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Wednesday, March 26, 2014


White Noise

Hello, reader, and thanks for taking your time to see what I may possibly have to say here.

If you don't already know, then you should, that I am a Christian.  Not the 'I go to church on special occasions' type; the 'my parents / family are Christians, so I am' type; and not (hopefully) the 'I've got it all sussed and am perfect' type. If you know me at all, you should certainly know that I don't and am not!!

But I make that introduction to say this: Whatever your belief, religion, ideology - I hope that you will not ignore what is happening around the world today to people who call themselves Christians, as I do.  To people who believe the things I believe.

What is happening, is persecution.  Not the 'Ha you believe a load of nonsense!' type;  not the 'If you mention church/the Bible/Jesus to me again I'll knock your block off' type.  But the real, physical, barbaric type.  The type that means people in the 21st century, in an age of 'tolerance' are not allowed to practice their beliefs freely.  The type that means they live in intense fear.  The type that means they are imprisoned, tortured, financially destroyed...and even killed.

What if I'd been born in one of the countries where this was happening?  Would my faith be as strong?  Would I withstand what they are?  Would I have a job?  A family?  Would I even still be here now?

And what is my response?  Do I ignore it because it's barely, if at all, in the world's media?  Do I ignore it because it's too hard to comprehend?  Do I ignore it because it makes me feel uncomfortable?

Er...no.

So what then?  What can I do?  Just pray that God would be with them, right?  Surely if I'm a Christian and believe all I say I do, then I can just pray that and believe that and everything will be fine?  (And anyway if God was real he wouldn't let this happen, would he?)

I won't go into that here!  But yes, I do pray, earnestly for those Christians who are suffering - just as I pray for all who are suffering.

But sometimes, we just need to do.something.too.


And so this coming weekend, I'll be blacking out (not giving myself concussion - I don't wish to repeat that experience!)

I'll be following the lead of Open Doors Youth, along with four teenage (or nearly teenage) girls from my church.  We're giving up any form of technological communication / entertainment / media for 24 hours.  It's nothing, really.  It's the tiniest drop in the biggest ocean.

But it's a start.  It's a stand.  It's a way to raise some level of awareness.

Because, as Open Doors say - sometimes, the best way to make a noise...is to stay silent.

I don't expect you to sponsor us if you're not on the same wavelength (or even if you are...but if you are, it would be nice!).  All money we raise will go to Open Doors, to support and raise awareness of Christians who are living in isolation, poverty, and who knows what else.

But whatever your 'wavelength' - I hope we'll at least be quiet enough to start a discussion.

Thanks for reading.

You can donate here or text BLKT14 £ (And insert the amount you'd like to give) to 70070

**DISCLAIMER:  Before you say it, I know it and I'm already thinking it  - Christians are not the only ones suffering for their religious / moral / ethical / other beliefs and / or actions.  I know.  But this is our focus right now, that is all.

The world is broken.  Severely, entirely, in every way - although we still have much to be thankful for and enjoy...That's a gift, and the biggest gift is that it won't always be this way.  I have many more thoughts on this and I'll share them with you, if you like...


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