PRAYER OVER PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
Guelph Mercury
Nov 10 2009
Ontario, Canada
On this past Sunday, Nov. 8, Christians around the world participated
in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Some
half million Christians in 150 countries remembered the plight of
believers who are suffering persecution because of their faith. Some
may be astonished to hear that such a day was set aside for this
purpose for they have the notion that persecution of Christians ended
with the passing of the ancient Roman era. Alas, that is not the case.
In a recent situation in Pakistan 37-year old Asia Bibi was accused of
blaspheming Mohammed for allegedly saying, "Jesus is alive. Mohammed
is dead." She was imprisoned for four months before her first meeting
with a judge in Sheikhupura. She has been charged under section
295-C of the Pakistani Criminal code that says in part, "Use of
derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet . . . shall
be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also
be liable to fine." According to International Christian Concern’s
Pakistan analyst, Jonathan Racho, the penal code is extreme. It in
fact penalizes Christians from holding to their most basic beliefs as
Christians and threatens them with death if they express those beliefs.
Though not often reported in the media, persecution is a daily fact of
life for many Christians around the world. Italian journalist, Antonio
Socci, in his book, The New Persecuted: Inquiries into Anti-Christian
Intolerance in the New Century of Martyrs, estimates that more
Christians (about 45 million) were killed in the 20th century than in
all previous centuries combined. The estimates are taken from sources
such as Oxford’s World Christian Encyclopedia. Many of those murdered
died in places like the former Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany. But
the slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians at the hands
of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 must never be forgotten as well.
Persecution does not always involve martyrdom. Christians in different
parts of the world are denied justice, discriminated against in their
work, are in danger of losing their lives because they have converted,
are captured and sold as slaves, and are forbidden to preach the truths
of the Bible on penalty of fines or imprisonment. Indeed discrimination
and maltreatment have a thousand and one different faces for those
believers who find themselves out of favour with certain governments,
and local citizens as well.
Though persecution takes place every day in countries far away it is
also beginning to happen in Canada. Many are ignorant of this fact
for news media, apart from a few exceptions, simply has not covered
the stories. Who knows for example that a diminutive, 60-year-old
grandmother, Linda Gibbons, has been imprisoned in a Canadian
penitentiary for seven out of the last fourteen years for the crime of
quietly praying in front of an abortion facility? Who has heard about
Father Alfphonse de Valk, the Catholic priest, who was subjected to a
human rights investigation that cost his monthly magazine expenses to
the tune of some $20,000? His crime — defending traditional marriage
and the biblical view of sexuality. Who has heard of Chris Kempling,
of Quesnel, B.C., and the persecution he has experienced at the
hands of his own school district and teachers union? Kempling’s crime
was to write a few letters to his local newspaper on the subject of
homosexuality. For this he has been suspended from his work without
pay for several months, and has been forced to pay out thousands and
thousands of dollars to defend himself before the courts.
Some may question whether the above examples qualify as religious
persecution. Are they not simply examples of persons who find
themselves politically out of sync with present cultural values? I
would disagree with that assessment for I maintain that the church
defines morality, not the state. And when the state upends Christian
values and teaching and says that wrong is right and right is wrong,
and then punishes the believer when they continue to speak and practice
their faith–that appears like religious persecution to me.
On the recent International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Christians did well to pray for suffering believers in far off
countries. After all Jesus warned that persecution was to be expected.
I suspect however that most of us thought that Jesus was referring
to Christians in far off places. Who knew? Who could possibly have
known that one day we would be praying for persecuted believers in
our own country of Canada?
Royal Hamel is a member of the Guelph Mercury Community Editorial
Board.