by David Virtue, VOL
Judgment begins with the household of God….1 Peter 4:17
The verse cited suggests that God’s judgment will first affect His own people, the church, before it extends to the world. It is not a verse you will ever hear preached from a liberal pulpit. Nobody will ever persecute The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada or the Church of England. They don’t believe enough to persecute. Worse, they are being ignored. Furthermore, people are walking away because they have no transcendent message to proclaim to a spiritually threadbare nation.
Who would die for the thoughts of a lesbian Archbishop of Wales, or a ‘rave in the nave’ sodomite dean of Canterbury Cathedral! An Ayatollah might just cut their heads off to save the remnant Christians!
Churches that are being persecuted are those that actually believe something like ‘the faith once for all delivered to the saints.’ That Jesus is truly God and man, that salvation from sin is absolutely necessary; that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that ecumenism actually dilutes the faith. Whatever is left of the faith isn’t worth dying of, or for.
Progressive and revisionist churches will never be persecuted. The dilution of faith leads to irrelevance and lack of conviction. And these churches have it in abundance.
Look at the nations under persecution. Much of it is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to 14 countries on the watch list. According to Open Doors US, 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith — more than one in seven — an increase of more than 8 million compared to last year.
Nigeria is at the epicenter of much of the persecution going on. The list notes that the African country is the primary hotspot for deadly violence, accounting for the majority of faith-related killings globally. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during the reporting period, 3,490 were Nigerian, which marks an increase from 3,100 last year, according to the report.
Nigeria is the largest, fastest growing province in the Anglican communion today. Despite persecution (perhaps because of it), the province added 15 new dioceses last year. Meantime The Episcopal Church merged dioceses across the country and continues to close churches that are no longer viable. Some are propped up by diocesan money and the Lilly Foundation. I am told that parishes with endowments are virtually the only ones that can afford a full-time rector.