More than 70 people died on Easter Sunday after Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up at a children’s park in Lahore, Pakistan. The majority of the victims were Muslim, but its targets were Christians, a spokesperson for the terrorist group said.
Life hasn’t been easy for Pakistani Christians in the past 50 years, says K. A. Ellis, an ambassador for the Christian persecution advocacy group, International Christian Response, referring to the country’s blasphemy laws and recent terrorist bombings of churches. “If it’s hubris to violate the image of God in any innocent being, it seems an even more profound offense to violate the name of Christ that believers bear,” says Ellis, a Ph.D. candidate in church history at the Oxford Center for Mission Studies. “God is grieved by the death of all men, but those who bear his name are precious in his sight.”
For the latest episode of Christianity Today’s weekly podcast, Quick to Listen, Ellis joins Morgan and Katelyn as they process how Western Christians should grieve and act following this latest attack.
- What makes the Pakistan attack unique?
- What types of stories about persecution make the most prominent headlines?
- Should Christians grieve the death of other Christians differently than they do other victims?
- What can our support for persecuted Christians look like?
Additional reading
- K.A. Ellis’ blog
- Pakistan is No. 6 Open Door’s 2016 World Watch List
- A Q&A on Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
- CT’s Pakistan topic page
