BlogWonks

Christians living in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, have suffered government-sanctioned persecution since the brutal communist regime came to power.

However, according to a recent human rights report, North Korean Christians are experiencing more brutality and violence than at any time in history.

The Christian human-rights group Open Doors, based in Holland, reports that North Korea is number one on its annual World Watch List (WWL), which “ranks countries by the “intensity of persecution that Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.”

For the first time, North Korea received over 90 of the maximum 100 points given to the most serious persecutors of practicing Christians.

North Korea, a nation cloaked in secrecy, has been topping the list of Christion persecutors for over five years, according to Open Doors.

In no other country in the world are Christians persecuted as severely as in the empire of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the Christian group said.

According to officials at Open Door, more Christians had been imprisoned last year than the previous year, and the persecution “is getting worse” by the day.

North Korea’s Stalinist system of implementing a Communist economy is based on “total devotion” of the individual to an ideology promoted by the late leader Kim Il Sung and his successor and son, Kim Jong Il, according to observers who visited the isolated nation.

Officials in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea see Christianity as a threat to their philosophy of state control. North Korean authorities, however, deny imprisoning, torturing and killing Christians in the same way they denied working on creating a nuclear weapon.

Open Doors’ International Director Johan Companjen said, “Christians in North Korea say they have become more courageous thanks to [the] prayers,” of fellow believers around the world.

“Perhaps that’s why more believers have been jailed,” he stressed.

To discover how you can help stop the persecution of believing Christians in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, please visit:
http://www.helpNK.com/. The web site contains information on religious persecution including an online petition to the US Congress.

As we observe Easter, we must remember that is a time to reflect on our Savior, Jesus Christ’s suffering on the cross for us and His triumphant rise from the grave 3 days later. It is in that move that God gets the glory and mankind reaps happiness and salvation.

Many churches however want to add to this holy observance by allowing the worldly environmental cause to filter in and take the focus off of what God has done for mankind.

Churches have decided to go “eco-friendly” and order “eco-palms” for Palm Sunday. Never mind that traditions are usurped (the environmentally friendly palms can’t be folded into crosses) and that NAFTA is partly responsible for the “eco-palm” frenzy. We are giving up our traditions to be environmentally correct. Churches are playing into the hands of globalists who crafted trade agreements to undermine the sovereignty of nations ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/world/americas/01palm.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ).  Crafting free trade agreements creates an attitude of dependency of nations, not innovation. It is born from those with ulterior agendas.

In this regard, I ask, do we not have more faith in the Lord Jesus than to think that solely mankind must act to “save the earth”? God is mighty and FAR capable of keeping this planet in balance and in place until He gets ready to shake it (and He will). No matter what mankind tries to do to save the resources of this planet, it will not matter because God (who describes Himself as the “beginning and the end”) knows what will become of the earth in the end. 

If not careful, Christians can get caught up in the environmental fanaticism and not know it. Some may think that going “green” is helping the earth, but they’ve given in to worldly concerns about saving the earth.

I am sure the Lord Jesus is touched by our desire to care for this planet. He also says that this earth is not our home. Don’t get caught up in the cares of this world…

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”–Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Christians cheapen the meaning of Easter when too much light is cast on the creation and not the Creator. 

We have to remember that people who are pushing the environmental agenda stifle other viewpoints as to what is causing changes in the earth. 

NASA scientist Jeff Willis has been studying the ocean floor recording its temperature and has found instead the ocean to be cooling slightly. When looking for answers as to why the icecaps are melting and sea level is rising, Kevin Trenberth of National Center for Atmospheric Research mentions, “The Earth has a number of natural thermostats, including clouds, which can either trap heat and turn up the temperature, or reflect sunlight and help cool the planet.”  It’s important to consider viewpoints from a variety of experts (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88520025).

I firmly believe Global Warming is attributed to the natural cycle of the earth.  We are only a small speck on this earth and in this universe. Humans need not think they have such force to change and alter the very cycle of the planet.

Let’s not put our hope in environmental causes. America, your hope and future is in God, not a movement to revive the earth.  Let Easter be a time when all Christians focus on Jesus’ insurmountable love, that He would lay His life down to take your place as a sinful being before God and ultimately, bring us all back into fellowship with the Almighty through His resurrection.  Let’s put our faith in Jesus and abandon the politically correct “green” environmental movement.

Additional Reading

U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport#report 

*Felicia Benamon is a conservative columnist who writes from a political perspective, but occasionally deviates to write about other concerns facing her country.  A patriotic American, Felicia hopes to motivate others to be more conscious of the current state of affairs in America, and to hold true to the wonderful traditions that make America great.Felicia comes from a military background and is proud to support the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to protect American citizens and who reach out to help those in need across the globe.

Write to Felicia at: FeliciasDesk@aol.com