{"id":509,"date":"2014-07-29T10:57:04","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T15:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/focuspressblog.com\/?p=509"},"modified":"2014-07-29T10:57:04","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T15:57:04","slug":"how-do-you-define-christianity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2014\/07\/29\/how-do-you-define-christianity\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you define Christianity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The name Samer Kamil Yacub probably does not mean much to 99.9% of Americans. But it should. He is believed to be the last Christian who left the Iraqi city of Mosul this week, after 2,000 years of Christianity in that town. Let that soak in for a moment. A place that has had Christians for 2,000 years now has none.
\nChristians in Mosul have been forced to flee\u2014while being beaten, robbed, and in many cases killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). This so-called \u201cpeaceful religion\u201d has been telling Christians for several weeks now: \u201cConvert or die.\u201d In America we rarely hear about the hundreds of Christians who are being killed by Muslims. After all, it would not be politically correct to shine a negative light on that religion. As the bumper stickers say, we should all just \u201cco-exist.\u201d So, while our country argues over whether or not an NFL team can retain the name \u201cWashington Redskins,\u201d Christians in Iraq have been going through persecution that most of us cannot even fathom.
\nImagine for a moment watching your church family torn apart\u2014with members being killed for their beliefs. Imagine watching as some of your immediate family is sent away\u2014and you aren\u2019t quite sure where they have gone. At militant checkpoints in Mosul they order fleeing Christian women into trailers where Muslims take away their jewelry and add it to an ever-growing pile. They take their money and anything else of value they are carrying. It does not matter to them if you are crippled, sick, or have no place to go. The message is still the same: Convert or die. And so, rather than renouncing their faith, thousands of Christians have left Mosul and become refugees.
\n 
\nOn July 27th<\/sup>, 2014 Jonathan Krohn observed
\n\u2026the al Qaeda-inspired fighters who overran the city last month gave Christians an ultimatum. They could stay and pay a tax or convert to Islam\u2014or be killed. Yacub, 70, was one of the few Christians remaining beyond last Saturday’s noon deadline. He may have even been the last to leave alive.
\n“[A] fighter said, \u2018I have orders to kill you now’,\u201d Yacub said just hours after the Sunni extremists tried to force their way into his home at 11 a.m. on Monday. \u201cAll of the people in my neighborhood were Muslim. They came to help me \u2014about 20 people \u2014 at the door in front of my house. They tried to convince ISIS not to kill me.\u201d1
\nAs I read those words I asked myself what would happen in America if we were forced to \u201cconvert or die.\u201d How strong is our faith? Sadly, I believe many weak Christians would convert rather than be put through major persecution. After all, not many people are willing to give up their $5 cup of coffee or sports\/entertainment.
\nIn Iraq the choice of being a Christian means you will probably lose your house and all your belongings\u2014and may, in fact, lose your life. In America we define a Christian as someone who attends a church for an hour, maybe wears a \u201cChristian t-shirt,\u201d and doesn\u2019t go watch the really bad movies. To Americans, persecution means that some politician didn\u2019t vote the way we wanted him\/her to\u2014or a restaurant chain is singled out for their stand on traditional marriage.
\nSo what happens then when the real persecution comes? And it will. How many people will be willing to give up their affluence in order to retain their faith? I suspect on that day there will be a separation\u2014wheat and chaff\u2014with many current Christians deciding \u201cits not worth it.\u201d To those I would ask, \u201cWas it worth it to Christ to die for your sins?\u201d
\nPersecution of Christians in America is growing. Are we rearing our children to be strong enough to stand? Will they renounce their religion and convert when they are truly tested or will they \u201cfight the good fight?\u201d It\u2019s time American Christians wake up and look around the world and see what is really going on. It\u2019s time to be informed. Parents must realize that simply raising Christians is not enough. The next generation in America must be warriors. After all, it’s quite possible that during your child\u2019s lifetime America will see a dramatic rise of Islam. Will your child be like Samer Kamil Yacub\u2014and be the last Christian to walk out of your city or will they simply convert?
\nBy Brad Harrub, Ph.D.<\/strong>
\nDr. Brad Harrub is the author of \u201cConvicted<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHeart of the Matter<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and co-author of \u201cEngage: Rethinking How We Walk Down the Aisle<\/a>\u201c<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

1\u00a0http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/storyline\/iraq-turmoil\/has-last-christian-left-iraqi-city-mosul-after-2-000-n164856<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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The name Samer Kamil Yacub probably does not mean much to 99.9% of Americans. But it should. He is believed to be the last Christian who left the Iraqi city of Mosul this week, after 2,000 years of Christianity in that town. Let that soak in for a moment. A place that has had Christians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59,32,35],"tags":[145,49,250,251,252],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","category-church","category-culture","tag-brad","tag-church","tag-iraq","tag-islam","tag-persecution","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nHow do you define Christianity? - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2014\/07\/29\/how-do-you-define-christianity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you define Christianity? - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The name Samer Kamil Yacub probably does not mean much to 99.9% of Americans. 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