The Politics of Persecution

The Politics of Persecution PDF Author: President Mitri Raheb
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481314404
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years, especially during the Trump era. Middle Eastern Christians are often portrayed as a homogeneous, helpless group ever at the mercy of their Muslim enemies, a situation that only Western powers can remedy. The Politics of Persecution revisits this narrative with a critical eye. Mitri Raheb charts the plight of Christians in the Middle East from the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 to the so-called Arab Spring. The book analyzes the diverse socioeconomic and political factors that led to the diminishing role and numbers of Christians in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan during the eras of Ottoman, French, and British Empires, through the eras of independence, Pan-Arabism, and Pan-Islamism, and into the current era of American empire. With an incisive exposé of the politics that lie behind alleged concerns for these persecuted Christians--and how the concept of persecution has been a tool of public diplomacy and international politics--Raheb reveals that Middle Eastern Christians have been repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of Western national interests. The West has been part of the problem for Middle Eastern Christianity and not part of the solution, from the massacre on Mount Lebanon to the rise of ISIS. The Politics of Persecution, written by a well-known Palestinian Christian theologian, provides an insider perspective on this contested region. Middle Eastern Christians survived successive empires by developing great elasticity in adjusting to changing contexts; they learned how to survive atrocities and how to resist creatively while maintaining a dynamic identity. In this light, Raheb casts the history of Middle Eastern Christians not so much as one of persecution but as one of resilience.

The Politics of Persecution

The Politics of Persecution PDF Author: President Mitri Raheb
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481314404
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book Here

Book Description
Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years, especially during the Trump era. Middle Eastern Christians are often portrayed as a homogeneous, helpless group ever at the mercy of their Muslim enemies, a situation that only Western powers can remedy. The Politics of Persecution revisits this narrative with a critical eye. Mitri Raheb charts the plight of Christians in the Middle East from the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 to the so-called Arab Spring. The book analyzes the diverse socioeconomic and political factors that led to the diminishing role and numbers of Christians in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan during the eras of Ottoman, French, and British Empires, through the eras of independence, Pan-Arabism, and Pan-Islamism, and into the current era of American empire. With an incisive exposé of the politics that lie behind alleged concerns for these persecuted Christians--and how the concept of persecution has been a tool of public diplomacy and international politics--Raheb reveals that Middle Eastern Christians have been repeatedly sacrificed on the altar of Western national interests. The West has been part of the problem for Middle Eastern Christianity and not part of the solution, from the massacre on Mount Lebanon to the rise of ISIS. The Politics of Persecution, written by a well-known Palestinian Christian theologian, provides an insider perspective on this contested region. Middle Eastern Christians survived successive empires by developing great elasticity in adjusting to changing contexts; they learned how to survive atrocities and how to resist creatively while maintaining a dynamic identity. In this light, Raheb casts the history of Middle Eastern Christians not so much as one of persecution but as one of resilience.

The Myth of Persecution

The Myth of Persecution PDF Author: Candida Moss
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062104543
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
An expert on early Christianity reveals how the early church invented stories of Christian martyrs—and how this persecution myth persists today. According to church tradition and popular belief, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. But as Candida Moss reveals in The Myth of Persecution, the “Age of Martyrs” is a fiction. There was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still invoked by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. By shedding light on the historical record, Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get them.

The Coming Christian Persecution

The Coming Christian Persecution PDF Author: Thomas D. Williams
Publisher: Crisis Publication
ISBN: 9781644134450
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The age of martyrs is not a thing of the past … Churches burned. Christians beheaded. Faith communities driven underground. Governments forcing silence upon those who profess fidelity to the Gospel. These experiences are not confined to members of the early Church or to the missionaries and converts in far-off pagan lands centuries ago. The persecution of Christians is happening right now-and it is closer to home than you may realize. Moral theologian and news analyst Dr. Thomas Williams incisively juxtaposes the still relatively unknown global Christian persecution of today with that of previous epochs, describing it in its various forms and providing insight into what it means for the Church and for society at large. Dr. Williams shows how Christian persecution has been with us since the time of Jesus, and how modern attacks against Christians spring from six primary sources: atheism, radical Islam, Hindu nationalism, totalitarianism, academia, and Satanism. He provides valuable advice on how these outrages can be remedied and explains what Christians can do to prepare for what is to come.

Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church

Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church PDF Author: W. H. C. Frend
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Persecution
Languages : en
Pages : 1082

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Book Description


Persecution

Persecution PDF Author: David Limbaugh
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596981474
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In this New York Times bestseller, David Limbaugh exposes the liberal hypocrisy of promoting political correctness while discriminating against Christianity. From the elimination of school prayer to the eradication of the story of Christianity from history textbooks, this persuasive book shows that our social engineers inculcate hostility toward this religion and its values in the name of "diversity," "tolerance," and "multiculturalism." Through court cases, case studies, and true stories, Limbaugh details the widespread assault on the religious liberties of Christians in America today and urges believers to fight back in order to restore their First Amendment right of religious freedom.

Persecution & Toleration

Persecution & Toleration PDF Author: Noel D. Johnson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110842502X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
In this book, Noel D. Johnson and Mark Koyama tackle the question: how does religious liberty develop?

Resisting Persecution

Resisting Persecution PDF Author: Thomas Pegelow Kaplan
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1789207215
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
Since antiquity, European Jewish diaspora communities have used formal appeals to secular and religious authorities to secure favors or protection. Such petitioning took on particular significance in modern dictatorships, often as the only tool left for voicing political opposition. During the Holocaust, tens of thousands of European Jews turned to individual and collective petitions in the face of state-sponsored violence. This volume offers the first extensive analysis of petitions authored by Jews in nations ruled by the Nazis and their allies. It demonstrates their underappreciated value as a historical source and reveals the many attempts of European Jews to resist intensifying persecution and actively struggle for survival.

Under Caesar's Sword

Under Caesar's Sword PDF Author: Daniel Philpott
Publisher: Law and Christianity
ISBN: 1108425305
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 537

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Book Description
The first systematic global study of how Christians respond to persecution, presenting new research by leading scholars of global Christianity.

The Privilege of Persecution

The Privilege of Persecution PDF Author: Carl A Moeller
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802477836
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Many Americans view the persecuted church as “third-world,” needy, uneducated, and poor -- sorely lacking in much of what we assume the church needs to function well. Essentially, we see them as being in need of us. But the irony, say Carl Moeller and David Hegg, is that we’re in much greater need of them. Through a combination of inspiring real-life stories, first-hand experiences, and exposition of key Scripture passages, Dr. Carl Moeller and Pastor David Hegg examine the "e;normal Christian life"e; of Christ-followers currently suffering persecution around the world. In topical chapter after chapter, the authors conclude that the suffering church's vibrant, sacrificial, and communal faith is much closer to God's intent for His church and His children. The authors explore the areas of community, leadership, worship, prayer, and generosity, among others, revealing specific attitudes and actions of the suffering church that can renew the spiritual lives of Christians in the West. Each chapter ends with challenging questions and suggestions for personal and corporate application.

Christian Persecution in Antiquity

Christian Persecution in Antiquity PDF Author: Professor of Church History Wolfram Kinzig
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481313889
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
For centuries into the Common Era, Christians faced social ostracism and suspicion from neighbors and authorities alike. At times, this antipathy erupted into violence. Following Christ was a risky allegiance: to be a Christian in the Roman Empire carried with it the implicit risk of being branded a traitor to cultural and imperial sensibilities. The prolonged experience of distrust, oppression, and outright persecution helped shape the ethos of the Christian faith and produced a wealth of literature commemorating those who gave their lives in witness to the gospel. Wolfram Kinzig, in Christian Persecution in Antiquity, examines the motivations and legal mechanisms behind the various outbursts of violence against Christians, and chronologically tracks the course of Roman oppression of this new religion to the time of Constantine. Brief consideration is also given to persecutions of Christians outside the borders of the Roman Empire. Kinzig analyzes martyrdom accounts of the early church, cautiously drawing on these ancient voices alongside contemporary non-Christian evidence to reconstruct the church's experience as a minority sect. In doing so, Kinzig challenges recent reductionist attempts to dismantle the idea that Christians were ever serious targets of intentional violence. While martyrdom accounts and their glorification of self-sacrifice seem strange to modern eyes, they should still be given credence as historical artifacts indicative of actual events, despite them being embellished by sanctified memory. Newly translated from the German original by Markus Bockmuehl and featuring an additional chapter and concise notes, Christian Persecution in Antiquity fills a gap in English scholarship on early Christianity and offers a helpful introduction to this era for nonspecialists. Kinzig makes clear the critical role played by the experience of persecution in the development of the church's identity and sense of belonging in the ancient world.