Book Review: The Global War On Christians

The Global War On Christians: Dispatches From The Front Lines Of Anti-Christian Persectuion, by John L. Allen Jr.

[Note: This book was provided for by Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest book review.]

As someone with some experience in dealing with some of the forms of persecution detailed in this book [1], I can speak with some degree of personal experience that the persecution of Christians spoken about in this book is real. It ought to be remembered that the global war on Christians is not necessarily limited to Islam (my experiences occurred in a majority Buddhist country that is a nominal ally of the United States dating back to the Cold War, a nation that did not even make the list of most dangerous countries for Christians) nor is it limited to opposition on confessional grounds as well. Among the most important points this book makes, which match my own experiences, is that Christians suffer persecution not merely because their persecutors are hostile to the Christian faith, but also because as Christians they place themselves in harm’s way and take stances on political and cultural stances against corrupt authorities and in favor of the marginalized and oppressed because of their loyalty to the biblical worldview, which includes speaking unpleasant truths nonviolently but openly. This sort of behavior, whether in an elementary school or a blog, is going to invite hostility from the powerful and wicked [2].

The book is organized in three very unequal parts. The first part, and largest, looks at the six areas of the world that offer the biggest threats to Christians for a variety of reasons: Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. In looking at a very detailed but very selective account of persecution that Christians face because of totalitarian states, nationalist and religious radicals, criminal and business elements offended at Christian activists and bloggers, the author shows the vulnerabilities that Christians face all over the world simply for being Christians going about their lives in a dangerous world. The second section, which is the second longest, examines various myths and their dangers: such as myths that Christians are only at risk where they are a minority, that no one sees these problems coming, that it’s all about Islam, that it is only persecution if the motives are religious, and that anti-Christian persecution is a partisan political issue. The third part, and the smallest part, is the social and political fallout of a rising focus on martyrs and the lessons that they have to teach us, the spiritual fruits of the global war on Christianity (the author imagines ecumenical unity and the growth of Christianity, along with the rise of non-Westerners in Christian leadership positions), as well as some suggestions of what believers in the West can do who are not as familiar with direct experience with martyrdom and persecution.

Despite the fact that this book is timely and very worthwhile to read, there are some caveats in order. The author [3] is a devout Catholic and the book spends a great deal of focus on Catholics and their fate around the world in places like Bosnia and Turkey and China. That is not to say that the book focuses on Catholics to the exclusion of other branches of Christianity, but rather that the book itself presents its material within a Catholic worldview, focusing on Catholic doctrine and history (even throwing in some references to the Donatist controversy), as well as the Catholic focus on a culture of life, with its opposition to aggressive war as well as abortion. Those who are not Catholics and who do not share the author’s dismissal of serious doctrinal matters will not agree with all of the author’s points, but those of us with experience with the persecution of Christians because of a biblical worldview that places a great deal of importance on social justice will agree with much of the tenor of the author and will be inclined to at least make common cause with those with common suffering and common difficulties, while acknowledging the differences in worldview that remain.

There is one additional caution that must be given: this book contains material of an unpleasant nature. In fact, most of this book is material of an unpleasant nature, dealing with grisly murders, rapes, police intimidation and threats, and other matters that are not very enjoyable to read. This is not the sort of book that one reads for pleasure, but it is part of an excellent body of literature dealing with martyrdom in the contemporary world that is worth reading just to remind us that the threat to believers anywhere is a threat to believers everywhere [4] if we become hardened to the suffering of others and lost in our own sectarian disputes. Reading about prisoners being held in cargo containers in Eritrea with buckets of overflowing excrement or Tutsi and Hutu seminarians joining hands and facing death from supposedly Christian rebel groups because they will not separate or about nuns and young women being raped is not pleasant reading. Sadly, this sort of thing happens, and sometimes we have to face such grim realities, as unpleasant as they may be.

[1] I have documented these experiences in my blog as well as a book:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/popo-dont-you-lose-my-number/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/please-remember-to-obey-the-law/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/book-review-hot-buttons-bullying-edition/

[3] http://www.imagecatholicbooks.com/author/51240/john-l-allen-jr/

[4] This is an occasional subject of my blog:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/a-genuine-historical-treasure-the-bloody-theater-or-martyrs-mirror/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/book-review-in-the-shadow-of-the-temple/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/here-i-stand/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/book-review-safely-home/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/book-review-captive-in-iran/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/faithful-philadelphia-and-forgotten-smyrna-a-comparative-analysis/