Persecution of Christians: A 21st Century Crisis

Christians throughout the world celebrated Easter yesterday. For many, that observance had to be done in silence and secrecy.

There are no spectacles in the Roman Coliseum featuring martyrs torn apart by lions, but the observance of the faith founded two millennia ago is facing more persecution in the 21^st Century than in the age of the Caesars. Pope Francis, who heads the globe’s largest single Christian group, has stated that conditions are more dangerous now than they were in the earliest days of the religion.

Information disclosed in the latest World Watch List details the deadly plague of anti-Christian, and anti-religion in general, that infects Earth.

In places as distant as China, Iran, North Korea and parts of Africa, Christians risk their freedom, property and even their lives when they profess adherence to the teachings of Jesus.

Linda Bordoni reviewed the data released in the “World Watch List” for Vatican News. She found that 13 Christians are killed every day worldwide because of their faith. Christianity Today notes that every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.

The former Trump Administration noted that Christians were the most persecuted religion on the planet, where 83% of the world’s population lives in nations where an individual may be subjected to harassment simply because of the faith they subscribe to.

An Easter Sunday attack in 2019 in Sri Lanka resulted in 290 lives lost and up to 500 injuries.

Throughout China, churches and outward signs of religious institutions have been forcefully closed or eliminated. In Nigeria, according to Gatestone’s Raymond Ibrahim, Christianity is on the brink of extinction. “The ascendancy of Sharia ideology in Nigeria rings the death toll for the Nigerian Church… These nonstop Islamic attacks are causing the Christian population of the West African nation to plummet — to the point of extinction by 2043.”

With Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas leading the way, the Colts won super cialis cheap consecutive NFL titles in 1958-59 and a Super Bowl in 1970. Experience is check it out generico viagra on line not necessary nor is swimming compulsory needed. You can procure these two herbal pills from reputed online stores to boost semen load, sperm count and sperm motility.(Increases quality and lowest price sildenafil quantity of semen). There is nothing to be ashamed of as many as 1-in-3 suffering at least occasional episodes of premature buying cialis cheap mouthsofthesouth.com ejaculation.

Just being a Christian is illegal in North Korea. Christians in Iran are frequently imprisoned, tortured, or otherwise threatened.

In many nations, adopting Christianity is seen as an act of undermining the government. Conversion to the faith places believers in particular jeopardy.

Followers of Christ are not alone in their plight. Repressive governments see the practice of any religion as a threat to their total rule. A Pew Forum study released in November reported that religious persecution exists in the majority of the world’s nations, indeed, in 90% of them. China, perhaps the largest offender, runs concentration camps for the exclusive purpose of eliminating the Uighur culture and religion. It appears that the planetary cry of “Never Again!” is an empty promise.

That Pew study found that “The Middle East-North Africa region had the largest share of countries where Christians were harassed in 2018. Of the 20 countries in the region, 19 had some form of harassment targeting Christians (either by governments or social groups). Social harassment occurred in 15 countries, the highest share (75%) since the beginning of the study, while government harassment of Christians [has been] reported in 19 countries in the region…”

COVID-19 made the problem even worse, according to a UCA News review. “In many countries, Christians are denied food and pandemic-related health care assistance and support systems…Some of them even lacked the money to buy face masks and hand sanitizers.” China has reportedly doubled-down on its persecution in the wake of the epidemic.

The dire conditions faced by Christians hasn’t made headline news, despite the extraordinary numbers.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Putin’s Saber Rattling

Earlier this week, President Biden reversed his 2022 decision, authorizing the provision of antipersonnel land mines to the Ukrainian government. It follows an earlier Administration authorization to allow the use of an advanced American missile system capable of striking as deep as 100 miles inside Russian territory. The US election season may be ending, but both Russia and the West show no indication of stepping down the conflict. Russian propaganda continues to swell as the Kremlin increases its threats to use nuclear weapons against the West. Last week Andrey Sushentsov, program director of the pro-Kremlin think tank Valdai Discussion Club (VDC), published an article on growing nuclear tensions in the region. Official Russian language in the last few years has been threatening. Since the US election, rhetoric like that in the Sushentsov article, has approached the level of nuclear blackmail. The VDC article’s main theme centers on Russia’s intent to directly confront the West militarily if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) becomes involved in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. “On the one hand, these threats are intended to frighten the West, but on the other, Russian propagandists themselves are starting to believe in the inevitability of escalation,” according to Ksenia Kirillova of the Jamestown Foundation. On November 11, Sushentsov wrote that “The conflict will reach a completely new level, with unpredictable consequences for Europe and the entire world.” Kirillova points out that Putin’s distorted image of the world is divorced from reality and is causing the Kremlin to issue demands that are impossible to fulfill. Financial and other Russian resources needed to support Putin’s war are growing scarcer at the same time. This week the Kremlin announced a reduction of payments to its soldiers. Recently North Korea acknowledged it was sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine as Putin is running out of bodies to use as cannon fire. The war is not going well for Russia. One question floating around the Washington intelligence community is whether Putin will act out of desperation before President-elect Trump assumes office. In recent months the Russian propaganda machine is spewing out materials from fairly reputable analytical platforms inside the country. Kirillova says that “Kremlin ‘experts’ do not conceal that such threats are only intended to break the West psychologically, as they themselves are not prepared for full-scale nuclear war.” Despite Russia’s lack of preparation for an all-out war with the West, the expanding nuclear rhetoric carries with it an increase in the threat of a full-scale war in multiple theaters of operation. In June 2023 a founder of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Sergey Karaganov, called for “delivering a pre-emptive strike of retaliation” on Poland to force the West to surrender. In the previous month, Dmitry Suslov, a direct of research programs at the policy center proposed organizing “a demonstration nuclear explosion” aimed at intimidating the West. In September, President Putin announced a reappraisal of Russian nuclear doctrine after speaking earlier in the year at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and jokingly calling Suslov a “scary person.” Pavel Baev, writing in the European Daily Monitor, says “Putin intends his announcement to mark an escalation of nuclear brinkmanship and influence the proceedings of future Ukrainian peace efforts.” Putin is expanding the list of environmental conditions that are acceptable for using a nuclear weapon and incorporating it into Russian military doctrine. Baev adds that “The ups and downs of Russian brinkmanship are disconnected from the kinetic battles of the war, correlating instead with Ukrainian peace offensives, such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first peace summit in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.” Despite the increase in vitriolic language, in a You Tube video published a week before the US presidential election, Karaganov openly assured the West the primary goal of the escalation is to break the American spirit and that of the West, not outright nuclear war. By Election Day in the US, with political prognosticators predicting a win for former president Trump, Karaganov changed his tune and called for an increased role in nuclear deterrence. Kirillova points out that Western concessions to Russia are unlikely to reduce the risk of nuclear escalation. The distorted reality inside the Kremlin continues to push that President-elect Trump is an adherent of “world government,” that Ukraine will create a nuclear weapon, and Russia must prepare for a nuclear conflagration to achieve its ambitions for a new world order. President-elect Trump has indicated he will not agree to concessions that destabilize Europe, the Middle East or other regions. Going forward a strong US foreign policy may be the most stabilizing course the West can count on to restrain Putin and his intent to rebuild the Russian empire. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay

Our Latest Television Program

New Era in World Affairs

There will be a dramatic change in Washington in the aftermath of the election. What will this mean for America’s national security and foreign affairs? Our guests, former CIA officer and Vice President at the Center for Security Policy Clair Lopez, along with ret. Col. John Mills, (author of The Nation Will Follow) provide extraordinary insights. If you missed the program on your local station, catch it here: https://rumble.com/v5oonnb-the-american-political-zone-november-12-2024.html