Persecution of the Church

I wanted to bring some examples of persecution of the Faith through direct and indirect means. I am not sure how much you see, but these came across my screen in the past day or so. The Devil is alive and well, and assaulting the Church anywhere he can.

Read about the Taliban giving Christians until this Thursday to convert to islam or face bombings. Obviously the Christians are concerned, but apparently not the government officials. Hopyfully they stand firm in their faith, even to martyrdom. I am sure many churches in the US would also provide sanctuary for those leaving town/country. I wonder if there is anything we can do through our missionary channels.

Hong Kong is pondering giving the Bible an "indecent" rating. I guess it has too much sex and violence for the Chinese to distribute directly. This is probably a means to censor and track those who buy it. I doubt that people are genuinly offended by the sex and violence, but the parts about "Thou shalt..." and their sinful flesh.

One last one, and this one is self-inflicted. Can you imagine your pastor dressing up as a... clown?! Niether can I, but I came across this and I couldn't believe it. This is self-inflicted by inciting derision of the church through crappy theatrics. The pastor has this to say in response. He ends by saying "So, those of you pursuing us, God bless you! See you in heaven! Lord, thank you for being the judge for us, so we don't have to judge others." He has no idea what he is doing. This is a prime example of being so doctrinally lax, your faith falls out. The phrase "Doing what was right in their own eyes" comes to mind. I pity the congregation and their pastor. If their souls aren't in danger now, they most certainly will be in the near future.

Pray for all believers. We are in a war to end all wars in the spiritual sense. Gird yourself with prayer and faith for the battle is long, but the war won.