Yea, and all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth? Rev.6:10
It has been a fact all down through history the Christian faith, those
who live godly have suffered persecution and it has been the responsibility of
Christians to look after the household of faith. The result of this godly life and interest of
taking care of their fellowman has cost many their lives. In the past few years the number of
Christians who have been killed for their faith has increased. As American Christians we should be looking
at the household of faith and the needs of those who are suffering for the
cause of Jesus Christ but we have been silent to long.
Often
as Christians we are asked to stand up for what we believe. Here in America we are often asked to sign
petitions, march in protest of abortion clinics, send letters to our elected
officials concerning the liberalization of our education but when it comes to
supporting the Christians who live in countries that are hostile to
Christianity we are silent. This is my statement of concern for the religious
freedom of Christians in countries receiving financial and military aid from
the United States. It is my intent to
bring about action by our government to stop sending aid to countries that
persecute Christian by challenging American Christians to take action on the
part of our fellow Christians.
Christians
in America may be concerned about not saying Merry Christmas and replacing it
with Happy Holidays or, if they can display the Nativity Scene in the public
square or, if the Ten Commandments could be displayed on the courthouse
lawn. This is all important, but how can
we forget the Christians who have been driven from their homes, lost they
source of income, had their place of worship burned to the ground, or family
members murdered because they are Christians?
How many time have we witnessed a Christian beheaded because of their
faith? How many of us have lost family
and friends to those who want to stop the Christian faith? When was the last time someone was put in
prison for passing out Bibles or even witnessing to someone about their
salvation?
I
do not like to think that my tax dollars are supporting the murder of
Christians but it is evident Christians are dying at the hands of those we
support with our taxes. The persecution
of Christians in countries that are receiving financial and military aid from
the United States should stop now.
American Christians are being taxed to send money to countries that are
hostile to Christians. Countries like
Saudi Arabia and Israel. (I am about to
offend both Muslims and Jews.) Both countries are valued allies of the United
States and both violate Christian beliefs and practices.
As
American Christians we should be concerned about these two countries. Our government gives billions of dollars to
these two countries. The Bush administration agreed to a large increase in
annual military aid to Israel. Annual military grants to Israel represent
over 20% of the Israeli defense budget. U.S. military aid will increase from
$2.4 billion in 2008 to $3.1 billion a year through 2018. About 75% of the aid
is spent on American weaponry and services. (Israel itself in 2006 was the 9th
largest arms exporter in the world.)
”Israel
enjoys other privileges. While most countries receiving U.S. military aid funds
are expected to use them for U.S. arms, ammunition and training, Israel can
spend part of these funds on weapons made by Israeli manufacturers. Also, when
it spends its U.S. military aid money on U.S. products, Israel frequently
requires the U.S. vendor to buy components or materials from Israeli
manufacturers. Thus, though Israeli politicians say that their own
manufacturers and exporters are making them progressively less dependent upon
U.S. aid, in fact those Israeli manufacturers and exporters are heavily
subsidized by U.S. aid.
Israel
also receives foreign aid from some other countries. After the United States,
the principal donor of both economic and military aid to Israel is Germany. By
far the largest component of German aid has been in the form of restitution
payments to victims of Nazi atrocities. But there also has been extensive
German military assistance to Israel during and since the Gulf war, and a
variety of German educational and research grants go to Israeli institutions.
The total of German assistance in all of these categories to the Israeli
government, Israeli individuals and Israeli private institutions has been some
$31 billion or $5,345 per capita, bringing the per capita total of U.S. and
German assistance combined to almost $20,000 per Israeli. Since very little
public money is spent on the more than 20 percent of Israeli citizens who are
Muslim or Christian, the actual per capita benefits received by Israel’s Jewish
citizens would be considerably higher.” By Richard
H. Curtiss Former U.S. Foreign Service Officer
The
Bush administration made the announcement of its $30 billion, 10-year military
aid agreement with Israel to coincide with a separate deal to sell $16.7 billion
in weaponry to Saudi Arabia. The
largest single recent U.S. foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia was a $9
billion contract for 72 F-15S fighter aircraft. The contract was signed in May
1993, and delivery of the F-15S aircraft was completed in 1999.
America
is supporting both these countries at a rate higher than we take care of our
own people. But, how do these countries treat
Christians? Let’s start with Israel the
nation we feel we must give $30 billion dollars plus to each year. The nation that Christian Zionist believe
they are supporting “God’s Chosen People” is not so kind to their benefactors. So how do the treat the followers of Jesus
Christ?
In
December of 1977 the Israeli government passed a law that made missionaries
liable to five years’ imprisonment for attempting to persuade people to change
their religion, and three years’ imprisonment for any Jew who converted. On April
1, 1978, the law prohibiting the offering of “material inducement” for a person
to change his religion went into effect. A material inducement could be
something as minor as the giving of a Bible.
Anti-Christian speeches were made in the parliament during debate on
this law and one Parliament member called missionaries “a cancer in the body of
the nation.”
Jewish
religious leaders supported a religious ruling that copies of the New Testament
should be torn out of any edition of a Bible owned by a Jew. Desecration of
Christian property and churches—arson, window breaking, burning of the New
Testament has be the history of the Jews toward the Christian community. Some Jews wanted no Christians, whom they
considered fallen Jews, in Israel. But Israel does not want the world to know
they are in conflict with the Christian world: it couldn’t survive without it.
This hatred, this violence, is the result of thousands of years of
anti-Christian hatred by the Jews and everyone wants to pretend it does not
exist.
Saudi Arabia-- there
are Christians in Saudi Arabia, but it is listed as the second most difficult
country to be a Christian. All citizens must adhere to Islam and conversion to
another religion is punishable by death. Public Christian worship is forbidden;
worshipers risk imprisonment, lashing, deportation and torture. Evangelizing
Muslims and distributing non-Islamic materials is illegal. Muslims who convert
to Christianity risk honor killings.
Blasphemy
against Sunni Islam is also punishable by death, but the more common penalty is
a long prison sentence. Religious
freedom is virtually non-existent. The Government does not provide legal
recognition or protection for freedom of religion, and it is severely
restricted in practice and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is
prohibited. The sentencing of a Lebanese Christian in May of this year to lashings and imprisonment for converting a Saudi coworker put the spotlight on the laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its intolerance of the Christian faith.
Let me add this, if Israel and Saudi Arabia have a problem with the Christian faith that is their right, but it is also our right not to send money or military aid to countries that deny Christians the right to worship the LORD in those countries. If they are so offended by our Christian faith then don't take our money. These same people come to this country and expect to be treated with respect and the right to practice their religion. The same should apply in their country.
The
United States government has been indifferent to its obligation to speak out
against reigns of terror now being plotted and waged against Christians. We
know that the United States government has within its power and discretion to
adopt policies that would limit the reigns of terror and protecting the rights
of Christians.
It is time for the Christians of America to
take a stand against the U.S. government’s support of countries that deny
Christians religious freedom. Religious
liberty is a God-given right. It is the
very foundation America was founded on and has for years defined the people of
America. It is the responsibility of
Christians to get our government to do everything we can to secure the
religious liberty of Christians suffering from persecution. It is time to end our silence and to speak
out against the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters. Christians have supported the religious
freedom of Jews and Muslims while they in turn have continued to deny
Christians the same freedom.
It
is time to remove our elected official from office who do not support stopping
aid to countries that our persecuting Christians. Let’s support our fellow Christians around
the world.
By the way, those who will say Christians benefit from this aid are wrong, both countries I mentioned don't help Christians so there is no loss of aid or benefit.