One of the Sunday school teachers in the Church in Sri Lanka has written about what they were doing on Easter day.
“Today at Zion Church we asked the children, ‘how many of you would be willing to die for Christ?’ Everyone raised their hands. Minutes later we took them into the main service. The blast happened. Half of them died on the spot.”
In one of the two other Catholic Churches that were blown up, the bomber waited until the children had come back into the main liturgy before he detonated. Killing the children appeared to have been a priority to him.
Some people may have been surprised by the UK Government’s initiative that lay behind Jeremy Hunt writing forty letters to a variety of Christians and agencies offering support for Christians in their persecution. Not many people are aware that Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world today.
Last year, over 300 Christians were assassinated each month. 245 million Christians were persecuted by either their neighbours of the state they lived in.
At first sight, it seems odd that the world’s largest religion should be the target of so much hatred and violence. But at the risk of drawing lines in history that are too sharp, it seems that there are three figures who stand as major figures of history and their teaching and influence drive the values of their followers.
They are Jesus, Mohammed and Karl Marx. Their followers are Christians, Muslims and Communists. In terms of violence, Christians are the odd ones out.
Jesus taught his followers never to use violence, but only humility and compassion. There is no sanctioned violence in the New Testament.
But there is in the Koran.
Mohammed told his followers to offer non–Muslims the chance to convert, and if they didn’t, to use violence to make them. Islam swept through the known world carried by armies who did just that.
Marx also was a proponent of violence. He called his followers to armed revolution, and in the twentieth century, they obeyed with alacrity. But with Communism the killing didn’t stop with the revolution. It continued. In the Little Black Book of Communism Stephane Courtois estimates that the sum total of deaths communism caused, with its genocides, forced famines and executions, to be over 94 million.
Bill Warner in his book the Islamic Trilogy estimates the death toll of non-believers at the hands of Islam, between its founding in 610 and 2006, to bemore than 270 million non-Muslims.
It’s not easing off; from 2001 to 2017, Islamic activists carried out more than 32,000 attacks that killed more than 85,000 innocent and unsuspecting civilians. The Intelligence Services in the UK have identified 23,000 jihadist ‘extremists’ of whom 3,000 are believed to pose an active threat to their non-Muslim neighbours.
It is perfectly true that Christianity has blood on its hands too. But the distinction is that with the exception of the self-defence, the violence has been mainly instigated by the State rather than the Church. There are no Christian jihadists, no Christian terrorist bombers. And if there were, the New Testament would be held up to them to show they had no right to call themselves followers of Jesus or Christians at all. In other words when Communists and Muslims engage in violence they can justify it by appealing to Marx and Mohammed; but when Christians turn to violence, they can’t.It is forbidden.
So in part it is the use of violence sanctioned both by Marx and Mohammed, that has meant that Christians have become the most persecuted group in the world today.
What is very odd beyond that is the way in which the media and the politicians do all they can to avoid telling the truth about it. The media avoid the “M’ word as long as it can. The child abusers of Rotherham were called ‘Asian’ to the deep distress of Sikhs and Buddhists. The BBC said it had no idea who on earth would even think of sending suicide bombers into Sri Lankan churches for as long as it could.
When the dreadful killing in Christchurch happened the media instantly named the victims as Muslims. In Sri Lanka suddenly the euphemism ‘Easter worshippers’ was used. Imagine the outcry if the media has called the victims in the Mosque at Christchurch ‘Ramadan worshippers’?
Why is there such a reluctance to acknowledge that both Communism and Islam resort to violence to the extent that they do? In the same week as the New Zealand atrocity where 50 Muslims were killed by a lone gunman, African Muslims murdered 120 Nigerian Christians and the world’s media kept it secret.
With very rare exceptions, Christians do not kill Muslims or Communists. Both Communists (currently in China) and Muslims kill Christians on an industrial scale. As the Sunday School teacher said, Christians are taught to be willing to be martyrs for Jesus. Unlike Muslims they are not taught to make martyrs of others. Why won’t the media and the politicians tell the truth about it?
Hillary Clinton refused to identify them as Christians she called them “Easter worshippers”
In fairness, it should be pointed out that the victims in the New Zealand mosque were not called “Ramadan worshippers” because it wasn’t Ramadan at the time. The repeated use of “Easter worshippers” by US politicians and press was odd and looked coordinated. The normal approach would have been to call the Sri Lankans “Christians,” as the New Zealand victims were called “Muslims.”
It seems the word-smiths who are hired on top grade pays to advise politicians on public pronouncements are very poorly educated about the religions and religious observances of the peoples of the world. ?
Or either gagged or nobbled..
There does appear to be a link between Marxism and Islam today. Marxists appear to view militant Islam as an ally of sorts against what they see as the Christian establishment
Isn’t it all about power, about who is the most ruthless?
Consider that in Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution around 3 million died and 100 million had their lives turned upside down.
People will always respect power and the threat of violence..
From an earthly political point of view it is. The nations of the world do not operate according to the values of the kingdom of God, and won’t until He comes to reign over all the world..
When this country was busy sending out missions and missionaries across the world, it was at a time of great power and international influence was it not?
Hi aT, I was referring to our Marxists in the West at the current time. Their tendency to justify and defend Islam is quite extraordinary, given its supposed incompatibility with Marxist ideals. But it appears that a mutual hatred of Christianity makes strange bedfellows.
I really have no interest in trying to “balance” Left and Right, just calling what I see for what it is.
“My enemy’s enemy is my friend!” and the great manipulator Satan uses non Christian people and organisations to achieve his goals.
Personally my opinion is that Islamic strategists are using Western Marxists to further their goal of an Islamic Europe..
Agreed. But the Western Marxists are also using Islam to suppress Christianity and the cracks in that unholy alliance are at long last beginning to show.
Excellent article.
We Christians who flounce and pose, and primp and preen within our churches need to realise that the enemy of our souls has launched a new offensive against the Christian Church.
He is going to use everything and everyone in his power to distract, demoralise and frighten Christians and render us ineffective.
We must wake up and realise that we are faced with a choice: either we stand up for our Lord and His commandments, or we bow the knee to Baal and trample on our Lord’s sacrifice.
He loves us He will forgive our weakness and self indulgence if we will repent. Then He will empower us by His Holy Spirit..
I guess the writer forgot the persecution against Pagans when Constantine became emperor and Christianity became the approved religion of the empire, the persecution and killing of so-called heretics,The Holy Inquisition, the massacre of the Huguenots and others groups, the persecution of Protestants, The Crusades… and so on.
Alpha, Bishop Gavin means neo-Maxism. To get a very good understanding of this please watch his excellent talk on this issue at: https://youtu.be/xhyuUQz0KQM
An excellent essay from the Doctor, Bishop Ashenden. It seems Dr Ashenden is the ONLY bishop in the world who, uncompromisingly and unapologetically, identify the Demon waring against Christians and name it: Islamic!!!
Every other bishop, as far as I know, including — no surprise here, of course — the ABoC has buttered over naming the Demon directly.
The Naming of the Demon is NOT anti-Muslim. The faithful and mainline Muslims are NOT EVER TO BE associated and identified with this Demon.
But, NOT to name the Demon is a tragedy that blasphemes against GOD and His Truth which denies the blessed life the Lord has gifted to ALL His children.
So we must continue to pray that the Lord will raise up more men and women and anoint them with that same degree of courage and humility..
Yes, we must. The situation is quite bleak
It has been ‘quite bleak’ for some time now. After the ‘60s I think the slide really began and has gained pace ever since. I’m currently reading through the Book of Judges at the moment.
Quite relevant to the developing situation..
Then you must not have ever met Michael Nazir-Ali !
I have met Bp Nazir-Ali. Yes, he has identified this menace. I was thinking of the most recent attacks. Thank you for reminding me of Bp Nazir-Ali
He was at one time Bishop of Rochester, near my own home town.
In my view he is also a man of faith and courage, who has to some degree been smothered – or perhaps more accurately, ‘muffled’ by the leadership/ controlling factions of the Church of England ..