September 1996 – A dozen young slave boys are herded through the streets of Manyiel, Sudan, to be appraised by potential new owners. Their bodies are caked with dust. Scars and bruises tell of the abuse some have endured. Empty eyes reveal no hope, and their faces are as old as suffering itself.

Yet, for Garang and Akok, 10- and 12-year-old half-brothers in the somber parade, God has smiled on them. They are purchased by two Baltimore Sun reporters, seeking to expose the Sudanese government slave trade. The men pay an illegal middleman $500 for each child, and return them to their father.  Garang and Akok had lived in slavery for six years. They are among countless throngs of non-Muslims abducted in slave raids sponsored and supported by government. ¹

“In Sudan,” says Prison Fellowship’s Chuck Colson, “the Muslim government is waging war on the southern part of its own country, which is largely Christian. Believers are killed…or sold into slavery to buyers from other Islamic countries.”  ²

Western church becoming aware
The plight of Garang and Akok is not unlike that of many persecuted Christians whose tragic circumstances seldom attract lasting concern from the evangelical Christian community in the West.  Some, however, are working selflessly and tirelessly to change that, and they see on the horizon a hint of dawning conscience for the Body of Christ as the spotlight of compassion illuminates conditions of persecuted believers worldwide.

September 29 should be circled on every American church’s calendar. It is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, a day when evangelical Christians will focus on fellow believers who, because of their faith, are being persecuted. And we are talking about persecution here, not the kind of discrimination to which U. S. Christians are accustomed. As repugnant and relentless as that discrimination has become, it does not hold a candle to the persecution suffered by many Christians around the globe.

The People’s Republic of China is another nation where Christians face frequent persecution. The Wall Street Journal (5/15/96) stated matter-of-factly, “Christians are routinely persecuted on the mainland,” and Catholic parishioners in Hong Kong who are critical of government-controlled clergy have been ordered to “shut up.”

The horrors suffered by Christians in many lands are further illustrated in the following examples:

• Lai Man Peng, a 22-year-old Chinese evangelist, was seized along with four other evangelists by the Public Security Bureau (China’s KGB) as they conducted prayer meeting in one of China’s “house churches.” In front of their congregation, officials beat the men severely, then ordered prayer meeting attendees to beat the pastors. Left to die, Mr. Lai crawled several miles toward his home before he died on the road. ³

 

• In Pakistan a 12-year-old child was sentenced to death under that country’s new blasphemy law which forbids speaking or acting against the prophet Mohammed. After international pressure was brought to bear, officials freed the child, but other Christians in that land have been imprisoned and tortured merely for preaching their faith. ⁴

 

• Kuwaiti businessman Robert Hussein converted from Islam to Christianity and quickly attracted the wrath of Islamic leaders. Lawyers sued to strip him of family, possessions, home and business. The Kuwaiti Constitution “protects the freedom of practicing religion in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict with policy or morals.” (Article 35) Islamic lawyers, however, interpret that provision to apply only to the “religion of origin” – i.e., only if you are born Christian are you free to practice the Christian faith.  Hussein, if convicted of changing his religion, will lose all rights and property.  ⁵

 

• Five female Christians were detained in a brutal crackdown on a church in China, according to a UPI report. Government torturers beat people and doused them with boiling water when they refused to follow police orders. One woman lost her front teeth when police repeatedly struck her in the face.

 

• Seven monks were beheaded on May 20 in Algeria. The extremist Armed Islamic Group had earlier kidnapped the monks, who belonged to the Trappist Order of Monks. ⁶

• Cui Chaoshu, a house church pastor from the northern Chinese province of Yunnan, was kidnapped, bound and beaten to death by local officials in the spring of 1992 as part of a campaign to terrorize and intimidate underground Christians. ⁷

International Christian Concern (ICC) and Christian Solidarity International (CSI) are two names on a short list of groups committed to exposing truth and motivating Christians in free lands to speak up on behalf of their persecuted brothers and sisters.

“Christians have been at the bottom of the list in discussions on human rights,” declares Rev. Steven L. Snyder, president of ICC. He says there are four integral elements for believers who would become involved in the issue: (1) Awareness – assimilating information regarding the persecuted; (2) Intercession – fervent prayer for them; (3) Reactive response – an immediate reaction to the problem (e.g., petitions, phone calls to Congressmen) and (4) Proactive response – long-term involvement to effect policy change.

Both ICC and CSI have initiated petition drives and both are eager to provide  information to arm Christians for this particular battle front. (Addresses below.)

James B. Jacobson, head of the U.S. arm of CSI, reported in a mid-July press release that “evidence indicates that the Sudanese government used cluster bombs to kill and terrify Christian villagers in Southern Sudan.” Bombs hit near a primary school and near a Roman Catholic church. Father Maurice, pastor of the church, said, “We are like chickens or a rat chased by a cat – we are so vulnerable.”

CSI offers churches a free information packet regarding persecuted Christians especially for use on the September 29 International Day of Prayer, an observance initiated by the Religious Liberty Commission of World Evangelical Fellowship. Various Christian human rights groups as well as many evangelical leaders, including Charles Colson, D. James Kennedy, Richard Land, Bill Bright, Don Argue and Gary Bauer are promoting it.

Ironically, also in the vanguard of this elite group is none other than Michael Horowitz, a Washington, D.C., Jewish lawyer. Horowitz says his work in this arena simply reflects his appreciation for the help of Christians in opposing anti-Semitism in recent years. ⁸

Many are concerned about evident apathy in Washington. Recently, after nine months of being briefed by the State Department, Jim Sasser (President Clinton’s new ambassador to China) reflected that lack of concern. On the eve of his departure, a human rights delegation met with Sasser and requested, “We want to talk to you about the house church movement.”

“What is a house church?” Sasser asked, baffled.

China’s house church movement is believed by many to be the largest evangelical movement in the world. Some estimate as many as 100 million believers are involved. These believers, as reflected in the illustrations above, are a major target of torture and imprisonment by Chinese officials. That the State Department would spend nine months briefing an ambassador to the world’s most populous nation and ignore the house church movement reflects the Clinton administration’s low priority on the persecution of Christians .   

Colson reported in his Spring newsletter another occurrence that reflects the U.S. government’s apathy – or perhaps covert hostility – toward the Christian faith. The Saudi Arabian government recently demanded that the U.S. embassy cease religious services for American citizens and close its nightclubs, since alcoholic drinks and dancing are both against Muslim beliefs. U. S. officials offered a compromise: Let us keep the nightclubs open and we’ll close the worship services.

As dark as the night seems to be, there are those who sense a new day coming. David Aikman, 23 years a foreign and domestic correspondent with Time magazine, wrote in an August, 1996 Charisma article: “One of the most encouraging developments in Christian history this century has been the changing heart of committed Christian believers – whether mainstream, evangelical or charismatic – toward the Jews.” One can only hope that Christians would also turn their hearts toward their own brothers and sisters of faith.  Horowitz, too, shows guarded optimism, citing coverage of the issue in publications as diverse as those cited above, as well as American Spectator and Christianity Today.

Believers in the U.S. and other free lands must no longer rely on governments to champion the cause of persecuted Christians, whose human rights are routinely savaged with hardly anyone stepping forward in their defense. Christians must become educated, convicted, committed and prayerfully active on behalf of those innocents who daily face death for the sake of the Gospel.

Proverbs 31:8 admonishes, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Until we do so, children like Garang and Akok will continue to live in slavery, abuse and fear. And when those children die for Christ’s sake, their blood will be on our hands.                        

References
1. Gilbert A. Lewthwaite and Gregory Kane. “Bought – and freed,” Baltimore Sun, June 18, 1996, p.8A.
2. Charles Colson. “Save the Christians,” Jubilee, Spring, 1996, p.15.
3. Mona Charen. “Ignoring Christian martyrs,”  Washington Times, December 18-24, 1995, p.30.
4. Ibid.
5. “What’s a House Church?” Christian Solidarity International newsletter, June, 1996, p.5.
6. Steven L. Snyder. “Monks beheaded in Algeria,” International Christian Concern newsletter, June, 1996.
7. James Jacobson. Christian Solidarity International special advisory letter, June, 1996.
8. Joel Belz. “Blood-stilling silence,” World magazine, July 6/13, 1996, p.5.

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For More Information
• Christian Solidarity International, 15 Chester Street, Front Royal, VA 22630. 1-800-323-CARE
• International Christian Concern, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #941, Washington, DC 20006, 1-800-ICC-5441
• World Evangelical Fellowship. P.O. Box WEF, Wheaton, IL 60189,708-668-0440 (WEF offers a Resource Kit with information concerning persecuted Christians and regarding the September 29 International Day of Prayer. Suggested donation of $10 not required.)