Letting the world spit on our witness

From WorldNetDaily...

In an act that hit the front pages of the largest newspapers in Turkey, the widow of a martyred Christian told reporters she did not want revenge against the Muslims who killed her husband and two others, according to a new report from Voice of the Martyrs.

"Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do," she said, agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23.34), according to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide church, a letter released through Voice of the Martyrs.

"In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives," the letter said. "One columnist wrote of her comment, 'She said in one sentence what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do.'"

The WND articles quotes an article at Persecution.org (Voice of the Martyr's website) which quotes a letter from The Protestant Church of Smyrna which includes an extremely false quote from an anonymous columnist. While I applaud Susanne Tilman's strength in following Christ's command, it is insulting to have the sacrifices of untold thousands of missionaries spit upon by this anonymous columnist and then repeated by the Protestant Church of Smyrna, Voice of the Martyrs and WND. I personally know a missionary that was murdered in Kenya, and her dying words were, "They just need Jesus." I saw her husband days later, his face still bearing the marks of the attack on him and his wife, his kids still confused by the events. I know they are not alone among missionaries who were murdered for their faith, asking for forgiveness for the murderers. To suggest that 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years couldn't to that is demeaning and insulting and I wonder what the PCoS, VOM and WND are thinking, repeating such nonsense.

Posted by Danny Carlton at April 28, 2007 9:39 AM