Delusions of Adequacy

From Voice of the Martyrs, another report of persecution of Christians in China:

A 100-year-old building that housed an unregistered Chinese house church was badly damaged on March 11, then completely destroyed March 31. The church was located in Dong Gang Xi village, Beilun District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. This congregation included about 300 members, and had existed for the past 20 years. Liu Fuen, 50, pastored the church throughout its history.

...Seeing the destruction, four neighbors who were not Christians complained to Wang [Director of the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) for Beilun District], saying, “How can you arbitrarily destroy someone’s house?”

Wang ordered the four neighbors—Mu Jingou, Li Youfu, Li Liangfang and Zhang Weilong—arrested and held on Administrative Detention for 15 days.

...Pastor Liu Fuen went into hiding after his home was destroyed, but was arrested April 9 by six PSB officers at the home of his youngest son, Liu Yongsheng.

Police were not done harassing this church. The congregation gathered for Easter Sunday services at the home of Liu Mingliang, Pastor Liu’s oldest son. PSB officers again raided the service, arresting Mingliang and breaking up the service. The raiding officers were led by Hu Xinyu, head of the so-called Political Protection Division of the district PSB.

The family has been given “Criminal Detention” paperwork for both Pastor Liu and for Liu Mingliang. While Administrative Detention signifies 15 days of incarceration, a “criminal detention” will last an indefinite period of time.

And in Iraq, one of the French journalists held hostage and later released said this about his captors' questioning of him:

His captors sometimes probed him about his religious beliefs, asking him about Jesus, known in Arabic as Isa.

They asked, "Is Isa the son of God?" Jordanov recalled. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, but not of divine birth.

"You are facing 12 Islamists. There is no room for a mistake," he said they told him.

Since Jordanov is still alive, he presumably answered in the negative. This is not an option for a Christian who wishes to remain obedient to his Savior:

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.


In the same chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells His followers to expect persecution, and how to face it.