Persecution Blog

State Department report on Religious Freedom

VOM's Todd Nettleton was interviewed this week by Mission Network News reporter Ruth Kramer about the release earlier this month of the US State Department's annual report on religious freedom around the world. Here's the article from Mission Network News' web site:

If you follow religious freedom issues, you are already aware of the connection between government restrictions on religious freedoms and countries prone to violence toward religious minorities.

That's been backed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Research cited in this year's International Religious Freedom Report  points out the strong correlation and goes on to note that governments who repress religious freedom also create a societal intolerance toward those who are discriminated against. Worse, the seeming latitude seems to  embolden hatred and violence toward this minority population.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry releases the 2012 International Religious Freedom Report at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on May 20, 2013. [State Department photo/Public Domain]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released the annual report on the state of religious freedom around the world as required by the U.S. Congress International  Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. It follows recommendations submitted to the State Department by the independent United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

IRFA requires the United States annually to designate as CPCs those governments that "engage in or tolerate" systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Todd Nettleton, a spokesman with the The Voice of the Martyrs USA, says, "It'll be interesting to see what happens with that. The Secretary of State was a part of the release of this report, made some comments about it, but the last time that our government designated Countries of Particular Concern goes all the way back to 2011."

IRFA provides a range of options for such action, adds Nettleton. "Now, they push it into the hands of the Secretary of State and say, ‘Okay. You've got the report; you've got the evidence; it is documented what's going on in these countries. Now it's time to designate which countries are Countries of Particular Concern.' That, then, opens the door for additional actions by the U.S. government including, even up to the point of sanctions." However, the United States has not made CPC designations since August 2011.

There is some urgency behind the designation because the clock is ticking. Sanctions on the currently-designated CPCs will expire in August 2013.

The countries singled out for special mention for violation of religious freedom in the 2012 report were: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. Nettleton admits to some mixed feelings about the report.  On the one hand, they're raising awareness of the problems. Still,  "The disappointing thing is some of the countries that were left off. When you're singling out religious freedom abuses, how do you leave out Egypt? How do you leave out Nigeria? How do you leave out Pakistan?"

Given the combination of government changes and insurgencies, along with the resultant targeting of Christians, Nettleton wonders, "Some of the countries that were left off, you [wonder], ‘How did that happen? Who missed the boat to leave those countries out of specific mentions of the abuse that's  going on there?‘"

The main themes of this year's report are: (1) Governmental restrictions and abuse; (2) Laws covering blasphemy, apostasy and conversion; (3) A rise in Anti-Semitism; (4) Societal Intolerance and Violence; (5) The problem of impunity for those who violate religious liberty.

Yet, none of this comes as a surprise to ministries coming alongside the persecuted Church. Open Doors releases an annual list of the top 50 countries known for their persecution. All of the countries spotlighted are on the list, most of them in the top 20.

With the State of the Church in such dire straits, is anyone sharing Christ's story? Is anyone responding to it anymore? Nettleton observes, "The Gospel is not dependent on political things. It is not dependent on the government; it's not dependent on freedom. People are spreading the Gospel regardless of what the government is doing, regardless of what the U.S. State Department says about religious freedom there."

In other words, he says that God is still at work. That means the job of the Church isn't finished. "Hopefully, as we shine the light on these abuses, and as we speak out on behalf of religious freedom, we can have an influence as the nation to improve those situations." How to influence? For one thing, suggests Nettleton, you can pray. But "beyond our prayers, which is obviously the most important thing that we can do, I think it's good for us to have a voice with our own government, with our own senators and even our State Department."

This is the part where you can engage. Write a letter, send an e-mail, or call. Tell your representatives in Washington that religious freedom is an issue that matters to you, explains Nettleton. "That really is the language of Washington: Who cares about this? How many people is this important to?"

This article was originally published on the Mission Network News web site. The full State Department report is here.

HELPING HANDS

Photo of the day: this photo was taken recently by a VOM team visiting Nigeria. The team was blessed to meet with Nigerian Christians, hear their stories of persecution and faith, and pray with them for God to bless them and to bless the church in Nigeria.

Please pray for Christians in Nigeria.

Losing the Guilt Complex: Inspired By Love

There is a scripture that haunted me in my growing up years. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required...” (Luke 12:48). It felt like a burden to me. I treated it like a checklist: 1. Did I pray for others in need today? 2. Did I give financially as much as I possibly could? 3. Did I raise awareness about what is going on? 4. Did I tell other people about Jesus because I have the freedom to do so anytime?

After all, much should be required of me. Simply by living in America I am in the top 10% of the world’s wealthiest individuals, and I live in a country where persecution looks very different than it can to our brothers and sisters who face violence or imprisonment for their faith.

This got me thinking about what I could learn from our persecuted brothers and sisters about ‘what is required’ of us. Hearing their stories, they do not respond out of guilt or obligation. In fact, many of them have been set free from the bonds of legalism in religions such as Islam.

Learn more of Generosa's story in VOM's June newsletter.

I realized that our faith in the West is not so different from theirs if we understand two basic principles that Jesus said were the greatest commandments for everyone in Matthew 22: 36-40: 1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all you mind and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

The interesting thing about love is that it can’t be put on a to-do list, something to check off so that you know you’ve done your good deed. In fact, love is usually something that comes through experience. You wouldn’t know you loved pizza until you tried it; you wouldn’t have fallen in love with your spouse without first meeting them. In the same way, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

In VOM’s June newsletter there is a story about a woman named Generosa whose pastor husband was murdered in Tanzania by Muslim extremists with machetes. What she said in response? “They did something they didn’t understand; they didn’t know what they were doing. We read in Scripture that God wants us to forgive those who offend us.”

A response like that does not come out of a place of obligation, it can only come from the miraculous influence of Christ’s love and grace on a person’s life. Paul says “the love of Christ compels me” (2 Cor. 5:14). That love that compels a woman in Tanzania undergoing intense persecution is the same love that compels me in the United States; it is not a partial love.

So in some ways, I read that scripture differently now. I know that much love is required of me, because I have been given much. Not out a sense of guilt, because guilt is an unworthy motivator often leaving its victims disenchanted or disillusioned. Christ’s love however, is what changes lives both across the world and here in our own backyards.

Your Turn: Can you tell the difference between good and bad motives in your life? How does Christ’s love compel and motivate you in your everyday life? 

"Grace Taylor" serves on the staff of VOM. She was first introduced to the ministry of VOM by her parents and grandparents, who received the VOM newsletter, and through the VOM book Jesus Freaks. She has served in 12 different countries and is passionate about helping expand God’s Kingdom throughout the nations of the world.

Video: Padina Finds Christ

"Padina" was so depressed that she planned to end her life. Then she met Jesus.

 

Please pray today for the nation of Iran, and share this video with your friends to encourage them to pray also.

Extreme Devotion: "Only One Sadness"

The Communist prison of Jilava was especially harsh. The broken windows let in the bitter winter cold. Some of the prisoners had even frozen to death. There was no sympathy for Christians at Jilava. In fact, they often endured “special” beatings from the cruel guards.

One of the new prisoners, Archmandrite Ghiush, was a pastor in the city of Liberty, Romania. As Archmandrite anxiously looked around his new “home,” he noticed a familiar face—a man who had served with him in Liberty. It was Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. “How could he still be alive?” Archmandrite wondered. “No one has heard from him in nearly eight years.” The two faithful pastors embraced. Archmandrite smiled, grateful for an old friend to help him through the horrific sufferings he was about to endure.

But Pastor Wurmbrand did not smile. He felt saddened to see such a fine pastor in prison. He began to worry about him. Would he survive the cold and the cruel treatment? Would he go mad, as others had done? After eight years in prison, Wurmbrand knew what was to come.

The two friends sat silently for a while. Finally Richard broke the tension and softly asked, “Are you sad?” To his amazement Archmandrite simply replied, “Brother, I know only one sadness: That is not being fully given to Jesus.”

It is difficult to read the true stories of Christian martyrs without feeling emotionally drained. The natural reaction is one of sadness and a sense of pity for the innocent who died such horrific deaths. However, the heroes and heroines of the stories would wish for an altogether different response. They hoped their sacrifices would inspire others toward like-hearted commitment, not pity. Certainly, their deaths touch our hearts. But the realization of our own paltry faith ought to break our hearts in two. That is truly sad. Are you challenged beyond earthly sympathy towards repentance for your own complacency? Do you have a divine sense of determination as a result of your reading? Ask God to stir your resolve to live for him today.

This is one of the readings from the book, Extreme Devotion, available from VOM’s online bookstore. You can also receive devotional thoughts daily via email. Sign up here.

MOVING TOWARD MUSLIMS: Sanctification over Chicken Sandwiches

Many people who reach out to Muslims agree that God initially changes them more than He changes their Muslim friends! As we take steps to move toward Muslims, a side benefit will occur: sanctification in our own lives.

I took a road trip some years ago with my friend Zahra. As if sitting shotgun to a brand-new driver in downtown Atlanta traffic wasn't sanctification enough, God used this trip to expose my own pride, impatience and argumentative spirit. 

Though I love Zahra like a sister, and I knew in my head that this trip was an excellent opportunity to build into her spiritually, I found myself easily irritated and impatient. To be sure, part of the rub was cultural differences between her and me, but it was also my selfishness about time and warped sense of superiority.

At one point in the journey, Zahra and I stopped in Georgia for lunch. Over our Chik-Fil-A signature sandwiches, we started heatedly discussing whether the prophets sinned. Zahra held the position that none of the prophets have sinned. We're talking Moses, Abraham, David, Jesus, and to her - Muhammad and his cousin Ali - all sinless. In her rationale, Jesus is no different from Moses or Muhammad. (Neither the Qur'an nor the Bible supports this, by the way.)

Just as I was about to go for the jugular and prove my case for Jesus' divinity, I got a phone call from a friend. I took it. And Zahra ordered some chicken fingers.

Over the phone, my friend encouraged me and told me she'd been praying for my trip. Talking with another believer reminded me that Jesus calls me to love. I was gently rebuked by the Holy Spirit: truth must be spoken, but always in love. And no argument won is worth the loss of a person's respect. And I was walking close to that line.

Arguments are unproductive. When I start feeling uptight and sweaty and my teeth start clenching, I know I am defending a position rather than representing Christ.

As Christ’s servants in this world, we are to “not be quarrelsome but…kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Timothy 2:24). If you find yourself in the middle of an argument, you can take a deep breath and a step back. You could say with a smile, “I’m sorry. Maybe I’ve offended you. Would you like to talk about something else?”

Our conversation was divinely interrupted by the phone call, but Zahra and I came back to the prophets-and-sin subject later that day on more friendly terms. Thankfully, I didn’t damage our friendship with my antagonistic approach.

God has been sanctifying me through my interactions with Muslims. He's teaching me to be longsuffering when I feel selfish and argumentative. And He's asking me - above all else - to love my Muslim friends fervently, for love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

"Anna" blogs about friendship, culture, and Kingdom-living from her home in the Middle East. She loves Jesus and wants to see Him cherished by her neighbors and people everywhere. Anna will be posting on the Persecution Blog each month. Feel free to ask questions or suggest future topics in the comments section for this post. Anna is a pseudonym, and all names in her posts are changed for security reasons.

AOG Pastor Arrested

Iranian forces arrested Rev. Robert Asserian on Tuesday, May 21 as he conducted a prayer meeting at the Assemblies of God church in Tehran where he serves as one of the pastors. Security forces raided his house earlier in the morning, confiscating belongings such as his computer and books before moving to the church to arrest him. He was taken to an unknown location.

Church leaders had been expecting some sort of retaliation against the church. A few days ago, the elders met with government officials to ask for information and clarifications on another pastor,  Farhad Sabokrough, his wife and two other church members from the AOG church in Ahvaz, who were called this month to serve one-year prison sentences. Officials told the elders the detainees would be released when the church permanently shut down.

Tension between the officially-sanctioned Central Assemblies of God Church in Tehran has been growing in recent years. The church was informed that it may have to cease all its services by next month. On Sunday, May 19, AOG leaders announced to the congregation that they would soon come to an important decision about the future of the church due to increased pressures from Iran’s intelligence ministry. Church leaders are meeting this week to pray and finalize plans for the total closure of the church by mid-June.

Sources told Article 18 that the AOG church leaders are being forced to choose between closing if they continue to offer Farsi-language services or limiting their services to only the Armenian language. The whole congregation is invited to a service on May 26 to hear the announcement of the church leaders.

“The pressure has become unbearable,” a source told Article 18. “They [the government authorities] constantly threaten the church leaders and their families with imprisonment, unexplained accidents, kidnapping and even with execution. We cannot go on like this.” 

The AOG church in Tehran is one of the few remaining churches that offers worship services in Farsi. In 2009, the same church was ordered to discontinue their Friday services, which were being attended by an overwhelming number of visitors each week. In February 2012, the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church was also ordered to cease its Friday services. Friday is the weekly day off for Iranians, and church services on Fridays attracted both new converts and Muslims interested in Christianity.

 

Sources: Article 18, Farsi Christian News Network, Middle East Concern

Christians are Narrow-Minded

A criticism leveled at Christians is that we are narrow-minded because we believe in one God, the Creator of the material world and also a spiritual realm that is beyond this world. Because we believe in a spiritual realm, we are accused of being superstitious. Belief in the spiritual world and in an unseen God can be a cause for persecution because it challenges the pervading worldview in many places of the world. Our belief put a lot of Christians into prisons in the old Soviet Union, and it continues to do so today in other world areas.

The naturalistic world view is a narrow view of reality which believes that nothing exists outside the material world. This view, they believe, liberates humanity from superstition. It is a closed universe where there is no God to interfere from outside, and it runs on a pure “cause and effect” basis within time and space. Things happen in the world because they are an effect of a prior cause. This cause and effect principle is built into the universe. God is not needed. The naturalistic worldview includes both science (rather scientism, the belief that science alone can discover truth about reality and the universe) and occultism. This seems like a strange combination but both have limited reality to the material world, except in different ways.

The naturalistic view believes in “the uniformity of natural causes in a closed system, namely, that everything is a machine” (Schaeffer, He is There and He is not Silent, 63). This is the view of many non-Christian scientists but is also to a certain degree the view of the occult. We assume occultists believe in a separate world of spirits distinct from the material world but, in fact, their ‘spiritual’ realm is merely another dimension of the material world. Magic, for occultists, is the supreme ritual and functions by cause and effect. If you perform the ritual just right (or put the magic potion together exactly as instructed), one can expect certain effects. It is a narrow, confined system of cause and effect, and not an intervention by a spiritual being from outside the material world but from within the spiritual realm of the material world. The gods are of this world. To believe that there is a God distinct from the material world and that he is the Lord of the universe is not an acceptable idea for those who adamantly refuse to believe or bow. Those who deny God and adhere to the naturalistic world view are usually not tolerant of Christians and, if they have power, will use that power to suppress Christian teachings.  Suppression is a form of persecution.

Christians believe that the material world is real but is the result of a supernatural act of God, through Jesus Christ, who holds the world as we know it together. Cause and effect works within a greater reality, where God exists, as do spiritual beings who are outside the material world and are not affected by cause and effect. The Christian view, because it is not narrowly defined by the confines of the material world, is actually broader in scope than the world’s view. We believe that God is free to interact with this world and can suspend cause and effect, working miracles (like allowing Peter on one occasion and Paul on another to be released from jail, raising people from the dead, and allowing Peter to walk on water)!

Totalitarian, godless regimes see the Christian view as regressive (they call us narrow-minded!) and a threat to their desire for total control. If they think the Christian God is beyond their authority, they seek to destroy any semblance of God in their midst. Communists see Christianity as counter-revolutionary; but how can Christian truth be counter-revolutionary when revolutionary thought is based on the narrow, naturalistic view of dialectical materialism, a very narrow, confining box indeed! It is not so revolutionary—it is an intellectual and spiritual prison. This narrow ideology seeks to supplant an open system where God can interact with creation (a belief that allows for true freedom) with a narrow system that restricts freedom to worship the true God. Such a narrow ideology persecutes Christians because Christians will not conform to this belief system, even if it is the belief of those in power. We are seen as incorrigibles because we cannot accept their “progressive” view, because it is actually regressive. They are, in fact, narrow-minded.

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Powerful Partnership

“…a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12b).

As I meet with Christians who are suffering around the world, I am acutely reminded that our King has shaped us to partner together with others members of His Body.

In fact, at VOM, our belief is that we have family members who are suffering persecution because of their faith and that God has called us to stand with them. That is the heart of VOM's mission.

The international projects that enable us to “stand with them” always involve partnership. We pursue partnerships with indigenous leaders who are already faithfully ministering within their own context and ask them how we can join them in their ministry. We love to meet with these types of bold believers and to help them take the ministry God has gifted them with even further.

Last year, I met one of these faithful sisters in South Asia. This lovely lady has been ministering within her own culture since 1926. Many of those years she served former Muslims who chose to follow Christ—even though it cost them dearly! Nobody knows exactly how old she is (birthdays are not commonly celebrated where she lives), but her colleagues believe she is more than 100 years old. I had a difficult time communicating verbally with her because of her advanced age and the language barrier. But, I couldn’t help but reflect on how exciting it will be one day to sit with her in heaven and hear how God used her to enrich the lives of the countless people that she served. She has made incredible spiritual investments and I want to celebrate the harvest with her!

When we partner together, with all of our feeble individual strands, there is an incredible “Return on Investment” for our King and His Kingdom.

None of us are extraordinary. We are fragile, weak human beings. And we work with normal human beings overseas—there aren’t any supermen out in the field. But, in God’s economy, our weakness is made into strength—for His glory. As we join together on our knees, and as we show up each day ready to serve wherever our King has called us, we experience His power and the fruit of some very meaningful work!

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in 28 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

A Most Valuable Gift

A Nepali Christian reads a Bible provided by VOM.

Our field worker in Nepal sent in this testimony last week:

My name is “Bandhu.” I am from very rural and remote part of Nepal. I gave my life to Christ six years ago. All seven in my family are believers. I am very poor farmer too.

Two months ago, I heard that some believers are giving the Bible for free. But it was not in our village. Our leader of church mentioned that if we can go to the place where the Bible will be distributed, we will get it. I know that it will take me and my son eight hours to walk. I called my son and said, “Let’s go to get the Bible.”

We walked eight hours and finally we arrived. The local pastors said, “All of you get in a line, we will bring the Bible to you.” When the distribution started, I was watching the pastor move thinking, “I will get the most valuable thing in my life.”

When I touched the first time the Bible which both has Old Testament and New Testament, I still remember that is it real. As distribution finished, I and my son sat together and checked our Bibles. We realized both are the same because we never knew that every Bible has the same words. I realized that our dream came true.

We have now our own Bibles at home. We read every day. We discuss every day at home. I can see the blessing that came to our family after we got the Bible. I just want to thank to VOM who made this possible for believers like us. We have started to pray that the VOM office will do more this type of ministry, not only in Nepal but all over the world.

Have you ever had the sense of wonder and joy that this man had for your Bible?

If you’ve supported VOM’s Bible distribution efforts in the past, YOU are part of the reason why this man and his family received Bibles. And if you haven’t yet taken the time to provide Bibles for Christians in areas of persecution, you can do so right now at www.BiblesUnbound.com. And pull out your Bible again today, and take time to consider the wonder and privilege of having God’s Word in your hand to feed your mind.

Dory P. has worked with VOM for six years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband and their two-year-old son, they share five passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.