To Die For
By Rosalie M. LoPinto 10.18.06
In China, officials arrested Jiang Zongxiu and her mother-in-law for distributing Bibles and Christian literature in a marketplace. Zongxiu was detained, beaten and eventually pronounced dead of natural causes. The official charge was spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order.
Reports like these are not uncommon. On average, 465 Christian believers die daily for their beliefs. That figure, reported in the Modern Martyrs Index, amounts to 169,725 Christians martyred for their faith annually.
"What a person really believes is not what he says in his creeds, but what he is willing to die for," said Richard Wurmbrand, author of Tortured for Christ. The publication detailed his own imprisonment for being a Christian.
Christians around the world often prove their beliefs with their own blood. They are imprisoned, tortured, and killed under communist and militant Islamic regimes for publicly declaring their faith.
Yet the common theme among persecuted Christians is that it is a privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ. Despite persecution and fueled by martyrdom, the underground church in China, for example, has grown from four million in 1949 to over 80 million converts.
Voice of the Martyrs, an organization seeking to keep the plight of persecuted Christians at the forefront of church awareness, reports that in China, persecution is strong, but Christian faith is stronger.
Karen Bakalis served as a volunteer for Voice of the Martyrs. Bakalis noted that Christians in China do not consider their faith exceptional. They say they do not have extraordinary faith; they serve an extraordinary God. Bakalis said that North Korea is currently leading the way in persecuting Christians. She said brutal labor camps, torture and murder are commonplace.
“The amazing thing is that many non-Christian North Koreans manage to escape the brutal regime. They end up of in China, and are converted to Christianity in house churches,” Bakalis said. “When, they’re converted, they choose to return to North Korea, fully aware of the dangers, to share the gospel with their family and friends.”
Bakalis’ husband, Byron, also worked with Voice of the Martyrs. He said Christians in both communist and many Islamic countries are victims of the same kind of brutality.
“They’re coming at it from different angles, but the objective is the same. They want to destroy Christians and the church.”
Christian martyrdom is also growing in Somolia. Roman Catholic nun, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, ministered to the poor, the sick and the wounded in Somalia and in Kenya for 38 years. On Sept. 21, 2006, CNN.com reported that she was brutally murdered just hours after an Islamic cleric condemned comments made by Pope Benedict XVI . The Pope had mentioned historic links between Islam and violence.
On Sept. 14, 2006, Somalis for Jesus reported that a gunman for the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU) murdered Ali Mustaf Maka‘il. A college student, Maka’il converted from Islam to Christianity less than a year ago. The ICU, Southern Somalia’s ruling power since June 2006, charged Maka’il with refusing to participate in Islamic prayers.
Though some Christians find themselves thrust unwillingly into perilous situations, others knowingly place themselves in harm’s way. Missionary Nat Saginario travels extensively, often into remote and troubled areas. He said leaving his family behind always gives him pause to think.
“You can’t help but wonder if you will ever see them again, but you just go,” Saginario said. “It is the urgency of the call, the urgency of reaching the lost. What matters the most is God’s heart.”
