Persecution spotlight: Palestinian Territories

Source: Independentword.com

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." - Matthew 5:43-45 (NIV)

Today we begin what we plan will be a regular feature looking at the persecuted church here at the Disciple Beacon. Using information from groups such as Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors and International Christian Concern, among others, as well as other news sources, we hope to raise awareness of what is happening to million of people around the planet and the struggles they are facing simply because they choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Today, we go to the Palestinian Territories. According to Voice of the Martyrs, in recent years, as the Palestinian Authority has gained power in their autonomous territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip around Israel, non-Muslims, particularly Christians, have been forced to either face severe repression in terms of the loss of their job, freedom and even lives or just leave the country.

In a blog posting by the Voice of the Martyrs, Pastor Steven Khoury, who had been leading a church among the Christian Arab community in Jerusalem, received an eviction notice for his church to leave their building. Christians in other traditional towns such as Jesus' birthplace of Bethlehem or his hometown of Nazareth also have been leaving, reducing what had once been a good-sized population of Christians to nearly nothing. The eviction came, Khoury said, after he appeared on CBN's "The 700 Club."




Combine this with the troubles that Palestinians deal with in terms of the Israeli blockade along the West Bank and it spells out a decline on population. According to the Biblical Seminary, the number of Christians in Israel and the Palestinian Territories has dropped from 20 percent of the population in 1948, when the State of Israel was formed, to around 1 percent today.

What can be done? As Jesus said on numerous occasions, we can pray for those who are being persecuted and we can also pray for those causing the problem, including both the Israeli authorities for the blockade and the Palestinian authorities and extremists who amp up the pressure on Christians to either convert to Islam, leave or suffer the consequences.

Dealing with tragedy in its many forms

Source: Bartlesville (Okla.)
Examiner-Enterprise

"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.'" - Luke 17:1-2 (NIV)

During the last week, we heard the news of the passing of Tom White, the executive director of Voice of the Martyrs, a Bartlesville, Okla.-based group that serves to help and raise awareness of the persecuted church. White was 64 years old.

What's particularly troubling about the death of the man who had led VOM for the last 20 years are the circumstances surrounding it. According to news reports, Bartlesville police had begun an investigation into allegations that White, who led VOM following his own release from a Cuban prison for distributing the Bible and other Christian literature there, had molested a young girl. White was reported missing Tuesday night and found Wednesday morning in a warehouse at VOM's headquarters.  A statement released by VOM on Friday stated that "rather than face those allegations, and all of the resulting fallout for his family and this ministry and himself, Tom appears to have chosen to take his own life."

This is tragic, to say the least. The biting comments and slander from people came fast and furious on the story on the website of KOTV-TV6 in Tulsa, which reported the story, slamming him for being a pedophile. They would be correct, assuming the charges are true. We'll never really know now because of White's death.

But how to respond to such a tragedy?

Christianity Today had a great editorial on this they released on their website late Friday night. Citing other cases where Christian leaders were accused of these horrible crimes (some later admitting to them), it said the Christian church should first and foremost take measures to protect the innocent among them. It cited background checks for youth workers, something many Catholic churches have done in light of molestation scandals involving priests. It also said there was a need for parents to take the steps necessary to protect their children, helping them identify what is inappropriate behavior.

Also, and this is a more unpopular move, Christianity Today's editorial suggested Christians need to extend the gospel of Christ to child sex abusers. While that does not mean allowing convicted child sex abusers to work in youth ministry or to be fully integrated in church life, it does mean working to restore them to a place where they can experience the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Certainly, convicted child sex abusers need to be punished with jail time, and to receive the therapy and counseling they need to make a full recovery and to fully repent. But, much like the murderer, the thief, and the rest of us, God's grace needs to be made new and for their victims to be made new by God's power and divine grace, the editorial said.

"'Christ died for the murderer and the thief—did he not also die for the child molester?' asks William Struthers, a neuroscientist at Wheaton (Ill.) College in Christianity Today's editorial. 'Or am I going to create categories of people who are no longer able to be saved by the blood of Christ?'"