CHRISTIANITY: THE WORLD'S MOST PERSECUTED RELIGION

Yea, all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.  2 Timothy 3:12

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,  for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:10

YOUNG IRAQI CHRISTIANS AWAIT THEIR FATE

Just before Christmas, I became aware that the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, well known for its beheading of those it considers infidels and enemies of Islam, had  resorted to beheading small children coming from Christian families. Indeed, seeking to intimidate and to announce to the world its determination to establish a new caliphate, these Muslim extremists have been brazen in broadcasting through cyberspace photographs and videos of their gory genocide against non-Muslims .

During my six years of living in the Middle East, I was of the opinion  that I had experienced persecution from having to worship secretly in a land which prohibited the practice of all faiths but Islam.  In fact, I even went so far as to liken my experience to that of early Christians worshiping in the catacombs.  However, that part of my life was nothing in comparison to the lives of at least 200,000,000 Christians in the world, who must daily contend with discrimination and the possibility of violence, rape and even death.

In places such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, it is a normal, everyday occurrence for the authorities to threaten, beat and extort money from Christians.  In Pakistan, a country into which the United States has poured billions of dollars of aid, Christians may be - and have been - charged with "blasphemy," an offense which can result in the death penalty.

Many years ago, I made my first visit to Egypt.  During that trip, I visited the neighborhood in Cairo where the Holy Family had reputedly sought refuge during the early childhood of the Christ-child.  Along a small alleyway, I was approached by a Copt, an Egyptian Christian, who sought to engage me in conversation, speaking of the many ways Egyptian Christians were discriminated against, including economic, educational and housing discrimination.  I also learned how fanatics from the Muslim Brotherhood thought nothing of waylaying Christians, kidnapping their daughters and burning churches.  As an American, I had previously been unaware of what Christians in the Muslim world were subjected to.  Sadly, most Americans today are still unfamiliar with the ongoing story of the oppression and persecution of Christians.

Christians, who formed a majority population in the Middle East long before Islam burst upon the scene in the 7th century, are now dwindling ever closer to extinction.  In Bethlehem there are only a few thousand Christians remaining.  Before the defeat of Sadam Hussein, there were approximately 1.2 million Christians in Iraq; now that number, daily subjected to the depredations of Islamic extremists, has fallen below 200,000.  Soon, the region in which the gospel of Christ was first proclaimed will be completely devoid of Christians.

As a regular church-goer, I often ask myself why it is that I cannot remember hearing  a sermon preached on persecution. Could it perhaps be that the 21st century church in America has so bought into the present mindset of not giving offense that such sermons would be considered taboo? Quite frankly, I do not consider it a priority not to offend those I consider offensive, especially after seeing pictures of persecuted and mutilated Christian children.  More Americans, in fact, need to learn of the child martyrs in Iraq who refused to renounce their faith, choosing instead to face death at the hands of Muslim criminals.

It has become increasingly tiresome hearing individuals in high places reciting their litany of exoneration for Islam, propagandizing that the increasing numbers of atrocities and persecutions of Christians have nothing to do with the "real Islam."  Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is an historical fact that, throughout the entire time of its existence, Islam has consistently shown an aggressive stance against Christians and other religious groups. Even in the United States statistics show that, of all religious groups represented, Islam has the highest percentage of adherents who have been involved in violent acts.  

How many American Christians are capable of matching the bravery of child martyrs in Iraq and Syria?  Would I? Could I?  These are hard questions, but questions, nevertheless, that have great relevance for 21st century Christians. 

SATAN UNLEASHED: CHARLIE HEBDO AND MUSLIM GUNMEN

WOUNDED FRENCH POLICEMAN BEGS FOR HIS LIFE

This morning's photographs from Paris graphically illustrated the essence of Islam, a 15th century system of thought control which seeks to determine every action of its adherents' lives, leaving absolutely no room for individuality or freedom of expression.

That a satirical newspaper in a Western democracy was attacked and eleven journalists and two gendarmes were killed is unacceptable under any circumstances.  To say that the attackers were merely extremists entirely misses the point, for a mere cursory reading of the Koran reveals that Islam is a so-called religion which exhorts violence against those who are not in agreement with its aims and aspirations.

From the vantage point this side of the Atlantic, it is apparent that Europe has opted for mass suicide by admitting millions of Muslims, the vast majority of whom have no understanding or appreciation of the societies that have developed from Western civilization that have chosen to allow them entry into their midst. It is nothing short of unbelievable that 14% of French citizens now consider themselves adherents of Islam.  And, in neighboring Belgium, the most popular name chosen for baby boys is Mohamed.

As a Christian, I am appalled by journalism or cartoons that lampoon Christ; however, as an American who takes the First Amendment seriously, I realize that such an possibility is the price of living in a free society.  For Muslims, there is no corresponding support for freedom of expression.  

MUSLIM GUNMEN STRIKE CHARLIE HEDBO

During the six years in which I lived in a Muslim country, censorship was the name of the game.  Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Bibles were confiscated and Western magazines that came into the country were heavily censored, with pages ripped from their bindings and any pictures deemed blasphemous blotted out.  Foreign Christians who were apprehended worshiping together were expelled, and Muslims who converted to Christianity were executed.

A conservative estimate would have it that there are at least 300 million Muslims out of a world total of 1.5 billion who would like nothing better than to see Islam victorious in Europe and North America.  That would amount to a far greater population than that of the Axis nations during World War II and would approximate the numbers of Russians and satellite peoples controlled by the USSR during the Cold War.

It is time to wake up from the multicultural and politically correct pipe-dream that all peoples and cultures are equal and may be assimilated into Western democracies.  Would we have allowed Nazis to purvey their poison openly in America during World War II?  And yet, in 21st century America, we refuse to see that Islam is at war against us.  I cringe when I consider that probably tomorrow left-wing journalists and assorted talking heads will blame Charlie Hebdo for the massacre that decimated its staff and took the lives of two gendarmes.  After all, they maligned the prophet and his bogus religion.

JOSE MARIA MORELOS: A PERILOUS DIVIDE IN MEXICAN HISTORY

One of the most intriguing figures of Mexico's revolution against Spain was Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, who was at one and the same both revolutionary and traditional in his political thought. Although this dichotomy would not be perplexing for Morelos and those who followed him into battle, it would prove to be a negative element in Mexican history during both the 19th and 20th centuries.

Born a poor mestizo in 1765 in Valladolid - the city which in 1826 would be renamed Morelia in his honor - Morelos at an early age went to work on his uncle's ranch, where he learned the skills of a vaquero.  Acquiring discipline and a solid work ethic from this experience, Morelos also developed a love of Spanish grammar and dreamed of someday furthering his studies.

Eventually, devotion and financial hardship joined to lure Morelos into the priesthood, and he entered the College of San Nicolas in Valladolid.  At San Nicolas, Morelos would find a mentor and role model in Padre Miguel Huidalgo y Costilla, the deanof the college, who encouraged him to continue his studies in theology at the local seminary.

After graduation and ordination, Morelos was assigned to a poor parish in the unhealthy lowlands of Michoacan.  There he not only ministered to the spiritual needs of his flock but also oversaw the construction of a new church which became the pride of the region, and he also encouraged the members of his parish to acquire skills in various trades to support themselves.

By 1810 Morels had become aware that Padre Hidalgo had initiated hostilities against Spain in the Bajio. That same year, in a meeting with his old mentor,  Morelos was given command of revolutionary operations in the south, with the understanding that he had sole responsibility for raising and sustaining his army.

Capturing the imagination and loyalty of the people of southern Mexico, Morelos led a guerrilla movement that seized sufficient Spanish armaments to outfit an army, with which he would prove that he was a born general.  Relying on the military treatises of Frederick the Great of Prussia,  Morelos put together a well trained and highly disciplined force, in which his most trusted lieutenants were mestizo vaqueros.  This force took control of most of southern Mexico, including Oaxaca as well as Acapulco and Taxco.  Morelos and his army would carry on the revolutionary struggle after the capture and execution of Padre Hidalgo in 1811.

For three years, Morelos continued the fight against Spain.  During that time, he also labored to provide Mexico with a constitution.  By 1813, the Congress of Chilpancingo was convened. Although Morelos was an enthusiastic supporter of the congress and its task of drafting a constitution, the effort to guarantee its security with the army proved to be a military drawback.

As a political thinker, Morelos, like Hidalgo, had delved deeply into European thought of the 17th and 18th centuries.  He was also aware of the new American republic developing north of the Rio Bravo.  And, as a mestizo, he had definite ideas about the end of slavery, inequitable taxes and obligatory labor.  He was, though, a fervent Mexican Catholic who combined liberal ideology with conservative Catholic principles.

One of the rationalizations for the Revolution was that the Spanish Bourbon monarch Ferdinand VII had been displaced from the Spanish throne by the Napoleonic wars.  Morelos, accordingly, saw Ferdinand as a figurehead who might evdentually become a constitutional monarch, through whom ties with Spain might be maintained.  However, as events progressed, Morelos became more and more convinced that Mexico should be governed as a liberal republic.  But, as an ordained priest, Morelos was also of the opinion that such a republic should be a Christian (Catholic) republic.

During the 18th century, the crown had expelled the Jesuits and had been steadily eliminating many of the prerogatives and privileges of the Church.  Among the privileges of the 13,000 clerics in Mexico at the end of the 18th century were immunity from secular justice and the right to acquire large parcels of land from donations of the wealthy.  For Morelos,  despite his liberalism, it was essential that such privileges should be restored to the Church.

By late 1813, the military fortunes of Morelos began to turn, due to the successes of Spanish commanders Calleja and Iturbide.  However, in October of 1814, a final draft of a document called the Constitution of Chilpancingo was completed.  Although Morelos was overjoyed that the long-awaited constitution had been finalized, the document did not contain all the elements of government that he had hoped for.  Owing to its never having been implemented, the constitution was never considered legitimate.

Shortly thereafter, the revolutionary army of the south was forced into a battle in which the odds were decidedly lopsided.  In the aftermath of defeat, Morelos was captured and underwent both secular and ecclesiastical trials, which resulted in excommunication, removal from the priesthood and a sentence of death.  At the end of 1814, Morelos was executed by firing squad on an old estate of the viceroys near the village of San Cristobal Ecatepec.  The Congress of Chilpancingo was disbanded, but the surviving revolutionary leaders closest to Morelos were fighting Spain until independence came in 1821.

From the short-lived emperorship of Augustin Iturbide during the early years of independence, through the War of the Reform of the 1850's, the French intervention in the 1860's , the Revolution of 1810, the Cristero movement of the 1920's and the formation and development of modern Mexican political parties, the legacy of Jose Maria Morelos has remained a consistent quandary as to how the intense religious conviction of a nation that is perhaps more fervently Roman Catholic than any other county in the world could be reconciled with an enlightened, liberal and forward-looking government.  This dilemma has been a negative force in the fulfillment of of the ideals of the Mexican Revolution, and is still a factor to be considered in contemporary Mexican politics.