And the Top Ten Persecutors of Christians in the World Are…

This is where I reiterate, with feeling, that Christians in the United States are so very blessed, no matter their station in life. Just being in a nation that allows for free and unobstructed worship is a blessing.

From the poorest American clinging to their hope for a better eternity, to the most prosperous TV preacher, whether he or she is Scripturally sound in their teaching, or not, there is no fear in this nation of being arrested, imprisoned, or murdered by our own government or organizations working within our borders, because of the name of Jesus Christ.

There are far too many places in the world that cannot boast that same freedom and security.

Open Doors USA, a watch group dedicated to exposing Christian persecution around the world and providing resources for Christians in those areas recently released a list of the top 10 persecutors of Christians.

Noting that over 215 million Christians around the world live intimidated or in fear for their lives, the report stated, “”due to the focused efforts of either one person or a larger system bent on smashing or squeezing out Christians in the region.”

Half of the top 10 human rights offenders toward Christians are Islamist terror groups, including the Islamic State terror group, also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh.

Many of those fleeing ISIS have fled to Iraq, where there is still a Christian presence.

ISIS is listed at number one on the list, but the folks with Open Doors say the list is in no particular order.

The second on the list would be al-Qaeda, who continue to wage war against Christians in nations where they maintain a presence.

The report mentions particularly Yemen, where Christian converts from Islam are particularly at risk as they are already treated as outcasts by their own communities. “As Al-Qaeda takes advantage of distracted governments, Christians in their path experience intense persecution. Ayman al-Zawahiri, is the current leader of Al-Qaeda.”

President Trump’s new pal, North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, lands at number three on the list, given his continued atrocities.

The North Korean labor camps are packed with anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 Christians, and on another list by Open Doors, listing the top 50 worst nations for Christian persecution, North Korea has been listed at the top spot for over a decade.

In 2016, a report by the U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide revealed the gruesome methods the communist government in North Korea has used to torture and kill Christians. “Documented incidents against Christians include being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled underfoot. A policy of guilt by association applies, meaning that the relatives of Christians are also detained regardless of whether they share the Christian belief.”

Also, Christian women who find themselves pregnant are often forced to have abortions, as the Communist state attempts to weed out the Christian influence in the nation.

Hindu nationalists, “whose mission is to make India a complete Hindu nation by 2021,” are also listed as a top persecutor of Christians.

“The far-right Hindu nationalist movement” seeks to wipe out any religious expression, including Christianity, that falls outside of the Hindu faith, the report says. It mentions the Hindu nationalist association Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, which “has created a culture war and made it very dangerous and difficult for many Christians living in the region who are often forced out of villages, beaten and arrested for believing in Jesus.”

That’s an amazing statement, considering there is a powerful hunger for Christianity in India.

Fifth on the list is the al-Shabaab terror group, which is “in many ways the Eastern African version of al-Qaeda.”

“Al-Shabaab has terrorized the country of Somalia for the past decade and is recently focusing its attacks on the neighboring country of Kenya. In 2015, a Kenya college campus faced an attack where Christian students were specifically targeted, killing 148 in total. Any place al-Shabaab controls operates under Sharia law, which includes the slaughtering of anyone who identifies as Christian.”

Also, out of Nigeria, Boko Haram is a top terror group, threatening Christians in the area.

The Boko Haram group have a problem with anything they consider to be of a Western influence, including Christianity, as they consider it a heresy. They’re also at war with their own government, and bombings, raids, assassinations, targeting of any leaders they feel to be influenced by the West are common. They target churches and schools for their attacks.

Next on the list are Muslim Fulani herdsmen in northeastern Nigeria, who have been accused of aligning with Boko Haram.

The 2017 Global Terrorism Index described the herdsmen, who attack Christians regularly in southern Adamawa, as terrorists in 2014. According to the index, the Fulani are responsible for as many as 60,000 deaths since 2001.

The Christian leaders in Nigeria stated last week that at the current rate, if something doesn’t change, by 2043, the Christian population in Nigeria will be all but obliterated.

Of course, all of this (with the exception of North Korea) points to the next on the list: Radical Islam.

“The movement, which often results in Islamic militancy and persecution of Christians,” is expanding in Asia, including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and in African countries like Egypt, Nigeria and Somalia.

And it’s not just religious differences that are to blame for the persecution of Christians in the world.

Christians in Colombia and Mexico are at risk, daily, by organized crime and the violent drug cartels.

“On top of the danger that these groups bring to ordinary citizens, Christians are specifically targeted,” the report says. “A soul won for Jesus is a soul lost for them,” it quotes a pastor from Colombia as saying. “They know that too.”

“For this reason, Christian evangelists are particularly targeted. Drug cartel leaders know that they are the greatest threat to their way of life.”

Indeed. Telling someone to honor their bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit, or to shun what is illegal or corrupt, to honor God can really cut into the profit margin of those who seek to profit from misery and addiction.

The list is topped off with the reminder that our greatest enemy is Satan.

“It’s easy to read this list and feel hopeless in the face of so much evil. However, in Ephesians 6 we’re told our war isn’t a physical war, it’s a spiritual one. Behind all of the atrocities listed above is Satan, who prowls this world as a roaring lion,” the ministry explains. “We are also told that God’s kingdom is forcefully advancing, and that in the end, Satan is overthrown and all things are made new.”

Open Doors said it published the list because “Jesus commanded us, directly, to pray for our enemies.” “Pray that God would stop their actions, change their hearts and shine the brilliant light of the gospel onto their path.”

It’s a good word, and though it seems impossible, we know nothing is impossible with God. He can reach into the darkest places and draw those lost in those violent, dead theologies to true light and salvation.

There are many accounts out there of that very thing happening.

That is what we, as Christians, should be praying for regularly.