CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

The Death of John the Baptist

The wine flowed freely throughout the lavish banquet hall. The occasion was the pagan birthday celebration of Herod Antipas…

The Legion of Martyrs

In the year AD 286, the elite Theban Roman legion of more than 6,600 Egyptian youths was dispatched to Gaul for action. The amazing fact about this…

When the Walk Becomes a Crawl

Who among us hasn’t experienced both the mountaintops and gullies of life? Sometimes we know unspeakable joy, and other…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2022

A 28-year-old Christian in eastern Uganda has died from head injuries sustained in an attack by Muslim extremists in July…

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2022

Islamic extremists stopped an evangelist in Uganda on his way to participate in a debate about Christianity and Islam and beat him…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2021

As the world watched videos and images of people trying to escape the Sharia regime the Taliban is imposing in Afghanistan…

Facing Perilous Times

In many of his epistles, the apostle Paul warned churches that in the last days, charlatans will emerge teaching erroneous, deceptive doctrines that cause…

Silhouette of man speaking.

God Doesn’t ‘Cancel’ Us

A missionary and church planter found himself in a difficult position when the members of the so-called cancel culture endeavored to silence him…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2020

April was a terrible month in Nigeria as Muslim Fulani herdsmen again attacked and murdered Christians, including children…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2020

CHINA—As more government officials in China are empowered to close churches and a “social credit” system threatens to…

Christian Persecution Sep/Oct 2019

Widespread evidence shows that “today, Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion,” according to an interim report…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2019

HYDERABAD, India—Christian persecution has grown much more severe in India, and tribal villagers are being taught that Christianity is anti-Indian…

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2019

EGYPT—A Christian mother who was kidnapped and tortured in Egypt for her faith now fears for her daughter and her pastor-husband…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2019

EGYPT—The Egyptian government has rejected a proposed bill to remove the religious designation required on ID cards, reflecting the enormity of the discrimination…

Christian Persecution Jan/Feb 2019

PAKISTAN—Authorities in Lahore, Pakistan, continue their refusal to arrest the Muslim hospital officials who killed an innocent Christian man, Sunil Saleem, more than eight months ago…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2018

IRAN—“We told them many times that Jesus is our Lord and you cannot take Him away from us,” Iranian Christian Marziyeh Amirizadeh told the audience at the recent Ministerial to Advance…

Christian Persecution Sep/Oct 2018

INDIA—India’s Jharkhand state has recently become the sixth state in India to implement a new, draconian “anti-conversion” law that authorities are using to target and imprison Christians under the false accusation of trying to forcibly convert people…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2018

UGANDA—The Muslim relatives of 27-year-old Gobera Bashir in eastern Uganda recently burned 40 percent of his body with hot cooking oil because he converted to Christianity…

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2018

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION is the worst it has ever been, according to a recent study by Christian persecution watchdog Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). “In terms of the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2018

KENYA—A group of Somali Muslims recently broke into the home of a Somali Christian widow and brutally attacked her three children in a small Kenyan town…

Christian Persecution Jan/Feb 2018

The Chinese government has begun a renewed crackdown on believers attending unregistered churches and Christian parents taking their children with them to church. Chinese law strictly forbids adults to teach children religion and…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2017

Three Egyptian military officers recently beat a Christian soldier to death for his faith and then claimed he died of natural causes. Joseph Reda Helmy, a believer from Kafr Darwish village, had completed one month…

Christian Persecution Sep/Oct 2017

“If loving and worshiping Christ is a crime, I am guilty as charged,” Egyptian believer Majed El Shafie told the judge. The Egyptian government had charged him with apostasy for leaving Islam…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2017

INDIA—A Christian in Jharkhand state, India, recently succumbed to illnesses incurred when villagers immersed him and his wife in a cold pond because they had left their indigenous religion and refused to deny Christ.

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2017

In a horrific incident of torture, Esam, from Qaraqosh, related what ISIS did after his sister’s husband refused to convert to Islam: “He was crucified and tortured in front of his wife and children, who were forced to watch. They [ISIS] told him that…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2017

A Muslim suicide bomber in Cairo recently carried out the deadliest church attack in modern history a week after the Egyptian government announced its plans to open 10 new mosques every week while remaining indifferent…

Christian Persecution Jan/Feb 2017

Christians in Russia now must choose between obeying the law and obeying God because of a new set of Stalinesque “anti-terrorism” laws passed recently that severely restrict evangelism and set the stage for a mass persecution of…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2016

Thousands of Christians who fled to Germany from Islamic countries for safety and religious freedom now face violence, harassment, and death threats for their faith from Muslim refugees in Germany’s…

Christian Persecution Sep/Oct 2016

The Muslim governor of the Muslim-dominated Kaduna state in Nigeria recently proposed a law that would stifle Christian freedoms and criminalize street preaching…

Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2016

An imprisoned Christian convert from Islam recently sneaked a message of encouragement to Iran’s Christians in the face of a government crackdown that has crippled the country’s…

Christian Persecution May/Jun 2016

A group of Muslim men in Pakistan recently abducted a 7-year-old Christian boy, gang-raped him, then strangled him to death with a rope. One week later, in a different region of Pakistan, another group of Muslim men mauled three young…

God’s Way

Youcef Nadarkhani, 38, is an Iranian-Christian pastor. He spent three years in prison and was sentenced to death by hanging on charges of apostatizing from Islam and evangelizing Muslims. Although released in September 2012, he was…

Christian Persecution Mar/Apr 2016

A 32-year-old Pentecostal pastor was hacked to death recently and his body thrown in the river less than a week after members of a Bible study were poisoned in another area of eastern Uganda…

Christian Persecution Jan/Feb 2016

Muslims fleeing the Islamic State (ISIS) hurled as many as 53 Christians overboard during a crossing from Libya last year. In another incident…

They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2015

Despite the fact that hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Christians each year face their utilities being cut off, their lands seized, physical and…

Pastor Abedini Still in Prison in Iran

Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American Christian pastor detained in Iran since 2012, has become the international face of the Islamic Republic’s brutal persecution of Christians…

They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2015

Christians and others in the southern Philippines are extremely afraid that legislation creating an Islamic substate on Mindanao Island will exacerbate religious tensions, rather than…

Psalm 123: Our Focus

According to an old saying, “You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” When it comes to Israel…

Psalm 129: Our Guardian

From their sojourn in Egypt to their days in Europe during Hitler’s Third Reich to today, the Jewish people have been afflicted. Yet against all odds, this tiny group of people…

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The Inextinguishable Church

The global campaign to eliminate Christianity and the followers of Jesus Christ is as diverse as it is unrelenting. In the Middle East and Africa, ISIS Islamists have reverted to…

They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2015

Church members have fled a village in northeast India after a vicious attack in April that seriously injured at least three Christians, including…

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Selling Islam in America

When Tulsa, Oklahoma, police captain Paul Fields refused an order to attend a mosque, he was slapped with a two-week suspension and permanent demotion. Captain Fields resisted…

They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2015

A 12-year-old girl is still traumatized after her father, an imam, beat her and killed her 15-year-old sister for converting to Christ. Naigaga Saidah’s father, Imam Abudalah Ali, reportedly…

They Cry in Silence Jan/Feb 2015

Those of you who regularly follow persecution news may find it gets hard to read after a while. In response to reader requests on how to deal with so much horrific information, I’ll share how…

Remembering the Martyrs

On Sunday, January 8, 1956, Nate Saint’s watch stopped at 3:12 P.M. Five days later, his body was found downstream on the Curaray River in the jungles of South America. Ed McCully’s…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2014

Do a computer search for “ISIS” and “Christians” and prepare to gasp in horror. ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or simply Islamic State) is slaughtering Christians in the Middle East…

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Prelude to Apocalypse

Standing atop a mountain plateau in the stark Judean wilderness, one can look down at the remains of Roman siege camps that eventually trapped some 960 Jewish men…

World Watch List 2014

Open Doors USA serves the persecuted church around the world. Each year it ranks the 50 worst countries for Christian persecution. North Korea has headed the list for 12 years…

They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2014

The nightmare continues for prominent Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng and his family. When Gao was released from prison in China on August 7, no one heard…

Up Close Among Suffering Nigerians

“I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, but your life insurance application was rejected.” When I asked why, the agent explained: “On the questionnaire, your answer about travel said you are going…

Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2014

Intel will spend $6 billion to upgrade its Kiryat Gat chip manufacturing plant in one of the biggest single investments ever by a foreign company in Israel. The deal is expected to…

They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2014

Since the Islamic extremist Boko Haram kidnapped more than 300 Christian high school girls in April, it has been relentlessly attacking Nigeria’s Christians, who now are trying to…

Highway to Nowhere

When the hot days of summer began to descend, two significant legal issues were heating up in Washington. One was the well-known case involving Christian-run Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc….

Inside View Jul/Aug 2014

What price would I be willing to pay to follow Jesus? The question resonated with me over and over during our recent Up to Jerusalem tour. Each issue of Israel My Glory runs…

They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2014

Although U.S. officials and other global players were trying to help recover the girls kidnapped from a majority-Christian high school in Nigeria’s Borno state in April, scores…

They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2014

Muslim herdsmen wielding guns and machetes attacked three villages in Kaduna state in March, killing more than 100 Christians and destroying homes. The attack came…

They Cry in Silence Mar/Apr 2014

One of the worst Christian massacres—complete with mass graves, tortured-to-death women and children, and destroyed churches—took place in Syria in 2013…

They Cry in Silence Jan/Feb 2014

The wounded mother of a 12-year-old girl killed at a Christian church wedding in October in suburban Cairo, Egypt, lay in a hospital bed recently, lost in anguish. Her daughter, Mariam Nabil Fahmy Azer…

They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2013

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) probably should have read Proverbs 17:28 before telling the world via Fox News in September that Muslims who shout “Allahu Akbar!” are no different from Christians…

Who Weeps for the Children?

It was a rather strange occurrence. The church was filled to capacity night after night to listen to Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter, one of the last great pulpit orators to have settled in the United States from…

Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2013

Recent excavations near the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have unearthed a literal treasure trove, again confirming an ancient Jewish presence in the city. Led by archaeologist…

They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2013

It is well known that Christians are being viciously persecuted in countries with Muslim majorities. Now, however, Muslim violence is spreading to areas where Christians are the majority, such as…

They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2013

A mass exodus of Christians is currently under way. Millions of Christians are being displaced from one end of the Islamic world to the other. We are reliving the true history of…

They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2013

An angry mob of Muslims burned down almost 200 Christian homes in Pakistan in March, leaving nearly 400 Christian families homeless. International…

They Cry in Silence Mar/Apr 2013

Christians are targeted for persecution more than any other religious group in the world. And if something isn’t done soon to stem the situation in the…

They Cry in Silence Jan/Feb 2013

When Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was finally released from prison in Iran in September 2012 after an ordeal of many years, people around the world rejoiced. They did…

The WCC: No Friend to Israel

The World Council of Churches’ negative attitude toward Israel has been evident from the organization’s formal inception in 1948. Its website speaks of helping “displaced Palestinians”…

They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2012

Violent attacks on Nigerian Christians continue to increase at  an alarming rate, and they seem to be the work of the notorious, radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which has vowed…

They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2012

All Egyptian Christians should flee from Egypt, and they should never look back.” The stark warning came from a commentator in the aftermath of Mohammed Morsi’s election as Egypt’s new…

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A Declaration of Peace

History has a nasty way of repeating itself. And it’s happened again. Those of us who remember 1938 recall Britain’s then-Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain triumphantly waving a paper while disembarking…

They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2012

Eleven Christians in India barely escaped death recently after Muslims barged into a home where they were praying and tried to kill them. The mob grew larger and larger until…

They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2012

Two suicide bombers from the Boko Haram Islamist sect drove a car laden with bombs into the worship service of a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation recently, killing…

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Some Good News for A Change

There’s Good News Tonight.” That was the lead each evening on Gabriel Heatter’s national news broadcast during World War II. Known for exuding a “dignified optimism,” Heatter brought to the…

They Cry in Silence Mar/Apr 2012

When this column first appeared in our May/June 2001 issue, it was intended to inform our readers about persecution of the brethren in faraway places. Living in the West tends…

Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2012

A cyber war between Israel and its enemies is heating up, with both sides hacking into each other’s websites. Hackers recently brought down the El Al and Tel Aviv Stock…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2012

Did spring really come early for Arabs in the Middle East last year? Many believe so. Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak was forced out after decades of ruthless rule…

Where Have All the Christians Gone?

Freedom. Democracy. Have these truly been the result of the so-called Arab Spring? Not for Christians, who appear to be in even bigger trouble than they were in before.

They Cry in Silence Jan/Feb 2012

Imagine your 12-year-old daughter or granddaughter is on her way home from school. Several men jump out of a van and abduct her. Then they beat and rape her every day for months…

NRB: Google, iTunes, Facebook All Censor Christian Views

If you think you can place overtly Christian content on the ubiquitous Internet giants Google or iTunes, think again. The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) has publicized its first report of the John Milton…

They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2011

Kidnapped Christian Girl in Sudan Escapes. Hiba Abdelfadil Anglo, 16, has escaped from Muslims who kidnapped her in June 2010, beat and raped her, and tried to force her to convert to Islam.

They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2011

So taunts the little gingerbread boy in a well-known children’s story. The arrogant little guy manages to evade everyone who wants to eat him until he meets a sly fox who knows…

They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2011

Muslims Murder a Convert. Two Muslim extremists in Somalia murdered a member of a secret Christian community in Lower Shabele region in April as part of a campaign to rid the country…

Fortress of Faith, Castles of Sand

Christianity in America is under attack as never before. The press is particularly hostile. But the source of other threats may surprise you.

They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2011

Pastor in India Attacked. A pastor in India was stripped, beaten, and wounded by 10 Hindu extremists recently while praying in a home for a sick 8-year-old boy. The extremists arrived on motorbikes…

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The Heart of Prayer

Early on New Year’s Day a car bomb exploded outside a church in Alexandria, Egypt, killing 21 worshipers and seriously injuring dozens more. The next day was Sunday, and Christians throughout…