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Refreshment in Refuge
by Gina Burgess
The Voice of the Martyrs reports Christians in Bangladesh have been "pressured
to worship at a mosque." The church is 25 Christians strong, and had been meeting secretly. More than 200 protesters marched against this tiny congregation, and authorities threatened burning of homes if they did not close the church and comply with denial of their Christian faith. The Christians threatened with beatings and banishment from their village if they refused. Eight people caved in to the demands. The Constitution of Bangladesh protects the religious freedom of its citizens. They have the right to worship and propagate any religion. They also have the right to maintain their institution.
Religious freedom, meaning the right to practice whatever religion or no religion freely without prosecution or coercion, is protected by the U.S. Constitution, correct? It's in the First Amendment. I believe every U.S. Citizen should read the Constitution at least once per year. If that would occur, then every citizen would be much better informed. I fear our citizens are becoming apathetic to an alarming degree, and those same citizens seem to be walking around with phones to ears, or pressed to their noses playing games, and are rarely privy to what is happening in our government.
Incredibly wise forefathers provided the Constitution to safeguard the citizenry from a top-heavy government, presidential dictators, legislators run amok, and agenda plagued, partisan supreme court justices. It has worked well for more than 200 years. Thankfully, George Mason wrote the Declaration of Virginia outlining statement of rights which inspired the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called The Bill of Rights.
So how did the events in a supposedly religious-freedom state such as Bangladesh happen? Will it happen in the U.S.? It is far more likely to happen here in the U.S. than most people believe. We take our freedoms and our rights for granted. We have become dull in reason as well as Christian fervor because we have not had to suffer persecution as the 25 Christians in Bangladesh did.
Question of the Day: If your town officials stormed your church demanding you bend your knees to Allah and deny Jesus Christ or be beaten, home destroyed, wealth stolen, what would you do? Are you sure?
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Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.
She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.
If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon
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