750,000 Christians caught in crossfire

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An estimated 750,000 Christians have been ejected from their homes – and sometimes their own nations – as militant Islamists wage their war on infidels across the Mideast, according to several Christian refugee organizations.

In just recent weeks, more than 100,000 Lebanese who are Christian have been forced to flee the violence ravaging their homeland, according to the Barnabas Fund, a Christian group established in 1993 that channels aid to projects run by Christian nationals in more than 40 countries.

"On both sides of the conflict, Israel and Lebanon, the Christian community is caught in the crossfire," Carl Moeller, the president of Open Doors USA, the Bible-delivering ministry founded by Dutch missionary Brother Andrew in 1955, told WorldNetDaily.

Brother Andrew's story was portrayed in the book "God's Smuggler," which detailed his exploits of driving cars loaded with Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. After the book was published, much of his organization's work was moved to the Mideast, where projects have included the Gaza Baptist Church and Bethlehem Bible College.

"The current conflict in Lebanon has caused almost a quarter of the Lebanese population to relocate, some within their own country, others to Syria and Jordan," the Barnabas Fund said. Other displaced Christians have come from Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the West Bank, numbering up to 750,000 across the region, it said.

There have been about 50,000 Lebanese Christians who have fled to other parts of their own nation, 33,000 who have gone to Syria and another 30,000 who have fled to Jordan, the group said.

"In addition there were an estimated 80,000-100,000 Filipino, Sri Lankan and other 'third country nationals' working in south Lebanon, many of whom were Christians. It is believed that most have left," the Barnabas Fund said.

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