Posted on 10/22/2009 12:01:50 AM PDT by chuck_the_tv_out
BETHLEHEM - One of the untold stories of the Middle East is what is happening to the Christian population.
Many are fleeing areas like the West Bank city of Bethlehem because Muslims are persecuting them.
Bethlehem is the birthplace of Christ and was once a Christian city. But today Christians are only about 10 to 15 percent of the population.
Some observers say if the mass exodus continues, within another generation it could become a city of Christian holy sites without any Christian residents.
Justice Weiner believes that is happening.
He has spent years investigating persecution and the exodus of Christians in the Palestinian territories.
“The Christians who were once the dominant commercial and economic force in these towns have seen their numbers dwindle,” Weiner said. “They’ve seen their land stolen and expropriated. They’ve been forced to sell or to close their businesses.”
“They sense hostility walking down the street,” he added. “They’re afraid to wear crosses. They sometimes are abused verbally when they go to church.”
Despite this mass exodus, members of the First Baptist Church in Bethlehem have chosen to stay to be a beacon of light in the community. And for that, some have paid a high price.
Not only do they share their faith with others but they embrace the Old Testament along with the New Testament. They accept the entire Bible as the word of God, including the promises to the Jews.
“We are born again Christians; believe in God’s promise with Abraham,” said First Baptist Church Pastor Steve Khoury. “It’s an everlasting covenant from God. It’s an everlasting covenant with Abraham. He made it with him and his offspring. That is not very well respected in our culture.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cbn.com ...
A read for later.
This religous persecution is typical of Islam.
What you never read or hear about is the nearly 1 million Jews, born in Arab or Muslim nations, who were refugees taken in by Israel during the years follown 1948. Persecution by Muslims against the Jewish people was truly horrible and lasted for over a millenia.
No wonder they fight the Arabs like wildcats and don’t trust Europe one wit!
...the Christian population... fleeing areas like the West Bank city of Bethlehem because Muslims are persecuting them... today Christians are only about 10 to 15 percent of the population. Some observers say if the mass exodus continues, within another generation it could become a city of Christian holy sites without any Christian residents.Nope, everyone at the UN knows this is the result of Israeli policy. /sarc
I don’t know how many native ME chr*stians are of the American “born-again” variety, but the traditional liturgical chr*stians of the ME are the most anti-Semitic in the world, and no matter what the moslems do to them they will blame the Jews and endorse the PLO.
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