Whirlwind Policies Continue To Obliterate Christianity In Iraq
Pastor Dale Morgan
Whirlwind Policies Continue To Obliterate Christianity In Iraq*
Pray for Iraqi Christians before the faith is gone
Konigstein, Jun 5, 2007 / 11:29 am
The international president of Aid to the Church in Need, Hans-Peter
Rothlin, is calling for prayers for the Church in Iraq, as “the
persecution of Christians has reached a point that the future of the
Church is in danger.”
In recent statements, Rothlin said, “We are sleep walking towards the
death of a Christian population whose ancestors accepted the Gospel
before everyone else in the first century.”
“In past ages,” he explained, “the Christians of Iraq had little or no
voice, but now the situation is much worse. They are suffocating in
silence. We have the duty to help Iraqi Christians because we share the
same faith.” “Will it be too late when we do something?” he asked.
“Imagine if this were happening to us, imagine if they we kicking us out
of our homes, imagine if we were receiving death threats, imagine also
how we would feel if our sisters and daughters were forced to marry
so-called Jihad warriors,” Rothlin stated.
“What would we do if somebody knocked on our door and demanded payment
of at least $100,000 simply for being a non-Muslim in an Islamic
country?” he asked. Despite all of this, their will is not weakened and
they do not give in to the pressure to convert to Islam, he continued.
“The example of faith and bravery of the Iraqi Christians is what we
need to hear,” he suggested.
Rothlin issued an urgent appeal to “all leaders of the world,
benefactors, friends and in fact the entire world to pray for the
Christians of Iraq,” as “they need to be protected and helped, so that
they can be at peace in their own country.”
“We pray the world will wake up and that the affronts against the
suffering Christians of Iraq will cease. We pray the God of mercy and
compassion will come to their aid,” he said, adding, “We should never
underestimate the power of prayer.”
He concluded citing a favorite saying of the founder of Aid to the
Church in Need, Father Werenfried van Straaten: “They are being tried in
the faith, we in love.”