Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
A Global Catastrophe: “260 Million Christians Experience High Levels of Persecution”
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
Raymond Ibrahim : The global persecution of Christians has reached unprecedented
levels: “260 million Christians experience high levels of persecution”
around the world, notes the recently published World Watch List 2020, an annual report that ranks the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted for their faith.
2020 World Watch List
Additionally, “2,983 Christians were killed for faith-related
reasons. On average, that’s 8 Christians killed every day for their
faith”: “9,488 churches or Christian buildings were attacked,” and
“3,711 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and
imprisoned.” (Note: All quotes in this article are from the WWL 2020
report.)
Dictatorial paranoia continues to make North Korea (#1) the worst
nation. Christians found there are instantly “deported to labor camps
as political criminals or even killed on the spot.”
Otherwise, and as has been the case in all statistics and reports on
the global persecution of Christians, not only does “Islamic oppression”
remain the chief “source of persecution” faced by Christians in 7 of
the absolute ten worst nations, but 38 of the 50 nations composing the
list are either Muslim majority or have a sizeable Muslim population.
The overwhelming majority of these Muslim nations are governed by
some form of shari‘a (Islamic law). It is either directly enforced by
government or society or, more frequently, both, though societies—family
members in particular—tend to be more zealous in its application.
Brief summaries of the seven Muslim nations making the top ten follow:
Afghanistan (#2) is “an Islamic society where Christianity exists in
secret.” Not only is it “illegal for an Afghan person to leave Islam,”
but family members are often first to attack or kill them.
In Somalia (#3), “[c]onversion to Christianity is regarded as a
betrayal”; “ family members and clan leaders will harass, intimidate and
even kill” converts. Al Shabaab, “the youth,” an Islamic group,
slaughters Christians “on the spot when discovered.”
In Libya (#4), “There is no freedom of speech, no equal treatment of
Christians, no recognition of the church and no churches being built.”
Pakistan (#5) “is afflicted by numerous radical Islamic groups,”
which “regularly target” churches. More generally and in the eyes of
both government and people, “Christians are regarded as second-class
citizens. Also, the country’s anti-blasphemy laws are disproportionately
applied against the Christian minority—making it difficult and
dangerous to live out one’s faith in public.”
In Sudan (#7), “the government has arrested or intimidated many
Christian leaders, and numerous churches have been demolished.
Extremists have attacked Christians, especially in the Nuba Mountain
region, where thousands of Christians have been killed or displaced.”
In Yemen (#8), civil “war has allowed radical Islamic groups to
expand their operations in certain areas, leading to Christians being
abducted and killed. Open church activities are forbidden and leaving
Islam is forbidden. Muslims who decide to follow Jesus could face the
death penalty.”
In Iran (#9), which “is governed by Islamic law,… the rights and
professional possibilities for Christians are heavily restricted…. [I]t
is illegal to produce Christian literature or hold church services in
Farsi. Converts from Islam face persecution from the government.”
Some notable trends are also on the rise. Christians in sub-Saharan
Africa are “increasingly under threat from Islamic extremist groups”: Read it all here.....................
