Posted on 05/31/2004 9:00:49 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, May 31 (Reuters) - A Christian Arab who was held captive by al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia said on Monday he lied to them about his faith and praised their battle against the West, to save his life.
Nizar Hajazeen, a Jordanian software businessmen who was at the Tower hotel in the Oasis compound during the 25-hour drama in Khobar, said the militants lectured him about Islam and their aim to liberate Saudi Arabia from "infidels and crusaders".
The complex where the militants held about 50 foreigners -- including some Westerners -- was their last target in the violence in the eastern Saudi oil city in which they killed at least 22 people.
Hajazeen, 32, had tried to call a cab to go to work on Saturday but the phone lines were jumbled.
"I went down and the Filipino receptionist told me there were terrorists in the compound and gunshots were heard," he told Reuters.
He tried to help security guards close the hotel entrance gate but the lock did not work and a manager recommended he hide, Hajazeen said.
"I went to the room of a Jordanian colleague. Someone banged violently on the door. We opened and there were two men, one with a machinegun, another with a revolver. They were wearing black track suits," he said, adding that one had a wounded arm.
Both were in their twenties.
"They asked us if we were Arab or Westerners. We told them: 'We're Arab'.
"One then asked if I was a Christian or a Muslim. I told him we were Muslims and showed him my colleague's Koran as proof. I told him we supported them and that we were against America and Europe. I had to say that."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY"
Residents of the compound said the attackers asked everyone they encountered if they were Muslim or Christian, before taking them hostage or killing them.
An Oasis manager said the gunmen shot and killed several Westerners as soon as they entered the complex.
The gunmen made two Indian hotel staff with master keys show them where the Westerners were, Hajazeen said.
His brother called him on his mobile phone to wish him a happy birthday -- a day late -- just as the militants were saying their motive was to drive Americans and Christians from their country.
"They asked me to turn off my mobile but did not take it away as they did with others," Hajazeen said, adding that they told him and his colleague to stay in the room and left.
"We stayed locked in our room. One of us was hiding in the shower, another one was hiding in the bathtub," Hajazeen said, adding that from time to time they sneaked back into the bedroom to watch the news on television.
He said that before commandos freed them on Sunday, compound security guards called his mobile to ask him to check if the militants had rigged his floor with explosives. He found nothing.
"Before the commandos came, there was heavy gunfire and one explosion shook the hotel. We could hear glass being smashed, screams... It sounded like someone was giving out orders."
Saudi security forces later called them out, saying: "Do not be scared."
Making his way to freedom he saw the bodies of four Indians and an Italian cook.
"They had been shot dead. Some were on the staircases."
Oh, I'm optimistic enough about this life, and have had
great times as a parent, as well as otherwise.
Nevertheless, this life is assuredly NOTHING compared to the
Lord's promises of heaven.
.
It is easy to affirm your faith in the "good & safe times". Where the rubber meets the road is in those times of duress.
This is definatly a good debate.
I have learned a lot from all the FReepers who contribute to the religeous threads and appreciate it very much.
I like going to church here.
And how would you react in that situation? And how do you know?
In nearly every one of my posts I have said that I pray that I would have such an intimate relationship with Christ that my faith would not waver. I don't think that any of us know how we would react nor do we know the consequences of our reactions. Some of us who feel that this man did the right thing and say that we would do what he did may be the ones who stand firmly and boldly profess their faith. Those of us who say we would stand firm and boldly profess our faith may be the ones who run and cower. My prayer is that IF the time ever comes for ME to make the choice that I would choose my faith in the one who died for me over my own life.
One more thing if I may. This topic has really caused me to search myself and examine my own relationship with Christ. I have prayed for the strength to crucify my own flesh and to help me die to self so that it is He who lives in me through me. I have prayed for the courage to stand in the face of my enemy, big (to the point of death)or small (daily persecution from nonbelievers), and declare that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords regardless of the outcome.
I think life is sacred and the instinct to preserve it is God given. If man is created in the image of God, is right to throw one's life away to appease a deranged soul, just to make a point to God about what is in one's heart? God knows the man's heart already.
I haven't weighed in on this either. Tough call I think. I like to think that I would not deny my relationship with Christ. I hope that's true.
But moreover, I think we're seeing how easy it will be for many to make justifications to taking the mark some day. Your statement that I've quoted goes right to that point.
The pressure will be substantial, and there will be a ton of justifications. "God wants you to be able to care for your children. God wants you to live to proclaim his good news..... God wants you to be able to care for your elderly parents.... God knows what is really in your heart.... and even God will forgive you for it if you ask him, it's not like it's the unpardonable sin".
I think I have to weigh in that he's not a true christian. Maybe he thinks about it. Maybe he's rebelling in that society. Maybe there are lots of things that would cause this Jordanian man to align himself with christians. But maybe he just doesn't really know Jesus Christ.
Here's a challenge for any and all who would claim that they might react differently than this man. Go over to Saudi Arabia and preach the gospel. Hand out tracts at the entrance to Mecca during Ramadan.
Anyone who is too afraid to do those things has no business judging this man.
Well, just these citations for context of those situations you describe.
Jhn 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Luk 24:11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
Luk 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
The christians that the Romans fed to the lions? Didn't they all have the opportunity to denounce their faith and live? I mean, it seems the early church felt not denouncing your faith to those who wanted to kill you was pretty important?
A friend of mine who is a missionary told me about another missionary's dramatic experience of martyrdom that epitomizes the struggle when forced by evil people to choose between children and one's profession of faith in Christ. I don't remember the when and where details, but I believe it was not a long time ago. The story was related through someone from the Youth with a Mission organization.
Persecutors separated a Christian missionary husband from his dependents, dug a deep hole, put the wife and child/children into it, and began to fill in the dirt. They told the man if he denied Christ, his wife and children would go free (how does one believe that people that evil will keep their word, and is it worth it in light of eternity?). The man was in agony as he watched the shovelsful of dirt being sprayed on his family.
The wife began to cry out in a very loud voice, "DON'T DO IT!" Over and over.
He didn't.
They died. He lived.
This is grace.
The verses about not denying Christ before men are in the same context with not loving wife or husband or children more than Him (Matthew 10:37,38 re children; prior Matthew 10 verses re the other). If God allowed you to be put into that dreadful situation, you could entrust your child to Him.
Jesus, our High Priest, and His Father went through the same agony when the Father sent His only begotten Son to die. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15,16) Throughout church history, when believers died for the Lord, their blood that soaked the ground has opened the way for masses of people to accept Christ, sometimes even those who killed the martyrs. We can trust Him, and indeed are commanded to, when He separates us from dependents who will remain behind for a time. He is a Father to the fatherless and will help them in ways we cannot.
I know of His care for the fatherless.
The wife began to cry out in a very loud voice, "DON'T DO IT!" Over and over. He didn't.
They died. He lived.
What a sad ending, but what a strong faith!
During the weekend, I read "The Testament" by Grisham, where one of the main characters is a missionary. (Grisham had collaboration from missionaries in Brazil to write realistic accounts)
What missionaries face on a daily basis is nothing like the trials we experience here in America.
He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.We really don't know how we will react, do we?He who lies and gets away, lives to fight another day.
I'd have lied to them too.
And if I had a gun, I'd have blown their heads off as they turned away
In communist Cuba, thousands of Christians have died crying out loud "Long Live Christ the King!" before being put to death by firing squads. Others went underground and pretended to be communist sympathizers before escaping to the US.
It's just a terrible situation to face. May God grant us His wisdom to act faithfully on such occasions.
If your theology is correct and mine is wrong, then the two following scriptures must be discarded. Jesus stating "let him deny himself" is just that deny youself and your life on earth. "take up his cross and follow Me" does not mean take up his cross like the cross is a beach chair. It is the means of death. Jesus tells us to follow Him even if it means death and it did just that to the entire twelve disciples.
What did this man gain? He gained this world. Whoever desires to "save his life will lose it". That means none other than save this life on earth only to lose the eternal one...or doesn't it? The real clincher that you would have to discard is "whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." In neither of these scriptures does Jesus tell them to lie to save their lives and that will please God. Jesus tells them not to worry about losing their earthly, temporal lives bnecause they will find the eternal ones. Did you ever read the story of Steven in the book of Acts? Steven did not lie his way out of death to save his life before a bunch of "servants of satan". He gave up this life to go straight to the arms of Jesus.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." Matthew 16:24-27
"Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26
This is the crux of the matter I think. How and to what degree one knows Jesus. Every man has his unique intelligence, emotions, and circumstances in life. What it means to accept Christ will be different for each man. For a great saint, it might mean having every pore of his physical and spiritual self permeated with Christ. For another man it might simply mean thinking the words "I accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour". For a criminal on his death bed afraid of hell, it might be calling out "Jesus save me!" For all of us the quality of the acceptance is going be determined by who and what we are.
What I don't get is how anyone can determine what is sufficient or insufficient faith. And also why God would eternally torture those who don't get it right, without even a second chance after the first trillion years of torture.
Excellent post.
You are so right. Taking up our cross even means the cross of death. I simply cannot swallow the excuses given here when reading Jesus' words.
Then what is your excuse for not actively taking the gospel message into Saudi Arabia, or the Sudan and preaching Christ to the muslims. They need Christ, don't they? So where are the Christians that are called to bring them the gospel?
You, as a Christian, have been given the great commission to take the gospel to all nations. Saudi Arabia is a Nation. The gospel is not actively being preached there. There is a definite need, is there not? So take it there. If you dare.
Otherwise, don't judge this Christian man for his failings and don't pretend you'd do better in his situation. At least he is brave enough to be a Christian in such an anti-Christian nation.
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