'Shadows of intolerance': Watchdog sounds alarm for the West, reveals biggest lesson from persecuted Christians
A persecution watchdog that has spent years exposing anti-Christian atrocities across the globe contends that Christians in the West can learn a great deal from fellow believers in duress.
"When you see the joy of the persecuted Church, this is, to me, the valuable lesson that we need in the West," David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, told CBN News. "They're under pressure, they're under constraints ... but yet, they're bold, and they're happy, and they're present."
Curry described taking a recent trip to Nigeria, where Christian persecution has reached a fever pitch in recent years. He encountered people there who have had personal injuries or who have lost loved ones due to attacks by Islamic extremists.
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Still, these individuals exuded joy and hope, which, in turn, left him encouraged. Listen to Curry explain on the"Newsmakers" podcast from CBN News:
"It just gives me joy, because the Lord is sufficient," Curry said. "God is sufficient — a relationship with Jesus. I don't want to go through those things, but I've seen it take them deeper in their faith, and it's encouraging."
Despite observing such strong persistence among the persecuted, Curry said it's important to note not everyone takes this posture; some people are understandably broken mentally and spiritually due to the intense trauma they face.
Still, the perseverance he's seen has left him deeply encouraged and inspired on his own journey.
In fact, Curry has felt boldness in his own life as a result of seeing the powerful responses from Christians around the globe encountering attacks due to their faith.
"I think I've gotten bolder because of it," he said. "More certain that there is no material good, there's no political government, there's no kind of thing that you might want in the world that's going to be sufficient to the peace, spiritual peace, knowing the power of the Holy Spirit, to give somebody peace in the midst of trauma."
And while the U.S. and Western world are nowhere near as saturated with anti-Christian sentiment, as are many other nations around the globe, Curry cited "shadows of persecution, censorship [and] intolerance toward faith" that can be observed in Western Europe and America.
"We can learn the lessons from the persecuted Church [of] how they've kept strong," he said.
Curryalso spoke about the dire state of persecution in Pakistan. The South Asian country ranks on Open Doors’ World Watch List as the seventh-most dangerous place for Christians. Listen above for more.
