IDOP


Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:19, NIV)


[Yesterday (Sunday, November 9) was International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church]

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is a global day of intercession for persecuted Christians worldwide. Its primary focus is the work of intercessory prayer and citizen action on behalf of persecuted communities of the Christian faith.

We also encourage prayer for the souls of the oppressors, the nations that promote persecution, and those who ignore it.

We believe that prayer changes things. Exactly what happens is a mystery of faith. God invites us to present to Him our requests and to pray without ceasing. Persecuted Christians often plead for prayer to help them endure. The most we can do is the least we can do -- pray.

We also encourage continuing prayer and educated involvement on behalf of persecuted Christians. Visit our partner Web sites to discover further ways to get involved.

How did the IDOP get started?

The IDOP began in 1996 through the efforts of the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) in cooperation with a variety of denominations and faith-based organizations. From a core group of approximately 7,000 churches, the IDOP has grown to be the largest prayer day event of its kind in the world. The IDOP is a rallying point for Christians and others to stand behind those who suffer for their faith by providing prayer support and appropriate advocacy. In 1998, Prayer for the Persecuted Church, Inc. (PPC) took oversight of the IDOP organizing efforts in the United States while WEF continues to coordinate the IDOP internationally. PPC is an independent, nonprofit, nonpolitical organization whose primary agenda is informed and active prayer.

What are the goals of the IDOP?

The goals of the IDOP and Prayer for the Persecuted Church are to:

* Increase awareness of the persecuted Church worldwide.

* Lead in prayer on behalf of the persecuted Church.

* Promote ongoing and appropriate action on behalf of the persecuted Church.

Christians living in free societies have been largely unaware of or silent to this increasing tragedy. As we gain a deeper understanding of the plight of our Christian family, we can also grow in knowledge about human rights issues affecting all people. A Christian's compassion is not reserved only for fellow Christians, but is to be given to all who suffer injustice and oppression (Luke 12:29) and to those whose dark consciences press them to perpetrate evil (Matthew 5:44). Christians are encouraged to "do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10).

What have been some results of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church?

Prayer is a mystery and difficult to measure. However, we can look at some of the changes occurring in the past and draw inferences from them.

* Over 100,000 U.S. churches, representing nearly every U.S. denomination, are estimated to have taken part in the IDOP.

* Christians in over 130 countries remembered the persecuted on the IDOP.

* Christian churches are growing in awareness of the problem and coming together in unity to pray for fellow believers.

* Christian leaders in restricted nations report that they are experiencing a new boldness in their witness to others.

* There has been increased media coverage of the problem of persecution in both secular and Christian publications. (In the U.S., such publications include The Denver Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson, Christianity Today, and Message of the Open Bible.)

* IDOP/USA staff participated in over 100 radio/TV interviews, reaching more than 7,000 stations nationwide. This does not include stations reached through associated organizations which also promote the IDOP in their radio addresses.

* Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have aired on radio stations nationwide featuring Bill Bright, Chuck Colson, James Dobson, Shirley Dobson, Tony Evans, D. James Kennedy, Joseph Stowell, and Ravi Zacharias.

* Christian freedom groups experienced record increases in funding and participation and continue to see growth in church awareness and advocacy.

Visit our partner Web sites to learn more.

The following groups are actively serving the persecuted Church. We urge you to use the links below to get more information about these groups and to visit their Web sites. They are your key to active involvement with the persecuted Church.

Christian Freedom International (www.christianfreedom.org)
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (www.cswusa.com)
Christians in Crisis (www.christiansincrisis.net)
Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org/persecution)
Greater Calling (www.greatercalling.org)
International Christian Concern
(www.persecution.org/suffering/index.php)
Compassion Radio (www.compassionradio.com)
Iranian Christians International (www.iranchristians.org)
Jubilee Campaign (www.jubileecampaign.org)
Mission India (www.missionindia.org)
Open Doors (www.opendoorsusa.org)
The Voice of the Martyrs (www.persecution.com)
World Evangelical Alliance (www.worldevangelicals.org)
The Last Harvest (www.thelastharvest.com)

The International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church
(www.persecutedchurch.org)

PERSECUTED CHURCH


If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, "A servant is not greater than his master." If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:18-20, NKJ)


If you were asked to name a country where it is dangerous to be a Christian, you would probably name an Islamic country or a dictatorship like China. You probably would not name the largest democracy in the world, India. Yet some of the most horrific persecution of Christians is taking place in its state of Orissa.

On August 23, a Hindu nationalist named Guruji was shot to death along with four of his followers. While Guruji had many enemies and was mostly likely killed by Maoist guerillas, a local newspaper blamed Christians for his death. The result was a wave of anti-Christian violence that has killed at least 25 people, burned at least 50 churches, and destroyed at least 4,000 Christian homes.

Even more shocking than these numbers is the savagery of the attacks. There are reliable reports of priests being burned alive and nuns being raped. Hindu fanatics were caught trying to poison the water supply at a camp set up for Christians fleeing the violence.

A special target of the Hindu nationalists are former Hindus, especially Dalits, who have converted to Christianity. As Indian journalist Anjalee Lewis has written, the violence against Christians is "linked to the empowerment of the Dalits and tribals."

Conversion and education has provided them with "dignity" and "freedom from oppressive traditions of caste-based discrimination and slavery." This, in turn, has prompted a violent response from "dominant castes, who could no longer rely upon them for cheap farm labor or bonded labor."

Chief among the respondents was Guruji. Like other Hindu nationalists, he absurdly claimed that Dalit conversions to
Christianity were "forced." He and his followers spoke of "[doing] everything possible to protect the Hindu faith in Orissa" and "bringing misguided followers back to the fold."

The result, according to Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, is a campaign "to eliminate Christians from Orissa."

It is a campaign that long predates the recent violence. In 1967, Orissa passed a law against religious conversion despite the Indian constitution's guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion.

If you are wondering where the Indian government is in all this, the answer is: on the sidelines - at best. Its tepid response to the December attacks, according to Archbishop Cheenath, left the culprits "emboldened." As one priest put it, "You can't trust police and government officials at all levels anymore."

Lewis says that the only hope for Christians in Orissa and other parts of India is "pressure from overseas." Christians elsewhere must create what she calls the equivalent of a "free Tibet" campaign on their behalf. At the very least, you need to write or call your congressman or senators to alert them to what is going on in India.

But most of all, pray for our persecuted brethren. Get your church involved in International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which comes up on November 9. Visit our website, BreakPoint.org, to find out how. You will also find a list of organizations that raise awareness about persecuted Christians.

Chuck Colson
(Breakpoint,
www.breakpoint.org)

SILENT PERSECUTION


We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:10-11, NIV)


Fear of physical and emotional damage is manageable when one's ears and heart hear the loving and strengthening voice of God, and the assurance that the global church will be there to embrace you.

For persecuted Christians, suffering turns into affliction when they internalize the horrible feeling that they are alone. When the persecuted Christian begins to believe that most of the global church does not care and will not be there to share his pain, loneliness moves from the physical dimension to an inner anguish.

In fact, even my faith hero, Luther, found himself in the gray zone between suffering and affliction the night before his famous defense, as we see in his prayer: "O Almighty and Everlasting God! How terrible is this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth to swallow me up, and I have so little trust in thee!"

This raises significant questions: Where is God when millions of his children are being persecuted in the most brutal ways? Why does he keep silent in the middle of persecution but speak loudly in the middle of conferences with famous speakers and worship bands? I have prayed many times like Luther: "Bless us, Lord, even curse us! But don't remain silent!"

* * *

Our highest good is not a problem-free life; it is to be like the Son.

The only way a deaf and blind world can hear and see the gospel message is by seeing it in our lives. The only way the life of Christ can reach the nations is by our following his incarnation, submitting to God's will, and presenting ourselves in all of our vulnerability.

We do not accept this suffering in passive resentment, because the calling of the church and the core of Christian spirituality is to bring life to the world and glory to God. It is through our presence that others in spiritual need may receive the life Christ brings.

Through our stubborn commitment to love those who persecute us and to dwell in nations that torment us, our witness for the gospel gains power. That is why the Prophets of the Bible lived symbolic lives with symbolic actions, such as sitting in dust and ashes. The lives of the Prophets were the very voice of God speaking to people, just as the life and sacrifices of Paul were the channels through which God spoke to the nations.

In Europe, there is a saying: "It is often dark at the foot of the lighthouse." There is often silence in the life that becomes the voice of God. The lighthouse imagery is helpful to conceptualize the paradox of death that brings life in the work and life of Paul.

Yet the silence of God is not the same as the absence of God. Within those silent moments, he is present in our pain, suffering, and isolation. He is hurting with us as we are hurting like his Son. In his silence, he is speaking loudly to the world around us.

The greatest glory Jesus brought to God was not when he walked on the water or prayed for long hours, but when he cried in agony in the garden of Gethsemane and still continued to follow God's will, even though it meant isolation, darkness, and the silence of God. Thus, we know that when everything around us fails, when we are destroyed and
abandoned, our tears, blood, and dead corpses are the greatest worship songs we have ever sung.

The dead body is not the end of the story. The one who sacrificed his life is also the one who has been glorified: "because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence" (2 Corinthians 4:14).

When we identify ourselves with the humiliation, suffering, and death of Jesus, we are also granted the privilege of being identified with the resurrection, glory, and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore . . . we do not lose heart," even though we are weakened by suffering (2 Corinthians 4:1).

The promise of sharing his resurrection and glory gives us a great hope: that our sacrifices are not in vain and do not go unnoticed, even though no other human being - nor the global church - may know or care about what we are going through, even though we may not see any apparent rhyme or reason in our suffering now.

This means that our calling to bring life to the world and glory to God has other blessings besides the joy we have now: the joy of bringing hope and light to a pain-filled world and the joy of pleasing the God we love, through our willing surrender to his desire. Here I am speaking of a far greater joy that awaits us: the joy of being welcomed, restored, and glorified by the Father, just as he welcomed, restored, and glorified his risen Son.

Faith is the most precious and important commodity, without which it is impossible to please God or follow him. And faith is only proven real in the pit of darkness.

In the classic book by C. S. Lewis, the more experienced demon, Screwtape, warns the younger demon, who is assigned to lead a human being astray: "Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

* * *

We do know where God is in the midst of persecution. He is there, right with us, in us. He is present through our lives, words, pain, and deaths. He has not forgotten us or turned away his face from us. He holds back his power so that we can accomplish his work, so that our sacrifices can be sources of life and healing to the world. He is not distant from our pain; he is in prison with us, he is naked, he is beaten, he is raped, and he is killed! We know that he is not quiet, but is speaking powerfully through the lives, suffering, and death of his children.

As Christ prayed in agony in the garden during that dark night, he knew that he had to carry on his calling even though it would cost him his life. He knew that it was the only way to bring life. He knew that his brutal death would glorify God.

History changed during that night, even before the cross. It changed when the Son of God chose to not give up, to hold firm to God's calling and promises, even though it meant bearing the silence of God.

Ziya Meral
("Bearing the Silence of God"
Christianity Today, March 19, 2008;
forwarded by Emilie Kao)

FREEDOM FROM PERSECUTION


It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1, NIV)


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 and belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

United Nations, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
Article 18

PERSECUTION: WORLD WATCH LIST


Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3-4, NIV)


[Open Doors (www.opendoorsuk.org/news/press-releases-200803-wwl.asp) Press Release, 10 April 2008]

For the sixth year running, North Korea has again been revealed as the most dangerous place on earth in which to be a Christian, easily keeping its top spot due to the malicious and relentless way it represses those who try to express or even just practice a living faith in Christ.

This is the key finding of the 2008 World Watch List of the worst 50 nations for persecuting Christians, which is published today by Open Doors, the international charity serving persecuted Christians worldwide.

Open Doors' major new report, which is now in its sixth year, places the Wahhabi kingdom of Saudi Arabia in second place, followed closely by another country ruled by Sharia law: Iran. The Maldives, another Islamic country, is in fourth position. New in at five is Bhutan, moving a few places up from seven last year, at the expense of Somalia and Yemen, which became marginally better places in which to be a Christian over the past 12 months.

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Alan Smith, said, "Part of our Christian responsibility to is learn about other parts of the world and to work for truth and justice. We also need to support our fellow Christians in other countries, many of whom are suffering or whose lives are under threat."

Eddie Lyle, chief executive of Open Doors UK and Ireland, said: "At best, Christians living in countries featuring on the World Watch List 2008 can expect discrimination in the workplace, in education, physical and emotional abuse or a ban on holding church services. At worst, and this is a regular occurrence for Christians living in any of the worst ten nations, they may be thrown into jail and -- all too often -- are murdered."

Number six is Yemen, whose position did not change in spite of a slight decrease in points. Afghanistan rose, from 10 to seven. Apart from the influence of other countries moving down, the country went up as a result of several incidents against Christians in 2007. There was no big change to the status of religious freedom in Laos. However, the country moves up one place, from nine to eight. Two new countries have entered the top 10: Uzbekistan and Olympic host nation China.

Islam is the majority religion in six of the top 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Three countries have communist governments: North Korea, Laos and China. Bhutan, which has just ceased being an absolute monarchy and whose abysmal human rights record may as a result start to improve at last, is the only Buddhist country in the top ten.

Many of the nations which feature on the World Watch List are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religious expression. Article 18 says:

"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".

Steve Gaukroger, Chair of Open Doors Council of Reference, commented: "These days we routinely make decisions about important ethical issues such as the impact food-miles have on global warming. Given the appalling ways that our Christian brothers and sisters are being treated in many places around the world, we need to apply similar criteria to our holiday destinations, too".

In many countries, such as North Korea, Libya, Jordan and Belarus, persecution has grown significantly worse over the past 12 months. The position in Afghanistan was also exacerbated, due to incidents such as the abduction of 23 South Korean Christians last July, two of whom were murdered by the Taliban. In Pakistan, which has a sizeable Christian minority, believers are more closely monitored than before as radical Muslim influence grows within the state security forces and the police -- a situation which is likely to worsen following the recent election. In the Palestinian Territories, Rami Ayyad, the manager of the Palestinian Bible Society bookshop, was murdered by extremists in October last year leaving a widow and three young children. He had been tortured and his body bore a gunshot wound to the head as well as numerous stab wounds.

In Turkey, ranked at 34 on the list, three Christians, Tilmann Geske, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, were bound, tortured and their throats slit, before being martyred in April last year. Their attackers justified their actions because they said the three Christians who were killed as they worked in a publisher's office, were "attacking" Islam.

In several countries, however, in places such as Somalia and Ethiopia, reports of recorded persecution fell, and Nepal dropped off the list altogether.

[The full list is included at www.opendoorsuk.org/news/press-releases-200803-wwl.asp]

Media Enquiries:
Iain Taylor
Taylor Communications
01732 740573 or 01732 461060
www.opendoorsuk.org

_____________________________________________

Notes to Editors:

Founded in 1955, Open Doors is an international charity serving persecuted Christians in around 45 countries around the world. Its work involves:

* Raising awareness of persecuted Christians and mobilising prayer and support in the UK
* Strengthening the faith of Christians behind closed borders through printing and delivering Bibles, Christian literature and teaching/training materials
* Befriending and caring for persecuted Christians by visiting them, writing letters and praying for them
* Enabling believers at risk to earn a living by providing livelihood and literacy training and self-help opportunities
* Equipping evangelists and pastors through theological and leadership training courses and training seminars and supporting Bible colleges