Living with the Hope of a Different Life

It's time to pay attention. When women are stolen and forced into marriage, trafficked, raped, or even murdered, it should be hard to walk away and do nothing. When kids disappear for years or for good. When men are tortured, sent to prison for decades or just killed to satisfy the whims of an evil regime, it is time to do something.

Open Doors International is an agency that works with persecuted people in order to restore hope, dignity, and the right to live out a faith which costs many their lives. There are more people killed for these reasons in Nigeria (above) every year than in most other countries combined. 

Two out of every five Christians are facing severe persecution if they live in Asia; one out of five in Africa. The staggering number of people persecuted comes in at 365 Million last year. That's more people than the entire population of the United States.

Don't be lulled into thinking things are rosy in North America! You'd expect things to be bad in Cuba, but Mexico comes in at number 37 in the list of Top 50 Countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. Check out the full list here- then participate in helping make a difference.

It's Not a Disney World

In just the last year, there have been: Over 360 million Christians experiencing high levels of persecution and discrimination; It gets worse. 5,898 Christians were killed for their faith; A total of 5, 110 churches and other Christian buildings were attacked. Across the world, 6,175 believers were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned. Over 3,829 Christians abducted. The full report can be found here.

Walt Disney World this is not.

(From 2022 World Watch List, OpenDoorsUSA)

One Out of Eight

Will you be next? Hatred is a universal condition, and what people do to each other because of it is often extreme and with lasting consequences. No one is immune from the effects. Hard core persecution for spiritual beliefs is very common in the world we live in.  Yesterday morning, Open Doors, a Christian relief organization released its World Watch List for 2020, the 50 Countries Where It's Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus. Yes, China, home of Shanghai Disneyland, is on it at #23. So is the home of the (most likely) next Magic Kingdom, India, at #10.

The list is formed from data researched in two main areas: Violence and Pressure (National Life, Community Life, Family Life, Church Life, and Private Life.) Violence includes murder, rape, imprisonment etc. 

That statistics show an overall increase of 6% from 2019. Here's the current "Top 50":

Jesus himself warned his believers about coming persecution for those who follow after him. The Bible's book of Matthew gives this in detail that even mother and father would turn their children over the be killed and visa versa.

According to this year's report, 260 Million people suffered severe persecution because of their faith- 1 out of 8 believers in Jesus- with almost 3,000 killed, 3,700 wrongfully jailed, and almost 10,000 churches and buildings destroyed. 

Maybe you're not a Christian, and you don't care. But you should. This famous writing by Martin Niemöller - written during the middle of the 1940s- should make you think twice:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

(Data copyright Open Doors.)

What's Coming Next?

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

                                  Martin Niemöller

This Lutheran pastor and theologian had the right idea. He was a outspoken vocal critic of Adolph Hitler. Persecuting people has not disappeared with the Holocaust.

Take a look at this new research compiled by Open Doors. It's called the World Watch List 2019. Fascinating stuff.

Sometimes, other numbers help explain what's happening a little better:

Increase in persecution jumped 14% from the 2018 report.

Persecution of Christians is happening all over the world, with extreme persecution (death, imprisonment etc.) happening mostly in North Korea, the Middle East, and Africa. The numbers also take into account violence, church life, national life, community life, family life, and private life.

If you look at the chart, you'll see the West is not immune. Mexico and Columbia make the list as well. What has this looked like in a year? Look below.

Eleven Christians are killed every day

because of what they believe.

For a further look at the report, look here. Or here for a much more detailed report. What's coming next?

Yes, it's very dangerous to be a Christian... but what will you do to change the situation?

(Images from Open Doors.)

What Disney Overlooks in Shanghai

The pursuit of money is a driving force for any business that wants to be successful. That makes total sense. But there is also a solemn responsibility to make sure that people are living in healthy environments and are treated fairly. These type of human rights issues are vitally important. But are they important to Disney?

In a couple of highly credible annual reports, China's human rights violations continue to astound. When the areas of religiously motivated violence in the spheres of society are examined, the home of the newest Disneyland cannot escape being viewed as a source of continual persecution. The country does rank lower than much of the Middle East, Africa, or even a good portion of Asia. China's ranking when it comes to persecution of Christians is Number 39. Sure, it's far below Number 1- that dubious "honor" goes to North Korea. All this according to the World Watch List 2017, from Open Doors an organization which has been monitoring this inhumane activity since 1955.  

A whole new world of accepted persecution.

Keep in mind, most Chinese Christians and their churches are underground, so more comprehensive statistics may be difficult to come by. When you add the unfortunate reality of forced family size restrictions, things are about as rosy in China as the skies of Shanghai. (Top image from Theme Park University.)

Another watch dog group, International Christian Concern, reports there are 215 Million persecuted Christians in the world- one in 12 people on the planet, with new countries being added to the list.

The United States of America has now made that list- as shown in the photo above. See the article here. 

Definitely what we experience in the States is no where near what is experienced elsewhere in the world. I have personally listened to believers in other countries share first hand stories of beatings, losing family and career, and more, all because they chose to follow Jesus. Persecution in the States just happens differently, and it is growing.

In this country, no sane person with an honest and open mind can be convinced that free speech infringement and limiting public expressions of faith are not a form of persecution in our society. It's happening everywhere. Pastors are being scrutinized for their sermon content, having to turn over their sermons to the local authorities.  It's happened recently in Georgia and a little further back in Texas. 

Look what happened when an LGBTQ bully- the new thought police- went after HGTV's Chip and Joanna Gaines. Thankfully, a writer who identifies as gay- wisely and bravely- came to their defense. (My article here.) Think you won't be the next victim? Think again.

Hefty fines for Christian business owners who cannot in good conscience offer services when their religious beliefs are in conflict with what is requested is another effective method used to force a community to bow to modern thinking. Public bullying seems to be accepted to make Christians submit to an ungodly way of living and thinking. Often this thinking is in direct contrast with how God tells His people to live. Isn't He the One we must first answer to? If you call yourself a Christ follower, the answer should be obvious.

When our current administration refuses persecuted Christians from other countries access into ours but allows many Muslims in, what does that communicate. A good friend of mine traveled overseas to serve both Christian and Muslim refugees, and he heard this first hand. He was in the outlaying countries surrounding this hotbed of activity. The stories he has relayed about this kind of persecution and even within the camps themselves would make you cry with anger and disgust. Man's inhumanity to man. Man's sin nature gone wild. There is no other explanation.

Who will speak up in all this? Which Christians will be brave enough to stand up for what is right in a world gone crazy? Who will support the persecuted worldwide church? (You can go here if you're interested in doing so.)

The current state of our world reminds me of the incredibly famous but tragic poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984). With regard to the choice of intellectual German society not speaking out against the Nazi rise to power as they oppressed and exterminated various groups, he wrote:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.