As I was watching the news, there they were, a group of gay activists
pouring Coca Cola down the gutter in front of the company’s global headquarters
in Atlanta. This was the US gay community’s way of protesting the poor
treatment of gays in Russia.
“But, what did Coke have to do with the Russian government’s
poor treatment of gays?” one might ask. Well, in a few days, Russia is hosting
the Winter Olympics, and as usual, Coca-Cola is sponsoring the American
athletes participating in the games. The protesters were urging the company to call for a repeal of Russia’s anti-gay laws before 2014 Winter Olympics.According to the group, more than 140,000 All Out members sent messages to the company’s CEO urging Coca-Cola to speak out against Russian anti-gay propaganda.
As I watched the news report, I marveled at the US gay
community’s support for the persecuted gays in Russia, and began to compare
their action with the US evangelical churches reaction to the worldwide
persecution of Christians. By the way, the issue here has nothing to do with
one’s acceptance or rejection of the gay lifestyle. However, it has everything
to do with opposing oppressive governments, or regimes that persecute,
mistreat, or harm those who believe the same as you do.
I did a search on the Internet to see when was the last time
a group of US Christians protested to bring attention to the persecuted church around
the world. I ran across a lot of articles on the subject of persecution, or
articles where you are encouraged to send emails to some governments demanding
the freedom of this or that Christian. There were articles about the Pope
speaking against the persecution of Christians in some Muslim countries, but
nothing about even a handful of Christians actually showing up anywhere in the
US to bring attention to this crucial subject. Somehow, praying, writing
emails, or expecting the US government to protest on our behalf should be
enough.
Speaking of the US government, let’s assume it was Iraq that
had conquered America. Do you know one of the first things they would do? Turn
many of our churches into mosques. We, not only didn’t do such a thing, but the
church in Iraq is much worse off today than it was under Sadam’s regime.
Governments and politicians, in general, do what’s expedient and beneficial to
them. It took the US government over 1000 days before they even protested the
arrest of American Pastor, Saeed Abedini in Iran. By the way, he’s still in
prison.
On the other hand, there was my good friend, Eddie Romero, a
Chicano US pastor from Southern California, who, on behalf of five imprisoned
Iranian Christians, went to Iran to purposely get himself arrested by the
government and bring attention to the persecuted church. Although the
Christians in general applauded him, there were some who thought he was crazy.
“His action can bring more harm to the Christians in Iran,” they said. To which
Eddie replied, “For too long we have stood behind the walls these governments
have erected and tried to communicate with them by throwing emails and letters
of protest over the wall in the hope of making a difference. I want to go in
and make them talk to me face to face.” I was honored to be a part of the team
that helped Pastor Eddied fulfill his goal. By the way, a week after Pastor
Eddie was deported back to the US, one of the five he was protesting for was
released from prison.
Come dream with me. Wouldn’t it be an amazing event if the
Christians in this country called a march on DC to protest on behalf of the
persecuted church around the world?
If for nothing else, the march will encourage all our persecuted
brothers and sisters around the world to stand fast and know they are not
forgotten.
