Crosstalk: October 2, 2018

This edition of Crosstalk was a reminder of the persecution that is taking place against Christians throughout the world. As Hebrews 13:3 says, 'Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them...'

Here's just a sample of what Jim covered on this broadcast:

--The government is ratcheting up a crackdown on Christian congregations in
Beijing and several provinces, destroying crosses, burning Bibles, shutting down churches, and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith.

--In spite of this persecution, the church appears to be growing. If the present
trend continues, China is projected to be the nation with the greatest number of Christians worldwide despite all attempts to eradicate the church.

--Chinese intellectuals are coming around to the view that it is its Christian
heritage that has made the West so successful.

--Over 2,000 crosses have already been burned or ripped down from church
buildings, many churches have been demolished; pastors have been arrested, beaten, tortured or sentenced to years in prison.

--By 2020, 600 million CCTV cameras, nearly one for every 2 Chinese citizens, will blanket the nation. They're being forcibly installed in church buildings to
record 24/7 the church entrances, the stairwells, the offering boxes, and Bible
counters to monitor who attends church, who buys Bibles, and where those Bibles are taken.

--In the midst of the Chinese government crackdown, 344 pastors have come forth and signed a public statement standing up to the regime.

From there, Jim talked about persecution in other parts of the world such as:

--The Muslim slaughter of Christians taking place in Pakistan.

--A young Christian was killed by his commanding officer in Egypt.

--A Christian doctor was stabbed to death in Iraq.

--Orphans, whose parents are killed for their Christian faith, are growing in number.

--6 unknown individuals firebomb a church in Indonesia.

--2 Christian brothers fined $900 each in Algeria for transporting over 50 Bibles in their car.

These are just some of the persecution headlines that Jim presented, while Crosstalk listeners followed up with their comments.