Pray For The Saints (Then Prepare)

We need to pray for the persecuted church in other parts of the world right now. Specifically, our persecuted brethren in Egypt (Coptic Christians).

Egyptian Copts Beleaguered By Rising Violence

CAIRO - Families joined hands in prayer Sunday for an evening of healing at a downtown Cairo church after a bloody week that left many Coptic Christians questioning their place in the new Egypt.

Moonlight illuminated huge stained-glass windows as Egyptians called for an end to the church attacks and other anti-Christian violence that has flourished since a popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Egypt's Coptic minority, about 10 percent of the population, has weathered attacks from militant Islamists, bands of thugs and, most recently, the military, which has ruled Egypt since Mubarak's ouster. Thousands of Christians have fled the country, according to Coptic clergy, but many more have stayed, determined to preserve a community that's outlasted many an empire.

Signs posted to the walls of Kasr el Dobara Evangelical Church reminded believers that the path to salvation would be difficult - a message taken to heart by congregants who said they'd never seen such worrying times in their homeland.

"I know God won't let us down," said Abraam Sami, 16, who traveled from the oasis town of Fayoum to volunteer as an usher. "Egypt must be better than this."

Muslim supporters still turn out to protect or show solidarity with Coptic protesters who demand full religious freedom and citizenship privileges. But those pockets of sympathy may not be enough to secure the Copts in an increasingly hostile Egypt, where a security vacuum and Islamist political gains spell trouble for this ancient population.

Despite turning out in droves to march during the anti-Mubarak uprising, Copts say, their pursuit for a share of the revolution's promised freedoms has been met by violence, intolerance andr apathy. For the past 10 months, Copts have suffered a string of attacks - from the New Year's church bombing that killed 25 people in Alexandria to last week's military crackdown on Christian protesters that left up to 26 dead after fierce clashes in Cairo.

Between those two most-lethal episodes were months of sporadic but vicious signs of worsening sectarian unrest: village churches besieged or burned, clashes over the installation of a church bell, a Copt whose ear was cut off by Islamist militants for perceived moral infractions.

In April, the appointment of a Christian governor with ties to the Mubarak regime angered Muslims and Christians alike in the southern province of Qena. But extremists hijacked protests over the man's credentials and turned the issue sectarian, saying no Christian could rule over Muslims.

Hard-liners camped out on railroad tracks, shutting down the busy train system for much of the south. The 11-day revolt ended only when the interim authorities withdrew the governor.

Those months of persecution were the backdrop for the eruption last week of Christian anger over yet another dismantling of a church, in the southern city of Aswan last month.

"Unfortunately, as the days went by, the government in Cairo failed to take the Copts' demands or pleas for protection seriously," Sherry El-Gergawi wrote this week in the Cairo daily Ahram Online, which published a blow-by-blow account of the church attacks and their galvanizing effect on Coptic protesters.

Thousands of Copts marched Oct. 9 in front of the state television building in Cairo. The mostly peaceful march exploded into riots in which thugs, Egyptian security forces and Christian demonstrators set upon one another with guns, knives, sticks and other weapons. Video broadcast across the world showed armored military vehicles careering through the streets, crushing anyone in their path.

The military issued a televised apology for the deaths, but justified the army's actions by painting soldiers as traumatized and with no other option but to drive away when faced by a seething, armed crowd.

On Saturday, the military council also issued an order banning all forms of discrimination, with fines of at least $5,000 for intolerance based on "gender, origin, language, religion or beliefs." Government employees found guilty of discrimination face even stiffer penalties, including at least three months in prison, according to an official statement.

Copts say the military's version of events is absurd and its overtures insincere. They've offered videos and witness testimony to back their account that both thugs and security forces assaulted unarmed demonstrators. They want a full investigation, with compensation and pledges of better protections in the future.

"Can you believe that someone holding a candle and standing with his wife and daughter is coming to fight the army?" said Zakaria Tawfiq, 75, a Copt who said the current religious tensions are the worst he's ever seen. "They're doing this to divert attention and stay in power."

Several critics of the military share the view that the generals lack the political will to address the Copts' concerns because prolonged unrest gives them cause to remain in office rather than cede authority to civilian rulers as they have promised to do. The interfaith fighting also deflects from their sluggish performance on benchmarks for a more democratic Egypt, critics note.

Other Copts dismiss such thinking as a conspiracy theory and say this year's persecution isn't new, only expanded because of the collapse of the interior ministry and the emboldening of militants and thugs. The interim government, they say, is doing what Egyptian governments have done for decades - either ignore Coptic concerns or distort them to rile up the masses.

Copts at the church on Sunday said they'd continue to fight for space in Egypt, regardless of retaliation.

Mary Hanna, 30, said she prayed and fasted for three days after the violence last week and finally could feel "the fear and the anger going away." She held tight to her infant son, Steven, swaying and calling out, "hallelujah!" as a choir sang.

"I realize that, no, we can't be weak. Egypt is on the rise and my son has a home here, a future here," Hanna said.

She said she was encouraged that many Muslim supporters had aligned with Christian causes, but said it might take divine intervention for Egypt's military rulers to fulfill their promises to the Copts.

"Maybe prayers, not protests, are the way to get our rights," Hanna said

Yes, prayer is always the best weapon of choice in any situation. Christians should never be moved to any kind of violence. More on that in just a moment.

Coptic Christians. A different Christian sect, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that they're still Christians because, as far as I can tell, the group still proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, but also their personal Lord and Savior too. Friends, that makes them our brothers and sisters in Christ whether we agree with their actions or not.

Look, I realize that they are directly violating God's Word whenever they decide to seek vengeance on their own in response to the atrocities committed against them by others in their respective nations (Deuteronomy 32:35; Isaiah 63:4; Ezekiel 25:14; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30).

Yet, before we cast too fierce a judgment, let's recognize that none of us knows how we'd really act in the face of such abject horror ourselves. I'd like to think I would bring glory, honor, and praise to Him in the face of pure evil (much like Richard Wurmbrand did), but who am I to say it's 'a given' when I haven't been tested like that?

Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked here because all I intended to do was call more attention to the plight of Christians in other parts of the world like those in Egypt.

At the same time, I see some things (unsettling things) from some of these Christians in Egypt (as reported above) that reminds me a lot of the current state of Christianity as it exists here in the US.

Simply put, I see people reacting from a place of fear more so than from a place of faith, and that just breaks my heart especially when I consider where we are on God's prophetic timeline and what lies ahead for the world and some of us. Please take that for what it's worth.

Please add our fellow brethren to your prayer list if you haven't already. Then, be sure to prepare yourself spiritually for the persecution that's surely coming to this nation (and the rest of the world) sooner rather than later.

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