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Also, religious-liberty advocates charge that the majority of Christians in the developed West—and in the United States in particular—have shown either ignorance or indifference about global Christian persecution. "Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a deafening silence from the church," Shea says.

Some experts believe evangelical churches in the West ignore the issue at their own peril. "We have not understood what the Bible teaches about the body of Christ," asserts Brother Andrew, founder of Open Doors, an organization supporting persecuted Christians. "If one member suffers, the whole body suffers."

Brother Andrew's organization has shifted its focus from communist countries to Muslim-dominated countries, believing Islam poses the biggest challenge to the church today. "The message is no longer There is no God, but Who is God?" Brother Andrew told CT.

"We in the Western church don't come close to matching the level of commitment, determination, and strength of many Muslim groups," he writes in The Calling (Moorings, 1996). "Until we do, Islam will continue to be the world's fastest-growing religion—not because of its strength, but because of our weakness."

In the United States, a new movement of Christians hopes to counter the widespread ignorance and uninvolvement with the persecuted church by pressing for political and social change, by raising awareness, and by coordinating efforts of missions organizations and human-rights groups—which seemingly are often at odds with one another.

Although these efforts remain at an early stage, veteran human-rights leaders are hopeful. "I think we're beginning to see the tide turn," says Shea, who believes a refocusing on the plight of persecuted believers cannot come too soon.

Three powerful forces are responsible for most of the persecution of Christians worldwide: resurgent communism, a religiously intolerant form of Islam, and re-emerging nationalism.

According to Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, these forces see Christianity—and especially evangelical Christianity—as a dangerous threat: "People believe influences such as evangelical Christianity are agents of foreign forces, which are undercutting who they are and what they believe."

While the fall of communist regimes in Europe and the Soviet Union during the late 1980s opened the way for religious liberty, Christians continue to suffer because of their faith in countries that are still under the grip of communism, especially throughout Asia.

In Beijing, China's capital city of 5.9 million, for example, outspoken Christians are at grave risk. Gou Qinghui and her husband, Xiao Biguang, have paid a high personal price for seeking religious liberty. Xiao, a Christian intellectual, has not been seen since his arrest in April 1994. Periodically, police officers come and ask his wife, Gou, to provide clothes or money for Xiao, providing hope that he is still alive.

According to Human Rights Watch/ Asia, Xiao stood trial in a closed two-hour session on April 10, 1995. He had been charged with several crimes, including "creating a negative atmosphere among students." But he still has not been sentenced. Under the Chinese system, prisoners can be held incommunicado until their sentencing.

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April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46