I am so thankful to live in America. We have freedoms here that people do not have in other parts of the world. Believers here in America need to be aware that there is tremendous persecution of Christians in other parts of the world. In fact, some of the most populous places in the world are also active grounds for arresting, confining and even killing Christians.
Here is an article that I read on the Baptist Press website. For the full article click here.
Saudi textbooks, religious freedom and why it matters James A. Smith Sr.
Posted on Sep 23, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)--A Saudi man cut out his daughter's tongue and then burned her to death as punishment for her conversion from Islam to Christianity.That religious freedom does not exist in the Muslim Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is regrettably not a surprise.
Tragically, murdering converts to Christianity is not uncommon in Saudi Arabia. What makes this case so revealing is that the girl's father is an employee of Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice -- the very organ of the government that enforces the nation's absolute prohibition of Christianity and conversion to Christianity.
Beyond the fact that Christians are obligated to support each other in adversity and that Christians in America must be concerned for the well-being of others, and beyond the fact that Baptists are among the first champions of religious freedom for all, understanding that true religion is uncoerced, this case should matter to Christians around the world because Saudi Arabia is exporting the form of radical Islam that teaches this sort of behavior in textbooks for Muslim schools across the globe, including America.
International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org), an organization that advocates for the persecuted church, reported the case of the Saudi father murdering his daughter for conversion to Christianity on Aug. 13. ICC relied upon an account by Gulf News, which did not identify the man or when the crime occurred, other than that it happened recently. The girl came to faith in Christ as a result of the Internet and her father is supposedly in custody, according to Gulf News.
Often times Christians make excuses for not actively sharing their faith. One reason many don't share is they are afraid it might offend someone or they are afraid of what that person might think about them. Imagine if we had to be afraid that we would be killed for sharing our faith. Our excuses don't seem to valid in light of what believers are facing in other parts of the world.
Matthew 5:10-12
John 15:20
2 comments:
Persecution may be closer to us than we think. I am told that just across our northern border in Canada, pastors can be jailed for speaking out against homosexuality.
With regard to sharing our faith, sometimes the temptation is to say too much, rather than to say too little. Ours should be a natural walk. If I am more worried about the response and the results than I am about the need and the message, maybe I need to spend more time with the Source.
"If I am more worried about the response and the results than I am about the need and the message, maybe I need to spend more time with the Source."
Great sentence! That will "preach".
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