On Persecution

On Persecution
I try to stay away from political things in my blogs other than to tell Christians not to mix their faith with politics. However when it comes to persecution be it of Christians or anyone I believe one must speak out.
The Writer of Hebrews said,
“Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13:3
In December of 2013 the United Kingdom parliament heard that one Christian is killed every eleven minutes for their faith.
MP Jim Shannon said the persecution of Christians is “the biggest story in the world that has never been told”
He said that although the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are many countries in which these rights are not given.
Shannon alleged that 200 million Christians will be persecuted for their faith this year,(2013), while he said 500 million live in dangerous neighbourhoods
German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Christianity is "the most persecuted religion in the world." 
That being said there are many groups in the world who are being persecuted today. Jews around the world are still being persecuted in many areas.
In the middle east and around the world various terrorist groups and governments, some even claiming to be Muslims are persecuting Muslims.
A recent report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) quotes Human Rights Watch as saying,
“The torture and imprisonment of dozens of gay and bisexual men in Chechnya is an emergency of "unprecedented magnitude".
Gay and bisexual men are not just being persecuted in Chechnya but in other countries also. In some countries they are not just imprisoned but put to death. This should not be so.
Martin Luther King Jr. the great American civil rights leader once said,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

                                                                                          Martin Luther King jr.
As a Christian I am reminded of a quote from Martin Niemoller a Christian pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis during world war two for his beliefs who said,

“When they came for the Communists, 

I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist. 

When they came for the Jews, 

I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish. 

When they came for the Catholics, 

I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic. 

When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up.” 

                                                                                              Martin Niemoller.
We as Christians living in the western democracies with all the freedoms they offer need to be speaking out against injustice and persecution not just against fellow Christians but against any human being irrespective of their faith, their race, or their lifestyle.
We only have to look at Nazi Germany of world war two to see what happens when Christians and others remain silent and do not speak out against injustice, and persecution. Six million Jews and a further six million of others of all faiths and lifestyles murdered not to mention the war that ensued causing the deaths of over fifty-six million men women and children by men and women who were far from God.
We cannot stay silent. We must do what we can to help the persecuted around the world irrespective of who they are, their lifestyle, or their faith.
After all it was Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
And no rational person, Christian, or otherwise would want to be persecuted or to see anyone persecuted.
Please think about it.