Surprising Statistics
You’ve probably heard them before, things like “There have been more Christian martyrs in this century than in all the centuries before, combined.” Or “150,000 Christians are being martyred every year. Where do these statistics come from and are they true?
I was at a seminar recently, led by a missionary commissioned to interview persecuted Christians around the world to find the answer to the question, “How does one plant churches in areas where Christians are (or would be if there were any) persecuted?” In the quest for the answer, he has interviewed 600 persecuted Christians in 60 countries. He’s been in the countries where persecution is worst and hasn’t found anything to substantiate the statistics bandied about so how have these numbers been determined? We need to look at definitions.
First of all, what is a Christian? Some definitions are:
1. Anyone who calls herself a Christian—they don’t necessarily know anything about Jesus, and have never been to church. This might be 80% of North America (don’t quote me on that percentage).
2. Someone who describes herself as Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist but still doesn’t know much about Jesus and probably hasn’t ever been to church.
3. One who has actually been to church and participated in some function such as a baptism, communion, etc.
4. One who is “born again” and for whom faith determines how they live their life. This might be only 4% of North America (again, don’t quote me on the number).
5. A “crypto” or secret believer who hasn’t yet declared his faith within a church.
Secondly, what is a Christian martyr? Is it any Christian who is killed? What definition of Christian are you using? Is a person a martyr because of who he works for? Many people are killed simply because they work for a Westerner. The speaker lived in a country where a hit list of 150 Christians was created. The problem was that some of the men on that list were committed Muslims who prayed 5 times a day and went to the mosque as often as required. Their crime? They were security guards for a western Christian. If they were killed, were they martyrs?
If someone hands an illiterate person a Bible and, because it was a gift, that person carries it around with him and, because he carries it with him he’s killed, is he a martyr even though he hasn’t a clue what’s in the book he carries?
In many countries, the Christians in that country belong to a particular ethnic group (majority or minority—doesn’t matter). Perhaps they hold the power in that country or they live in an area rich in some natural resource and the other ethnic group(s) is jealous and begins to kill the Christians. Ask one of the persecuted in some of these countries, “What would change if you weren’t Christian?” and they’ll tell you, “Nothing.” Are they killed because they are Christians or is there another reason such as trying to gain the power and wealth the Christians hold? Amazingly, time after time, when the speaker has gone to such Christian people groups and asked them about sharing the gospel with the other ethnic groups in their country, especially the persecuting group, they unanimously have asked, “Why would we?” Are they martyrs for their faith or victims of some other cruel purpose?
In one Muslim country, a Christian man was violently murdered. The news services and Christian watchdogs proclaimed the man a martyr. When more of his story was uncovered, it was learned that he had been embezzling funds and sleeping with a Muslim woman who wasn’t his wife. Was he a martyr?
In another Muslim country, an entire Christian family were slaughtered in their homes, their necks cut open. Again, the news services, Christian watchdogs and Christian nations around the world reported, condemned and lobbied against the government in this country because of what appeared to be the act of Muslim extremists. But no one in that country had ever been martyred that way so why now? The speaker of the seminar was sent in to investigate and after much digging, learned that the son of this family had been sent to another country for some purpose. When he returned, he learned that his sisters had been prostituted out by his father. He killed his family. Surely this was not martyrdom.
Disagreement about definitions can change the statistics. If we define Christians by the last two definitions above, and if we consider as martyrs only those who are killed because of the testimony of their words and lives—those who, if given a choice, would choose violence and death rather than relinquish Christ, we find the numbers decrease radically. Violent death at the hands of angry murderers is never right but it doesn’t necessarily make a martyr.
What kind of Christian are you? If someone wanted you dead, would it be because of your testimony and witness of Christ or would it be for some other reason?
I was at a seminar recently, led by a missionary commissioned to interview persecuted Christians around the world to find the answer to the question, “How does one plant churches in areas where Christians are (or would be if there were any) persecuted?” In the quest for the answer, he has interviewed 600 persecuted Christians in 60 countries. He’s been in the countries where persecution is worst and hasn’t found anything to substantiate the statistics bandied about so how have these numbers been determined? We need to look at definitions.
First of all, what is a Christian? Some definitions are:
1. Anyone who calls herself a Christian—they don’t necessarily know anything about Jesus, and have never been to church. This might be 80% of North America (don’t quote me on that percentage).
2. Someone who describes herself as Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist but still doesn’t know much about Jesus and probably hasn’t ever been to church.
3. One who has actually been to church and participated in some function such as a baptism, communion, etc.
4. One who is “born again” and for whom faith determines how they live their life. This might be only 4% of North America (again, don’t quote me on the number).
5. A “crypto” or secret believer who hasn’t yet declared his faith within a church.
Secondly, what is a Christian martyr? Is it any Christian who is killed? What definition of Christian are you using? Is a person a martyr because of who he works for? Many people are killed simply because they work for a Westerner. The speaker lived in a country where a hit list of 150 Christians was created. The problem was that some of the men on that list were committed Muslims who prayed 5 times a day and went to the mosque as often as required. Their crime? They were security guards for a western Christian. If they were killed, were they martyrs?
If someone hands an illiterate person a Bible and, because it was a gift, that person carries it around with him and, because he carries it with him he’s killed, is he a martyr even though he hasn’t a clue what’s in the book he carries?
In many countries, the Christians in that country belong to a particular ethnic group (majority or minority—doesn’t matter). Perhaps they hold the power in that country or they live in an area rich in some natural resource and the other ethnic group(s) is jealous and begins to kill the Christians. Ask one of the persecuted in some of these countries, “What would change if you weren’t Christian?” and they’ll tell you, “Nothing.” Are they killed because they are Christians or is there another reason such as trying to gain the power and wealth the Christians hold? Amazingly, time after time, when the speaker has gone to such Christian people groups and asked them about sharing the gospel with the other ethnic groups in their country, especially the persecuting group, they unanimously have asked, “Why would we?” Are they martyrs for their faith or victims of some other cruel purpose?
In one Muslim country, a Christian man was violently murdered. The news services and Christian watchdogs proclaimed the man a martyr. When more of his story was uncovered, it was learned that he had been embezzling funds and sleeping with a Muslim woman who wasn’t his wife. Was he a martyr?
In another Muslim country, an entire Christian family were slaughtered in their homes, their necks cut open. Again, the news services, Christian watchdogs and Christian nations around the world reported, condemned and lobbied against the government in this country because of what appeared to be the act of Muslim extremists. But no one in that country had ever been martyred that way so why now? The speaker of the seminar was sent in to investigate and after much digging, learned that the son of this family had been sent to another country for some purpose. When he returned, he learned that his sisters had been prostituted out by his father. He killed his family. Surely this was not martyrdom.
Disagreement about definitions can change the statistics. If we define Christians by the last two definitions above, and if we consider as martyrs only those who are killed because of the testimony of their words and lives—those who, if given a choice, would choose violence and death rather than relinquish Christ, we find the numbers decrease radically. Violent death at the hands of angry murderers is never right but it doesn’t necessarily make a martyr.
What kind of Christian are you? If someone wanted you dead, would it be because of your testimony and witness of Christ or would it be for some other reason?
posted by Magdaleine at 9:49 AM
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