Christians in Africa and India Remind Us Not to Get Sissified Here in America by Michael L. Brown for Ask Dr Brown
There is no question that our most essential freedoms are under attack here in America. And there is no question that elements on the left want to silence the Church. There is also no question that many believers in America have already suffered some levels of persecution. Some have been defamed, or lost jobs, or been put out of educational programs, or even gone to jail. But let’s not have that pity party quite yet. Believers around the world are going through persecution for the gospel on a whole another level. May their courage inspire us.
Last Thursday I received an urgent email from an American friend serving as a missionary and educator in Nigeria. She wrote: “A Christian worker, a friend of my host, has just been attacked by Fulani Herdsman and has suffered grave injuries from a cutlass. He has lost a lot of blood. Please pray. Thank you.”
Some hours later we received the “good” news: “Thank you for your prayers. His wife reports that our brother is alive and currently stable. He has deep gashes to his head and is missing fingers. May God steady his heart, protect his faith and heal his body.”
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This was a positive outcome: only deep gashes to the head and missing fingers.
As for denying this couple denying faith as a result of this barbaric attack, not a chance.
A few days earlier, this same friend had texted me about another Christian who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists demanding a ransom. More than a dozen had been kidnapped not long in the previous weeks, but at least they were not killed on the spot. Thankfully, this Christian was ransomed and his life spared, but this is the norm in the region in which these Christians live. Every day could be your last.
But this is just a tiny snapshot of the horrors with which these Nigerian believers live. As reported in August,
“Nigeria is becoming the ‘biggest killing ground of Christians in the world’ due to attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani militants, says a leading charity.
“International Christian Concern (ICC) estimates between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians have been killed in the last decade in the West African nation, the most populous on the continent.”
Many would also argue that the government is either complicit or, at the least, looking the other way.
In September, reports of atrocities came from Ethiopia, as an “Ethiopian Christian leader called for an international inquiry into the slaying of hundreds of Christians, including pregnant women, children and whole families, in ongoing Oromo Muslim extremist attacks in the parts of the Oromia regional state, extending south, south-east and east of Addis Ababa, since the end of June. According to reports, more than 500 were killed.”
How many of us even knew this was taking place?
Last week, a dear Indian friend sent me graphic photos and video footage of Christians in Orissa, India, being beaten for their faith.
Seven years ago, Prime Minister Modi vowed to free India of Christianity and Islam by 2021, promising to restore “Hindu glory.” That continues to be one of his goals, regardless of what might be said publicly.
Back in 1999, in the midst of a wave of brutal persecution in Orissa, missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death by Hindu radicals while sleeping in their car at night. (Staines had been working with lepers and impoverished tribal groups since 1965.)
