Worldwide Persecution Increasing

The ongoing story regarding Christian persecution is hard to find as most of the media outlets don't cover it, but persecution is increasing dramatically throughout the world. Just take a look at the most recent articles found on the main site by "Voice Of The Martyrs":

Persecution

WORLDWIDE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN 2012

UNITED STATES — A recent report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) identified 16 countries that had committed severe violations of religious rights, including... View Story

TURKMENISTAN: FINED FOR HAVING A BIBLE

Four Protestants in Turkmenistan were arrested and fined in late February after police discovered Bibles in their possession. Although the judge initially refused to hear the case against the four... View Story

LAOS: REWARDED FAITH

Eleven orphans in Laos who were threatened with expulsion from a government school because of their Christian faith have continued to attend church. They slip away one by one on Sunday mornings and... View Story

NIGERIA: RELIGIOUS CIVIL WAR?

Yet another Islamist attack on a church and a violent reaction Christian youth provide more evidence that Nigeria is closer than ever to sliding into a religious civil war. Thus far, authorities have... View Story

PALESTINE: CHURCH DISAPPROVED BY PA

Officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) have informed pastor Naim Khoury of Bethlehem’s First Baptist Church that his church lacks the authority to function as a religious institution... View Story

INDIA: ANIMOSITY INCREASING

Three recent attacks against Christians in India reflect an increase in animosity against believers throughout the country. In Kerala state, a pastor and his children were attacked on Feb. 21. Pastor... View Story

SUDAN: CHRISTIANS MUST LEAVE

Amid its ongoing bombing campaign in the Nuba Mountains area, the government of Sudan has enacted a new ethnic cleansing strategy denying citizenship to anyone deemed a “southerner.” The... View Story

IRAN: ARRESTS CONTINUE

Iranian authorities continue to raid worship meetings and arrest Christians in a systematic series of arrests that began two months ago. Authorities launched the operation in hope of countering the... View Story

KAZAKHSTAN: SMALL CHURCHES BANNED

A religion law adopted last October has been used to revoke registration from religious groups of fewer than 50 adults, and small churches are now struggling to maintain legal status. In the past,... View Story

NIGERIA: CHURCH BOMBED IN JOS

Boko Haram terrorists bombed a large church in Jos on Sunday, killing a church member and a baby, along with themselves. Church security guards prevented the suicide bombers from reaching the... View Story

• Each of these stories is recent and they are not found in MSM publications. It happens every day and no one notices. Certainly, nothing is being done, on an international scale to prevent this and it continues unabated. In the U.S., Europe and the UK persecution often takes on a more subtle form, but it is growing and worsening each and every day. This is just one example:

UK Courts Persecute Christians And Drive Them Underground

Christians have been hounded out of jobs and their values driven underground thanks to heavy-handed courts, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has claimed.

In a direct submission to the European Court of Human Rights, Lord Carey warned that worshippers were being ‘vilified’ and ‘driven underground’ by the judiciary and state.

His attack comes ahead of a landmark ruling on religious freedom by the Strasbourg court on September 4.

BA check-in clerk Nadia Eweida and nurse Shirley Chaplin claim they were discriminated against when their employers banned them from wearing crosses to work.

The court will also hear the cases of a Christian registrar who refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies and counsellor Gary MacFarlane, sacked for admitting he would feel uncomfortable giving sex therapy to gay couples.

In a submission to the court, seen by the Daily Telegraph, Lord Carey said expressions of traditional Christian values had been ‘banned’ in Britain as the country became gripped by a ‘secular conformity of belief and conduct’.

‘Christians are excluded from many sectors of employment simply because of their beliefs; beliefs which are not contrary to the public good,’ he said.

‘Christians are driven underground. There appears to be a clear animus to the Christian faith and to Judaeo-Christian values. Clearly the courts of the United Kingdom require guidance.’

British courts had failed to stand up for Christians in ‘case after case’, Lord Carey said.

And if the rules against wearing crosses and expressing beliefs are not overturned, Christians will face a ‘religious bar’ to jobs.

There was also a drive to ‘remove Judaeo-Christian values from the public square’ as courts have ‘consistently applied equality law to discriminate against Christians’.

People of faith were being treated as ‘bigots’, Lord Carey said, adding: ‘In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by State bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong.

‘It affects the moral and ethical compass of the United Kingdom’.

Matthew 24: 9-12 gives us perspective:

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..."

But we can also never forget this passage:

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

(Matthew 5:11-12)