It Is Time to Speak Out for Persecuted Christians around the World

on January 10, 2013
Bengali Christian Cries during testimony
(Photo credit: Spiritual Courage)

By Faith McDonnell (@Cuchulain09)

On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Frank R. Wolf sent a very important letter to church leaders around the country. He asked them to use their influence for those who are persecuted for their faith.

Wolf represents Virginia’s 10th District, but he also represents persecuted Christians and other targeted religious believers around the world. He is known for championing religious freedom and other human rights for people in Sudan, China, Egypt, Pakistan, and elsewhere. And he is also known for challenging U.S. churches to accept their responsibility and speak out on behalf of their brothers and sisters around the world.

In his January 9, 2013 letter to over 300 Protestant and Catholic leaders, Wolf revealed that in this new session of Congress he will reintroduce a bill to create a special envoy position within the State Department to advocate on behalf of religious minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia. His previous bill for this purpose passed overwhelmingly the House of Representatives, but was blocked in the Senate because it was opposed by officials in the State Department and by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (slated to replace Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State).

Wolf says that he knows that “a special envoy” cannot “single-handedly solve the problem.” But, he says, “It certainly can’t hurt to have a high-level person within the State Department bureaucracy who is exclusively focused on the protection and preservation of these ancient communities.” He adds that “to do nothing is simply not an option.”

It is not just to announce the reintroduction of the bill that Wolf writes, though. “The Church globally is under assault,” he declares. He says that “we must speak out, advocate, and act on their behalf.” Sadly, Wolf admits that from his perspective, “the Church in the West, specifically in America, is failing in this regard.” Wolf challenges: Can you as a church leader help?

You can read Congressman Wolf’s entire letter to church leaders. It is a powerful and convicting epistle. And what can you do?

Well, if you are a church leader, you can take it to heart. Begin to do, or if you are already an advocate for the persecuted church – do even more passionately and frequently – the kinds of efforts Mr. Wolf suggests. Use your sphere of influence – through sermons, writing, and media interviews – to raise the profile of this issue.

If you are not a church leader, you and your fellow church members can also help to raise the profile of the global persecuted church. And you strongly can encourage your pastor to take Congressman Wolf’s words to heart. You can also encourage your own member of Congress to support Mr. Wolf’s initiative for an envoy for persecuted minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia and to become one of those members of Congress who are known for caring about international religious freedom and human rights.

Towards the end of his letter, Congressman Wolf says, “The book of Proverbs tells us to Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…The Chinese bishop under house arrest cannot speak.  The North Korean believer enslaved in the gulag can’t speak.  The Iraqi nun fearing for her life cannot speak.” We must be the voice for the ones such as these who cannot speak for themselves.

Read the full article at the Institute on Religion and Democracy

  1. Comment by ontogram on January 10, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    A “special envoy?” This is not a good idea at all. I do not think much of US foreign policy or its actors, but this will not help. It is the foreign policy itself that is badly flawed. Would this special envoy aid the oppressed Christians of Israel and the occupied territories? Probably not because US policy won’t touch Israel, period. That’s the problem, i.e. the policies, real and articulated and those unstated. US tax law exempts organizations that actually arm settlers in the West Bank. Yet, US policy is for the cessation of settlement. ??? Policy, not envoys.

  2. Comment by BenSWoodruff on January 12, 2013 at 1:45 am

    Prayer is also probably an excellent idea. Just saying 🙂 God bless!

  3. Comment by dover1952 on January 13, 2013 at 2:12 am

    Sure. However, in the same vein, I think it is time to speak out against persecution of half-negro Presidents of the United States that are persecuted by racial bigots who claim to be Christians.

  4. Comment by Ray Bannister on January 14, 2013 at 7:49 am

    Who are these “half-negro Presidents of the United States”? I’m only aware of one – but then, liberals are rather notorious for distorting history.

    FYI, criticizing the president is not “persecution.” That’s called “free speech,” something the Founders put into the Constitution because they knew it was important that no public official be sacred. For 8 years, the libs called George W everything but “human,” but that was OK. Now it’s “persecution” for this far-left egomaniac to be criticized. If you think you can stop the criticism by labeling us “racial bigots,” think again. The man’s policies are wrong, period. I would gladly vote for a black conservative over a white liberal, or a female conservative over a male liberal. Just because you are obsessed with skin color, don’t project that on to the rest of us. Your side chose to vote for a guy on account of his pigmentation. I did NOT vote for McCain or Romney because they were white. So guess which side is fixated on race?

    So glad to see your deep concern for persecuted Christians. To use this article as just a springboard to call us “bigots” is a wonderful sign of your intellectual bankruptcy. Equally stupid to pin the label “persecuted” on a man who lives in a mansion and is surrounded by aids and sycophants and treated like God Almighty wherever he goes. Excuse me if I don’t cry too much over poor persecuted BO. I have a hunch the persecuted Christians in the Middle East would gladly trade places with him. I don’t know how you expect to get to heaven with so much hatred for Christians inside you. We’re not losing sleep over it, we just think it’s disgusting that someone so full of malice thinks he can be a Christian while hating Christians.

  5. Comment by Gabe on January 14, 2013 at 8:06 pm

    Well Ray, it looks like Dover’s insane rant was deleted by the moderators. I did see it and appreciate your response.

  6. Comment by J S Lang on January 15, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    NOW Ray’s post makes sense! Which isn’t true for the post immediately above it!

  7. Pingback by A Call to Speak Out On Behalf Of Persecuted Church Globally | Anna Writes, and Shares on January 15, 2013 at 10:02 am

    […] It Is Time to Speak Out for Persecuted Christians around the World (juicyecumenism.com) […]

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