SYRIAN CHURCH:Syrian Surprise: Christians Free To Worship

SYRIAN CHURCH Syrian Surprise: Christians Free to Worship By George Thomas CWNews

CWNews.com –On Friday nights in the old city of Damascus, cars crowd through the streets and people relate to each other. It was a short distance from here that the apostle Paul had his dramatic encounter with God, and received his Life-Purpose to spread the Gospel.

Today, Syrian Christians are continuing to follow in Paul's footsteps. On this Friday night, while some Syrians are wondering about the future, a small team of Evangelical Christians is out on the streets of Damascus, sharing about their encounters with the man called Jesus. The leader of a team said, "I will be reading to you from the Bible tonight and I hope that you will find comfort from these pages."

After a time of prayer, the team leader and his friends moved to another part of the city, where they hold an impromptu Bible study on a busy street corner.

This image of Christians sharing their faith in a Muslim-dominated country may come as a surprise to some. But the fact is, Christianity has had its roots in Syria since early in the First Century. Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul established the first organized Christian church at Antioch in ancient Syria.

Meanwhile, John the Baptist's head is said to be located here, at the Omayyad mosque which used to be a church, at one time. And up the road from the Omayyad mosque, you'll find the Chapel of Ananias. It is here, down in the cellar, where locals say the Lord used Ananias to cure Paul's blindness.

A Syrian Pastor said, "This [Chapel] is the place where the Apostle Paul received his Calling-[Life-Purpose] to share the Gospel across the Roman world. Today, Christians have the freedom to worship openly here. And we are proclaiming the Name of Jesus Christ everywhere in Syria."

Christians make up 10 percent of the Syrian population. The majority are Muslims. Most of the Christians live in the cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah, and Latakia.

The Orthodox and Catholic churches have the strongest following here. There are also half a dozen or so Evangelical churches.

Edward Awabdeh pastors one of the congregations on the West side of the capital. He said, "Less than 1% of the population are Evangelicals in Syria. So we are a small minority."

But a minority that is seeing some growth. Ibrahim Samara pastors an Evangelical church in the old city of Damascus. "The church today in Syria," he said, "is living in its Golden Age. We see a hunger for God among the youth. And many families are expressing openness to the message of Christ. The church is also moving in freedom."

The Syrian Constitution allows for freedom of religion. Although proselytizing is discouraged, the Christians we talked to say they've never had trouble sharing their faith with non-believers.

"Obviously," said one Christian leader, "we have to use some wisdom and discernment in how to best share Christ. We especially have to avoid talking negatively about other religions."

All this talk of religious freedom, may have some wondering what all the fuss is, in Washington, DC, over Syria. The U.S. government says there are reasons to be concerned about Syria's behavior.

First, the present regime, led by the dictatorship of Bashir al Assad has been under fire for its occupation of Lebanon, it's support for terrorism, it's meddling in Iraq, and its stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

Second, Syria is also notorious for its human rights abuses. All of which have placed Syria prominently on Washington's agenda for regime change.

The Christian community in this country has enjoyed relative freedom under the Bashir al Assad regime. So what do they think about George W. Bush's idea about spreading democracy to this nation and across the Middle East.

A pastor in Syria answered, "Democracy is the wish and the hope of every person in the Middle East. But I believe that, if democracy is forced on you from the outside, you must prepare the people and the rulers [in advance] in order to accept the democratic concept."

While Syrian Christians may not enjoy all the blessings of a free society, many here say "at least the atmosphere here, for the time being, is convenient for sharing the Gospel" and it's witnessed by the growing demand for the Word of God.

Each year Damascus holds a Book Fair and invites the Bible Society to sell the Scriptures and other Christian materials. A shopper said, "I don't know everything about God, but there are books here that can help me."

In the meantime, one of the most effective tools of evangelism in Syria, and in fact, throughout the Middle East, continues to be the showing of the Jesus Film, in a number of cities across the country.

A Syrian Pastor said, "Over the years, we've had the opportunity to show the Jesus Film in a number of cities across the country. And every time we show the film, 99% of those in attendance are non-Christians."

Today, the Gospel which spread from here to the uttermost parts of the world, is making its way back to the region. And the Syrian Christians that CBN News talked to, said the changes taking place across the Middle East are part of God's plan, for the sake of the church here.

A Syrian Pastor said, "God is using these changes for the glory of His church. We believe that we are living in the end times and that Christ's return is very imminent. God is giving an opportunity to the people in the Middle East to turn to Him."

A new Evangelical church is scheduled to open next month in a suburb of Damascus.

Wendy: The Christians you talked to said they welcomed democracy. But if it does come, could it mean trouble?

George: Yes, it could. Because Syria has a secular government in Damascus, that protects the rights of Christians and other minority groups. As soon as democracy comes to Syria, the majority, Muslims, will take control [of the government] The Christians I talked to, many are very concerned that Muslim sharia law will then be implemented.

George: Quite strong, and interestingly enough, though we don't hear about this in the West, the Syrian dictatorship has done everything to crush the Islamic types, the Bin Laden types. But on the other hand, it allows groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, the groups that are terrorizing Israel, to flourish. So there's a dichotomy, there truly is. On the one hand they are cracking down on Islamists, but on the other hand they allow groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Wendy: What's life like for Syrians today under the dictatorship of President Bashir al-Assad?

George: Y'know, interestingly enough, the last 5 years all Syrians have had enormous freedoms, they are allowed to watch satellite television, they have had access to the internet. The previous 25 years, under his father's regime was very, very difficult. And you'd better believe the young man who trained in England to be an opthalmologist, is today, trying to reform his country.

we don't hear about this in the West, the Syrian dictatorship has done everything to crush the Islamic types, the Bin Laden types.

It is a shame that the US does not create a dialog with regimes like Assad, and Saddam. These secular dictators have good elements in their governing philosophy, they oppose fanatical Islam, which is the real enemy to the Christians, and Jews. If we looked at the big picture, we could have worked with Saddam, rather than allowing the Sistani Iranian connection to burn Christian churches, and Christian businesses. Under Saddam no church was ever burned. The same thing with Assad, no church ever burned, but if we start bombing him, his radical Islamic underground will show its ugly face.

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