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 FACT: In an effort to eliminate Christians from society around the world,
thousands of Christians are being hunted down, physically tortured and murdered merely
because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ.
There have been more
Christians killed in the 20th century than in the previous nineteen centuries
combined.--U.S. House Resolution. Scripps-Howard News Service,
September 28, 1996
"Millions of American Christians pray
in their churches each week, oblivious to the fact that Christians in many parts of the
world suffer brutal torture, arrest, imprisonment and even death—their homes and
communities laid waste—for no other reason than that they are Christians. The
shocking, untold story of our time is that more Christians have died this century simply
for being Christians than in the first nineteen centuries after the birth of Christ. They
have been persecuted and martyred before an unknowing, indifferent world and a largely
silent Christian community." ---Nina Shea, Freedom House (human rights organization),
International human rights lawyer
"When I see something
like this, my heart aches because the believers here don’t even know about it,
don’t care. We’re not expressing moral outrage; we’re not indignant of the
indifference of the United States government towards this. And we ought to be marching in
the streets because our brethren are
being persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, sold into slavery, and butchered, and
we don’t seem to care in this country."
---Chuck Colson, September 16, 1996, Focus on the Family radio program
"Christians have become the targets
of opportunity to the thug regimes around the world, and they are many. What's going on
now is monumental, and it's affecting millions, tens of millions, of people. We're talking
not about discrimination, but persecution of the worst sort: slavery, starvation, murder,
looting, burning, torture."
--Michael Horowitz, Focus on the Family radio program
"... Christians are being sold into
slavery. Some are being thrown into prison. Some are tortured. Many are killed. We must do
everything we can in our dealings with other countries to end these practices."
---Senator Don Nickles, Oklahoma Ethnic NewsWatch, October 1, 1996
".. for millions of Christians in
other lands, fear is ever- present. Never before—never before—have so many
believers in Jesus been persecuted for their faith ... . Wherever militant Islam has taken
hold and wherever Communist dictators still rule, Christians are in desperate danger. The
testimony with which Shea [writing in In The Lion's Den] and [Paul] Marshall [in Their
Blood Cries Out] have filled their books is heart-stopping.
'[The Nuba mountains in Sudan] ... which have had a
Christian population since the 6th century, are littered with mass graves... . Nuba women
are systematically raped by Arab soldiers in order to produce non-Nuba offspring. There
have been reports, including from Catholic bishops, of crucifixions of Christians by the
army.' Muslim troops from northern Sudan have sold tens of thousands of Christian children
and women from the south into slavery. Many have been branded or mutilated to prevent
escape; many more have been tortured, brainwashed or starved until they converted to
Islam.'
China, Shaanxi Province: 'The officers stripped
three brethren naked from the waist and forced the women to stand with them... . The three
men were beaten until they were totally covered with blood and had gaping wounds and
injuries all over their bodies. As if such violent beating wasn't enough, the officers
then hung them up and began to hit them with rods on their backs. They did this until the
three men were unconscious and barely breathing.' The victims were Protestants. Their
crime was communicating with foreigners.
Pakistan: 'The Muslim population of Khan Jajja was
incited in May 1994 by the local Muslim cleric to drive the 60 Christian families of the
region from the "land of the pure" and to demolish their church. The Christian
men were beaten and the women were stripped naked ..., while three girls were kidnapped
and raped. These Christians' homes were razed and their possessions looted or destroyed.'
Pakistan's 1986 blasphemy law makes it a capital crime to insult the Prophet Mohammed 'by
any imputation, innuendo or insinuation.' The law has been used repeatedly to justify a
reign of terror against Pakistani Christians.
This has been a century of unmatched Christian
martyrdom. It began with the mass murder of Christians in Armenia; it is ending with the
mass murder of Christians in Sudan. Then as now, the world looked away, even as it looked
away during the most unspeakable mass murder of all, the Holocaust. --Jeff Jacoby, Boston
Globe, December 4, 1996
We join with others around the world in
condemning this violence, and we lift our voices, hearts, and hands to support those who
are being murdered, imprisoned, and tortured simply because of their faith in Jesus
Christ.
We invite you to download the graphic you
see at the top of this page, place it on your website, and link it to this page. By doing
so you'll help publicize the tremendous websites listed below and help "end the
silence." To download, click on either graphic you desire and save it to your hard
drive. Please do NOT link directly to the graphic on our server.
Then, visit the websites below. We strongly
encourage you to purchase the resources, books and videos made available by these
organizations and utilize them at your church or Bible Study. Contribute as you feel led
to these ministries.
A CRY IN THE LION'S DEN TODAY
Well-done website quotes author Nina Shea in
detailing ongoing persecution in Islamic Countries (Sudan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Nigerian and Uzbekistan) as well as communist countries (China, North Korea, Vietnam).
CCN MAGAZINE
The CCN (Christian Community Network) Magazine
provides links to news items and articles regarding the persecution of Christians around
the world.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER World
Evangelical Fellowship
You can order the new, special video: "Love
without Borders" with recommendations by Brother Andrew, Luis Palau and filmed
material and news from North Korea, Sri Lanka, China, Sudan and other countries. This
video is made for use in church or small groups to give basic information about the
persecuted church today. Also read
current News involving the persecution.
SHATTER THE SILENCE!!! at www.persecutedchurch.org
International Day of Prayer for the
Persecuted Church
P.O. Box WEF
Wheaton, IL 60187
Christians around the world are suffering. The
growing persecution of Christians is largely unknown or unheeded, the voice of the
suffering followers of Christ rarely heard. The goal of the 1997 International Day of
Prayer for the Persecuted Church is to shatter the silence and end apathy -- in the church
and in the world. Their aims are to raise awareness of the abuse of human rights and
persecution, provide compelling educational materials, and issue a call for prayer and
compassionate action to the church universal. Includes News from Compass Direct. Also,
order the IDOP RESOURCE KIT. The kit is designed to help you understand why Christians are
being harassed, discriminated against, and persecuted internationally. It will allow you
to pray specifically and provides ideas that you can use throughout the year to remember
those suffering on the front line of faith. Includes video, map and magazine.
The
Voice of the Martyrs
www.persecution.com
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005
 The Voice of the Martyrs has been actively
serving the persecuted church for almost 30 years. Their mission is clear. With the
continued persecution of Christ's body around the world, they strive to bring practical
and spiritual assistance while making their voice heard.
News, Order "Faith Under
Fire" video, receive newsletters, order books.
 Column
from Dr. James Dobson, provided by Focus on the Family
WORLD Magazine, Article. SILENT
NO MORE; THE MODERN MARTYRS: The international crisis of religious persecution
takes no break as Washington deliberates its response
Prepared Testimony of Nina
Shea, Director, Puebla Program On
Religious Freedom- Freedom House before the House Committee on International
Relations
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
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"In the Lion's Den; A Shocking Account of Persecution and Martyrdom of
Christians Today"
"Their
Blood Cries Out: The Untold Story of Persecution Against Christians in the Modern
World"