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Christians in Nigeria Massacred in Christmas Weekend Terror Attacks

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At least 160 Nigerian Christians were murdered and 300 injured in a series of terror attacks over Christmas weekend, according to multiple reports.

The attacks on at least 26 Christian communities made it “one of the most violent [times] in the area’s history,” Maria Lozano, a representative for the group Aid to the Church in Need, told the Catholic News Agency.

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria Archbishop Daniel Okoh condemned the attacks, which some have blamed on the Muslim Fulani militia.

“We condemn these acts of violence in the strongest possible terms. The burning down of houses, and worship centers, and the destruction of properties worth millions of naira is not only a criminal act but also a direct assault on our shared values of peace, unity, and mutual respect,” Okoh said, reports CNA. (Read more from “Christians in Nigeria Massacred in Christmas Weekend Terror Attacks” HERE)

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Revelation 6: Persecution and ‘the Blood of the Martyrs’

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During the early years of Christian martyrdom, Christians fled by the thousands into underground caverns outside of Rome. There were nearly 600 miles of molelike tunnels and passageways where they hid.

At least 10 generations of Christians were buried in the catacombs during approximately 300 years of persecution. The number of believers interred in the tunnels is unknown, but some archaeologists have estimated it to be between 1,750,000 and 4,000,000.

Inscriptions of Holy Scripture are still visible on the catacomb walls. Perhaps the most frequent one is the sign of the fish. A particular inscription, however, summarizes what kept them from losing or abandoning their faith. It reads, “The Word of God is not bound.”

Every believer in Christ is deeply indebted to the faithful witness of these Christ followers. As Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” . . .

According to the 2022 World Watch List (WWL) published by Open Doors International, which has supported persecuted Christians worldwide for over 60 years, nearly 360 million Christians, 1 in 7 globally, suffered discrimination and persecution for their Christian faith. As many as 5,898 were murdered for their profession of Christ — up more than 23% from 2020. More than 5,000 churches were attacked or forced to shut their doors — an increase of 13% during the same period. Moreover, as many as 6,000 Christians were arrested without trial – up by 44% — and 4,000 Christians were kidnapped — up by nearly 124%. (Read more from “Revelation 6: Persecution and ‘the Blood of the Martyrs’” HERE)

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Report: Attacks on Christian Churches Nearly Triple in Four Years

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Attacks on Christian churches have nearly tripled in the last four years, according to a 84-page report released by Family Research Council (FRC) in December.

Between January 2018 and September 2022, FRC found 420 documented acts of hostility against 397 separate churches in the United States.

Many cases included incidences of vandalism, bomb threats, arson, and gun-related violence.

“The report documents one homicide, numerous arsons, bomb threats (real and fake), and a pervasive desecration of holy items. Vandals regularly smashed crosses, statues, and headstones in cemeteries; vandalized carvings of the Ten Commandments; set fire to a Nativity scene; and smeared feces on a statue of the Virgin Mary,” according to the Washington Stand, FRC’s news outlet. (Read more from “Report: Attacks on Christian Churches Nearly Triple in Four Years” HERE)

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Afghanistan Replaces North Korea as Worst Country for Christian Persecution After Biden’s Disastrous Withdrawal

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Afghanistan sits at the top of a new ranking of the world’s worst countries for Christian persecution after President Joe Biden’s disastrous military withdrawal and the Taliban’s subsequent takeover of the nation.

Open Doors USA, an organization that tracks global religious persecution, has published its 2022 World Watch List ranking the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

In what Open Doors USA CEO David Curry called the “biggest seismic shift” in decades, Afghanistan replaced North Korea as the most repressive and hostile country towards followers of Jesus. The communist North Korean regime had ranked as the worst country for Christian persecution for 20 years.

“This year’s 2022 World Watch List, we think, is the biggest seismic shift in over 20 years because Afghanistan is now the No. 1 country on the World Watch List, supplanting North Korea,” Curry told Faithwire in an interview.

In a bid to finally end the American war in Afghanistan, Biden set a deadline to withdraw U.S. combat forces from the country by the end of August 2020. But his pullout from the country was a colossal failure of planning and execution. (Read more from “Afghanistan Replaces North Korea as Worst Country for Christian Persecution After Biden’s Disastrous Withdrawal” HERE)

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30 Million Christians in Danger as ‘Anti-christian Hysteria’ Sweeps World’s 2nd Largest Country

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Persecution against Christians is on the rise in India — with Christians suffering communal boycotts, physical abuse and legal harassment.

Empowered by vaguely-defined state anti-conversion laws, anti-Christian mobs in many parts of the country scour through villages, seeking Christians to harm, churches to storm, Christian schools to attack and Christian literature to burn, according to a Wednesday report from the New York Times.

“Christians are being suppressed, discriminated against and persecuted at rising levels like never before in India,” International Christian Concern advocacy director Matias Perttula told the outlet. “And the attackers run free, every time.” (Read more from “30 Million Christians in Danger as ‘Anti-christian Hysteria’ Sweeps World’s 2nd Largest Country” HERE)

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Journalist Arrested After Reporting on Attacks Against Christians

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A Nigerian Christian journalist has been imprisoned following his reporting of attacks on Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and his criticism of the government’s response, the Barnabas Fund reported Monday.

Officials of Kaduna State arrested Epoch Times journalist Luka Binniyat November 4 and charged him with transmitting electronic information known “to be false” under the nation’s Cybercrimes Act.

The charge is a federal offence carrying a penalty of three years in prison and Binniyat has not been offered bail and must be tried in a higher court.

A local source told the Barnabas Fund that Binniyat’s arrest “is aimed at silencing any dissenting voice and intimidating both Luka and the southern Kaduna communities.”

As Breitbart News reported, last July unidentified gunmen kidnapped some 140 Christian students from the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna State. (Read more from “Journalist Arrested After Reporting on Attacks Against Christians” HERE)

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5781615723

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Anti-Christian Hysteria Has Grown Into Church-Burning Terror, And People Might Be Next

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. . .In Calgary, 10 churches of various denominations were vandalized in a single night. A few days later, a Vietnamese church was set on fire — just hours after it held its first full service in more than a year. . .

Overall more than two dozen churches in Canada have been targeted over the past few weeks — and people are cheering it on. Not just anonymous people, either: On June 30, Harsha Walia, the executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, responded to a story of another church arson, saying “Burn it all down.”

Others rallied to her defense. Naomi Sayers, a lawyer and blue Twitter checkmark, said “I would help her burn it all down … and also, I would help anyone charged with arson if they actually did burn things.” . . .

Over the past few years, across the West anti-Christian rhetoric has been tolerated, spread, and spoken in the highest stations of power. Emboldened, anti-Christian hate crimes rose across Europe and the United States, from Boston to San Francisco, and from Youngstown to El Paso. Now, even when a widespread campaign burns churches to the ground in Canada over conspiracies, exaggerations, and slanders, too many of our leaders stand idly by murmuring awkward nothings.

Can there be any doubt people will come next? If you don’t believe in the devil, you should. (Read more from “Anti-Christian Hysteria Has Grown Into Church-Burning Terror, And People Might Be Next” HERE)

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/redbilby/4131695379/

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It’s Time For Christians To Stand Up And Proclaim We Will Never Stop Worshipping

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Last weekend the world saw a fearless man of God, Pastor Artur Pawlowski, arrested for leading a church service. This faithful pastor, who escaped the iron fist of communist rule in Poland as a child, was handcuffed on the streets of Canada and thrown in jail for refusing to shutter his church.

Not too long ago, this shocking display of repression would be unheard of in the western world. But over the last year, government efforts to curtail our freedom to worship have become all too common, and it has uncovered an uncomfortable problem in our church. . .

We cannot stop praying! We must not stop worshipping! For 2,000 years the Christian church has gathered, prayed, and worshipped through pandemics and persecution. And I believe that is the call of today.

The church is ready for a revival. Since pandemic orders locked down our communities more than a year ago, I’ve worshipped with hundreds of thousands of believers in 87 cities, and have witnessed a rising revival across America. We will not be stopped.

The church will no longer be pressured by the world into hiding our light under a bushel. We won’t be cowered by politicians to forsake our mission to gather, pray, and worship the God who saved us. (Read more from “It’s Time For Christians To Stand Up And Proclaim We Will Never Stop Worshipping” HERE)

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Chinese Police Raid Home Church, Arrest Numerous Christians

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On March 16, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel from the local religious affairs bureau and public security department arrested more than 10 Christians from Renai Reformed Church for attending a bible study. Of those arrested, two female Christians had traveled from another city to visit the church. CCP officials released one of these females after interrogation at approximately 5 pm, but did not free several other Christians until later that evening. Police also confiscated one arrested Sister’s money.

Guiyang Renai Reformed Church, a small house church with less than 100 members, has steadfastly refused to join the government-sanctioned Three-Self church. Throughout the years, as Renai Reformed Church has accommodated Christians from all over the country, members also significantly supported China’s Christian ministries.

Elder Zhang Chunlei and several other Christians traveled to the police station to negotiate with officers. While Elder Zhan expressed his determination to remain inside the police station until officials released the last detained Christian, other Christians waited outside.

In 2018, Elder Zhang, a primary leader in Renai Reformed Church, signed to show support for the campaign pastor Wang Yi initiated: “A joint statement by pastors: a declaration for the sake of the Christian faith.” Soon afterwards, on December 9, 2018, the CCP executed a massive arrest against Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church members. (Read more from “Chinese Police Raid Home Church, Arrest Numerous Christians” HERE)

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In America, Churches May Be Closed on Christmas, but in Pakistan, They May Be Bombed

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In a tribal village in India during the season of preparation for Advent on a late November night, a mob attacked more than 100 of the community’s Christians. About 50 people armed with homemade weapons targeted Christians in the Sukma district of India’s Chhattisgarh state, burning Bibles and destroying property in the early hours of Nov. 25.

For these humble Christian villagers — like so many other persecuted believers around the world — the Christmas season is a time of heightened persecution and fear. For some Christians living in India’s rural areas, associating with holiday festivities can make them targets. . .

Indian Christians are not the only ones fearing increased persecution around the holidays. Christians in neighboring Pakistan also have cause for concern at Christmastime. Sudden bursts of mob violence fomented by Islamists are a risk for Pakistani Christians, a small minority making up less than 3 percent of that country’s population.

Dec. 25 is a public holiday in Pakistan, but it celebrates the birth of the country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, rather than the Son of God. Major Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter can inspire attacks against churches in Pakistan.

This issue is so widespread that security forces deployed to protect churches and Christmas celebrations last December. More than 1,000 police officers protected Christian houses of worship in Islamabad alone. While it is good that Pakistani officials took this step, the fact that it was necessary is a clear indication of the risks of being a Christian and celebrating Christian holidays in Pakistan. (Read more from “In America, Churches May Be Closed on Christmas, but in Pakistan, They May Be Bombed” HERE)

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