04/06/2020 Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern) – According to World Watch Monitor, detectives in Sri Lanka arrested a man last month who is suspected of participating in the 2019 terror attack on churches and hotels. The attack remains the single largest attacks on Sri Lanka’s Christian population in the country’s history.
The man arrested is suspected of being the ‘handler’ of the bomber who attacked Zion Protestant Church in Batticaloa, located in eastern Sri Lanka. The man is suspected is providing transport for that bomber as well as assisting the bomber who attacked St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.
Over 90 individuals suspected of being involved in the attacks are currently being held by Sri Lankan authorities. Investigators used cellphone records and statements from suspects to identify and arrest these individuals.
On April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, suicide bombers attacked three churches and several luxury hotels across Sri Lanka in coordinated attacks. Some 350 people, many of them Christians celebrating Easter, were killed as a result of the bombings. ISIS took credit for the attacks(Keep reading).
I pray that God will keep my Sri Lankan brethren in Christ safe this Easter.
As you have all noticed. I was inactive for the entire year of 2019 on this blog. That's all about to change: Here is a recap of what has happened in late 2018 and all of 2019:
1. Asia Bibi released
Normally, when it comes to persecution, there is always bad news. For once however, there is some good news and it is welcome
Asia Bibi was convicted and put on death row for Blasphemy back in 2009. Apparently she got into a heated discussion with some of the Muslims at a well and said,"Jesus is alive, Muhammad is dead." This caused the Muslims (as is the case in Pakistan) to call the cops and throw her in prison. She was released in October 2018 and she moved to Canada shortly afterwards.
2. Bombing in Sri Lanka
On Easter, as our Sri Lankan brethren in Christ celebrated our Lord conquering death by rising from the grave, a Muslim got it into his mind that this was the perfect time to follow his prophet's command to attack non-Muslims, hence this attack:
Some leaders say this was in retaliation to an attack that happened in New Zealand which leads us to:
3. Shooting at mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand
On March 15th, 2019, a white man went into a mosque and open fire killing numerous Muslims. He did it because he was concerned about the rapid birthrates of Muslims and that they would eventually outnumber the Caucasians.
While this blog is focused on the persecution of my brethren in Christ, I believe that all people regardless of whether they know Christ or not are made in the image of God and therefore attacking ANYONE of any faith is wrong. This blogger condemns this shooting.
4. Rise of Christians in China
More good news.
Due to Marxism (an ideology that believes God is a myth made up to oppress the poor) being the ideology that drive their government, China has been known to oppress Christians. This has not stop the number of saints from growing in that country as this article highlights (Read here)
5. Imprisonment for Iranian Christians
9 Iranian Brethren in Christ were imprisoned on trumped up charges, due to participation in a home church earlier in the year of 2019 (between January 31 and February 23 to be exact). They were sentenced to 5 years of prison (Read more)
6. Escape from Prison in North Korea
North Korea is the WORST place for anyone who names the name of Christ to live. Considering the hell, that countries like Saudia Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt put our brethren through that is saying something and yet we have another good news story of someone who escaped from prison in this article here (Read).
Why is this considered a Miracle? Well North Korea is known for having surveillance on people's private and public life. If someone is suspected of praying or reading the Bible they are sent to prison. There, they are tortured and put in solitary confinement. If one denies their faith, they are sent to a "re-education camp," where they are in poor living conditions, subjected to 12 hours of hard labor and if they are married to someone else, they are forced to divorce them. After a number of years, they are released.
If the prisoner refuses to recant their faith, they are sent to the kwanliso, otherwise known as the Korean political prison camp where they are used as test subjects for bio-weapons, assaulted by guards (physically and sexually). To say nothing about the forced labor, poor sanitation the inmates endure there.
That's what makes this escape from the prison a miracle.
So those are the highlights of what is happening with our brethren in Christ who are being persecuted all over the world.
The devil has always been opposed to the spread of the gospel as seen in this article.
5/29/2013 Sri Lanka (AsiaNews)
- Buddhist monks, politicians, activists, and many ordinary citizens yesterday
attended the cremation ceremony of Venerable Bowatte Indrarathana Thero, a
Buddhist religious leader who took his own life on 24 May, the feast day of
Vesak, to protest against "conversions and cattle slaughter." The funeral was
held amidst tight security for fear of riots and violence.
The monk and his extreme act set off mixed reactions in government circles
and civil society. Some said they understood his "sacrifice" on behalf of his
cause; others slammed the deed, fearing it might set of copycats. Ven Thero Bowatte Indrarathana poured two litres of petrol on his body and
then set himself on fire on 24 May, a night with a full moon, and the apex of
the Buddhist festival of Vesak, in front of Sri Dalada Maligawa temple.
Before he died, he cried out that his act was not a suicide attempt, but a
"sacrifice against cattle slaughter and conversions." In the past, the monk had appealed to Parliament to ban Buddhist conversions
to other faiths, a sensitive issue in a country split by sectarian violence.
Several supporters of Sinhala Ravaya, a Buddhist Sinhalese extremist group,
spoke about his "heroic act" in defence of the nation's values . Udaya Gammanpila, a member of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party, promised
to "transform his demands into reality" through a law that would soon be
"approved in parliament(Source)."
