The Silence is Deafening

Some months ago an article came across my path, which since seems to haunt my every thought and invade my every prayer.  It is an article that highlights “the global slaughter of Christians” and the startling silence of the American Church.

Daily as an employee of the ACLJ, I encounter many cases of persecution, some so horrific that it pains my soul to see the agony I know these individuals are forced to endure for their faith.  And daily, I’m faced with the reality that Christians around the world pay a far greater price for their belief in Jesus Christ than I can even begin to comprehend as an American.

But, like the author of the article, what puzzles me is the deafening silence of such a large portion of the American Church.  Yes, there are important voices raised in protest, but where are the millions?  Where is their outrage?  Why do they not speak out?

Is it the inability to empathize that tightens the lips of the Church, perhaps?  Is it that the mass murders of innocent men, women, and children aren’t conducted in front of our very eyes and like Thomas we demand to see and touch the wounds ourselves before we believe?  Is it that the reports are so extreme that we doubt their authenticity, and instead we ask ourselves, how could a mass grave possibly be filled with the bodies of women and girls who were slaughtered for refusing to conduct sex acts for ISIS soldiers?  Is it that the truth is too hard to take, and we’d rather bury our heads in the sand than do something about it?  Or even worse, is it because we believe it’s not our problem?

No matter the reason, the silence must come to an end.  The American Church must be faced with the truth: the persecution of Christians around the globe is real, and because these individuals are our brothers and sisters in Christ…It. Is. Our. Problem.

Break the silence.  Speak out against persecution.  Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it.