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*Faith Under Fire....

Christians 'Most Persecuted' Religious Group in the World, Says Expert*

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter
May 4, 2012|7:59 am

WASHINGTON -- The head of a California-based evangelical religious
liberty group stated Thursday that Christianity is presently the most
persecuted religion on earth based on evidence gathered.

Dr. Carl Moeller told The Christian Post at an event on rising religious
intolerance abroad that Christians are "the most persecuted in the
world" when the nonprofit examined religious groups suffering from
increased persecution.

"In terms of sheer numbers, the large size of the Christian populations
around the world, where they're repressed or restricted... Whether you
count martyrs, those killed, or you count those living in regimes,
sizable Christian populations live under extreme restrictions in places
like China, Indonesia, and of course the Middle East," said Moeller.

He noted that "the methodology for determining this was not from Open
Doors necessarily. It was through organizations like Pew Research."

Moeller cited in his remarks a 2011 Pew Forum on Religion and Public
Life study that concluded that about 70 percent of the world's
population lives in a religiously intolerant environment and 32 percent
of the world's population experienced a rise in religious hostility
either at the social or government level.

"Where we see it most notably is in Islamic societies where an
intentional misrepresentation of other faiths is primary. It's fueled by
illiteracy and some cases poverty," said Moeller.

"But the core driver is a distortion of a religious message that makes
Christians or other minority groups the enemy."

Moeller's remarks came at a press conference focused on the increased
persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sponsored by Opens Doors and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the conference
was held on Thursday at the National Press Club.

In addition to Moeller, other speakers included Rabbi Yitzchok
Adlerstein, director of interfaith affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal
Center, and Nina Shea, a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom.

"What we all have in common is that we are stakeholders in battling what
we call a growing scourge of repression of religious freedom," said
Adlerstein.

"It can easily be shown that religious freedom in minority populations
has become a political tool of all kinds of regimes and one that will
continue to wreak havoc with the lives, indeed the existence of entire
communities in many parts of the world."

For his speech, Moeller spoke about the growing problems for Christians
in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Nigeria. When talking about Nigeria, which is
in the news regularly for bomb attacks by an extremist Islamic group
called Boko Haram, Moeller held up photos of bombed churches and
businesses taken over the past few months.

USCIRF Commissioner Shea talked about various issues regarding
international religious liberty, focusing on several failures on the
part of the Obama administration in addressing these issues.

Shea also mentioned a piece of legislation "languishing in the Senate"
known as SB 1245, which was introduced by Republican Congressman Frank
Wolf as HR 440. The bill if enacted would create a "Special Envoy" for
the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East and South East
Asia. It is currently being held up by Virginia Democratic Senator Jim
Webb for unknown reasons.

"The U.S.'s moral muscle can be used to save millions of lives from
oppression, imprisonment, and even death," said Moeller.

"And I believe that there are people of good will of faith of all
religious persuasions around the world who would understand the kinds of
things we were talking about here today."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-most-persecuted-religiou...

In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:11,12), Jesus said:

11--"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12--"Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets were before you."

In the same chapter, Jesus goes on to tell us...

43--"Ye have heard that it hath been said, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, and hate thine enemy."

44--"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45--"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46--"For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47--"And if ye salute your brethen only, what do ye more than others? do not the publicans so?

48--"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."


Valerie, I hope that Jesus' above words are the right words concerning your above post

Maranatha!
Tammy