Christian Rescue Advocates

INTRODUCTION.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this website to learn about the plight of Syrian Christians and what you can do to rescue them from the genocide which Islamic State, (IS), is carrying out against them.

OPPOSITION TO THE RESCUE OF SYRIAN CHRISTIANS.

In October 2015 I wrote to the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, advising that I was grieved by his stated non-discriminatory approach with providing support for Syrian refugees, as this was biased against Christians and was not supported by scripture.  I requested him to reconsider his position in the light of quoted scriptures.  However if he did not wish to change his position, there was no need for a reply to my letter.

In November 2015, it was apparent that a reply to my letter was no going to be received and that his position was not going to change.

By this time further research had disclosed for me how the Syrian Christians circumstances were vastly different to other minority persecuted groups and how unfortunately the Western Church, together with its governments, were largely choosing to ignore their special needs.

As I was not prepared to do this, between 9/11/2015 and 5/1/2016 I wrote to 102 Anglican ministers in the Sydney Diocese, requesting that they do a sermon on “Rescuing Christians from the killing fields in Syria.” A typical letter is attached as Annexure A.

Five ministers replied to my letters.

Only one of these ministers advised he had considered the issues, done his own research and as a consequence would give the requested sermon.  It was further advised that his church would help Syrian Christians through the Barnabas Fund, whilst also helping all Syrian refugees received by Australia.

Whilst the other four ministers advised that they would not be providing the requested sermon as they agreed with the archbishop’s position.

In the absence of a reply from the other 97 Anglican ministers it can only be concluded that they will not be providing the requested sermon, or taking all necessary actions to address the special needs of the Syrian Christians.

It was therefore apparent that another appeal needed to be made to the Sydney Archbishop, if an effective rescue operation for the Syrian Christians was to be achieved through the Sydney Anglican Church.

On 16/1/2016, I wrote to one of the Anglican ministers who had engaged in dialogue with me concerning my letter to him.  I asked this minister to put to the archbishop on my behalf a request for him to issue a media/news release.  This media release would not require any changes to the archbishop’s stated position on the Syrian refugee crisis.  It would however address my desire for the many godly people in the Anglican Church be made aware of the special circumstances facing the Syrian Christians, and how by providing financial support to the Barnabas Fund Australia, they may participate in their rescue.

In this news release it was also requested that the archbishop describe the human rights breaches which exist in UN refugee camps and how these need to be rectified.

The human rights violations which I identified as needing to be rectified were as follows –

1. The available evidence indicates that in UN refugee camps Christians are being targeted by IS for death or kidnapping.  The IS assassins are not targeting Kurd’s, or other disagreeing Muslim groups.  Hence only a small number of Christians are willing to stay in UN camps where they risk death for the opportunity to be approved as refugees by accepting countries.  Those that do, know that there is a high probability that they may be killed, before they are accepted by other countries as refugees.

In prisons in Australia, we provide security protection for child sex offenders, to prevent them from being harmed by the other prisoners.  The UN camps based on human rights for minority groups need to provide such protection in their camps for Christians. Should evidence be provided that other minority, non-Christian, groups are also being targeted by IS for death or kidnapping, then protection should also be provided for them in the UN camps.

2. Until this is done, it follows that representations also need to be made to our government and other countries governments, to accept refugees from locations other than UN camps.  The Christian refuges taken from non UN camps together with refugees from UN camps, needs to be such that the total number of Christians each year, is not less than their proportion in the Syrian population.

This is not happening at the present and is a serious human rights violation.

Consequently, Christian refugees in non UN camps have little chance of being accepted as refugees.  Coupled with this is the prospect that the Christian assassin groups will find their safe house location and continue their aim of eliminating Christians from the region.  Whilst this is more difficult for them than it is at the UN camps, they are still able to do this.

As the Archbishop in Synod in 2015 had stated that we should do good for all people, especially the household of faith, (Galations 6 : 10), I was hopeful that he would issue the requested news/media release.

However on 13/2/2016 a reply was received from the Anglican Minister, who I had asked to put my requested to the Archbishop. The response from this minister was – “If you want a news release – then you issue a news release.”

Arising from this reply I wrote to the Archbishop on 15/2/2016.

On 25/2/2016, I received a reply from the Bishop of South Sydney, on behalf of the Archbishop.

This letter conveyed to me the following information –

1. The Archbishop had received and read all my correspondence to the Anglican Minister who had suggested that if I wanted a news release then I should issue this myself. The Archbishop had also read this minister’s correspondence to me.
2. The Archbishop would not issue the plan proposed by me to address the persecution of Syrian Christians.
3. The Archbishop’s publicly stated position on the persecution of Syrian Christians would remain unaltered

The Archbishop’s position on the persecution of Syrian Christians was stated to embrace the following –

i.  He continues to pray that the Lord will quickly bring this terrible persecution of our brothers and sisters to an end.

ii.  He shares my concern for the plight of Syrian Christians.

iii.  He hopes that many of the Syrian refugees who come to Sydney will be Christians and other persecuted minorities.

iv.  Anglicare agencies in Sydney have offered their services to the government for the Syrian refugees who come to Sydney.

v.  He confirms his public statement that Australia’s humanitarian intake of refugees should not be limited to Christians.

How does the Archbishop’s position accord with scripture?

In (i) and (ii) above the Archbishop’s heart is clearly in accordance with Jesus concerns for His sheep and accords with scripture.

John Wesley, a man who clearly understood the importance of scripture, said: “God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer.” The Archbishop’s action are praiseworthy in respect to this.

However James chapter 2, makes it clear that our prayers for those in need, do not demonstrate our faith, if they are not accompanied by works.  For example if we seek a blessing for a person without food or clothes, when we are able to provide these to them, there is no good in this.

From the Archbishop’s reading of my correspondence, he would be very aware that government and United Nations regulations have caused Syrian Christians to be more discriminated against, than the other persecuted refugees. From my research I would estimate this to be at least a tenfold greater level of discrimination.

Similarly Syrian Christians suffer a far greater risk of assassination than other persecuted refugees. From my research I would estimate this to be at least a fivefold greater level of risk.

Consequently there is clearly a demonstrated case for positive discrimination to be provided for Syrian Christian refugees, to bring them up to a level playing field with the other refugees.

The Archbishop with his stated position in (iii) to (iv), has chosen to ignore taking any action on this, other than praying upon the issue.

In Matthew 25 : 14-30, scripture tells us that we will have to give an account of how we have used the talents which we have been given, to serve God. The Archbishop in only praying for the refugees and acknowledging their persecution, whilst not also taking other actions to rescue them, is perhaps only using 25% of the talents he has been given to care for Christ’s sheep.

Lastly, when Jesus on the final judgment day separates His sheep from the goats, (Matt 25 : 31-46), He commends His sheep for their actions.  Prayers in isolation to actions are not mentioned.

When Jesus walked the earth in his humanity, He has similar problems with the Pharisees, who chose only to carry out some of god’s commands and to ignore others.

It is acknowledged that the Archbishop has a different interpretation of scripture to mine.

The reader needs to assess which is valid.

WHY IS THERE SUCH OPPOSITION BY THE SYDNEY ANGLICAN CHURCH, AND MANY OTHER CHURCHES, TO THE RESCUE OF SYRIAN CHRISTIANS?

Perhaps part of this answer can be found in the motion moved by Rev Dr. Thompson, which was carried in the 2015 Synod of the Diocese of Sydney.  This motion asked the government to be called upon to take more refugees.

In moving this motion, Dr. Thompson said.  “We know that some have used this conflict as an opportunity to persecute Christians in particular. IS has targeted Christians for the most brutal treatment, not only in Syria but throughout the Middle East. For that reason the motion explicitly mentions those who have suffered persecution for the name of Jesus. But we know that others have been persecuted too, and this is not a time to be sectarian or parochial.”

The motion identifies that the Church was aware of the truth of the exponentially greater brutality and persecution IS was inflicting on Christians.  It did ask for prayers to be made for the Christians and other persecuted groups.  Whether at this time, the Synod was aware of the special needs to Syrian Christians, which had been raised by George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, is unknown.

However its response for not doing more, on the basis that this could be construed as unacceptable sectarian, or parochial behavior, is totally unacceptable and has no scriptural support.

One of the ministers who did respond to my letter, advised that the Archbishop’s non-discriminatory approach was taken having regard to the following considerations –

He did not want to take any action whereby Muslim people may feel that more care or love was being shown to the household of faith – particularly in the present political climate.

He wished the church to show love and to care for all the allocated refugees, whether they are its enemies, or brethren.

He particularly wished the church to minister to Muslim people, who will constitute the majority of the refugees.

Consequently the desire for mission to the majority of Muslim refugees, may have been given greater importance than that of rescuing Christian refugees.

A fear of criticism may also have been a factor whereby the Church aligned itself with the government’s decision to adopt a non-discriminatory approach.

There is however insufficient information upon which to identify conclusively why there has been opposition from the Sydney Anglican Church to the rescue of Syrian Christians, as proposed by this website.

Now that the Church has been made aware of the special needs of Syrian Christians, and actions which can be taken to facilitate their rescue, the reason for not issuing the requested news release remains a mystery to the writer.

Disappointed with the response of the Sydney Anglican Church, in December 2015, the writer wrote to the Diocesan Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn.  In a letter similar to that attached as Annexure A, it was requested that a sermon on the need to rescue Syrian Christians be given throughout his diocese.  No reply has been received to this letter.

The Sydney Anglican Church has been a case study which may have value for other churches, when they consider how they will respond to the need to rescue Syrian Christians from the genocide which IS are carrying out against them.

From my research, a newspaper article by Andrew Bolt in Melbourne’s Herald Sun on 21/5/2015, identified that most Australian churches have also failed to address this issue.

In this article, titled – “Muslim killing Christians. Why won’t churches speak out?”- The following was stated –

“It is religious persecution on a horrific scale, involving massacres, bombings, slavery, beheadings and mass rape.

So why don’t our churches protest against this slaughter of their own?

Yes, Christians are now the prime target of unbelievably barbaric attacks in the Middle East and Africa, yet Australia’s bishops, ministers. Priests, church “social justice” units and Christian aid groups – usually so vocal – are now near mute.

Nothing better demonstrates the fear our political and media class has of offending Islam than this failure of the churches to speak out to save fellow Christians.”

This article highlights how a fear of offending Islam appears to have been a factor in the very limited church protests against the slaughter of Christians.

When Australia first offered to take more United Nations Syrian refugees, both the then Prime Minister, Tony Abbot and our present Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, stated that a high percentage of these refugees would be Christians, in recognition of the higher level of persecution that they faced.  However this decision was quickly reversed, when Muslim groups accused the government of bigotry and the Islamic Council of Victoria also said that it would be discriminatory to reject Syrians refugees based “on their adherence to Islam.”

Similarly the Sydney Anglican Church at its 2015 Synod, also determined to follow the government’s decision, with its non-discriminatory approach to Syrian refugees.

Whereas, outside of Australia, the following significant actions have been taken : –

Pope Francis and other Vatican representatives have appealed to the United Nations and the international community to intervene in the most dangerous places for minorities, in what is clearly a sweep of maniacal genocide.

Ronald Lauder, the leader of the World Jewish Congress, also has not been silent.  He has stated that while the international community has rallied to defend the persecution of other minorities in other conflicts ,,,  “the barbarous slaughter of thousands upon thousands of Christians is met with relative indifference.”

He has also said, “The Jewish people understand to well what can happen when the world is silent. This campaign of death must be stopped.”

The American Centre for Law and Justice has been fighting to have a key genocide resolution accepted by the United Nations and the International Courts, which will give persecuted Christians legal protection by these organisations.

The actions of this Centre, as well as those of many other organisations bore fruit, when on 17/3/2016 the American State Department declared that ISIS is waging genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shilites in areas under its control.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ASSIST WITH THE RESCUE OF SYRIAN CHRISTIANS?

The most important thing and that which the Syrian Christians are seeking most, is your prayer support.

Then follows the need as your resources permit, to provide financial support to the Barnabas Fund Australia for the rescue of your fellow Christians.

You may then wish to take action to demand changes from your government and church to facilitate this rescue.

Many Christians believe that there should be a separation between church and state functions.  However if William Wilberforce had believed this, slavery would undoubtedly have continued in the British Empire far longer than it did.

WHY SHOULD PERSONS WHO CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS TAKE SUCH ACTION?

If you need to ask this question, then you need to examine yourself to ascertain if your faith is true faith, by which your salvation is assured.

For me, the answer to this question is that Syrian Christians are family.  Christ lives in them and they are precious to Him.  If we know that Christ lives in us, then He and they are precious to us.  We will then do all that we can to rescue our fellow Christians.

Individually our efforts and resources are totally inadequate for the necessary rescue task.  However when we come together in Jesus name the victory is already assured.

The purpose of this article is to call those who believe as I believe and wish to take action.  It is not to engage in dialogue, biblical debates and interpretations, with those who do not share these beliefs and wish to ignore the plight of their Christian brothers and sisters.

CONCLUSION.

The website where this article appears has been advertised in Christian newspapers in all Australian States and territories. It also will attract readers from Europe and America.

The article readers will come from many other Christian denominations, other than the Anglican Church.  If they also find that their church has been ignoring the plight of Syrian Christians, it is hoped that they will take action in their church to address this failure.

This is a battle against evil, which must involve the entire Christian Church. It is not a sectarian issue.

The website has a facility for comments to be made by readers.  It is hoped that those readers who have been encouraged by the article to provide support for the Syrian Christian refugees will record this information on this website facility.

This will provide encouragement to others engaged in the struggle.

Dr. Sookhdeo, the International Director of the Barnabas Fund, does not describe the Christian refugees as refugees, but as living martyrs, because “they had fled their homes and lost all they owned, because they would not deny Christ.”  When you read the reports of the torture which has been inflicted on some Christians captured by IS forces in an attempt to have them convert to Islam, you can appreciate the horror of the evil which has been released in that part of the World.

Our response to their faithfulness to Christ must be more than words and to ignore their plight.

There is an urgent need to rescue them now.

Diego Colina

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