Rising Genocide

Jesus warned us that some of us would be persecuted for following Him. Janet Parshall will tell you how bad that persecution has gotten, in this week’s commentary.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:01):
Every year in November. We recognize those who have suffered
for following Christ with the International Day of Prayer for
the Persecuted Church. It's an important way of raising awareness
on this crucial issue. But a new report hints that
the problem is getting worse.

S2 (00:13):
Here to unpack present day issues from a biblical perspective
is Janet Parshall.

S1 (00:19):
A new survey out of the UK indicates that Christian
persecution is on the rise. The British Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs asked the Bishop of Truro
to set up an independent review into the global persecution
of Christians. According to the report, persecution on grounds of
religious faith is a global phenomenon that is growing in
scale and intensity. Reports, including that of the UN Special

(00:41):
Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, suggest that religious
persecution is on the rise and it is an ever
growing threat to societies around the world. It's impossible to
get exact numbers on those who are persecuted for their faith,
but the report states that it's estimated that one third
of the world's population suffers from religious persecution in some form,
with Christians being the most persecuted group. The UN Declaration

(01:05):
of Human Rights in article 18 defines religious human rights.
In this way everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community,
with others, and in public or private, to manifest his
religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. The
British Survey reported that the evidence suggests that acts of

(01:26):
violence and other intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread.
The reporting period revealed an increase in the severity of
anti-Christian persecution in parts of the Middle East and Africa.
The vast scale of the violence and its perpetrators declared
intent to eradicate the Christian community has led to several
parliamentary declarations in recent years that the faith group has

(01:46):
suffered genocides, according to the definition adopted by the UN.
The government directed report has identified not just persecution but
the outright genocide of Christians. The report also stated. Today,
Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion, finding
once again that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in
the world. The Pew Research Center concluded that in 2016,

(02:08):
Christians were targeted in 144 countries, a rise from 125
in 2015. According to Pew Research, Christians have been harassed
in more countries than any other religious group and have
suffered harassment in many of the heavily Muslim countries of
the Middle East and North Africa. According to Open Doors,
approximately 245 million Christians living in the top 50 countries

(02:30):
suffer high levels of persecution or worse, 30 million up
from the previous year. Christian genocide is a harsh reality
that must be stopped. Use the voice that God has
given you to petition him first, and then use that
same voice to speak up to governments to end this brutality.
That's my opinion. I'm Janet Parshall.

S2 (02:49):
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