Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Let's not forget the persecuted church... coming soon to a neighborhood near us
Right now, some liberals on X and other social media platforms are incensed that Trump is “selling Bibles.” Actually, Trump is only endorsing a Bible that has been printed together with the U.S. Constitution and other American documents. Trump isn’t publishing this Bible, nor is he taking a cut of the revenues. He is simply endorsing a product and, thanks to liberals, there is now a long waiting list to get a Bible, if you want to order one. It costs $60 and the wait is around six weeks.
In the United States, the Bible was and is a constant best-seller. Over 1.6M Bibles are sold every single month in the United States. And Trump is in good company. Way back when, Thomas Jefferson compiled an abbreviated version of the Bible with multiple texts laid out in parallel, called The Life & Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. The Jefferson Bible was sold after Jefferson passed away and is still available.
Why is the left so angry? At first, I thought they were angry because Trump was involved in selling a product as a spokesperson. This is legal and frequently done, and since he’s currently a private citizen, why shouldn’t he be allowed to endorse a product? Some people mocked Trump, claiming he was broke and resorting to hucksterism, but Trump made more money last week than most of us can expect to make in a lifetime (multiple billions of the initial public offering of Truth Social stock).
But then I realized… it’s the Bible, stupid! For all that the left insists that Conservatives are morally bankrupt, corrupt, dishonest, irredeemable, deplorable, and even evil, they become apoplectic at the thought that we might get hold of a Bible. You would think they would want us to get our hands on a Bible. But nobody knows better than the left that the Bible is a dangerous book. It’s why Hitler got rid of as many Bibles as he could in the Third Reich (he burned many but he did not outright ban the book) and China regularly holds Bible burning events. Bibles are illegal in many nations, including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, and Libya. Why all this hubbub over a book many Americans own but never open? It’s dangerous.
Mother Theresa allegedly was many years ago traveling through an airport with a small satchel. She was a nun with few possessions. As was required, the security personnel asked her if she had anything dangerous in her bag. She replied, “Oh yes, the most dangerous thing in the world.” This startled the airport teams but they soon found out what she meant. She pulled out the dangerous item to show it to them. “The Bible.”
As we head into Easter Sunday, here are some statistics to help shape your prayer life over this holy day and beyond. The Bible must be dangerous if it gets this kind of treatment.
One out of every 8 Christians endures persecution because of their faith
In fact, on a global basis, one Christian is killed every 2 hours for the crime of confessing faith in Jesus Christ
More Christians are being persecuted (imprisoned, tortured, executed) in our own era than in all previous eras in history
The mainstream media rarely carries stories about Christian oppression and persecution
In Iran, a ministry called Iran Alive broadcasts Christian messages on satellite TV and gets about 6 million views per day; this trend of sending the Gospel via the airwaves is being copied—a bit more cautiously—in Saudi Arabia
Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the many nations where it is not just illegal to own a Bible, it is forbidden legally to listen to a Christian message
In the past 14 years, the Vatican News Service says that over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria were killed for their faith by Islamist militants. In that same time period, over 18,000 churches were burned to the ground along with 2,200 Christian schools
Sometimes Nigerian militants just kidnap Christians; young girls are often forced to be child brides to their captors. In 2023, we know of 707 such abductions. There were likely more
In Pakistan, eight churches were burned to the ground last summer
The United States government’s Department of Homeland Security expects about 1000 attacks (which may be anything from vandalism to mass casualty events) on houses of worship in the United States in 2024 alone. In fact, FEMA is giving grants to churches to help them “harden” their facilities against attacks
Then comes China. Technically, Christianity is legal in China but it is tightly supervised by the government. You can attend a Christian church only if you are over 18 years of age (it’s easier for a kid to get into a strip club in China than a church) and the government knows who you are. Some pastors and other church leaders have been incarcerated for crimes like “inciting subversion of state power,” which basically means preaching the Gospel. All church services in China are videotaped by the state so that everything discussed from the pulpit is dissected and analyzed by government officials
Like Iran, China is seeing Christianity grow wildly and the more efforts that are made to stop it, the more people convert. In 2018, China closed the Zion Church, a Protestant church in Beijing that is believed to the largest church in China. This indicates a sense of fearfulness among Chinese officials. To me, it means China can tolerate tightly surveilled small churches but cannot allow large churches which might be more difficult to control.
Right now, there are about 116M Protestant Christians in China (just for comparison, the Communist Party in China has 90M members). That number is likely grossly underestimated because China has many so-called “underground churches” that meet in secret in private homes or even in parks to avoid registering with the government. The church is growing rapidly and it has been estimated that by 2030 (which is right around the corner) … China will have the largest Christian population on earth.
This Easter, the government in Manipur, India, cancelled Easter. The government there is run by a Hindu nationalist party who decided just yesterday that Easter Sunday will be a regular working day for all government employees. The region of Manipur has about 2 million Christians—almost half the population.
They’re cancelling Easter—even in regions that are nearly majority Christian. They’re closing churches, throwing Christians in prison, even executing them. Meanwhile, in the United States, liberals are melting down that MAGA supporters might buy a Bible that Trump promoted.
If you are a Believer, enjoy this Resurrection Sunday and—as the Bible says— remember our brothers and sisters in chains. The photo below is an image of Christians in Nigeria receiving material aid and Bibles from the Voice of the Martyrs ministry. These believers are risking their lives to go to church.
So good--thank you!!!