This Christmas, as you gather with family and friends for food and presents, say a prayer for the Christians who are suffering persecution during this holy season.
Westerners by and large pay little attention to the horrific persecution of Christians across dozens of countries worldwide. The leftists don’t give a hoot, and even too many conservative Christians are far more worried about jihad-loving Gazans than about Nigerian and Chinese Christians daily facing prison, displacement, or even death.
From Syria to Afghanistan, from Sudan to India, from Nicaragua to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Gaza to China, from Nigeria to Myanmar, from Vietnam to Iran, from Iraq to Pakistan, from Turkey to Saudi Arabia, and in many other countries across multiple continents, Christians are targeted for their faith. The sobering truth is that global Christian persecution is growing worse, not better. That is especially true in areas where Islamic jihadis have recently taken power, including Afghanistan and Syria.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) UK published a report in October exposing global Christian persecution between 2022 and 2024, and warning that the trend is worsening. Abduction, rape, displacement, imprisonment, and murder of Christians, along with arson of religious buildings, are constant realities in many countries. It is interesting to note that, if one analyzes the countries with the worst and most consistent persecution, the two biggest ideological culprits are Islam (which endorses jihad and murder of non-Muslims) and Communism. Nearly 5,000 Christians were killed for their faith last year.
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From ACN UK’s October release:
This edition of Persecuted and Forgotten? examines the challenges facing Christians in 18 countries where the faithful are suffering because of state authoritarianism or attacks from extremists. It covers the period between August 2022 and June 2024.
Persecuted and Forgotten? 2022-24 found that in more than 60 percent of countries surveyed, human rights violations against Christians had increased since the last report. The increase in religiously-motivated harassment against Christians is higher than it has even been, reflecting the findings of other organisations, such the Pew Research Center, which found Christians suffering harassment – which covers everything from verbal abuse to from to murder – in 160 countries.
Jesus Christ was only a baby when His Mother Mary and her husband Joseph had to flee with Jesus to Egypt to escape the murderous rage of King Herod. From the Holy Innocents massacred by Herod (Matt. 2:16ff) up to our own day, Christian martyrs have faced hatred from rulers, governments, institutions, and communities. Where are the national campaigns, the religious leaders’ constant preaching about Christian persecution? Why is the suffering of one of the most targeted religious groups in the world largely ignored?
Heed the cries of the Holy Innocents of today and remember to pray at church and at home for our Christian brethren whose Christmas will not be merry and bright.
