Myanmar Christians in the crosshairs

A recent report by Peter Pattison in the Telegraph dated 21 January 07 is alarming. Headlined, BURMA 'ORDERS CHRISTIANS TO BE WIPED OUT' it will be a bleak year for the church in Myanmar if it is true:

The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been leaked from a government ministry. Entitled "Programme to destroy the Christian religion in Burma", the incendiary memo contains point by point instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state.

The text, which opens with the line "There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised", calls for anyone caught evangelising to be imprisoned. It advises: "The Christian religion is very gentle – identify and utilise its weakness." [Read more]

The military junta rules Myanmar with an iron fist, ignoring international calls for democratic reforms and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Charles Colson in his Breakpoint Commentaries calls on Christians to pray, among other things:

And then we need to educate ourselves about what is going on in Burma and educate other Christians, including our pastors, who should speak out from the pulpit, and, finally, our neighbors. Much of what is done in places like Burma is made possible because the world’s attention is diverted. Tyrants count on our being more interested in American Idol than in genocide when they formulate things like the Burmese “Program.” [Read more]