Article - Christian Executions What do you think about it?

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*Faith Under Fire
Christian believers executed in North Korea*
'Refusal to worship Kim Jong-il, being caught worshiping God brings harsh
Posted: January 21, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Michael Ireland
Assist News Service
Reports about four Christians being executed for their faith in North
Korea are circulating in the Christian media.
According to Mark Kelly of Baptist Press: "The Democratic People's
Republic of North Korea is well-known as a country where Christians are
persecuted for their faith. Because the government there keeps a tight
lid on communication, however, only rarely does specific information
leak out."
Quoting the World Bible Translation Center's Gary Bishop in a
conversation with Mission Network News, Kelly reports that one man who
worked as an evangelist was executed after being caught with two Korean
New Testaments in his possession.
Bishop says North Korean Christians are becoming increasingly uneasy
about possessing a Bible.
He said: "A man that's known to be an evangelist. He's probably not an
evangelist to anyone other than his family members, but he was caught
with two of our Korean New Testaments in his possession and he was
executed for that."
Kelly writes that Bishop also told Mission Network News: "A woman and
her grandmother were washing clothes when a New Testament fell out of
the woman's clothing. Somebody reported it, and both she and her
grandmother were quickly executed. And an army general who had become a
believer was caught evangelizing men in his unit and was executed by a
fellow officer."
Kelly says Bishop told MNN that despite the oppression – or perhaps
because of it – God seems to be working.
Bishop said: "In response to a very, very oppressive government (and)
human injustices, people are looking for an answer other than their own
government. And, I believe that's awakening the resilience of believers
in North Korea to say, 'We have another answer. There is another way to
believe.'"
MNN reports that thousands of North Korean Christians have been killed
for their faith. Many more are in work camps.
According to Bishop, there's no sign of the persecution easing any.
"What you have is a leader who is proclaiming himself to be god. It's
prescribed that they daily worship him. And, refusal to do that and
being caught worshiping God just brings that kind of governmental
response. And, as best we can tell, the tempo of that is not lessening."
Bishop says it's obvious what that increasing pressure on Christians is
doing to Bible smuggling. "It becomes more and more difficult to get a
person to risk their life to carry those in to North Korea." With rivers
frozen, it's a prefect time to smuggle Bibles into the country.
While persecution continues, World Bible Translation Center has no
intention of stopping the flow of Bibles into the country. "We do need
to begin reprinting and get text ready as God enables people to take
those in."
North Korea: Country in Focus
Population: 22,912,177
Government: Authoritarian Social
Capital: Pyongyang
Type: Restricted Nation
According to the World Fact Book, quoted on the VOM Australia website:
"Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming
under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western
oriented. Kim Jong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the
country's founder, president Kim Il-sung, died in 1994. After decades of
mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to
feed its population, while continuing to expend resources to maintain an
army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development
and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive
conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international
community. In December 2002, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement
that shut down its nuclear reactors and expelled U.N. monitors, further
raising fears it would produce nuclear weapons."
Report from United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Religious freedom remains essentially non-existent in North Korea, where
the government has a policy of actively discriminating against religious
believers, says the USCIRF.
The group states: "The North Korean state severely represses public and
private religious activities. The Commission has received reports that
officials have arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and sometimes executed
North Korean citizens who were found to have ties with overseas
Christian evangelical groups operating across the border in China, as
well as those who engaged in unauthorized religious activities such as
public religious expression and persuasion. Although access to updated
information about North Korea remains limited, by all accounts,
including according to testimony delivered at the Commission's hearing
on North Korea in January 2002, there has not been any improvement in
the conditions for religious freedom in the past year."
In recent years, the USICRF says, the government has formed several
religious organizations that it controls for the purpose of severely
restricting religious activities in the country. For example, the Korean
Buddhist Federation prohibits Buddhist monks from worshiping at North
Korean temples. Most of the remaining temples that have escaped
government destruction since the Korean War are regarded as cultural
relics rather than religious sites.
Similarly, the Korean Christian Federation restricts Christian
activities. Following the reported wholesale destruction of over 1,500
churches during Kim Il-sung's reign (1948-1994), two Protestant churches
and a Roman Catholic church, without a priest, opened in Pyongyang in
1988, even though the absence of a priest for Roman Catholics means that
Mass cannot be celebrated and most sacraments cannot be performed.
Several foreign residents have reported that they regularly attend
services at these churches and that it is clear that whatever public
religious activity exists, such as services at these churches, is staged
for their benefit.
The USICRF reports: "Persons found carrying Bibles in public or
distributing religious literature, or engaging in unauthorized religious
activities such as public religious expression and persuasion are
arrested and imprisoned. There continue to be reports of torture and
execution of religious believers. Although the practice of imprisoning
religious believers is apparently widespread, the State Department has
been unable to document fully the number of religious detainees or
prisoners. According to a press report, an estimated 6,000 Christians
are incarcerated in "Prison No. 15," located in the northern part of the
country.
The Commission learned from testimony at its January 2002 hearing that
prisoners held on the basis of their religious beliefs are treated worse
than other inmates. For example, religious prisoners, especially
Christians, are reportedly given the most dangerous tasks while in
prison. In addition, they are subject to constant abuse from prison
officials in an effort to force them to renounce their faith. When they
refuse, these religious prisoners are often beaten and sometimes
tortured to death."
The organization concludes: "Officials have stratified North Korean
society on the basis of family background and perceived loyalty to the
regime into 51 specific categories. Religious adherents are by
definition relegated to a lower category, receiving fewer privileges and
opportunities, such as education and employment, than others. Persons in
lower categories have reportedly been denied food aid. Thousands of
North Koreans have fled to China in recent years. Refugees who are
either forcibly repatriated or captured after having voluntarily
returned to the DPRK are accused of treason; those found to have had
contacts with South Koreans or Christian missionaries are subjected to
severe punishment, including the death penalty." (United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom, as quoted on VOM
Australia website).

Answer 1

Persecution of Christians has been going on since its inception for almost 2,000 years. In many cases it is the governmental powers who oppose the preaching work of Christians. But, oftentimes it is religious affiliations themselves that are the culprit who stir up the government citing false charges against true Christians. Jesus Christ himself was arrested and put to death on false charges of sedition. When Christianity was established, the apostles and disciples of Christ also were persecuted for Christ's namesake. Peace loving Christians ( those ones who saw the hypocrisy of religious leaders who claimed to be representing God and exposed their erroneous teaching) were classified as heretics. John 15:20,21; Mark 7:6,7; Acts 16;19-24; Acts 24-26.
It is very sad that in some lands people cannot even own a Bible and if caught can be arrested, tortured and even executed.

Answer 2

Apostasy = religious intolerance
Religious Intolerance = killing
Killing = war
War = hell

It is wrong for people to use their religious beliefs to justify killing and violence. Some people are using their religions to facilitate religious intolerance, hatred, and killing.

God's people from all the religions of the world are presently being persecuted around the world. Some Christians are God's people so they are being persecuted and killed. Check out my question "Do you think the birth of the Red Heifers born in the 1990's is proof that the Messiah is coming soon?" Read my comment section. There is an important message for everyone. Also, please see this link: http://web.ncf.ca/fd810/
A Mineret Mosque will be built on the temple mount soon.

Note: I saw five points that appeared to be an upside down “Shield of David” in a man’s eyes. Just imagine a “Shield of David” without the uppermost point. The points looked like distant stars in the night sky. The left side three points aligned like the alignment of stars in Orion’s Belt.

Answer 3

Persecution of Christians is going on all over the world. It is not a surprise to me and should not come as a surprise to any Christian. Christ and some of the New Testament writers predicted this would happen.

But perhaps it would have been much better to give the web address and summarize the article because as someone suggested the article may have copyright privileges which may have been violated, albeit with good intentions.

For those who care to look at the web address below Voice of the Martyrs has news about the persecution of Christians.

Answer 4

It's been happening in China too. Very sad. I can't imagine living in a non-free country. The way the world is going, I can imagine it happening here someday.

Answer 5

Well. and then ????

What did do early christians against pagans when they got the power under Constantin about inn 330 C.E. .???

Answer 6

They live in a country where there is no religious freedom .They took the chance to break the rules and they paid with their lives .
Indirectly the Christian that introduced them to religion is responsible for their deaths .They gave them the books and converted them .
Its a shame they had to Die for a LIE.

Answer 7

Are you here to ask a question or to see yourself in print. If North Koreans had to put up with your ramblings they would shoot themselves.

Answer 8

Has it been verified? Do you have a link?

Answer 9

I am not suprized

Answer 10

Isn't that plagiarism?