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Now more than ever, Christians around the world are suffering for being obedient to the word of God by their faith. If you have not obeyed the trut...
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Now more than ever, Christians around the world are suffering for being obedient to the word of God by their faith. If you have not obeyed the truth, follow the Acts 2:38 formula by repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus. Wherever he can, the devil stirs up hatred and trouble for those who actively shine the light of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the gospel in a dark place. If you want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus you will suffer persecution, so remember those in prison as if chained with them (Hebrews 13:3). You can stand with your brothers and sisters in Christ through prayer. Each and every year around 175,000 Christians are martyred for their faith, and many others endure torture, discrimination, and hardship. One example of this in China, where it sentenced 10 Christian leaders to long prison terms and forced labor camps as part of a wider government crackdown on unauthorized worship services in 2009. If one does not register and follow the exact guidelines by the government, which is hostile to all forms of Christianity, they are subject to arrest or prison sentences. It is illegal to teach children under 18 about God or Jesus. And it's illegal for three or more believers to gather for religious purposes without government approval. Eighty percent of Chinese Christians are part of unregistered illegal churches, because they say Christ Jesus is Lord, and they cannot allow an atheistic government to control their churches. Here are some are statistics from previous years. In 2001, Gong Shengliang, head of the South China Church, was sentenced to death. Although his sentence was commuted to a jail sentence, Amnesty International reports that he has been tortured. In 2004, 300 Christians caught attending unregistered churches were jailed. In 2006, there were 665 people persecuted by the Chinese authorities and 46 cases of house church persecutions. In 2007, there were 788 people persecuted and 60 cases of house persecution. They have four main targets of persecution: house church leaders, house churches in urban areas, Christian publications, and foreign Christians and missionaries living and working in China. Apparently, China steps up its crackdown on Christians each and every year. Recently, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on the Chinese government to explain itself following attacks on on the Internet accounts of human rights activists that apparently originated from there. "We look to the Chinese government for an explanation," she said in a statement. "The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy." Google is threatening to pull out of China if the company can't renegotiate what has been its controversial policy of cooperating with Chinese government Internet censorship activities. Google, along with other Internet giants, has come under fire before for aiding Chinese Internet censorship and persecution of free speech by Chinese Internet monitors. In 2006, Yahoo admitted giving the Chinese government information on activists that led to their arrests and imprisonment. The State Department has been meeting with top Internet leaders lately ahead of their planned push for more Internet-based diplomacy, which will be outlined in a major policy address by Clinton on January 21, 2010. While Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution supposedly guarantees that: "The Citizens of the People's Republic of China will enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession, and of demonstration." This has not been the reality yet. Will all this activity help the Christians there? I really hope so.
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