There are a number of reasons why Western Christians have tended to ignore or remain silent about the persecution of Christians worldwide:

1. Popular forms of success theology which stress prosperity and personal inner peace as the inevitable results of spiritual virtue. We are often so preoccupied with our own personal peace, spirituality, and well-being that we have no time or motivating interest in the plight of others. This is clearly reflected in the literature, sermons, and teaching materials which are popular to the average North American Christian consumer.

2. Nationalist forms of Christianity that confuse God and country and/or cause us to, unjustly, equate our own problems with the plight of others who are being persecuted.

3. Obsession with end-times prophecy, which tend to produce favouritism (i.e. "we will be raptured before we suffer"), and fatalism (i.e. "why should we seek to stop persecution since it is a sign of the end?").

4. Competition for fund-raising dollars, which results in promotional material and methods that emphasize only an organization's own efforts.

5. Lack of relevant, up-to-date information and only a few good sources of information on the plight of the persecuted church. The deafening silence of the secular media on the plight of persecuted church has contributed to limiting critical discussion of this issue to the few organizations (like The Voice of the Martyrs) who have focused specifically on it.

6. Oppressed Christians often do not tell their own stories, either due to the fact that persecution is such a part of their daily life that it doesn't seem significant, or because of fear of retribution.

7. Deliberate decisions by some Western Christian groups not to get involved in the plight of the persecuted because of a desire to retain access to restricted countries where persecution is occurring.

8. A fatalist or even romantic view of martyrs and the persecuted church, which sometimes implies that Christians ought not seek to eliminate suffering and persecution since Scripture teaches that it will happen to those who truly follow Christ and that persecution always produces personal maturity and church growth. "Why speak against something that has such positive results?"

9. Differences in political ideology. From the "Left" we have often witnessed a liberal anti-Western bias (usually anti-American in particular) and anti-conservatism that has tended to apologize or minimize the persecution of Christians under left wing, socialist dictatorships or countries that are opposed to western influence. From the "Right", we have witnessed a tendency to apologize or minimize the persecution of believers in regimes that are friendly or economically beneficial to our own country and/or economy.

10. A misunderstanding or inappropriate application of scripture passages that deal explicitly with persecution. Related to this is a neglect or unawareness of the original intent of the authors of Scripture and/or the social environment in which the New Testament was written.

You can have a part in shattering the silence! Through our newsletter, website, the Persecution & Prayer Alert, conferences, and special speakers, you can introduce your church to the reality of Christian persecution in today's world and invite them to fellowship with this important part of Christ's Body. By becoming a VOMC volunteer, you can receive training and support in order to become a voice for the persecuted church. Find out more.