American pastors are failing to teach a biblical theology of persecution, says Open Doors USA CEO David Curry, which contributes to an inattention to the rise of Christian persecution in countries such as Nigeria and India.
For the past 60 years, the non-denominational ministry Open Doors has traveled to the world's most oppressive regions to empower and equip persecuted Christians. The non-profit has been in more than 60 countries providing Bibles, training, and programs for anyone marginalized because of their beliefs. The organization also specializes in helping to restore faith communities that have been targets of persecution.
Curry became CEO in August 2013, and has traveled extensively into various persecuted areas to encourage his Christian brethren. He is now urging for other believers to pay attention to what’s currently happening in Nigeria to Christians at the hand of Boko Haram. The Jihadist group in Nigeria which is responsible for more than 34,000 deaths in the country since 2011.
There are now 91 million Christians in Nigeria and many others in India, China and other places around the world continually trusting Jesus for protection while facing persecution. Curry is charging pastors and leaders in the western world to come back to "reality” and keep their congregations informed while encouraging them to pray for those in danger.
Christian Post: What are the least known persecuted places in the world?
Curry: Nigeria is in that category because so many more people are killed in Nigeria than ISIS killed in a year. But yet, people won't talk about it the same way. I think that's a big problem in the media. I think it's an indictment of us as followers of Jesus in the West that we sort of don't pay attention, unless it's directly related to us, but these are our brothers and sisters and we need to go by the biblical mandate to care and to pray, as if these were our own brothers and sisters, members of our family. So I think Nigeria is one of those issues, that just needs to be in front of our minds so that the Christian church is praying, advocating, and letting our voice be heard.
I think India still fits in that category [as well]. People are well aware of India, everybody knows an Indian and has friends that are Indians. Here's the challenge, though, the view that we have is through the lens of Gandhi, "they’re peaceful and loving,” but what has shifted is over six years their national politics has become nationalistic. There is a group there running that country that has a radical Hindu agenda that wants to get rid of every religious minority ””they want to whether it's Muslim or Christian. Right now there's almost 65 million Christians in India who have their rights restricted or are being punished or shut down, etc. so it's a significant problem even though people are well aware of India they may not be aware that the religious freedom has changed there.
CP: Why do you think the western world is in such a slumber concerning persecution?
Curry: I think it's a failure of leadership. I think it starts there. This is a bit of an indictment, but I think pastors ... they're not teaching their church about it, they're not teaching a biblical standard, they’re not teaching a theology of persecution.
The New Testament was written by persecuted Christians. There are books of the Bible that start with Paul in prison, and at the end, he’s still in prison. But we're not hearing that gospel in America, and I think it's created a chasm between us and the rest of the world. We are not living in reality. So I think it's an indictment of the leadership here in America and the West. It's not to say it can't turn around, but we need to have every church, every Sunday, talking, praying in some way about their persecuted brothers and sisters. It's a universal calling in the scripture that we are to pray for people who are in chains in the name of Jesus as if they were our own family and understand the theology of suffering.
I think that's part of it. I think then the rest of it is that we as American Christians are inundated with media at the same place as everyone is, we take our marching orders on what's important by what's on our Twitter feed. That’s a very unhealthy way to prioritize what's important because it's what's urgent but it doesn't allow us to focus on the things that are timeless and important. We're going to need to, just like everybody else, pull back from the fatigue of the constant media barrage of bad news from everywhere, and figure out, what are we called to focus on?