Persecution Blog

Pray for Eric Volz Prisoner in Nicaragua

Today I wanted to share with you something that has really been on my heart.  A few days ago I received an email from Kim Hill, the grammy nominated award singer, telling me about the story of Eric Volz.  She attached the following YouTube presentation that tells his story.  The following information is about Eric, who I believe is a follower of Christ. That's not confirmed, but his father and mother are Christians.

This is from Eric's MySpace Page

His name is Eric Volz. He is a U.S. Citizen and has just been sentenced to 30 years in a Nicaraguan prison for crimes he did not commit. He was working as the publisher for El Puente Magazine in Nicaragua when he was accused, convicted, and sentenced for murder.

He is suffering a slow and debilitating existence under conditions beyond your comprehension. Fighting starvation and under the constant threat of violent attacks...... his life is on the line everyday!

This is not a joke, this not a game, this is his struggle. The facts of his situation speak for themselves and can be found at the website indicated. If you think you can help him in anyway do not hesitate, we are begging you....his survival could depend on it.

WWW.FRIENDSOFERICVOLZ.COM

I have also started a blogroll for friends who want to add their site and pray for Eric and this whole situation.  Click here to join that blogroll.  We will be adding a picture and more in the next few days.

Nigerian Teacher Beaten to Death, Body Burned

A few days ago, I read a Compass Direct News article about a high school teacher in Northern Nigeria who was beaten to death by Muslim students over claims that she desecrated the Quran. As I read the article, I experienced mixed emotions that ranged from shock, anger to disbelief. Compass reported, Christianah Oluwasesin, was supervising a final examination on Islamic religious knowledge when she collected papers, books and bags from the all-girls class and in accordance with school procedure, dropped them in front of the class to prevent cheating.

According to another teacher, soon after Oluwasesin dropped the bags in front of the class, one of the girls began to cry. She told her classmates she had a copy of the Quran in her bag, that Oluwasesin touched the bag and by doing so had desecrated the Quran, since she was a Christian. This led to a riot which was joined by Muslim extremists, resulting in Oluwasesin being clubbed to death. They brought old mats to where her body was, placed dirt on her corpse and then burned it.

There is no way someone can read this story and remain apathetic about persecuted Christians around the world. I believe what was done to Oluwasesin reflects the immense dangers and brutality experienced by persecuted believers. Sometimes we never find out about their suffering. I cannot imagine what Oluwasesin experienced while being beaten and dragged around the school to her death. According to a teacher at the school, the Quran in question was never found. I was so impacted by Oluwasesin’s story, the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart to increase my prayer for persecuted believers. I encourage you to remember and pray for Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world who face great persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Pray Oluwasesin’s testimony will lead non-believers into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask God to comfort her family. Oluwasesin fought the good fight of faith, now it is up to us.

Stop Thought Crimes Laws

A few days ago Jenn wrote about valuing our free speech here in America.  Today I wanted to direct you to a brand new website that has been set up by the Family Research Council called Stop Thought Crimes Laws.

I want you to take a moment to go and visit this website and take action if you agree with what is being said...before you can't.

Persecution At An All Time High in India

The following tidbit of news is from our friends at Mission Network News.

India (MNN) -- Hindu militants in India have threatened to set the homes of Christians on fire, while in another area evangelists were attacked. These events happen in just the last two days, and it's evidence that persecution will continue. Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says nine years ago India was a peaceful place for Christians. "We thought of it as the world's largest functioning democracy -- a free country -- a place where Christians could worship freely. Last year, 2006, Voice of the Martyrs staff documented more than 200 significant incidents of persecution." Christians were beaten or killed. But Nettleton says it's not stopping conversions. He says Christians are taking a martyrs oath, which is producing a dedicated church. "Nobody enters into that lightly. And so, when you have a church full of on-fire, committed, deeply rooted believers, that church cannot help but affect society around it and change people's lives." VOM is reaching out to the victims of persecution. Go to our website to help - www.persecution.com.

Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/9750

Muslim Extremists Set Church on Fire in Nigeria

This morning I was at my churches weekly prayer meeting (yes, we did meet this week) and I was very encouraged as we got to pray for the persecuted church and the many trials our brothers and sisters face on on daily basis.

One such need I want to share with you today comes from our friends at Compass Direct.  Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria...here's the latest.

GOMBE, Nigeria, March 29 (Compass Direct News) – Two days after the killing of a Christian teacher in this town in northern Nigeria, Muslim extremists set fire to a church building of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) in the Chanchanya section. The Rev. Rukun Gaius, 50, chairman of the Gombe district of the ECWA, told Compass  that a large number of Muslim extremists went to the church on Friday night (March 23) and set it on fire, gutting the sanctuary. “The Muslims came to the church premises at about 11 p.m. to set the church on fire,” Rev. Gaius said. “People around the area and some of our members who saw the church burning rushed there put it out, but by then much damage had already been done to the building.” The 500 members of the church must now “worship and conduct their church programs in the open,” Rev. Gaius said.

You can read the full story online at Compass Direct's website.

Happy Birthday Bibles Unbound

Have you heard the great news?  Bibles Unbound has just celebrated it's first birthday!  In case you missed the special email announcement that The Voice of the Martyrs sent out a few days ago, I wanted to let you see it.  Celebrate with us!

"First birthdays are exciting! Some one-year-olds blow out the candle and some try to grab it. Some children are more interested in playing with the cake than eating it!

Last month, our VOM staff celebrated a different kind of birthday—the first birthday of Bibles Unbound. This project has grown dramatically in its first year! More than 10,000 individuals of all ages have now mailed almost 200,000 New Testaments into restricted nations. We are racing toward the goal of mailing 50,000 New Testaments each month; last month Bibles Unbound participants mailed more than 20,000!

It is exciting to see how God has blessed Bibles Unbound, and we are thankful for each person, family, Sunday school class, homeschool group and church that has participated.

If you haven’t logged on to www.BiblesUnbound.com yet, do so today!

Persecution on American College Campuses

This morning I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows online - Wallbuilders Live with Rick Green and David Barton, and David Barton said something that really was a surprise.  He said that American colleges are now persecuting Christians on campus.  He also said that he doesn't use the term persecution lightly...which is why I thought I'd mention this to you today.

Yesterday, Wallbuilders Live interviewed Mike Johnson from The Alliance Defense Fund concerning college campuses that are hostile to Christianity.  The show is very eye-opening and if you're a parent of a young person who is and/or is deciding to attend a public university, please take the time to listen to this half-hour show.

If You Value Free Speech, Read This

Many of us take for granted free speech in the West. However, some troubling legislation has recently touched many free nations including England, Canada and Australia which has threatened to limit that right and awakened citizens to the need for action. Christian World News recently conducted an interview with an Australian pastor who was adversely affected by such legislation. Click below to watch this report on Australian Pastor Danny Nalliah.

At the end of the clip, Pastor Nalliah discussed H.R.254, the hate-crimes bill that has been introduced in Congress. What are your opinions on this bill? How do you feel it would negatively or positively affect speech in this country?

How Was Your Weekend?

Since it's Monday (again), I thought it might be fun to open the week with a question to you all. How was your weekend? Is there any news you have heard about Christian persecution that you've been thinking about? Is there anything in the media that has caught your attention today that we should know about?

Have you read your latest VOM magazine yet?

Please share with us...

Persecution Blog Round Up

This week we have another wonderful set of blog entries from our wonderful team of persecution bloggers.

Beginning with Barb over at Tidbits & Treasures we have her entry about Muslim Militants in Nigeria Kidnapping Christian Children

Next we have Hal from The Great Separation who writes about A Christian Teacher Who Was Beaten to Death by Students in Nigeria.

Next we have two entries from James who blogs at 2 Worlds Collide. The first post is titled Indonesian Christians Under Attack
and the second post is titled Pastors Attacked in Bangalore.
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And our last entry is from my friend Jordan at The Acton Institute blog called Christianity and Communism in China.. Jordan describes his post this way, "Reports show that while the number of Christians in China are increasing, many Christians don't see membership in the Communist Party to be at odds with their Christian identity. This post explores the relationship between secularism, communism, the Christian faith and religious freedom in China."