Life as a Christian in the Middle East: Insight Into Challenges, Growth of Christianity Amid Intensifying Persecution
September 25, 2013|1:29 pm
Todd Nettleton is a spokesperson for Voice of the Martyr, an advocacy group for persecuted Christians around the world. Here he speaks to The Christian Post to offer an insight into the situation in Pakistan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq as well as the Middle East as a whole, and what it is like for Christians in the region.ON SYRIA
What is going on in Syria? What unique challenges are Syrian Christians facing?
I just returned from Lebanon where I attended a conference of Syrian church leaders. Two things we came away with from the trip are that the church in Syria is growing. One of the pastors, who used to have seven services every week, now, has 12 services every week. There is so much hunger, so many people coming to Christ and coming into the church.
The bad news, though, is with that growth there is an increase in persecution. We see Christians being targeted, not only Christians from Muslim backgrounds but also the traditional Christian community in Syria. There are Christian villages where literally rebels have come in, they've announced from loudspeakers, "Christians, you have 48 hours to get out if the village or else," and literally the Christians pack what they can carry and they leave their homes, leave their villages, because they're in fear for their lives. There is definitely intense persecution as well.
The interesting thing is none of the Christians that we talked to wanted America to bomb Syria. They did not want that to happen. In their mind, they saw it as being directly in support of the rebels. They fear rebels more than they fear Assad's regimen, not to say that Assad's regime is perfect or even good, but the Christians there say it is much better than what the radical Sunni rebels would be.
One of the leaders we met with said, "When we hear that a Christian has been taken, we pray that the Christian has been taken by the government, not by rebels. There's some chance we'll see them alive again if there were taken by the government, but if they were taken by rebels, they'll be killed."
While they're not huge fans of Assad, they definitely think he's the lesser of two evils when it comes to him or radical Sunni rebels taking control of the country.
I think Assad - and we didn't directly discuss this in Lebanon - Assad traditionally has not been harsh on the Christian church. There has been persecution there, but I think even then they saw that Assad, an Alawite, presented a better situation, than if a Sunni majority took over the country.
What is the future for Christianity in Syria?
Short term is pretty bleak. Thousands of Christians are leaving Syria, saying there is no future for them here and that they have to go to Lebanon, Europe, the West. I think that in the short term there are not a lot of hopeful signs. However, we do see Christians choosing intentionally to stay for ministry and outreach.
Some of the church leaders we met with were meeting in Lebanon for training about how to help people deal with trauma, and they were saying, "This is just what we need in this time."
They want help the people there, not just the church, but all the people in Syria that are undergoing so much trauma, and they are excited to be equipped so they can minister and help. They were saying, "This is a great time for ministry. We can help through the power of God and make an impact of Christ and kingdom."
For more, see: http://www.christianpost.com/news/life-as-a-christian-in-the-middle-east-insight-into-challenges-growth-of-christianity-amid-intensifying-persecution-105172/cpf
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