You can find part 2 of this post here.
When you hear the words “Top Ten,” sports teams, songs and movies probably come to mind. Various entertainers, lists, and good times flood our memories; but today’s “Top Ten” should horrify you, bring you to tears, and drive you to prayer. Today we shall learn about the top ten nations that not only allow, but promote, man’s inhumanity to man. Let’s fly around the globe together, making short stops to get a glimpse of the real atrocities which are being carried out against real people – people whose only crime is believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We who live in America have no concept of what it is to suffer as our brothers and sisters in the Lord around the world do. We may endure scorn and loss of job from time to time, we may be rejected by family or friends; but the reality is that hundreds of thousands of believers around the world pay with their fortunes and freedoms, their families, their comfort due to torture and wrongful imprisonment; they pay in some instances with their limbs and even with their life, all for the sake of Christ. Let us take seriously the exhortation found in Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
The year 2014 contained the highest and most extreme persecution of Christians in the modern era. Many of the countries listed in the top 50 nations have dropped in rank but this is not because the persecution in that country has gotten better; rather, it has gotten so much worse in other countries. The ministry "Open Doors" reported that this year has been the hardest year to rank these nations because so many are so bad.
It is very possible that 2015 will see an even higher rise in Christian persecution as evil increases around the world. Persecution is becoming more rampant in Africa and already we’ve seen large numbers of slaughtered believers in Nigeria alone.
I have heard several times how these persecuted Christians ask for prayer. Their request is not that the persecution stops; they only ask that we pray for them to remain faithful amidst the persecution, to the end. They also request that you pray for their persecutors, that they might come to know Christ. As you pray, remember that each of these who are persecuted or in jail have families that are affected by these inhumanities as well. Please keep all these things in mind as we take our little trip around the persecuted world.
Today we’ll visit the last five of the “Top Ten;” join us Monday to learn about the top five ranked places in this world where Christians suffer persecution.
Get ready for takeoff as we fly into the 10th ranked country where extreme persecution of Christians takes place; moving up the list by four spots from last year, we land in Nigeria. Boko Haram is an extreme Islamic terrorist group which has been increasing its bloody and heinous attacks on Christians and moderate Muslims alike. Although much of their inhumanity is carried out in Nigeria, it’s not limited to this African country. Boko Haram has kidnapped hundreds of girls, boys, and women, and their destructive attacks have left thousands homeless.
Boko Haram and Nigeria were already in the news this year as they left a bloody trail of 2,000 souls in the wake of their extreme Islamic terrorism. Even more recently, Boko Haram used a young girl, about ten years old, to carry a bomb into the marketplace where it was set off killing as many as twenty people and wounding many more. It’s possible that this child didn’t even know she was carrying a bomb or that it would tear her in half. This is the kind of twisted and destructive world view which holds no regard for human dignity or for human life that runs amok through the extremist Islamic mind which is plaguing Nigeria.
Next we fly westward across the African continent to Eritrea, the 9th on our list of persecuted nations. The Eritrean government has intensified its crackdown on Christians, leading to more than 138 arrests of believers and church leaders without due process of law. In these prisons believers face deplorable conditions, including torture. Many of our persecuted brothers and sisters are held in metal shipping containers with no ventilation or toilet facilities.
Pack your bags and let’s fly to the Middle East where we find number 8 on our list, Pakistan. Churches here are often vandalized; Christians are beaten, raped, abducted and murdered with impunity. They face discrimination in employment and education, keeping them entrenched in the lower classes.
Asia Bibi has become the “poster child” for persecution in Pakistan as she has been imprisoned since 2010 under their blasphemy laws and in 2013 she was moved to another prison much further from her family. She is the first woman to be sentenced to death under these laws in Pakistan. Her appeal was postponed several times and finally turned down by their high court.
Only a few months ago, a pregnant wife and her husband (Christians) were accused of blasphemy and burned alive. They tied and held them over a fire pit until their clothes caught on fire, then dropped them into the fire. The mother’s clothing was not catching on fire well, so they wrapped cotton around her, held her over the fire until she was aflame, then dropped her in.
Put your trays in their upright position; we are now landing in Iran, ranked the 7th worst place in the world to be a Christian. Open Doors reports, “In 2014, at least 75 Christians were arrested. More Christians were sentenced to prison and pressure on those detained increased, including physical and mental abuse.”
American citizen, Pastor Saeed received an 8 year prison sentence in Iran for his faith. He had been moved to one of the worst prisons in Iran and then was in the hospital. In May of last year prison guards unexpectedly came to his hospital room to take him back to prison. Even before reaching the prison they had beat him to unconsciousness. If this is how they will handle an American citizen, imagine how they will treat those in their own country.
Our final stop today is the Sudan. Sudan has moved up the list from last year and is now listed as the sixth highest country where Christians will face persecution. Voice of the Martyrs tells us that “In Sudan, Christians face poverty, war and genocide. Arab-Sudanese are trying to eradicate black Sudanese in the Nuba Mountains, where Christian villages face daily bombings by the Sudanese military. The government is trying to eliminate all Christian villages, churches, hospitals, and schools in an effort to Islamize the country.”
In July of last year CNN covered the demolition of a church in Sudan, speaking to the persecution of Christians by their government. Meriam Ibrahim, of Sudan, was also in the news last year as a persecuted Christian held in prison with her child while her American husband was trying to get them released.
Well, we now return to our homes of relative safety until Monday when we’ll take off again for countries ranked from number five to the number one spot of Christian persecution. At that time we will also be looking at a common theme throughout these top 50 nations and will be looking at tangible ways in which you can help these fellow believers in Christ.
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For now, if you’d like more information on the persecuted church and these countries please visit the following websites.
www.opendoorsusa.org Open Doors was founded by Brother Andrew. For almost 60 years, they have worked in the world's most oppressive countries, empowering Christians who are persecuted for their beliefs. Open Doors equips persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries through programs like Bible & Gospel Development, Women & Children Advancement and Christian Community Restoration. They offer much information about the persecuted church, give information about the various countries, provide many news articles abour persecution, and have prayer lists for each of the persecuted nations.
www.persecution.com This is the website for The Voice of the Martyrs(VOM). The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting our persecuted family worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. Here you can sign up for their free monthly newsletter, request a free book, find information and news articles about various persecuted Christians, and listen to a weekly radio broadcast about the persecuted church.
www.prisoneralert.com This website is a part of The Voice of the Martyrs but is specifically designed to inform people of Christians who are imprisoned for their faith. They give specific ways to pray and offer you an opportunity to write a letter to the prisoner and/or some government official in that nation. They make it very easy to write a letter to the prisoner in their own language by giving you a choice of various phrases to use, which is then translated into the prisoner’s native language.
photo credit: Imagens Cristãs via photopin cc
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