A Thousand Words....

A few months ago, I ran across a weblog by David Hayward, a New Brunswick pastor. David is also an artist with perhaps the most innovative sense of humour that I have run across in ages. His site is one of the few that I check out several times a week, just to see what he has posted. I enjoy his cartoons especially. They often straight for the jugular, making a significant point about the Christian life while making you laugh at the same time; which is what good humour should do.

The following cartoon, I think, is worth far more than a thousand words and extremely relevant as we think about the persecution of Christians around the world.

Must We Do Wrong to Do Right?

Have you noticed that the only way that marketers seem to think that they can get our attention lately is to use sex, violence, or profanity? Risqué has been equated with clever. Pushing the boundaries of public decency is viewed as innovative.

A few months ago, a Canadian television cable station promoted itself with a series of what were meant to be humorous ads that had viewers thanking the station for helping them to break down their inhabitations towards various sexual taboos with its programming. The ads were neither humorous nor apparently very effective, as they disappeared rather quickly.

Earlier this year, a Canadian mainline denomination sought to attract people through the use of humorous ads that deliberately bordered on being blasphemous.

Or watch how often communicators seem to think that the most effective way to really make a point is to revert to profanity. I remember the first time I heard Tony Campolo. He was talking about world hunger and at one point, when referring to the number of people who were starving to death, he suddenly burst out, "And you don't give a damn. Further, more of you care that I just said ‘damn' from the pulpit than about the dying children."

At the time, I thought that this apparently spontaneous outburst of passion was really quite effective in getting the attention of the audience. In the years since, as I have heard Campolo swear repeatedly in message after message, I have come to see it more as a gimmick. Do it once, it's spontaneous. Do it twice and it becomes a publicity stunt. Time to stop swearing, Tony. We're on to you.

Besides, I can care about swearing from the pulpit and care about starving children at the same time. Both are wrong.

Apparently Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty is taking a page from the Tony Campolo playbook in defending the "Flick Off" campaign. This is the environment campaign targeting young people with a logo where the word "Flick" is deliberately made to look like the "f" word. Apparently, the Ontario government has been receiving a torrent of complaints. But rather than apologize for this misstep, the premier defended the ad yesterday by saying, ""If people want to take offence at something, don't take offence at the 'flick off' campaign. Take offence at the fact that we are, as a species, raising the temperature on our planet."

Weak.... In other words, if you don't like the campaign, you are a planet killer. I'm sorry, but I can find the ad offensive and care about the environment. It is silly to suggest that I need to make a choice in the matter. In fact, I would like to think that I can raise children to have a respect for others, for God and for decency by not using profanity and a respect for the environment. I don't need the government making the former more difficult as it actively promotes the latter.

I confess that the temptation to resort to questionable means to promote a good cause is one that all of us who are involved in this line of work are prone to. It is harder and harder to get people's attention in our over-commercialized world. The urge to jolt people into paying attention through shocking them is hard to resist. As a Christian communicator, I have to remember that my calling is to tell the truth as effectively and as skillfully as I can. But ultimately, I leave the results with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who will ultimately get and keep people's attention. Not our use of profanity or sexual innuendos.

Four Evangelists Arrested in Turkey

I can see that Turkish officials have really learned their lesson from the murder of three Christians last week. Already, they are back in business, arresting Christians for sharing their faith and declaring that missionaries are more dangerous that terrorist organizations.

Last Wednesday, in Istanbul's Taksim district, Turkish police jailed four Christian street evangelists for "missionary activity" (which is not even illegal in Turkey). At the same time, government officials such as by Religious Affairs Director Ali Bardakoglu are openly defending the right of all religious groups to carry out evangelistic work in Turkey. Not all of Turkey's politicians seem to share that sentiment, however. Winning the prize for most insensitive political leader is the Ministry of Justice Laws director-general Niyazi Guney who was quoted by the Turkish daily Milliyet a day after the killings in Malatya as saying that missionaries were more dangerous than terror organizations. Guess that justifies the violence, eh?

I can understand why Turkish Christians are nervous.

Precious in the Sight of the Lord....

In Psalm 116:15 we read, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." The psalmist is not intending to say in this passage that God likes it when His people die. Rather, the death of His saints is something that God does not allow easily. He is reluctant to see His people die because death is an enemy.

I think about that when I read of my brothers and sisters being martyred in various parts of the world. Recently three Christians were brutally tortured and killed in southeastern Turkey because of their ministry of publishing and distributing Bibles and other Christian literature. Those who killed them said that they did so to protect Islam from the spread of Christianity. Two of those who died left behind wives and children. The third had only been a Christian for two years. We do not know why God allowed these dear saints to die for their faith, but we do know that their deaths were not in vain or something that God easily allowed.

On March 26, evangelist Taddese Tefera Akufo was beaten to death by militant Muslims in Jimma, Ethiopia. He and two female coworkers were evangelizing on Merkato Street when a mob of Muslims emerged from a mosque. The two women were able to flee but the militants dragged Taddese inside the building and beat him to death. The killing was apparently a direct attack against a local evangelism campaign. In an attempt to shift the blame, local Muslims have opened a case against Christians that falsely accuses them of entering mosques in order to forcibly convert Muslims. As I think of this precious life given in the service of the Lord, I wonder why the Lord would allow it to be cut short in this way. And yet I know that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." And so I am called to trust Him in the midst of unanswered questions.

On March 21, Christianah Oluwatoyin Olusase, a Christian teacher at Government Day Secondary School in Gombe, Nigeria state was brutally murdered by a group of Muslim girl students. On the evening of March 26, two sisters, Margaret and Fadhila Naoum, were repeatedly stabbed and strangled to death in their home in Kirkuk, Iraq. Two Christians in Jijiga, Ethiopia were killed in late April when Muslims threw a bomb at a funeral procession. The list goes on and on....

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

These words are a comfort to God's people in their times of sorrow and grieving. And we are grateful that because of the financial support of many Christians here in Canada that we are able to stand with the families of those who mourn and provide comfort by letting them know that they and their loved ones have not been forgotten by their brothers and sisters.

Ontario Government Encouraging Kids to "Flick Off"

Would you let your kid wear this?

The Ontario government hopes you will, as it launches an ad campaign against global warming that cost taxpayers $500,000. The campaign against climate change launched yesterday by Environment Minister Laurel Broten and billionaire Richard Branson encourages youth to "FLICK OFF." The slogan's font is clearly designed to make flick look like... well, you know.

Oh, how wonderful! Just what we need; the government encouraging our kids to engage in vulgarity and using my money to do it. Talk about undermining the attempts of thousands of Ontario parents who believe that profanity is not only demeaning to the individual but inappropriate for religious reasons.

I have no problem with a campaign that promotes a greater concern for the environment that encourages people to conserve energy by turning off lights. But does environmentalism trump all other concerns? Have we lost the ability to be creative without appealing to the absolute lowest levels of communication? If so, let's leave the lights on. Perhaps this culture is not worth saving.

Encourage the Wife of Imprisoned Vietnamese Lawyer

The Voice of the Martyrs is urging you to pray for and to send letters/cards of encouragement to the wife of arrested Christian lawyer, Nguyen Van Dai.

Nguyen Van Dai, a 38-year-old member of the main Hanoi congregation of the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North), or ECVN (N), since 2000, was arrested on March 6 for accusations relating to his defense of religious freedom, including disseminating ‘alleged infractions of religious liberty [to Vietnam's enemies abroad]'. Dai is one of Vietnam's few human rights lawyers and is a member of Advocates International, an organization which brings together Christian human rights lawyers from many countries. He defended the "Mennonite Six" in 2004-2005.

Also arrested in early March was Dai's colleague, Le Thi Cong Nhan, who faces similar accusations. Both are due to be tried on May 11 for defaming the communist state of Vietnam. It is expected that the trial will be nothing more than a charade.

Authorities have prohibited Dai's wife, Khanh, from visiting him nor has she been provided with any legal papers. By law she should have received a copy of the arrest order at her husband's March 6 arrest citing the reasons for his "temporary detention." Her home phone and cell phone services have been cut. Police have reportedly been trying to incite neighbors against her.

We would urge you to send a letter or card of encouragement to Mrs Khanh immediately, using the example given below. Please do not include any political comments. Her address is:

Vu Minh Khanh
Phong 302, Nha Z8
Bach Khao
Hanoi
VIETNAM

Suggested letter to Mrs Khanh

Dear Mrs Khanh,

I am writing to let you know I am praying for you, for your husband, Lawyer Dai, and for his colleague, Ms Cong Nhan, who are in prison awaiting trial. We honour your husband for his outstanding courage in advocating for persecuted Christians and for more freedom in Vietnam.

Along with thousands of Christians around the world, I pray that your husband and Ms Cong Nhan will receive justice. I pray too that whatever happens, you will all know and experience God's comfort and strength.

Your friend,


(Your name)
(Your city and province)



Thank you for your participation in ministering to the persecuted church in Vietnam in this vital way. We know that such letters and cards will be an encouragement to Mrs. Khanh and will send a message to the Vietnamese authorities that her husband has not been forgotten.

Join the "I Speak Up for the Persecuted" Community

As part of our "Step Up, Stand Up, Speak Up" Campaign, The Voice of the Martyrs is inviting bloggers from around the world to help break the silence that surrounds the persecution of Christians around the world by joining our "I Speak Up for the Persecuted" community. If you have a weblog, we would invite you to consider:

1. Writing a minimum of two posts per month about Christian persecution, mentioning the Voice of the Martyrs with a link to this weblog site, and/or the The Voice of the Martyrs Newsletter, and

2. Placing an icon to your weblog page saying that “I Speak Up for the Persecuted.” Click here for to view and download an icon. If you join us in Speaking Up for the persecuted in the blogosphere, we will add a link to your site on the Persecution Blogroll on this page. If you would like to join this program, click here.

Attacks Must Not Be Swept Under the Turkish Rug

Now is the time to press the Turkish government to make the changes that are long overdue to its approach to religious minorities. Last week's brutal killings in Malatya mark the third fatal attack on Christians since February 2006. These are not exceptional cases; they are becoming a part of a pattern that the government cannot be allowed to sweep under the Turkish rug.

Officially, Turkey is a secular state. Its constitution provides for a strict separation of church and state, which includes freedom of religion. At the same time, Turkey still forbids missionary activity. This is simply hypocritical. Religious freedom of necessity includes the right to change one's religion without hindrance or threat to one's life or liberty. This is not the case in today's secular Turkey.

The suspects that have so far been arrested in the Malatya attack have stated that their actions were motivated by the desire to protect Islam from Christianity. The Turkish government has taken the same position as it and other officials in Turkey have criticized Christian missionary work in the past. Is it any wonder that we are seeing the blood of Christians spilled? The Turkish government must assume some of the responsibility for the killings and take actions to insure that Turkish Christians are recognized as possessing the same rights and privileges as Turkish Muslims, including the right to worship and practice all aspects of their faith (including evangelism) without fear. Turkish politicians must renounce past anti-missionary and anti-Christians statements that they and others have publicly made and support the rights of all religions to operate openly in a truly secular state. They must provide the legislative climate that no longer provides Islam with special protection and privileges, but recognizes that all religions have an equal standing in Turkish society.

Such actions may not stop attacks on Christians by Islamic militants. But at least the knifes and bullets won't have the smudged fingerprints of their own political leaders on them.

The Face in the Photograph

Her face haunts me. She is twelve-years-old. She lives in Lahore, Pakistan. And she was recently raped.

She was raped on Easter Day. The day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. New life in Christ! A day of joy. A day of thankfulness.

A day when this young girl's life collapsed. And her eyes reflect it.

She was going to the shops near her home when four Muslim men attacked her and knocked her unconscious. Taking her to a local factory warehouse, for two days they did perhaps the worst thing that they could do to her. To any woman. But to a little Christian girl....

"What is wrong with these animals?" I rage. "What is wrong with the police that they had to be forced to finally register a case against the beasts who committed this unspeakable crime?"

I am sick of hearing of these kinds of attacks on Christian girls in Pakistan and Egypt. I am sick of hearing of police covering up the crimes and of Islamic courts refusing to convict the guilty, protecting the men while further humiliating the victims. I am sick of hearing the cries of the heart-broken families and seeing the sad eyes of the girls staring at me from the photographs on my computer screen.

I want to look away. I want to hear of the testimonies of joy in the midst of sorrow. I want to hear of people coming to Christ. I want to hear of forgiveness and heroic faith. I can see why one organization likes to boast that they focus on the victory while groups like VOMC focus on the suffering. Must be nice....

But I cannot look away because God does not look away. I will not look away.

This is my little sister.

Malatya Massacre Was Foreseeable

Turkish government officials are falling over themselves expressing condemnation of the killing of three Christians on Wednesday in Malatya, promising justice and preventative measures to insure that such a thing does not happen again.

But the fact is, they did nothing to prevent it from happening in the first place. Government ministers and politicians have been publicly expressing alarm over Muslims converting to Christianity, cracking down on house churches, warning about the dangers of "missionary activity" by Protestants in Turkey and charging Christians with "insulting Turkishness" and inciting hatred against Islam for simply sharing their faith with others. All of this in a country that presents itself as a moderate, secular state with freedom of religion.

Turkish Christians knew that this kind of attack was due to happen eventually. It was only a matter of time. Turkey's politicians had helped create it. Now they have to clean up after the mess. It's easy to shoot off your mouth when you think that no one will get hurt.

It is to be hoped that Europe will hold Turkey's feet to the fire over this incident as they seek entry into the European Union. This attack was not simply the act of a few extremists. It is not an isolated event. It was the natural result of the growing Islamic intolerance in Turkey; an environment that Turkish politicians not only did nothing to stop but actually helped create.

Terrible? Yes. But Is It Persecution?

One of the biggest challenges we face here at The Voice of the Martyrs every week is going through the many stories and reports that we receive and trying to figure out which ones of them are truly cases of persecution and which are not.

It is not nearly as easy as one might imagine. There are those who seem to want to label any misfortune or disaster that befalls some believer somewhere as "persecution." And some of these cases are truly heartbreaking, even horrendous.

A case in point is the recent case of Manzoor Ahmad Chat, an Indian Christian who was beheaded by Hizbul militants on Saturday in Kashmir. The question is, was he killed because he was a government worker or because he was a Christian? In the face of the brutality of his murder, the rising persecution in India, and the fact that he was a leader of a local church, one would be inclined to call his death a case of martyrdom. But we cannot be certain, especially in light of the political situation there and reports that we are receiving which would seem to point to his death being more politically than religiously-motivated.

Another is a recent report of a massive forced abortion campaign going on in China's Guangxi Province (Autonomous Region). There are reports of Christian women being forced to have abortions. One such case is a pastor's wife who accidentally became pregnant and wanted to keep her child because of her Christian principles. She was reportedly forcibly given an injection today to abort her baby. Is this a case of persecution?

When faced with situations where is difficult to determine whether this is a situation of persecution or general suffering, it is helpful to ask, "If a person had other religious beliefs or would change their religion to the majority religion of the country, would things get better for them?" If the answer is "yes," then it seems that this would be a situation where persecution is taking place. If, however, this is suffering that is being inflicted on others as well as Christians, such as is the case with the forcible abortion campaign in China, it is probably not appropriate for us to call it "persecution." Is it terrible? Of course it is. Am I glad that the organization that reported on this (whom we greatly respect and work with) did so? Of course, and we will pray for these dear women who have been so terrible violated. Is this reprehensible and worth protesting? I would argue that it certainly is. But we will not call it persecution even though Christians are being afflicted. This does not minimize the suffering and injustice in any way. It does, however, help us to put such incidents into a proper context. And this ultimately helps our case when the time comes to act or speak to an issue. If we label something as persecution when it is not, we not only lose credibility then but also potentially for the future when we might want to speak to a legitimate case of persecution. We have shown ourselves to be less than careful in our use of words and in advocacy, words are important.

The challenge that we must avoid is allowing persecution to take on such a broad meaning that it soon comes to mean very little at all.

Health Update

It's been four months since my stem cell/bone marrow transplant. It seems longer than that. And it has been some time since I gave an update on how I am doing.

I praise God for the healing and strength that He has brought to me during these weeks. I must admit, however, that the last few weeks have been a little harder. As I mentioned on March 22, I tested positive for cytomegalovirus (CMV) again. CMV is, I said then, rather common for transplant patients to get which why they test for it every week when I go to the bone marrow transplant clinic.

This was the second time I tested positive for it and I bounced back quite well the first time. This second time, however, I have not. While I am clear of the virus now, my neutrophil levels recently dropped to their lowest levels since my transplant and my blood sugar levels rose to levels well above normal. Talking with other transplant patients during our interminably long waits at the clinic, my wife learned that the rising blood sugar levels are not uncommon and due to the medication that I am taking (probably prednisone, that most "blessed" of drugs; useful but wow, what side effects!!).

However, the net result has been that my energy levels are not what they were a month ago and that is a little discouraging. I praise God that I am still able to function mentally, however (although some might call that into question too) and so I still go into the office four days a week.

I would ask for your prayers for my energy to return. Pray too, that my blood levels would return to a semblance of normal and that God would protect me from any further viral infections. I am eager to assume some of my travel responsibilities but I also need to exercise wisdom. Thankfully, I have a wonderful team of co-workers and family who help me to set my limits.

Hollywood Pressures China on Darfur

It is interesting to note what gets the Chinese government's attention.

The awarding of the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing was generally seen by most human rights organizations as a significant setback for freedom in China, even as Olympic officials declared that they believed that it would lead to greater freedoms in the country. In the years since, the human rights activists have been proven correct as China has not only cracked down harder on dissidents within its borders but has been perhaps the biggest obstacle to putting effective pressure on Sudan in its genocidal activities in Darfur. China has extensive business and oil ties to Sudan and generally avoids telling other countries how to conduct their internal affairs, insisting that others also keep quiet about how it conducts its own internal affairs. Hence, for the past two years, China has resisted attempts for United Nations sanctions on Sudan.

However, on April 9, Zhai Jun, a senior Chinese official, traveled to Sudan to push the government to accept a UN peacekeeping force. Zhai even went to Darfur and toured three refugee camps.

So, what is going on? New York Times reporter Helene Cooper notes that the credit goes to Hollywood, of all things. According to Cooper's article of April 12, actress Mia Farrow, a good-will ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund, started a campaign last month to label the Games in Beijing the "Genocide Olympics". She began calling on corporate sponsors, including Steven Spielberg, who is an artistic adviser to China for the Games, to publicly exhort China to do something about Darfur.

According to Cooper:

In a March 28 op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal, she warned Mr. Spielberg that he could "go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games," a reference to a German filmmaker who made Nazi propaganda films.

Four days later, Mr. Spielberg sent a letter to President Hu Jintao of China, condemning the killings in Darfur and asking the Chinese government to use its influence in the region "to bring an end to the human suffering there," according to Mr. Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy.

China soon dispatched Mr. Zhai to Darfur, a turnaround that served as a classic study of how a pressure campaign, aimed to strike Beijing in a vulnerable spot at a vulnerable time, could accomplish what years of diplomacy could not.

Just how significant this turns out is anyone's guess. China has been active in pressuring other governments not to link Darfur and participation in the 2008 Olympics. For two years, they have been trying to stare down their critics, believing that it was not that big of a problem. But this week, China blinked.

VOMC Releases Weekly Radio News Bulletin

In the last little while, we have added so many new features to our website here at The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada that it has been hard to keep up. I know that Jim, our webmaster, has been asked to go far and beyond the call of duty. Thank you, bro!

I would like to draw your attention to our latest offering which we released just this morning for the first time. In partnership with our British sister mission, Release International, we are pleased to introduce Persecution Now, a 3-minute weekly radio news bulletin available online at http://www.persecution.net/index.html and http://www.persecution.tv/. Take a listen and let me know what you think of it. While you are there, also check out the latest edition of our webcast The Persecution Report, if you haven't already done so. Both are also available as podcasts!