2005, a Big Year for Christian

Persecution!

From Agape Press by Allie Martin

Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA says there was a noticeable increase in persecution of Christians throughout the world in 2005. That international ministry has released a review of persecution against believers worldwide across the last year.

The Open Doors review found that there was an increase in persecution of Christians in such countries as North Korea, Indonesia, and Eritrea.

Many believers in the U.S. and other free nations are largely unaware of the oppression and hostility faced by fellow believers in many parts of the world. He feels some of the countries most hostile to the Christian faith are simply not "on the radar screens" of many in the church.

{ To ignore the plight of our sisters and brothers in Christ is wrong. We need to daily lift them up in prayer to God and Jesus to sustain them. Our faith has been under attack since the 60's~~prayer was taken out of the schools; Bible study, which insured an excellent education was also taken out. During the past decade we have felt the beginnings of persecution in the United States for those of the Christian faith. There will no doubt come a time when we will need prayers from those same sisters and brothers in Christ~~as the end times draw ever closer, Christian persecution will only worsen~~worldwide but also, in the United States. Even with all this guaranteed to happen, Christianity will NOT be destroyed. Because truth cannot be destroyed! Keep the faith. Pray hard.}

"Eritrea doesn't make the news very often because it's not either an ally or an enemy of the United States; but it is a country where millions of people are subjected to a Marxist-influenced government that is drumming up fear in a war with Ethiopia. Also, in Eritrea 26 pastors and 1,700 evangelical church members are currently imprisoned, and some have been tortured by government military forces..."

In North Korea, an estimated 400,000 Christians face daily persecution, including torture in prison camps.

Even though this has happened more this past year there are some positive developments that have occurred in the past year. For example, he says the evangelical church is growing rapidly in many of the countries where persecution of the church is common -- even in some parts of Asia and the Middle East that are dominated by Hindu, Buddhist, or Islamic majorities.

{This is not surprising~~the more the enemy tries to destroy Christianity, the stronger it becomes.}

Some of this growth can be attributed in part to Christian disaster relief efforts -- particularly the church's response to the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake.

Open Doors' ministry to the persecuted church has likewise gone forward in the past year. Moeller says the ministry was able to send more than three million bibles and other Christian study materials to China for underground house churches, and has continued to send resources and support to persecuted believers in other nations all over the world.

Want to help? Then donate your Money

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Be sure to Pray!

Also visit Voice of the Martyrs for updates on Christian persecution.

Iran: A martyr's story This brother in Christ paid the ultimate price.

Americans, even if you are not a believer, you should still support those who are IF you believe in FREEDOM FOR ALL.

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