Christian Persecution

"India is in a scary situation," says Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan. "While violence continues in Orissa, on India's east coast, anti-Christian extremists have unleashed another wave of attacks on Christians in Karnataka, a state on India's west coast. "At the same time, churches are under attack in Jharkand and other states, and Muslim extremists have set off bombs in Delhi. On Sunday, Hindu mobs rushed into churches and prayer centers of many different denominations in Karnataka, attacking Christians during their times of worship. The extremists then destroyed the church buildings and their properties. At least 11 churches were destroyed.

Police Do Little to Protect Christians in Orissa, India

Compass Direct News reports that Christian victims of Hindu extremist violence who have fled to the capital of the eastern state of Orissa said state police have been mere spectators as mayhem continued a 12th consecutive day. Attacks on Christians and their property and institutions began in Orissa's Kandhamal district following the killing of a extremist Hindu leader, Laxmanananda Saraswati, and four of his disciples on Aug. 23. Maoists claimed responsibility for the murders on Sept. 1, though the statement did nothing to slow Hindu extremist violence that Christian leaders say has claimed more than 100 lives. Among those who have fled to Bhubaneswar was Father Prabodha Kumar, a Catholic priest. He was among other fearful sojourners whose mobile phones constantly rang with news of more attacks from their relatives, friends and church members in interior villages of Kandhamal. Fr. Kumar looked deeply troubled after one such phone call yesterday. "My brother has been forced to 'reconvert' to Hinduism, as he was told that if he did not do so, his house would be destroyed," he said.

Christian Persecution

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Thousands of Christian-run schools and colleges across India were closed Friday to protest recent Hindu mob attacks on churches and homes in eastern India that have left at least 11 people dead. Violence has rocked Orissa state since the killing of a Hindu leader last week, which police blamed on Maoist rebels but Hindu activists pinned on Christian militants. In apparent retaliation, Hindu hard-liners set ablaze a Christian orphanage Monday, killing a Christian woman and seriously injuring a priest. The violence has spread to include mob attacks on churches, shops and homes. Orissa has a history of Hindu-Christian clashes generally fueled by Hindu suspicions about missionary work among the rural poor. Roughly 30,000 schools were closed Friday to condemn the violence, said Joseph D'souza, president of the All Indian Christian Council. Churches planned hold special services to pray for peace and solidarity, he said.

Olympic Persecution

An organization founded by a man who escaped from China after being persecuted for his Christian faith says it has uncovered a secret Chinese government document demanding that churches shut their doors for 90 days around the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese government," said the report from China Aid Association, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians. "Pastors were forced to sign a written agreement that they would not participate in religious services while the Olympic Games are taking place in China," the organization said. "The document, drafted by Chinese government officials, specifies that the house Churches in China: 'refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose.'" "The discovery of this document provides further evidence of the PRC's hypocrisy towards creating a 'harmonious society' marked by religious freedom and rule of law," said CAA. "The fact the document was issued while the world's focus is on China, is a blatant challenge to the international community and an apathetic stance toward seeking to correct human rights violations."

Christian Persecution

Compass Direct News reports that authorities in Laos have detained or arrested at least 90 Christians in three provinces in recent weeks, including an arrest Aug. 3 of a pastor and two other believers from a house church in Boukham village. Arrests were reported in the southern provinces of Saravan and Savannakhet and in Luang Prabang province in the north. In one incident on July 21, Compass sources said officials detained 80 Christians in Katin village, Saravan province, after residents seized a Christian neighbor identified only as Pew and poured rice wine down his throat, killing him by asphyxiation. When mourning family members buried the Christian and put a wooden cross on the grave, village officials accused them of "practicing the rituals of the enemy of the state" and seized a buffalo and pig from the family as a fine. On July 25, according to Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom, officials rounded up 17 of the 20 Christian families in the village -- a total of 80 men, women and children -- and detained them in a local school compound, denying them food for three days in an attempt to force the adults to sign documents renouncing their faith.

Coming Soon to America

A Canadian human rights tribunal ordered a Christian pastor to renounce his faith and never again express moral opposition to homosexuality, according to a new report. In a decision handed down just days ago in the penalty phase of the quasi-judicial proceedings run by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson was banned from expressing his biblical perspective of homosexuality and ordered to pay $5,000 for "damages for pain and suffering" as well as apologize to the activist who complained of being hurt. According to a report from Pete Vere at the Catholic Exchange, the penalty could foreshadow the possible fate of the Rev. Alphonse de Valk, who also cited the biblical perspective on homosexuality in the nation's debate over same-sex "marriage" and now faces HRC charges.

Chinese Persecution of House Churches Intensifies

ASSIST News Service and the Institute on Religion and Democracy report that the Ministry of Public Security has received funding from the Chinese Central Government to increase their campaign of eradicating house churches throughout China. While the amount of funds allocated for this campaign is unknown, the steady increase of persecution against house churches continues to rise substantially across China, says the China Aid Association (CAA). The IRD said a sudden increase of incidents involving both the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and the Public Security Bureau (PSB) is indicative of a crackdown. Whether or not the government is beginning a comprehensive effort to clear out house churches, local authorities of the government's enforcement apparatus are bearing down on Christians. In Xinjiang Province, officials have posted signs asking citizens to report any "evil cult activity," in this case meaning house churches, and two Christians in Xinjiang have been charged with the serious crime of being "separatists."

Iranian Persecution

Compass Direct News reports that police in the southern Iran city of Shiraz cracked down against known Muslim converts to Christianity, arresting members of three Christian families and confiscating their books and computers. Two couples were arrested on May 11. All four were subjected to hours of interrogation, questioning them solely "just about their faith and house church activities," an Iranian source told Compass.The detained Christians were identified as Homayon Shokohie Gholamzadeh, 48, and his wife Fariba Nazemiyan Pur, 40; and Amir Hussein Bab Anari, 25, and his wife Fatemeh Shenasa, 25. Although three have been released, Gholamzadeh remains jailed. That same day police authorities also invaded the home of Hamid Allaedin Hussein, 58, arresting him and his three adult children. Over the past two years, Iran's harsh Shiite Muslim regime has stepped up its efforts against mushrooming house church movements, routinely subjecting converts from Islam to both physical and psychological mistreatment.

Hall of Shame

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has just released our annual Hall of Shame report on our website. The Hall of Shame is our list of the world's 10 worst persecutors of Christians based on news reports from the previous year. We publish this annual report to bring attention to the plight of persecuted Christians around the globe. There are more than 200 million Christians worldwide who live in countries where there is overt social or governmental anti-Christian hostility. This hostility is expressed in various forms, from harassment, job discrimination, and imprisonment, to rape, torture, and assassination. It is troubling that a human rights issue of this magnitude is so often ignored. The countries on the list are: North Korea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan, Eritrea, Egypt, India, Laos, and Indonesia.

• JJ Commentary: Even though Christians are one of the largest religious groups persecuted for their faith, their plight is almost entirely ignored by the mainstream media.

Faith Under Fire

According to Mission Network News, the amount of persecution against Christians in India continues to increase, and there's no sign of things improving. A Gospel for Asia story states that nearly 40 Christians were kidnapped February 27 by anti-Christian radicals in Himachal Pradesh. The extremists reportedly took the Christians to a religious temple and are trying to force them to renounce Christ and return to the country's dominant faith. Gospel for Asia's Daniel Yohannan says, "They do this to try to scare people from following Christ. It's kind of like, 'If you follow Christ, this is what's going to happen to you.' But it always seems to backfire because more people get saved after the persecution."

• JJ Commentary: Persecution has always been the way the Gospel spreads best, from the scattering of the original Apostles till now. Unbelievers are more impressed by those who cling to their faith under fire than those who spout the words of faith from positions of comfort and prosperity.
  

Christianity Under Attack

A lifetime ban on public criticism of homosexuality was upheld against a Catholic activist in Canada by his province's superior court. Bill Whatcott was fined 17,500 Canadian dollars by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in a complaint by four homosexuals who charged he "injured" their "feelings" and "self respect" in pamphlets denouncing the "gay lifestyle" as immoral and dangerous, Lifesite News reported. "This fine is for telling the truth [that] homosexual sodomites can change their behavior and be set free from their sin and depravity through the forgiveness of sins and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Whatcott said.

Church shootings, in the headlines because of the attacks by Matthew Murray, 24, of Englewood, Colo., on two Christian groups last weekend, are on the rise across the United States, even though they're not yet at epidemic proportions. Murray killed two people at a Youth With A Mission missionary training center in Arvada, Colo., early last Sunday morning, then apparently posted some rantings on the Internet, and drove to the New Life Church in Colorado Springs where he killed two teen girls. He also wounded half a dozen others before he was confronted by a church member volunteering as a security guard, and was shot.

A tabulation of church shootings, or those closely related to a church setting, was done by Gary Cass, chairman of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, and include 10 such attacks over the last four years, including Murray's two attacks. "The tragic events in Colorado this past weekend underscore the fact that anti-Christian hostility is reaching a new, more violent level," Cass told WND. "Churches used to be sanctuaries that were regarded as sacred, now all church leaders must be prepared to effectively defend themselves and use deadly force if necessary to protect their congregations from violent acts."

Weeks before Matthew Murray armed himself with enough weaponry and ammunition to kill hundreds, attacking both a Christian missions training center and a Colorado Springs church, he apparently boasted in an e-mail that he had discovered and practiced the teachings of controversial British occultist Aleister Crowley, called during his lifetime "the wickedest man in the world." "I have since joined freemasonry and found, studied and practiced the teachings of Aleister Crowley/Thelema/The Golden Dawn, Qabbalah, H.P. Blavatsky/Theosophy, Manly P. Hall, Alice Bailey, and others," the writer told Pastor Joe Schimmel.

World Net Daily reported at the time on the disturbing rantings Murray apparently left on several websites before – and even between – the attacks, including those reported by National Terror Alert, which documented a series of postings by "nghtmrchld26," which said, "You Christians brought this on yourselves … All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."

• JJ Commentary: This is the kind of Christian persecution that is ramping up as the end-times wind down. Expect to see more and more of it.