The Worst Human Rights Infringement: The Persecution of Christians
Posted: Sunday, November 21, 2010
by Joel Kontinen
http://joelkontinen.blogspot.com/
Recently, Yousef Nadarkhan, an Iranian pastor, was sentenced to death for rejecting Islam . Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, was condemned to death by hanging for "insulting Muhammad".
Being a Christian can endanger one's freedom, health or even life, if one lives in a country that in practice refuses to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that the United Nations agreed on in 1948.
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
Yet, in some Muslim countries, such as Pakistan, conversion to Christianity is punishable by death.
All too few people in the West know or are willing to speak about this glaring breach of human rights.
Islamic countries are not the only culprits, however. Christians are persecuted in many parts of the world. The worst offenders are North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Iran, Eritrea and Vietnam.
Persecutions are nothing new to Christians. " All men will hate you because of me " (Matthew 10:22), Jesus told his disciples. That was no exaggeration; a ccording to early Christian tradition, all the apostles except John were martyred for their faith.
Freedom of religion was notoriously suppressed in the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Alas, the demise of totalitarianism in the former Soviet Block countries did not mean that religious persecution would have ended in the world.
The Apostle Paul compared the church to a human body. " If one part suffers, every part suffers with it ", he wrote in 1st Corinthians.
Today, (November 21st, 2010) is an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. There are approximately 200 million persecuted Christians in the world. They need our prayers and our support.
Our persecuted brothers and sisters also need a voice who would speak out for them against injustice.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)We seem, in our own little worlds, that Christian brothers and sisters world-wide are facing extreme persecution. Thanks for the reminder. If nothing else, we can pray for them.A pastor and his wife in my town are apparently going to Iran to start a church. I am so afraid for them, so they also need our prayers.Thanks for reading. Yes, we can pray.
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