April 26, 2007
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Sad All Around
So while y'all back in the States are dealing with the VT massacre, we're dealing with a different tragedy over here in Turkey. Last week, three Christians were bound, gagged, and had their throats slit in a town called Malatya. Malatya is about seven hours away, southeast of where I live. One was a German missionary, one a Turkish pastor, and the other a Turkish church member who worked at a Christian publishing house. A friend of ours knew all three people. That's one degree of separation for me and two degrees of separation for you. A little while before he died, the German missionary wrote a song and one of the lines in his song went, Lord, you are worthy to take my life. He was stabbed 156 times before they finally slit his throat.
Unfortunately, the government tends to encourage this kind of atmosphere. The National Security Council has photos, charts and histories of all the Christians and tracks their activities through the same office that follows the PKK, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Strictly religiously speaking, Islam portrays itself as tolerant of other religions, but if you read the fine print, Christians, Jews, and other peoples of faith are allowed to exist but never as full members of society. We are to be kept on the fringes. And historically, missionaries have had a bad reputation in Turkey (probably deservedly) and that distrust has never gone away. If you're a nationalist, you don't like Christians. If you're a strong Islamist, you don't like Christians. And if you're a strong Islamic nationalist, you really don't like Christians. So, yeah, maybe there is some persecution here after all.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,478955,00.html
Comments (8)
it's so humbling to hear that. we often take for granted our religious freedom here in the states... be careful!
stay safe, hooju...
that's pretty scary. yeah, man.. hope u are safe.
but i gotta admit.. i chuckled at the turkish phrase for 'very sweet'.
sad...
shocking indeed - when i visited seemed so tolerant. course i was mainly in istanbul, western turkey and cappadocia, and most of the people i dealt with were trying to get me to spend money...
It's really sad how much hate and violence are found in men, but I hope in spite of the persecutions you witness that you don't lose hope and continue to trust that our God is in control...
Dude, when have you seen me play? Ask GFC how I did the other day.
sigh. a harsh glimpse of reality outside our bubble here in the states. I'll keep you guys and Turkey in my prayers....