Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘Watch Out For the Early Warning Signs’: Persecuted Christians in Most Dangerous Places Reveal Where Chaos Started

FILE - In this Monday, June 15, 2015, Iraqi security forces defend their positions against an Islamic State group attack in Husaybah, 8 kilometers (5 miles) east of Ramadi, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

March 20, 2023

Conversations about persecution can often be complex, especially when differentiating religious freedom battles in America from the horrific and deadly acts of violence Christians face across the globe.

Listen to the latest episode of CBN’s Quick Start podcast 👇

But while the situation in America must be distinguished from deadly acts of persecution abroad, Johnnie Moore, author of “The New Book of Christian Martyrs: The Heroes of Our Faith from the 1st Century to the 21st Century,” said there are some essential aspects about both that must be discussed.

“I’m always clear when I’m talking about the subject … I have no intention of drawing a parallel between religious discrimination in the United States of America or in the West and people getting their heads chopped off in Western Africa, their whole lives and livelihood[s] being destroyed routinely.”

Moore said there are specifically two small caveats to this reluctance to draw parallels — and the first involves the general roots of persecution.

“When I’m in the most intensely persecuting places, the persecuted church always tells me, in some way, they’ll say something like, ‘It didn’t start like this here. It started with marginalization. It started with discrimination. It started with our children being treated differently in schools,'” he said. “And so they always say, ‘Watch out for the early warning signs.'”

Watch Moore discuss persecution:

Moore said a second observation worthy of noting centers on a general sentiment in Western culture — one he also sees as having a prevalence in places where religious persecution has turned deadly and diabolical. It’s the demand of “change your beliefs or else,” a dynamic he said is “scary.”

Still, despite demands, people change their beliefs and comply, the dynamics in other countries are much different, and, to date, the First Amendment provides robust protections for believers.

“There is no parallel between the unrivaled religious freedom we enjoy in the United States of America and all of these other places and circumstances,” Moore said. “It’s the first clause of the first sentence of our First Amendment, and, under most circumstances, when it gets squeezed, it works its way up in our system, and it’s protected.”

Moore praised America as the “most amazing country” and said we have these freedoms because “we are vigilant” when it comes to protecting them.

In the U.S., when someone says “change your beliefs,” he noted no one is going to jail, though he also warned against “giving an inch” regarding marginalization.

“We have to be very, very careful when this happens,” he said.

Watch everything Moore has to say about persecution here.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Latest

  • News

    ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More

  • Faith

    Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children

  • News

    School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course

  • Entertainment

    EPIC Trailer: Latest Season of ‘The Chosen’ Gets Release Date on Prime Video

  • Faith

    ‘God’s Prophetic Time Clock’: Michele Bachmann on Israel, End Times


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More
  • Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children
  • School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course
  • EPIC Trailer: Latest Season of ‘The Chosen’ Gets Release Date on Prime Video
  • ‘God’s Prophetic Time Clock’: Michele Bachmann on Israel, End Times

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.