Season: 10 Episode: 150
Listen to episode 146 in Spanish:
Summary:
According to Open Doors, 1 in 7 Christians around the world were persecuted for their faith in 2024. Statistics show Christian persecution is on the rise. Although Jesus warned us the world would hate us because it hates Him, does that mean our response to persecution should be passive? In this episode, we look back at the attitude of bystanders during the Holocaust, and the reaction of the German church who went with the status quo. What can we learn from their example and what is the appropriate response of Christians in the West even though “it doesn’t happen here”?
Stats mentioned from:
Book Recommendation:
Bystanders: Conscience And Complicity During the Holocaust
Get Your Bible Study Notebook Here 👇🏻
Christian Persecution
Hey guys! Welcome back to another episode of the Her Faith Inspires podcast where we take cultural issues and tackle them with biblical truth. Today we are talking about the rise in Christian persecution around the world and the attitude we should have and what we can do to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Before we get into today’s episode I would appreciate if you enjoy the podcast to please leave a 5 star rating and review. Its the only way to get the podcast into the earbuds of others. We also have a YT channel and we post the podcast there along with reels. So if you want to watch and listen, go to YT and find me at Shanda Fulbright.
Alright, there was news a few weeks ago about 70 Christians in the Congo who were beheaded. We’re going to talk about the events that transpired from an article from the Baptist Press. I’m also going to talk to you about a book I’m reading called Bystanders: Conscience And Complicity During the Holocaust and what we can learn about apathy from the bystanders during that time, and what the Bible says about Christian persecution.
70 Christians Beheaded
“When I saw the news about the 70 Christians who were beheaded, I was saddened but I also feel so far removed from it. And that’s what worries me. These are brothers and sisters in Christ who go to church, have families, and believe in the same God I do, yet they live in a different part of the world and being a Christian has different consequences for them than it does me.
Let me read you part of the article from the Baptist Press telling what happened:
NORTH KIVU PROVINCE, Congo (BP) – The beheaded bodies of 70 Christians were found in a Protestant church in North Kivu Province in the Congo (DRC) around Feb. 15, several religious freedom advocates said, blaming the extremist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The ADF is accused of approaching homes in Mayba, in the Lumbero territory, beginning Feb. 12 and capturing as many as 100 Christians through Feb. 15, marching them to a Protestant church in Kasanga affiliated with the Evangelical Community in Central Africa 20 (CECA 20), binding and beheading them, reported advocates including Open Doors, International Christian Concern (ICC) and Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The February massacre followed a January attack, reportedly by ADF, that killed 15, ICC reported.
Church leaders are asking the international community for prayer, describing a climate of unchecked violence at the hands of ADF and other Islamic extremist groups including March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.
“We are no longer talking about simple violence,” ICC quoted a pastor Feb. 21. “We are losing fellow innocent Christians time and again. Our churches are now remaining empty. … The people of the Lord are suffering, and it’s just not bearable to watch.”
ADF, a terrorist group aligned with ISIS and originally from neighboring Uganda, has intensified in the DRC the past decade, Open Doors reported. The violence prompted Open Doors to move the DRC up six places to 35th on its 2025 World Watch List of the 50 worst places for Christians to live.
“We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres,” Open Doors quoted an elder of the CECA 20 church. “May God’s will alone be done.”
Those beheaded, who included children and the elderly, were likely unable to complete the journey or duties the captors demanded of them, local sources told ACN, as the captives are required to carry the loot stolen from villages.
“It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labor for the war effort,” ACN quoted a source who was unidentified for safety concerns. “If you get tired on the way, you’re done. I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”
The terrorists arrived in Mayba around 4 a.m.
Feb. 12 and commanded 20 villagers to exit their homes quietly. When about 50 other villagers gathered the next day to plan a response, the terrorists also captured them, it was widely reported. While most said 70 were captured, ACN put the number closer to 100.
John Samuel, Open Doors’ legal expert for its work in sub-Saharan Africa, strongly condemned the violence and called upon civil societies, governments and international organizations to prioritize protection for civilians in the targeted area.
“The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable,” Samuel said in a Feb. 18 press release. “This massacre is a clear indicator of widespread human rights violations against civilians and vulnerable communities, often targeting Christians, perpetrated by ADF – a [so-called Islamic State] affiliate.
“We further call on the international Christian community to remain in prayer for Christians and vulnerable communities in eastern DRC.”
Pray that all levels of government in DRC will respond “diligently, impartially and transparently address the violence and its effects,” Samuel pleaded, while also seeking prayers for the church in Lumbero.
Open Doors counted 355 Christians killed for their faith in the DRC in 2024, an increase from the 261 killed the previous year. An estimated 10,000 were internally displaced, Open Doors said, putting the number at 10-fold the number in 2023.
About 6 million people have died and many more have been displaced in a decades-long conflict in the DRC, ICC said.” – Diana Chandler, BP senior writer.
From what I hear, there is no coverage about this in the media.
I’ve only seen it on social media and have looked it up myself. I also heard there is a rise of Christian persecution around the world so I did some digging on that and Open Doors gave these stats:
In 2024, 1 in 7 Christians worldwide were persecuted.
The number of countries with “extreme” or “very high” persecution increased from 23 in 2015 to 55 in 2023
North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, and Yemen had the highest rates of reported persecution against Christians.
Open Doors UK states freedom of religion needs to be prioritized around the world.
I’m going to leave the 2025 link from Open Doors who advocates for the persecuted Christians around the world, hoping to bring awareness to the over 3 million Christians killed for faith related reasons last year alone.
When you go to the site you will see a map of the world that shows where extreme, moderate, and high levels of persecution are taking place.Thank the Lord the US is not even lit at all, Neither is almost all of South America and North America. So what does that mean for those of us in the West?
Bystanders
I’m currently reading a book and doing a lot of research on the leaders of the 20th century and I came across this book called Bystanders: Conscience And Complicity During the Holocaust. What’s interesting to me is to see how those who weren’t persecuted – those not doing the persecuting reacted to the concentration camps and murder of the Jews. I especially like to see how the church reacted. The author, Victoria J. Barnett goes through and examines the psychology of individuals and the response of institutions and her research is fascinating.
I think we often look back at events and say, “Oh, I’d never do that.” For example, I hear this all the time when it comes to original sin. People want to know why we inherit Adam’s sin when we didn’t disobey God – they did. And if we’d only have been in the garden wouldn’t have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We look back on atrocities of the Holocaust and think, I would have done something. I wouldn’t have been one of those who saw Jews being marched off to the gas chambers and said nothing.
We won’t know because we weren’t there. What we do know, however, that Barnett’s research shows (and others have confirmed) that the Holocaust was carried out by “normal people.” These people were not ideological fanatics (although it might seem like that to us who read of the unconceivable events during the Holocaust), but they were ordinary citizens. Nazi soldiers who went home to be fathers, husbands, and good neighbors.
We Are All Capable
When it comes down to the sin nature, to human nature, we are all capable of the evil of the Holocaust if not for Christ. And I think there are indicators to how we live that show what said we would be on. One of those signs is to love normalcy and the desire to go along to get along. Just 5 years ago the whole world was on Covid lockdown. And before 2 weeks were up I could tell this was more than precautionary measures to keep us safe.
But there were many in the church and outside of it who complied to keep the doors of the church shut for months. Those who berated others for not getting a shot and for killing grandma. Without research. Without evidence – but fully devoted to the propaganda. To me, Covid showed me how easily we can follow suit for any atrocity because we want normal. We don’t want to rock the boat.
Barnett said there were few who spoke up and did something to defend the Jews during the Holocaust. Barnett, referring to the German bystanders during the Holocaust said, “All that was required for them to continue their lives was that they remain bystanders.” The people were convinced that nothing could be done so they did nothing. She goes on to say that a bystander literally means to stand by or be present. She says, “A standard legal definition of a bystander, for example is, ‘One who stands near; a chance looker-on; hence one who has no concern with the business being transacted. One present but not taking part, looking-on, spectator, beholder, observer.”
Ordinary People
For us in the US we are not bystanders to the persecution happening to our brothers and sisters around the world. We are not standing by watching the abuse and murder with our own eyes. But does that mean we are free from the obligation or have no responsibility to act?
Barnett found that “it is individuals, not institutions or nations, who make moral decisions and act upon them.” I find that to be an interesting conclusion. We often look to leaders to make decisions or act but when it comes down to it it’s going to be individuals who who act alone who make the biggest difference. Barnett said most institutions conformed. She explains that, “An intrinsic priority of most institutions is self-preservation, which requires some degree of accommodation to the status quo.” It’s only when individuals within the institution speaks up or stands against the status quo that they are singled out and experience consequences.
There were some in the church who protested the Nazi policies.
They were the Confessing Church, but “the majority of the church leaders never protested the state racial laws and some supported state measurers against the Jews.” Barnett says that,”Institutional conformity wove the web of ‘normality’ and cemented the impact of Nazi policies.” She further states that, “the normal life of individual citizens depends on the illusion, at last, that everything around them is normal.” So the bottom line during the holocaust is this – some in the church did something to speak out, many did not. Some individuals decided not to be bystanders and stood for what was morally right, but many did not.
The two reason for this given by Barnett is normalcy. Jesus said it this way in John 12:25, “Whoever loves the life they have now will lose it. But whoever is willing to give up their life in this world will keep it. They will have eternal life.” ERV
70 Beheaded Christians
Now you might wonder what this has to do with the 70 beheaded Christians or the persecuted Christians around the world and the point I want to make is the struggle with human nature and the need for normality. If this is how bystanders respond, how much more difficult will it be for those of us far removed from the situation? Let me relate this again, to the Holocaust example. The Holocaust began in 1933 and there were many who did not want to believe the news that millions of Jews and others were being carted off to concentration camps, starved to death, disease ridden, and many gassed.
Being far removed from the situation was easy to forget about it, not deal with it, live a normal life. The US didn’t get involved in the war until 1942. There are political reasons for that rather than strictly humanitarian ones. I’m saying it shows the auto response of humans who just want to live normal lives. They don’t want to worry about what’s happening on the other side of the world.
Messages
Sometimes I get messages from people who respond to news like this with: well, you know the Bible says we’ll be persecuted for our faith. Or, well, this is just a spiritual battle and part of our world. And I agree. All of those things are true. But that is an apathetic response. Apathy means there is a lack of interest, concern, or enthusiasm. And that’s how you get bystanders. In order to be a bystander you have to either:
- Not care.
- Want normalcy at all costs.
- You’re so afraid to rock they boat you will not rock the boat.
So let’s see how the Bible says we are to respond:
First, know that persecution is part of the Christian life and I think we should expect it. 1 Tim 3:12 says all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Jesus said the world hated Him so it will hate us too (John 15:20).
Second, persecution helps us share in the sufferings of Christ. Paul said in Phil 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, sharing in His sufferings and becoming more like Him in His death.”
Third, persecution of the church strengthens the church. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
But, that still doesn’t answer the question of how we, who currently live in peace (normalcy), respond to the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Romans 12:15 says to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. The people in the Congo are mourning. Even though the Bible tells us that persecution is to strengthen the believer and the church it doesn’t mean that anyone rejoices when persecution is taking place. We see this in Acts 12:5. It happend after John is beheaded and Peter was thrown into prison that the church was “earnestly praying to God for him.” An angel of the Lord released him and Peter went to the home church, showed himself, and kept on preaching. We learn two things from this:
First
First, we are to earnestly pray for those being persecuted – as if it were our family member or friend.
Second
Second, persecution doesn’t keep us from doing the Lord’s work.
Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens. To be persecuted for our faith is a burden we all must bear for one another. We share a common faith. We are united in Christ as one body. When other members are hurting, we hold them up in prayer and ask God to strengthen them. That is our responsibility as I see it in scripture.
Close:
Finally, I want to make very clear that worldviews and religions are not neutral. That doesn’t mean that they’re all intolerant. It doesn’t mean they’re all dangerous. But it does mean that they have specific doctrines and a specific God. Like I said on Instagram the other day – that first worldview question: how did I get here, is imperative to how you find your identity and how you determine what’s wrong with the world. There is no worldview or religion that worships the same God. And if you get your God wrong, the other worldview answers will be wrong, too. Your identity will be misguided, which means your purpose in life will be off. The consequences of some worldviews – like naturalism (Marxism) and Islam, to name two, will be dangerous. And it’s the Islamists terrorists targeting Christians in many of these countries.
As Christians, it’s helpful to identify the worldview behind the events in history. We understand the spiritual battle and the dangerous ideologies that we must confront.
We will always be tempted to want the status quo, the normal life.
I do. Joshua struggled with that with the children of Israel. They complained about the giants in Canaan and would rather go back to Egypt and be slaves. The comfort trap is real. I know this. I can easily settle in. But I don’t want to forget those who are persecuted for their faith. I don’t want to forget those who feel forgotten in prison or who are fearful for their kids and families. I think to myself, “What if that were me or my family. Would people care and would they pray?” That’s why I want to encourage you to remember the persecuted church. Pray for them earnestly. They need strength. They need the peace of God. And if that’s all we know to do at least we’re doing something.
If you have any questions for me email me at hello@shandafulbright.com and I’ll catch you on the next one.
Leave a Reply