By Ryan Baker Cold Spring Harbor High School New York, United States
The persecution of Christians, or followers of Jesus Christ, has existed since Stephen, the first Christian martyr. His story is told in the Book of Acts (Acts 7:54-60). Because he loved Jesus and was willing to follow His commands, Stephen was stoned to death just outside Jerusalem. Experts have concluded that 160,000 Christians were killed for their faith last year, 1998, alone. Around the world, millions Christians have been persecuted because of their faith. In many countries such as China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Egypt, Christians are presently being persecuted. In China, Christians are often tortured by numerous sadistic methods.
One Christian just recently released from a Chinese prison told of the horrible torture he went through. Prison guards forced him to drink San Xian Tang, "Three-Flavor Stew." This horrible drink was made of human feces, urine, and dirty soapy water. This disgusting mixture was given to him and many like him as a form of psychological torture. In another case, a group of pastors were handcuffed and forced to walk to a jail. This took a painful seventy-two hours by the time they arrived. It was a painful time because the handcuffs inflicted severe pain. Whenever the wearer struggled, the cuffs would automatically tighten. They could get so tight that they could make one "beg for mercy."
In Vietnam, one Christian pastor suffered great torment. He was captured by police, who seriously beat him, kicked out his teeth, and took him to jail. Instead of a normal jail cell, he was confined in a three-foot square box in the prison yard. He remained in these cramp quarters for 100 days. His only food was a small cup of water and a bowl of rice each day. From staying in a box so small and receiving such a small ration of food per day, he was left weak, sick and in great pain. But now, thankfully, he is out of jail, recovered, and back to preaching despite the risks.
Another sad event occurred in Indonesia where terrible mob violence plagues many Christians. In one account a family was gathered in their apartment when a mob gathered outside and screamed, "Let's have a party!" The lady giving the account of the story was so scared that, at the time, she fainted. Along with this immoral act, hundreds of homes, shops, and churches have already been destroyed and large numbers of Bibles have been burned.
In India, many similar acts of violence have taken place. Consider the city of New Delhi, where more than 100 acts of violence have occurred in the past year against Christians. This included the stoning of Christian schools, and the digging up of graves and desecrated icons. The attacks have sparked outrage by many Indians angered by what they see as an assault on the country's tradition of religious tolerance. Most of these attacks have been blamed on Hindu nationalists who were angered at the Christian attempts to convert Indians. Allegedly, the Hindu Awakening Platform has called on Hindus to "awake and throw the Christians out." Many Hindu leaders have sought to excuse the attacks as justified reactions to "mass-conversions" of the local people by Christian missionaries. Some nationalists have even charged that the violence was spawned by foreign organizations such as the CIA.
In Egypt, there has been a massive arrest and torturing of over a thousand Egyptian Christians (Copts) from the village of El-Kasheh. These arrests were made to extract false confessions from many innocent people. From August 15 to September 15, 1998, women and children were abused and terrorized with electric shocks. Now the future of Christians in Egypt is being questioned. There is a concern that Egypt is lagging behind in democracy and respect to human rights. Many are begging Egypt's president, Mr. Hosni Mubarak, to help stop this persecution to help the national interests of Egypt. They say that,"It is your constitutional responsibility to see to it that all forms of discrimination and persecution against Copts, and the roots of extremism and intolerance, be eliminated."
As Americans, we are blessed to be protected by our Constitution, which states our inalienable right to believe and worship as we wish. Many people throughout the world are not as fortunate. It is not enough for us to be appreciative of our freedom without concern for those who are suffering for following their spiritual/religious convictions. We need to be their advocate and spokesman until their oppression ceases, for these convictions are a "matter of the heart" and can not be mandated.
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