Post 185--Moving Forward with North Korea

                                               NORTH KOREA: TALKS THE ONLY OPTION

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of a prayer blog entitled "Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin."  It is evangelical in tone and connected in some way to the World Evangelical Fellowship, if I'm not mistaken. Her posts are usually worth the read, what with a lot of hard factual info about the situations in various countries.  This post of mine reproduces her Bulletin no. 423 of September 13, 2017.  As far as I can see, it provides the best option about moving forward with North Korea.  Probably not original, but that does not matter.  

But do remember: it is evangelical in spirit, not Reformational as this my blog is. In this case, the difference is that while the Reformational emphasis would be on justice for the entire situation, Kendal, though not omitting justice issues, emphasizes the effects of the situation on the church, as if the church were the most important agency and the rest secondary.  The Reformational will absolutely be sympathetic to the church, but consider the wider issue of justice and liberty for all as primary.  With that difference in mind,  as Canada's CBC reporters tend to say, "Have a listen."


As noted in RLPB 403 (19 April), 'North Korea will not willingly disarm, but
will retain its weapons program for the purpose of deterrence.' After all,
the regime saw what happened in 2003 to Iraq's Saddam Hussein (who did not
have a nuclear deterrent), and in 2011 to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi (who had
relinquished all his nuclear weapons). In both cases, the West facilitated
regime change, ensuring these former allies fell into the hands of their
enemies: Saddam was executed by Shi'ite forces, whilst Gaddafi was brutalised
to death by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists. Both countries were essentially
destroyed. Russian President Vladimir Putin said as much last week. While he
condemned North Korea's nuclear provocations, President Putin rejected the
idea that UN sanctions were a solution. 'Sanctions of any kind,' he said,
'are useless and ineffective in this case ... [The North Koreans] will eat
grass, but they will not abandon this [nuclear] program unless they feel
safe.'

Sanctions will not work, but neither can there be a military solution for as
the US Defense Department and everyone in the region knows, the cost to South
Korea - in lives and infrastructure - would be absolutely catastrophic.
Though war is not an option, on Sunday 10 September US Senator John McCain
called for Washington to ratchet up the pressure by stepping up its presence
in the region to 'make sure that Kim Jong-un knows that if he acts in an
aggressive fashion, the price will be extinction.' Such language would surely
cause considerable distress to millions of Christians around the world who
don't want to see North Korea's long-suffering remnant Church obliterated in
US 'fire and fury'.  

If sanctions are not the solution and war is out of the question, what are we
left with? It leaves us with the possibility of returning to six-party talks
(North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the USA). Ultimately,
what the Kim regime wants is a bi-lateral treaty with the USA: one that
recognises North Korea as a nuclear power, taking regime change off the
table. North Korea also wants to be recognised as a sovereign independent
state, taking reunification off the table (at least for the foreseeable
future). Some analysts insist the crisis (most of which is theatre and
posturing) is approaching its 'end game' and that resolution and dialogue,
not war, will be the outcome. That said, the situation remains incredibly
volatile - an angry or accidental slip could jeopardise everything.

Should a resolution be reached, South Korea, China and Russia (North Korea's
neighbours) are ready to invest in such a way as to facilitate North Korea's
economic development. This is critical, for North Korea cannot truly open up
until it has radically improved the living standards of its people. Hence the
endless balancing act: when risk is perceived to be high, repression and
belligerence are extreme; however, when risk is perceived to be low,
engagement and reform inch tentatively forward. There really is no
alternative to returning to the days of inching forward. South Korea's new
President Moon Jae-in, who has a grandmother alive in the North, is eager to
re-establish dialogue and co-operation, as are Russia, China and Japan.
However, the Kim regime will not negotiate until the US concedes that North
Korea is indeed a nuclear power (hence the endless missile tests). Even if
talks resume, treaties are signed and normalisation occurs, it will be many
years before North Korea can truly open up to the outside world without
risking collapse. What is more important though is that conditions inside
North Korea improve, including the issue of religious freedom for the
long-suffering North Korean Church in the labour camps and 'underground'.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR GOD TO:

* preserve, protect, bless and strengthen the long-suffering North Korean
Church - both the Church in the labour camps and the Church deep
'underground'.

* intervene in the Korean crisis creatively, according to his wisdom, to
fulfil his good purposes, that ultimately North Korea's faithful remnant
Church might be liberated to worship freely, to be salt and light and yeast
in society, and to bring healing to the North.  

Post 76—Stories of Persecution

A number of posts ago, I promised I would occasionally include stories about the persecution suffered by Christians. Those who study that scientifically, mostly Christians, tell us that Christianity is the most persecuted of all religions today.

There are several reasons for this situation. One is that oppressive governments of various stripes fear Christians as potential rivals. 

Another reason is that established religions and ideologies get nervous and jealous when another religion in their neighbourhood expands—and the later is the case with Christianity in many places. For example, China is expected soon to become the country with the largest Christian population. According to some estimates, there are already 100 million Christians in the country, which compares with 87 million members of the Chinese Communist Party (Barnabas Prayer, September 16, 2015).  That, no doubt, is a major reason for Chinese persecution and harassment of Christians, along with their residual Communist heritage. 

A third reason is ruthless ambitions and militant interpretation of some religions, as, e.g. ISIS, Boko Haram in Nigeria and, increasingly, Hindu nationalists in India.  Often behind such persecution is a long history of western colonialism / imperialism and its subtle attempt to impose secularism that has finally come home to roost.

Today’s stories are taken from Barnabas Prayer  (Sept/ Oct., 2015).  For Barnabas itself, see < barnabasaid.org >.

Many Christians in Tanzania are facing serious harassment for trying to engage in the butchery trade, which Muslims seek to control absolutely. There is no Tanzanian law against slaughtering pigs and selling pork (a forbidden meat according to Islamic law), but when Muslims complain, the authorities will often respond as if the Christians were doing something illegal.  In Kigoma, five Christians were arrested in June just for being found in possession of pork meat.  Tanzanian Muslims often claim that only they have the right to slaughter animals for meat, although this is not the case according to Tanzanian law. Yet, in Geita, on May 18, a Christian was arrested just for engaging in butchery work, and in Kagera, a man was offered the choice of paying a fine or going to jail for killing his own cow, eating part of it and selling the rest (September 8, 2015).  I am going to discuss parallel Nigerian situations like this one in the next post to show you that,  as exotic as this sounds to a Canadian, in communities with powerful Muslims this is a common situation.

According to reports, ISIS trains boys aged 8-15 how to kill. They are taught to shoot at close range and made to behead plastic dolls with swords so that they will be able to behead infidels (i.e., mostly Christians). Some of the children have been captured by ISIS. Others are lured to join it with sweets, toys and money, and then turned into killers and suicide bombers (October 17, 2015).

Two Syrian Christian families who sought asylum in Sweden have been persecuted by Syrian Muslims sharing the same communal asylum house and forced to move out. The Muslims banned the Christians from using the communal areas of the house, which accommodated around 890 asylum seekers, and made them hide their crosses. Pray that the Swedish authorities will have wisdom in the arrangements they make and will not unwittingly cause further distress or danger to Christians who have made their way there seeking peace and freedom (September 4, 2015).

Our next story is a prayer:  Almighty God, we pray to you for the many Iraqi Christian women and girls captured by ISIS and sold as slaves. We pray for the Yazidi and other non-Muslim women also sold into slavery by ISIS… who organize the slave-markets and even offered female slaves as prizes in a Qur’an-memorizing competition in June (October 18, 2015).

Tens of thousands of Burundian Christian women and children have fled political violence in their homeland since April to seek refuge in neighbouring Tanzania. The camp facilities are overflowing and there are severe shortages of food and shelter. At the time of writing 55,000 were sleeping in the open air. There is normally a rainy season in November-December, which will make life even worse for those who have no shelter. Tanzanian churches are striving to bring aid to the refugees, but are very poor themselves and had little to share with others. Ask…the Lord to meet the needs of the refugees, who are arriving at the rate of 2500 a day (October 28, 2015)!

In North Korea, Christianity is seen as the foremost threat to the ideology of Juche--total dependence on the ruling Kim family and the state. It is estimated that 100,000 Christians are incarcerated in labour camps, only because of their love for the Lord, clothed in rags, hungry and malnourished, beaten and abused. “But God also comforted me and brought a secret fellowship into existence, says Hae-Woo, one survivor of the labour camps. “Every Sunday we would gather in the toilets and pray (October 29, 2015).

Barnabas Aid reports that “the existential threat to the Christian presence in the Middle East is now being recognized as a cause for concern even by the secular Western media.”  It passes on to us a NY Times reported in July that two-thirds of Iraqi Christians have fled since 2003; a third of Syrian Christians have fled since 2011; the Lebanese Christian population dropped from 78% to 34% during the last century (September 1, 2015).  Their report on the Christian population is horrible, but the new recognition by the press is a rare piece of good news. Similar encouraging trends are in evidence by the fact that both Canadian and American governments have established offices to monitor religious freedom around the world.

I suspect that many Western secularists cannot understand why these Christians are so stubborn in their faith. Why not just change to the majority faith?  What’s the big deal?  Well, these people are often born again and have experienced and met the living Saviour. They are not about to trade Him in for some mythical fanciful idolatry, whether state religion, pagan religion or for the current world’s crop of the most haughty religions, namely Islam and secularism. 

In addition, not all self-declared Christians are born again or are even Christian. Some are adherents to forms of Christianity, including the citizens of “Christendom,” that have in effect become tribal religions that are tied up so closely with their identity that they cannot imagine letting it go for another identity, even under pressure.  Jesus told Nicodemus, a leader among the Jews of his days, that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. Calling Abraham your father is no guarantee. I am happy that I am not responsible for ferreting all this out!  

But if you call yourself a Christian and insist on acting like one, no matter where or what kind, you are potentially subject to persecution, whether physical or legal or in some form of discrimination or all of these.  Even in the so-called “tolerant” but secular West.  

Post 68--A Change of Scenery--From Vancouver to Lagos

I believe most of you know this blog originates in Vancouver, Canada. Well, I am currently in Lagos, the former political capital of Nigeria and now the commercial capital.  The political capital has been shifted to Abuja,  a city built from scratch in the  middle of the country, said to be the biggest construction project in all human history!  Well, that’s Nigeria. Like the USA, the bigger the better. I’m here together with my wife, visiting our youngest son and his family—for a whole month! 

I’m not sure when I can actually post this post, what with less than a stellar quality computer and a fickle electrical supply. Every time the main electrical net decides to take a break, and that happens several times a day, we get switched to a huge generator within twenty seconds. However, every switch one way or the other, turns off the computer.  It being a decrepit machine, it sometimes takes close to an hour for it to recover from the shock-- pun intended. In addition, so far, we have not been able to access the internet, which is a sine qua non for getting this post to your screen. So, while I hope to keep writing while here, I’m not sure when you’ll get to read it. Perhaps not till we return to Vancouver in mid-October.  Hopefully, before then.  At least, when you do finally read it, you’ll realize we did not forget about you, our readers.

I regret I did not warn you of this trip. I simply did not foresee these problems. I had been assured we would have access to a working computer. Well, we do, but the two factors described in the last paragraph have thrown a rod into our plans to keep in touch with you. Hopefully, it won’t be as bad or as long as I now fear could become the case.  I just have to trust that you’ll have the patience to sit it out and stick with me.

I had a different topic in mind for this installment, but having started with Nigeria, I have just decided to stick with it. After all, Nigeria is a fascinating country, in spite of its reputation for corruption. Perhaps you have at one time or another been the beneficiary of Nigeria’s famous scam letters. Well, yes, more than one of its Presidents has declared corruption one of the country’s two major problems, the other being religious conflict. Those are the two topics for which the country is the most “famous.” However, my son works at the highest echelon of the Lagos business world and insists that today’s Nigeria has started a new trajectory, a new story of vigorous business that, he is sure, will invigorate the country’s business culture to heights it has never before experienced. In fact, he is playing a major role in making this happen. I write this with great pride in him, especially because he has frequently told me that his ministry is really a natural extension of my 30-year ministry in the country.

Yes, I use the word “ministry” in describing his work of invigorating business.  For one thing, his is a not-for-profit enterprise in the context of a large Nigerian foundation. But even if it were a for-profit outfit, that in itself would not disqualify it from being a ministry. Secondly, his personal motivation comes from his Christian faith.  During my missionary career, I was getting paid by the church; he, by this big foundation.  However, our motivations are similar.  As both a professional missionary and an academic missiologist, I warmly consider him a colleague of mine in the service of the Kingdom of God. 

Of course, if you remember some of my past posts, you may recollect that I insist that religion is part of and underlies all of life, including business. That’s the reason I often and easily switch from religious topics to “other” topics.  In fact, every post of mine has this religious base, mentioned or not. I may b e writing about water topics, but underneath it you will always find Christian concepts of conservation, responsibility, stewardship, justice, etc.  Same with topics like business or, for that matter, even  politics.  So, yes, my son is engaged in a ministry.

Oh, yes, Nigeria. Well, not much space left for this particular post. So, just a few interesting facts, some of them for your trivial pursuit games. Nigeria is the only country where you have around 80 million Christians and 80 million Muslims—two large equal sized blocks. In no other country is there such a constellation of these two religions. In most cases it is a matter of a large majority and a small minority of either. China may have more Christians and perhaps even more Muslims—I have not seen Chinese Muslim statistics—but they would both be overshadowed by the influence of Confucianism and the power of Chinese Communism.  Nigeria is the country where it will be decided whether these two religions can co-exist as equals.  That, by the way, is the major issue in my eight volumes Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations. See the Islamica page on my website  <www.SocialTheology.com>.

If the above is not exactly a trivial pursuit issue, the next one is. What is the largest country that has English as its official  language? From the context you will guess it is Nigeria. Correct.  But can you explain this trivial fact?  Another: What country sees the most Anglicans in church on any given Sunday?  Yes, ….!

This does it for the day. See you when I can get this into cyberland. Hope you're still with me. I will try to make up for this extended delay by churning out new posts more frequently, at least for a while. Hey, am I back in the promise mode? Not intended, really.