Tag Archives: Persecution

Persecutors of Christianity

We saw yesterday pictures on Facebook of a woman hanged in Syria for being a Christian and a couple stripped and shamed in India for being Christian. We of course know of worse. We forget this is ongoing.

But think: What do persecutors hope to gain? Perhaps they hope to quiet Christians, but this is a blind and false hope. In other, non-Christian cultures, fear may quiet people into oppression, but this has never ever happened in cultures rooted in Christianity. Perhaps they hope to make Christianity non-public. This has happened, but Christianity has always flourished underground. Perhaps they hope to eradicate Christians. Ha!  It is said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.

In civilized countries persecution is much more subtle. One is asked not to hang a cross as artwork on one’s wall, whereas another’s “art” is fine. One is asked not to have a Bible with one’s books on one’s desk.  In the past, this has perhaps worked. Probably not anymore, given the more gruesome persecutions elsewhere, these days. Persecution is now being identified as such.
Most of all, instead of hate and fear, persecutors are paid back with love and prayers. We pray for those who persecute us, just as our Lord Jesus taught us.

Further, Jesus takes such attacks as against Him. Remember what he said  to the persecutor Saul on the road to Damascus? Jesus said, “Why are your persecuting me?”  What great judgment would one have for attacking the Lord God, Creator! In Saul’s case, however, all was forgiven because he accepted Jesus as Lord. Possibly he had little choice, when confronted with the blinding Lord of glory. He wasn’t entirely ignorant; he was a religious man. He fell down, bowing and said, “Lord! What would you have me do?”  Good question. If this is you, ask the Lord God of Creation, Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Jesus, His exact representation,  and Holy Spirit, what you should do.

If you surrender to Jesus, you get salvation, forgiveness, and heaven. If you submit to fear you get oppression, death, and more fear/torment.

We pray now for all persecutors, that they meet Jesus. May all subtle persecutors have their eyes opened and so be given a chance to repent.  We pray for all jihadi fighters that they have Damascus road experiences and become great preachers for Jesus.
Thank you, Lord. Amen. (written Jan 2016)

The Lone Icicle in a Russian Home

There was just one silver icicle hanging in a window. It scared the people living there, that they had forgotten to hide it. You see at that in Russia, celebrating Christmas carried a five year prison term. It makes you glad to put up lights and tinsel , doesn’t it.

People in Eastern Germany, under communism would wear only drab coats, and they would only whisper in restaurants. They knew that everywhere were spies. They suspected that there were stacks and stacks of files about what they did. So they did little, and said less.

But this is America, right? No one limits our Christmas decorations. No one spies on us. No one teaches our children against God. Right?

Homeschooling Persecuted in Europe, Obama rejects Asylum, Supreme Court to Rule

National News
Supremes being asked to rule on homeschool persecution

By Bob Unruh – WND
The U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to protect a Germany homeschooling family from the persecution members would face if they are returned to their home country, according to officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The organization has confirmed that it will appeal to the high court in the case involving the Romeike family. They fled to the United States from Germany several years ago to escape the persecution the government there imposes on homeschooling families, and a judge granted them asylum. However, the Obama administration objected to allowing them to remain in the U.S., and won an appeals court reversal of that asylum ruling. The HSLDA has been working with the family on the case. …

The DOJ cited international court rulings, noting: “The European Court of Human Rights has held that parents could not refuse the right to education of a child on the basis of the parents’ convictions, because the child has an independent right to education.”

Such rulings in Europe have been used to argue that it is the state that makes decisions about education for children, not parents.

[Michael] Farris [founder and chairman of HSLDA] had warned that the court’s position has far-reaching consequences.

“When the United States government says that homeschooling is a mutable choice, it is saying that a government can legitimately coerce you to change this choice,” Farris said. “In other words, you have no protected right to choose what type of education your children will receive. We should understand that in these arguments, something very concerning is being said about the liberties of all Americans.”
Read the article.

Wakefield, Autism, Persecution, Judgment

I’m feeling grieved about the tweets I am reading. People are gloating about things they know not and saying foolish things.
Here are some good words:
Proverbs 18:17 NIV
Proverbs 29:9
Proverbs 29:20

Asking for research is prudent. Maligning it, maybe not.
If a matter is unclear, strife clearly is not.

Also, working on an article on how to tell what is true. Please check back.