Creative Commons
The very foundation of Christianity is based on the idea of persecution and oppression. According to scripture, Jesus was persecuted by the Pharisees for his heterodoxy. However, in context to Jewish law of the first century, the persecution and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus might be more aptly described as merely a "punishment" for His unrestrained variance with conventional Jewish doctrine of the time.
At the risk of making a few Christians angry—He broke the law and He was punished accordingly.
Christ’s martyrdom on the cross is the foundation of Christianity. It established the lucrative and sensational martyr complex for the next two thousand years. To be Christ-like, a Christian must be persecuted—or at least claim to be persecuted, and proclaim it loudly, because:
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
Continued below the stylish fandangle.
Of course I've over simplified. I realize it isn't possible to break down the historical complexities of Christian persecution and martyrdom in a few paragraphs; nor do I have any desire to debate historical accuracies, or lack thereof.
My question is: Should present day Christians be forced to suffer the consequences of their actions when they knowingly and willingly break the law in non-Christian countries?
Karen Short. Photo: AP
Aljazeera.com reported this morning that an Australian Christian missionary, John Short, has been detained in North Korea. A statement released by his wife, Karen Short, confirmed that her husband had arrived in Pyongyang with a tour group on Saturday morning carrying illegal religious materials translated into Korean.
Short's wife also told the Associated Press news agency that he was visiting North Korea for the second time. On his first trip to North Korea a year ago, she stated:
(…) her husband had been transparent about his faith and had openly read his bible in front of North Korean government guides when in Pyongyang, so he knew what he was going into. There's risk involved...He knew that too, but when you know what you must do, you do it.
While I don't condone or support Kim Jong-Un’s ruthless regime, or any government control of a people's religious beliefs, I am forced to recognize the fact that John Short blatantly flaunted his mission to illegally proselytize on foreign soil. He broke the law. It has nothing to to with whether it is a good law or not. On his first visit he was not denounced, detained or interrogated. He was not arrested or worse. He was allowed to leave the country with impunity. However, we can only assume that his near immediate arrest on arrival Saturday was due to his own audacity, and his former illegal activities and impudence were duly noted the first time.
It was not sheer stupidity to return and slap Kim Jong-Un’s other cheek, it was a premeditated attempt to martyr himself in the name of Christianity by following the holy dictate to,
Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15-16)
[And the promise that], (…) the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Mathew 24:10-20)
Again, at the risk of making a few Christians angry—he broke the law, twice, and he is being punished accordingly.
John Short scurrilously taunted a murderous dictator knowing there could, and likely would be consequences for his actions. He is being punished—perhaps severely—but to what end? His mission to North Korea had little to do with bringing Christianity to the people. It has everything to do with sensationalizing himself and his religion—a religion that demands persecution.
Ultimately, he accomplished two things. He vaulted yet another country into already strained international relations with an unstable nuclear power and he contrived a situation in which he could claim to be victimized for his religious beliefs.
He has arranged his own persecution—his very own martyrdom.