Is U.S. foreign policy hurting Christians?

USA (MNN) — Persecution of Christians is growing. We’re seeing it all over the world. It’s happening in Asia, Africa, and most certainly the Middle East.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the West Bank.
(State Department Photo/Public Domain)

In light of increased persecution, the question is being asked: Is the foreign policy of the United States over the last two decade promoting persecution against Christians?

While that’s not the goal of U.S. policy, it appears to be a by-product.

The hope, therefore, is that addressing persecution against Christians would be a priority for the U.S. Tom Doyle with E3 Partners says, “Currently we’re not seeing that as a top priority. We’re just not, when it comes to Christians. When you see this push for democracy, it makes it even worse.”

Why? When regime change takes place, what’s left to replace it? Typically it’s the majority political institution.

Doyle says an example of that is the regime change mindset in the Middle East today. “These dictator/rulers in the Middle East, are they corrupt? Yes. Are they harmful to the people? Yes. But somehow, the Christians have fared better under them than they have when they’re removed and Muslim leadership takes over.”

Because the United States is typically involved in these regime changes, Doyle says the results aren’t surprising. “It’s the no forgiveness zone. Islamic jihadists keep score. Any kind of American footprint in their country: there’s going to be retaliation. It ends up making Christians the scapegoats.”

Despite this, the Gospel is still spreading. Many Muslims are turning to Christ through dreams and visions. Doyle says the uncertainty in the Middle East is causing Muslims to question their faith and ask a lot of questions.

What can we do? Pray. “In the dark difficult nations, the light is shining brightly. Pray for those believers there that they would not shrink back, that they would continue to be bold. Every day for them is challenging. They don’t know if they’re going to make it through the day or not. They could be killed for their faith.”

Join the E3 Partners prayer movement. They have two places to do that on Facebook. The first is their Dreams and Visions page. The other is through their 8Thirty8 page.

Source: Mission Network News