willed and illiterate people who either must have a religious crutch or who are unable to discern the truth with reason and logic. The highly publicized fiascoes of popular Christian ministers and Church leaders have also hurt Christianity by adding the image of hypocrisy. Then there are the popular causes that Christians unite behind, such as, abortion and prayer in school. The united Christian opposition to moral issues and unified effort to deal with religious issues through the government present Christianity as a militant force. This does not set well with the heads of state in the foreign countries where Christianity rivals long time cultural paradigms and religious beliefs.

The persecution has mounted by degrees and reached an extremely volatile state during Clinton presidency.  In my opinion, this occurred primarily because he did little or nothing to stem the flow of hostility against Christianity. In fact, we have discovered that President Clinton actually hobnobbed with one of the greatest persecutors of Christianity, the Chinese government, in a way that many view as unpatriotic. His wife, who frequently expressed paranoid fears of "a vast right-wing conspiracy," made public both her and Mr. Clinton's dislike for Christianity. "Right-wing" is the code name for Christians who actually decide to oppose immorality in a public manner and get involved in politics.

There has been very little broadcast by the secular news media about world-wide persecution of Christianity.   I have not seen very many pictures of the devastation or read personal stories of the horror. Instead, we have been reminded of Kosovo and the other travesties that were committed in Serbia. Now we are constantly inundated with the war on terrorism while intense persecution of Christians rages in Muslim countries literally unnoticed by the news media in America.  So many hot issues have trumped Christian persecution in the news that it has not received enough publicity to stir up an outrage, if an outrage can be realized nowadays. The issue has never seemed to catch hold in the American church. I can count on one hand the number of Christian web sites that I have visited that contained a reference to the persecuted Church. American Christians either do not realize the scope and ferociousness of the persecution or they are choosing not to let it affect them.  Could it be that the American Christian is lulled into an apathetic sleep by our countries enormous wealth and relative security? 

The fact is, the persecution is great and there are many suffering Christian brothers and sisters in the world today. We, here in America, do not understand or pretend to know what persecution is all about. We are too busy spending our bountiful incomes on the many avenues of pleasure and entertainment that we frequent. Either that or we are collecting materialistic treasures that we seldom need. When Sunday morning comes, we can sit in padded chairs or pews and listen to a benign sermon in an air-conditioned environment without the threat of soldiers breaking in to beat or arrest us all. Most American Christians have probably never considered that they could be imprisoned, executed and either them or their children's body parts sold on the black market before their dead bodies got cold.  However, this horrible crime against humanity has been occurring in China.  

I believe that it is time for Christians to present a united front against world-wide persecution of the Church. It is time that our suffering brothers and sisters in the world should receive our support. We must pray, send money, or do what ever it takes to see that they are not neglected.

There are several web sites devoted to this issue, but I will provide the URL to the ones that I support. I pray that you will educate yourselves and take whatever action that your heart is impressed to take. There is one thing that I ask you not to do and that is, nothing. Remember that there may come a time when the shoe is on the other foot and we American Christians are the persecuted masses. Who will come to our aid when we cry out desperately for help? Will we be able to call upon God with confidence when we have done nothing to help our fellow believers during their time of affliction? These are tough questions and they demand some deep soul-searching for the answers.

Even if you only send a little bit financially to help those people who are trying to do something about the persecution, at least it is doing something. You will discover that if you will send five dollars each month, your prayers will tend to include praying for your fellow believers who are being tormented. If you do nothing, you are ashamed to pray or your prayers do not have sincerity.

I pray that every Christian will read this plea to become a part of the organized effort to end the persecution of Christianity in foreign nations. I also hope and pray that everyone who reads this will visit the following sites and read about the horrors being committed against God's people. Let our hearts be filled with compassion and love for these precious people and may we all do something to help.