Evangelicals Warned Against Persecution Apathy

Evangelicals should increase the pressure on the U.S. government to work more aggressively in protecting religious freedom worldwide, according to experts in the struggle against religious persecution.

“We have accepted silence as the dominant option for too long,” says Paul Marshall, author of Their Blood Cries Out (Word Publishing, 1997).

In March at the first International Conference on Religious Persecution, in Columbia, South Carolina, scholars, church leaders, and public-policy experts gathered to stragetize ways to keep the plight of the suffering church on the minds of American Christians.

Some experts believe that the situation in Nigeria shows what can happen when Christians stand quietly on the sidelines. In Nigeria, neither the Muslims nor the Christians represent a clear majority of the nation’s 107 million people. But Muslims hold control of the government and the military, giving them the power to implement Islamic law, which discriminates against all non-Muslims.

“For some time, Christians refused to be involved in the affairs of the nation,” says Nigerian Jeremiah Gada, a doctoral student at Columbia International University. “Now, they are trying to reassert themselves.”

Despite growing awareness among evangelicals to the plight of the persecuted in the past year (CT, Aug. 11, 1997, p. 61), Marshall believes most Christians remain indifferent. Indeed, only 100 ministry leaders attended the conference. Marshall says Christian groups should be issuing statements, educating their members, raising the matter of persecution with political leaders, and attempting to contact Christians in other nations.

“It is vital that the evangelical community in the U.S. apply political pressure,” says Marshall, of the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. Unless political pressure is put on federal officials, “the attention on the issue of religious persecution will cease,” Marshall says.

Marshall also advocates requiring annual reports on persecution by the State Department, as proposed by the Wolf-Specter Bill now before Congress. “Unless clear, forthright reporting and mechanisms for addressing these issues are put into place, then the religious persecution campaign of 1997-98 will be useless.”

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) says congressional representatives have clout internationally: “People from other parts of the world are very conscious about what members of Congress think about them.”

Yet persecution of Christians is still widespread. According to Marshall, 200 million Christians are suffering severe persecution, and there are “situations of violence” in more than 30 countries.

Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute sees a parallel to Jewish persecution during the Holocaust. “I know as a Jew what the consequences will be if you [Christians] do not stand in fellowship with your brothers and sisters.”

Copyright © 1998 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

McCartney on the Rebound: He started a ministry to heal men's relationships while his own marriage was in crisis; he drew a million men to Washington only to announce a few months later that he was laying off all his staff. Now he's hiring them back. Who is this man piloting Promise Keepers' wild ride?

Cover Story

McCartney on the REBOUND

New Oratorio Features Black Gospel

I Didn't Mean to be Rude

Inside the Vatican

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from May 18, 1998

And the Word Was ... Debatable

Falwell Denounces Operation Rescue

Bankruptcy Exemption Progresses

Leaders Retain 'Chastity' Vow

Two Cook Magazines Join CTi

Comic Relief: Lulu Brimley's Last-Chance Christian Books

Senators Champion Rival Bill on Religious Persecution

Pope's Visit Blindsides Evangelicals

'Antimissionary' Bill Effort Backfires

Five Killed in Mission Plane Crash

Do Churches Send Wrong People?

Evangelicals Protest Media Shutdowns

Gambling with the Enemy

News

News Briefs: May 18, 1998

Wire Story

Back to the Future?

Augustine Who?

The Bottom Line

Bright Lights, Big Pity

The Power of Art

Nonprofits: The Myth of the Needy Child?

Hispanic Christian Radio Grows by Blocks and Blends

News

News Briefs: May 18, 1998

News Update: Up from the Ashes?

The Coach's Burden

None Dare Call It Sin, plus America's Gambling Habit

Colombia's Bleeding Church

The Day We Were Left Behind

Under the Streets of Bucharest

View issue

Our Latest

News

Died: Charlie Kirk, Activist Who Championed ‘MAGA Doctrine’

With a debate style honed for college campuses and social media, the Turning Point USA founder sought to renew America.

The Cameras Missed Me on 9/11

I can’t find any footage of my escape from Manhattan that horrible day. I looked and looked—and finally asked what I wanted to prove.

News

‘We Won’t Stop Worshiping’

As governments across Africa clamp down on churches, Rwandan pastors call out political overreach.

Christian Parents’ Mistakes Aren’t the End of the Story

Q&A with author Kara K. Root about anxiety, trust, and raising kids well.

Debate Medicine. Not Mortality.

MAHA makes some good points. But I also want to consider more than what is best for my body.

News

Charlie Kirk Fatally Shot at TPUSA Event

The 31-year-old conservative activist and commentator was targeted while speaking to students in Utah.

News

White House Asks US for One Hour of Prayer per Week

Legal scholars and pastors consider the president’s call for the formation of prayer groups for the nation.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube