Saturday, July 6, 2013

#571 (7/6) "Syrian Christians in the Crosshairs,"

URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:

July 4 - Egypt Facing Civil War? - PRAY for the nation of Egypt, as it faces a crucial  moment, that the recent events would result in its becoming a true democracy and NOT an Islamic state. PRAY esp. that the peoples' freedoms, in particular the religious freedom of its minorities (specifically its oppressed Christians) would be protected.

July 4 - Texas To Vote On Major Pro-Life Bill Next Week - PRAY that the Texas House will finally vote to approve a bill  (which the Governor is ready to sign) that will, among other things, make illegal abortions before the 20th week (when babies are discovered to first feel pain) and which  will regulate abortion clinics just as any other medical facilities are. PRAY that the passage of this law will spur other such laws throughout the country and eventually be made into a federal law.

American Pastor Saeed Held Prisoner in Iran - June 5th Update - "Saeed's Wife Uses UN Speech to 'Plant Gospel'," by George Thomas, CBN News Sr. Reporter, June 05, 2013, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/Saeeds-Wife-Uses-UN-Speech-to-Plant-Gospel/?cpid=EU_CBNNEWSPM_2013_156"Prayers from Prison: American Pastor Held in Iran Releases Letter," May 22, 2013; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=1458"...Abedini has been held at the brutal prison for 238 days, enduring long stints in solitary confinement, and, according to his supporters, beatings and torture at the hands of his jailers and fellow inmates. For months, he has been suffering from serious injuries, including internal bleeding from beatings with no proper medical attention, according to his family and attorneys."(Sources: Fox News, Assemblies of God website) Please PRAY:1) For the imprisoned Pastor Abedini, and for those Iranians who tend to his needs in prison to treat him more humanely. 2) For his family in Boise, Idaho. and their efforts to involve the U.S. State Department in securing Pastor Abedini’s release. And 3) For the impact of his witness upon believers and non-believers, in America and across the world. And if you have not yet, join the over 600,000 worldwide who have signed the petition asking for his release at www.SaveSaeed.org

UPDATE: June 21 - "Pastor Saeed in Good Spirits as Threats Increase," CBNNews.com;  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/June/Pastor-Saeed-in-Good-Spirits-as-Threats-Increase/The family of imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini visited him in Iran's Evin Prison this week. They say he was in good spirits...According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the 33-year-old pastor told his family his health appears to have improved. The ACLJ also said that since Iran's presidential election last week, Abedini reported Iranian prison guards have threatened to move him to a more remote prison. Such a move would make it nearly impossible for his family to visit him.

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"Syrian Christians in the Crosshairs," - Arming Jihadis, by \
Eric Metaxas - Break[oint.orgJuly 3, 2013


On June 23, Francois Murad, a Franciscan priest, and two of his assistants were beheaded by Jabhat al-Nusra, an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria. The killings took place less than two weeks after members of the Syrian Free Army, the main opposition force in that country’s civil war, massacred dozens of Christians in a village near Deir el-Zour.

Both atrocities coincided with reports that, after resisting pressure to do so, President Obama had decided to arm Syrian rebels. We’ve said on BreakPoint why this is a bad idea. Sadly, our leaders – both liberals and conservatives – have not gotten the message.

To understand why this is a bad idea, a short history lesson is in order. Syria, like its neighbors Lebanon and Iraq, was created by French and British diplomats from the remains of the Ottoman Empire. The borders were more influenced by how much diplomats had to drink than by demographic and religious facts on the ground.

Thus, countries like Syria and Lebanon became condominiums of sorts, containing many different religious and ethnic groups who had little in common and even less desire to share a nation.

Syria, for instance, is 74 percent Sunni, and 13 percent Shia – most of whom are Alawites, an esoteric sect whom most Sunnis don’t regard as real Muslims. That leaves 10 percent Christian, and 3 percent Druze, a group even more esoteric than the Alawites.

Then there’s ethnicity. Ten percent of Syrians are non-Arabs: Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians and Turks.

Since Independence,  Syria has been held together by  a series of proverbial “strongmen,” nearly all of whom were the products of its military and who were secular in their orientation. The most important of these “strongmen” was Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current president, Bashar al-Assad. 
It was Assad who elevated the minority Alawites to their outsized position of influence. Not coincidentally, it was Assad who declared war on Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.

Given Syria’s history, it was almost inevitable that any large-scale uprising against al-Assad would eventually take the form of sectarian conflict, just as occurred in Lebanon and Iraq. The 13 percent cannot rule the 74 percent indefinitely without creating some resentment, especially when many of the 74 percent regard their rulers as heretics.

Equally inevitable was that Christians, as a relatively small and  unarmed minority, would be targeted.

Given these facts, American intervention should be, if nothing else, guided by the maxim “First, do no harm.” Arming the side that massacres Christians doesn’t meet that standard.

Pretending that we can somehow keep Islamist ideology from playing an outsized role in the Syrian opposition is culpable fantasy. Since 1979, Islamism has been just about the only alternative to the rule of strongmen in the Middle East. Even when non-Islamists have taken power, such as in Tunisia and even Iraq, sectarian concerns have dominated the debate.

This debate leaves little, if any, room for the region’s Christians. Why anyone expects Syria to be different is beyond my comprehension.

Fortunately, there is still time to tell our leaders that we want no part in Syria’s sectarian conflict. We can urge them to be generous with humanitarian assistance but to refrain from making matters worse. Let’s pray that they get the message this time.
Next Steps
The first step in addressing the Syrian crisis is to pray--PRAY for a spiritual transformation in hearts and pray for the safety of Christians in Syria. 

The American public needs to know that Christians are being murdered. Talk to your pastors and link them to this BreakPoint commentary so they can learn more about this situation. Post the link on Facebook and Twitter. Your government representatives need to hear from you on this issue, too. Get informed, and then spread the word.
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