Christianity is once again the most persecuted religion in the world according to the latest report from the International Christian Concern (ICC), a non-profit based in Washington DC that has tracked the statistic for nearly three decades. Persecution against Christians has long been a fixture of the faith in places dominated by Islamic extremism, such as in parts of the Middle East and Africa. North Korea, China, and India are other locales where the government is known to be hostile toward Christianity.

Yet the report found that persecution has also increased in Latin American countries like Nicaragua and Venezuela—both traditionally Christian.

As ICC president Jeff King notes, these nations have begun “the targeting of religious citizens and suppression of dissenting voices.” And they have done so largely through the advanced surveillance technology that China has provided to the countries’ authoritarian leaders.

In India and Pakistan, social media has also played a role, with groups using the platforms to “incite mob violence and spread disinformation about Christian communities, leading to targeted attacks.”

Ultimately, the majority of places where the church seems to have escaped direct persecution are the countries in the West where their governments and culture have increasingly grown disinterested in the faith. And that is, perhaps, the most alarming trend of all.

The slow atrophy of neglect

Christians in America are fortunate to be able to practice our faith, for the most part, without fear of imprisonment or violence. However, it would be a mistake to read about the persecution of other believers around the world and think our faith is safe because we do not face the same threats as our brothers and sisters in those foreign lands.

In nations where Christianity is less established, it appears that Satan still hopes he can stamp out the faith before it takes root and flourishes. That belief seems questionable, given that Iran has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, the underground church continues to flourish in China, and the faith is also spreading in many of the other nations where it is most dangerous to practice.

But in much of the West—and America in particular—it’s unlikely the government or society will ever turn to persecution in the same way. Christianity is simply too entrenched in the broader culture and history to be overcome so directly, and the value placed on religious liberty is enshrined to a degree that would be difficult to overcome. As such, Satan has adopted a much different strategy here.

While persecution certainly exists and is, in some ways, increasing, threats to our sense of comfort and cultural security are still accomplishing his goals quite well.

As such, if Christianity is going to die here, it will have to be through the slow atrophy of neglect rather than the swift attack of persecution. So what can we do to avoid that fate?

What is required of us to be good?

A recent article for Christianity Today describes a lesson gathered from the personal correspondence of the great Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. While the article applied that lesson to the field of parenting—and it’s worth reading for that context as well—the basic point is also relevant to our current conversation.

In the story, Dostoevsky is asked by a reader for advice on how to teach her eight-year-old to know right from wrong. His answer is to simply model what it means to be good by loving the truth. As the article goes on to describe, Dostoevsky essentially defines a love of truth as “the personal commitment to moral goodness in everyday life and opposition to any form of a lie, both lies to ourselves and lies to others.”

Dostoevsky’s understanding of what it means to be good—one that starts with the development of personal character rather than outward action—is also the key to fighting against the slow atrophy of our faith that we see in so much of America today.

A faith God can bless

A Christianity more focused on doing good than being good will eventually become so useless to the advancement of God’s kingdom that, for all practical purposes, it might as well be dead.

Such a religion was quite similar to what Jesus encountered from the religious leaders in the Gospels, and he was quick to denounce that form of faith. Instead, he called his followers to remember that their responsibility to the Lord starts with their hearts, and it was only when they were right with God personally that they could expect to glorify him with their actions.

After all, our private thoughts, words, and actions shape our character in ways that cannot help but manifest themselves in public. And, chances are, you don’t have to look too far into your own history to see how that’s true.

If you nurse vengeful or angry thoughts about those who have hurt you in the past, you will not be able to extend God’s love to them in the present. If you curse in the relative privacy of your own home, a time will come when those same words slip out for others to hear. And if you fail to pour into your marriage and kids at home, don’t be surprised when the façade of the perfect family begins to crack on your way into church on Sundays.

God has never been interested in the kind of performative religion that prioritizes outward actions over inner character. So of course he’s not going to bless a faith that accepts such hypocrisy as its foundation.

The primary reason that the church continues to grow in the places where it is persecuted the most is that the believers there understand that truth and have embraced their relationship with God on his terms. That doesn’t mean they live perfect lives or have flawless theology, but their faith is genuine in a way that can be difficult for us to replicate. They can’t afford to be cultural Christians, and the gospel is thriving as a result.

Fortunately, what God is doing in Iran, China, and throughout so much of the rest of the world, he can still do here. But if awakening is going to come, it has to start with individual Christians deciding that Jesus will be their Lord when only he is watching, rather than just when their faith is on display for the world to see.

Will that be you today?

Friday news to know:

• Update on the New Orleans terror attack and the man who perpetrated it
• Suspect identified in the explosion outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas
• Guidance for embracing a sacred approach to your schedule
• Notre Dame defeated Georgia after the game was delayed by Wednesday’s attack in New Orleans
• On this day in 1521: Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote of the day:

“So often we try to develop Christian character and conduct without taking the time to develop God-centered devotion. We try to please God without taking the time to walk with Him and develop a relationship with Him. This is impossible to do.” —Jerry Bridges

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If you want good luck in the new year, consider these new year’s traditions:

• In Brazil, jump over seven waves while surfing.
• In the Philippines, wear clothing with polka dots. (I’m out of luck here.)
• In Greece, hang onions outside your door.
• In Puerto Rico, throw a bucket of water out your window.
• In Ireland, put mistletoe under your pillow.
• In Canada, go ice fishing.
• In the US, watch the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.

Speaking of dropping things to bring in the new year: Manhattan, Kansas, dropped a giant apple last night. Not to be outdone, St. George’s, Bermuda, dropped a giant onion, while Boise, Idaho, dropped a giant illuminated potato (of course).

If you step back and look at such strange practices objectively, you’ll admit that they are indeed strange. Why would presumably sane people do such bizarre things?

“A Diet Writer’s Regrets”

One answer is that New Year’s traditions give us a way to feel more in control of what is ultimately uncontrollable—the future. When we do what we know to do, we hope, however naively, that we are doing something to influence the unknowable.

And, of course, millions are making resolutions to begin 2025 as well. Here we believe we are acting in a more practical way, choosing behaviors we can influence to improve our lives and our world. However, only 9 percent of those who make such resolutions keep them through the year.

In this context, an Atlantic headline caught my eye: “A Diet Writer’s Regrets.” The author has written on diet and health for thirty years and struggled mightily with her weight before finally taking weight-loss drugs. Her story shows that resolutions and good intentions often are not enough.

I’m reminded of the story of Baron Munchausen, who tried to pull himself out of a swamp by his own hair. Without solid ground on which to stand, no amount of such effort is enough.

Here’s the good news: “ground” for living our best lives this year is available to each of us. We just have to know where—or to Whom—to look.

“His manhood was of the same clay as our own”

St. Hippolytus of Rome (died AD 236) said regarding the incarnation of Jesus:

We know that his manhood was of the same clay as our own; if this were not so, he would hardly have been a teacher who could expect to be imitated. If he were of a different substance from me, he would surely not have ordered me to do as he did, when by my very nature I am so weak. Such a demand could not be reconciled with his goodness and justice.

No. He wanted us to consider him as no different from ourselves, and so he worked, he was hungry and thirsty, he slept. Without protest he endured his passion, he submitted to death and revealed his resurrection. In all these ways he offered his own manhood as the first fruits of our race to keep us from losing heart when suffering comes our way, and to make us look forward to receiving the same reward as he did, since we know that we possess the same humanity.

Consider the fact that your body is no more flawed and fallen than was the body of Jesus of Nazareth. Your temptations are no different from his (Hebrews 4:15). And the same Spirit who empowered and enabled him to defeat temptation and fulfill his earthly calling resides in us (1 Corinthians 3:16) and can do the same in us.

The difference is that Jesus knew he needed the power of the Spirit (cf. Matthew 12:28; Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38). This is why he so often began his days in prayer (Mark 1:35) and concluded them the same way (cf. Luke 6:12–13). It’s why he spent so much time alone with his Father (Luke 5:16) and why he turned to his word first when temptation struck (cf. Matthew 4:1–11).

It’s why he called on his Father when facing the cross, trusting his will even when it meant his crucified death (Matthew 26:36–46). It’s why his last words before he died were, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46).

It’s why he taught us to “ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, my literal translation from the Greek). It’s why we are told to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), staying connected with our Lord as we walk in his presence each day.

The best way to begin the year

I am convinced that cultural Christianity is the greatest threat to the abundant, victorious life Jesus intends for us (cf. Romans 8:37). It is the amputated “faith” that separates Sunday from Monday and the spiritual from the secular, the pridefulness that makes God a means to our ends, the self-reliance that calls on him only when we have nowhere else to turn.

In response, I pray these words from the Anglican Book of Prayer each morning because I need their reminder:

To my humble supplication
Lord, give ear and acceptation.
Save thy servant, that hath none
Help nor hope but thee alone (my emphasis).

I know of no better way to begin this day and this year than with such “humble supplication” before our omnipotent Lord.

Do you?

Wednesday news to know:

• US to hold national day of mourning for Jimmy Carter
• Jimmy Carter made eradicating Guinea worm disease a top mission
• Holding the “title of citizen,” Carter carved a new mold for ex-presidents
• 2 survivors recovering as South Korean officials probe Jeju Air plane crash
• On this day in 1863: Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“God is not just one thing we add to the mix called life. He wants an invitation from us to permeate everything in every part of us.” —Francis Chan

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“He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away” (Micah 4:3)

As a year filled with conflicts draws to a close, our hearts yearn for lasting peace in the new year. To this end, let’s look to the unlikeliest of places for the hope we need.

In the Middle East, 2024 began with Hamas’s leadership seemingly entrenched as the conflict in Gaza continued. Hezbollah bristled with tens of thousands of missiles capable of devastating all of Israel. Iran was escalating its seven-front assault on the Jewish state through its proxies surrounding the Jewish state.

So much changed across the year: Israel assassinated the top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, neutered the latter’s missile threat against the nation, defeated two air attacks from Iran, and dismantled Iran’s air defenses in response. Iran’s hardline president was killed in a helicopter crash and replaced by a more moderate leader. Rebels toppled the Assad regime in Syria, further weaking Iran’s “Shiite crescent” across the region.

There was a time when many, including former President Jimmy Carter, believed Hamas to be a legitimate political player in the quest for peace in the Middle East. Mr. Carter also called Israel an “apartheid state” and spoke for many in opposing its posture with the Palestinians. At the same time, as his former speechwriter James Fallows noted following his death last Sunday, “Jimmy Carter did more than anyone else, before or since, to bring peace to the Middle East, with his Camp David accords.”

Mr. Fallows may be correct in political terms. But Scripture tells of another leader who resolved a conflict in the Middle East in a way that points to lasting peace in 2025 and beyond.

Three responses to Sennacherib

2 Chronicles 32 begins: “Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself” (v. 1). Judah’s King Hezekiah responded in three ways.

First, he did what he could.

Jerusalem’s greatest military weakness was its water supply, which came from the Gihon Spring outside the city. The Assyrians could block, divert, or even poison it, which would force the Jews to surrender.

So the king created a massive tunnel to bring water from the spring into the Pool of Siloam inside the city, then he camouflaged the source so the Assyrians could not use or pollute it (vv. 2–4, 30). This tunnel was 1,750 feet long, the length of six football fields. It was completed in 701 BC but still functions today; I have walked through it several times over the years. In addition, the king strengthened the fortifications of the city and “made weapons and shields in abundance” (v. 5).

Second, he encouraged his people to trust in God.

His message to them: “Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lᴏʀᴅ our God, to help us and to fight our battles” (vv. 7–8).

Third, he turned to God himself.

When the Assyrians threatened the city (vv. 9–19), “Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven” (v. 20). “Prayed” translates a typical Hebrew word for interceding; “cried” adds a deeply personal note, meaning to “call out in agony.”

Here was the astounding result: “The Lᴏʀᴅ sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land” (v. 21a). When he then “came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword” (v. 21b).

In this way, “the Lᴏʀᴅ saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side” (v. 22).

“Righteousness exalts a nation”

I cannot know what conflicts you are facing in the days ahead. But I know this: Hezekiah’s story is in Scripture so it can become our story.

Because God assures us that “I the Lᴏʀᴅ do not change” (Malachi 3:6), we can know that he possesses the same power, knowledge, and compassion that led to a miraculous peace in the Middle East twenty-seven centuries ago. If we are not seeing his hand similarly at work in our world today, could it be that we are not looking closely enough?

Perhaps, for example, we should view events involving Israel over this last year through the lens of providence.

Theologians differ over whether the modern State of Israel should be seen as equivalent to the Israel of Scripture. But we know that God still judges the kinds of atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and the terrorism-sponsoring state of Iran. His word assures us, “He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away” (Micah 4:3). All he has ever done, he can still do today.

And we know that what is true of others is true of America as well: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). The prophet said to God, “The nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste” (Isaiah 60:12). Accordingly, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Psalm 33:12).

So name your Sennacherib, do what you can in response, and encourage those who are in the battle with you to trust God for his best. Then turn to him yourself, asking him to do what only he can. And pray urgently for our nation to do the same.

The best way to prepare for the new year is to make Jesus our king by submitting our lives fully to his Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) as we live biblically and act redemptively in our world (Matthew 5:13–16). It is then to treat every new year and every new day as if it is our last, knowing that one day we will be right.

Jimmy Carter famously stated,

“We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.”

Will you?

Tuesday news to know:

• Jimmy Carter’s extraordinary life in pictures, from peanut farm to White House to Nobel Prize
• Jimmy Carter will have funeral services in Plains, Ga., Atlanta and Washington, DC
• US announces $5.9 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine
• “Mayday, Mayday”: the final six minutes before the deadly South Korean plane crash
• On this day in 1999: Putin becomes acting president of Russia, following Yeltsin’s resignation

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“God works all things together for your good. If the waves roll against you, it only speeds your ship towards the port.” —Charles Spurgeon

Denison Forum