Christianity faces possible Extinction?
Look at world news, and there is reason for concern.
According to Open Doors, an international Christian ministry that supports and strengthens persecuted Christians, the number of Christians being persecuted for their faith around the world is at a record high.
Approximately 100 million Christians face imprisonment, torture, rape. and even death. More than 320 are killed per month.
But the whole story is not in the stats. With increased persecution has come increased opportunity. According to World magazine, there is revival in the Muslim world. David Garrison, a 25-year·veteran of world missions, believes between 2 million and 7 million former Muslims have converted to Christianity in the last 20 years. They are targets for persecution.
According to two U.S.·based religious' freedom groups, anti-Christian persecution is on the rise in America. A joint report by the Texas-based Liberty Institute and Washington·based Family Research Council says government agencies around the U.S. are trying to push Christian expression out the door.
Among the violations in the report:
~ A federal judge threatened incarceration of a high school valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation speech.
~ For years, seniors at the Downington Area Senior Center near Philadelphia recited the Pledge of Allegiance followed by prayer. In April, they were informed that their prayer offended one resident and from then on, they could engage in a "moment of silence."
~ Navy Chaplain Lt. Commander Dan Klender and retired Army Chaplain Major Steven Firtko filed a "lawsuit claiming they were forced out of a Veterans Affairs chaplaincy training program after they refused . orders to stop quoting the Bible and praying in the name of Jesus.
~ In 2014, Houston Mayor Annise Parker ordered pastors to turn over sermons dealing with homosexuality.
~The US. Supreme Court decided not to intervene in a controversy over Christian prayers before commission meetings in Forsyth, N.C. The high court's decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that predominantly Christian prayers violate the First Amendment.
Yes there is reason for concern, there also is reason to pray for those living with the threat of arrest, imprisonment. and death for following Jesus.
Persecution may not be so far away.
Pastor Paul Leavens