Christianity Today

I have travelled to Turkey twice from East Africa in the last five years, including last June, and I do fully appreciate the challenge of believers in that country in comparison to my part of the world. Testimonies like these ones give hope that the church will one day flourish again in the cradle of Christianity.

This article was a wonderful reminder to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19) and of how there is NO GREATER LOVE than to freely give up your life for another (Jn 15:13). The analogy of Christian martyrs to Christ, Who gave His life to save ours, reminded me that I need to share the news of this love that allows a sinner like me to share in eternal life with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and His Holy Spirit, glorious and mysterious 'Trinity'! Praise the LORD!

I'm a Turkish Christian living in Turkey. Its not easy for any article to give the whole picture, this is a fair start but interviewing a wider range of people wld have been more effective. Also the murderers were nationalist extremists NOT Islamic radicals. GKC, welcome to the church, worldwide! Sure we have problems & need to mature, the issue is overcoming not avoidance (the latter will never be until Christ returns!). The church in Turkey is quite unique in that leaders from all church types across the nation come together 3-4 times a year to share and be united! We know its relationships that will get us through, not doctrines! GKC, you talk of grace but pour out judgement as if the brutal murder of these 3 gentle guys was discipline for us!! Most Turkish Christians have been believers for under 10 years, does your God rush to punish babes in Christ!? Can you pls have the grace to give us time to be renewed? Boy am I glad I look to God to discipline me and not to the 'religious'!

A pretty good article about recent Protestantism in Turkey, as far as it goes. By missing/ignoring the recent history of the persecution of the Orthodox Church in Turkey (and the Ecumenical Patriarchate) you miss the real scope of the glory of the history of Christianity in this land - including the tens of thousands of Orthodox Christian martyrs whose blood has already been spilled in the proclamation of the Gospel. The Church established by Christ there continues in the persecuted Orthodox Church. As other western groups establish other communities which are bible based there, in time, they will also know the wrath of Islamic rule.

I don't want to say that, but I must do: this column is a political comment, for example: "since February 2006, radicalized Muslims have killed five Christians." they're Christian and so they killed... is it correct? no!.. unfortunately, wrong logic... for example: suffocations & ice-cream sales go up in summer, but there isn't relation between suffocation & ice-cream sales. "For the first time in 550 years" is an introduction of a conquest sentence. the logic of revenge won't serve Christ [or your purpose]. Abide in Christ... It's just enough...