It is with gratitude that I look back on the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Danish European Mission. According to one of our board members, it was the best annual meeting he had ever attended. It was also exciting to listen to how Bible smuggling takes place today, but in the "good old days" during the Cold War, you also had to be very inventive to avoid the Bibles being discovered when you took them behind the Iron Curtain.
Unfortunately, conditions in several of the former Soviet republics are now as bad as they were under Soviet rule - if not worse - in terms of the right to own or distribute the Bible! Likewise, Christians risk heavy fines or imprisonment and confiscation of their property if they organize or participate in religious activities.
Is drinking healthier than prayer meetings?
When asked directly, a local official in Kazakhstan said that it's fine to gather privately with friends to drink vodka or watch football on TV together, but it's forbidden to gather privately to pray together! These are words for money, and they show how absurd it is to forbid people from practicing their faith together when it causes no harm whatsoever and may actually help keep them away from the harmful effects of alcohol.
Amidst our head-shaking, outrage and righteous indignation at how Christians are persecuted, we should not forget that we can actually make a difference for the persecuted. When it became known worldwide that in mid-May, Sudanese Christian woman Meriam was sentenced to death, allegedly for leaving Islam and becoming a Christian, and sentenced to 100 lashes for marrying a Christian man, which was considered fornication by the Sharia court, it caused international outrage and outrage. But there were also many who went to pray for her and/or sat down and signed petitions in support of Meriam or sent letters to the nearest Sudanese embassy to demand her release, and that kind of thing makes an impact. At the time of writing, there has been no definitive word, but reports from Sudanese officials indicate that they expect Meriam to be released soon. Her husband was allowed to visit her and the two children they now have, which would hardly have been allowed if they intended to carry out the sentence of 100 lashes and then death by hanging.
Raising your voice for the persecuted, making sure they have a competent defense in the courtroom and helping them when they are in material need because of their faith is both possible and effective. That is why we in the Danish European Mission boldly face the next decades, even though it generally seems that in many places an ever-deeper darkness is descending for freedom of religion, freedom of the press and freedom of conscience in the countries where we work. But "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it", says the Gospel of John. That's why Danish European Mission continues to raise awareness that Christians are persecuted for their faith and to help them when we can - even when we officially cannot!
