Participants: Lincoln Steed (Host), Melissa Reed
Series Code: LI
Program Code: LI000239B
|
00:06 Welcome back to Liberty Insider.
00:08 Before the break with guest Melissa Reid, 00:10 we were bouncing around on the topic of persecution 00:14 but particularly two cases that have come 00:17 that have come to the Adventist churches attention, 00:19 one in Pakistan and one in Togo of Seventh-day Adventist 00:23 that have been imprisoned and suffering for their faith 00:26 although the dynamic in each case is different. 00:29 One charged of blasphemy on a telephone call, Mr. Sajjad. 00:33 Now the second one, do you want to introduce? 00:36 The case that's been on the board for a couple of years now. 00:38 Yeah, unfortunately I think we've just celebrated 00:41 a two year anniversary for a pastor 00:44 who's actually originally from Cape Verde came to Togo 00:48 which is a Western African nation 00:51 and was serving there and has been imprisoned 00:55 or was accused but has not been convicted, is that correct? 01:00 There hasn't even been-- Either there's not been trial. 01:02 He's been charged in the sense he was arrested 01:04 but no formal charges-- 01:05 No formal charges. No trial. 01:07 And yet he has now celebrated two years in-- 01:09 or not celebrated, passed two years in prison 01:14 for blood trafficking charge. 01:17 Again, as we mentioned in the first story, 01:20 the witnesses now recanted, 01:22 is that correct or he's proven unreliable. 01:25 Proven unreliable. Yes. 01:26 Well, you know for our viewers, it mean-- 01:29 I'd mention this on another program 01:31 I think about six months ago. 01:33 It's worth repeating but it's bizarre 01:35 but it's an illustration of often how persecution comes. 01:39 Not very often except in a full phase program 01:42 against the group you'll find someone put in jail say, 01:46 because they are an Adventist, 01:47 because they are catholic or whatever. 01:49 It's usually a subtle thing that 01:51 because they are that there's deep prejudice 01:53 an intention to trap them up 01:56 or to frame then, if you would. 01:57 Yes. Yes. 01:58 And so Pastor Montero, as you said a native of Cape Verde, 02:02 a little group of violence, 400 miles of the coast of Togo. 02:07 And Togo itself is not very big, 02:09 just a little sliver of a country below Ghana, 02:11 six million people. 02:13 And so this-- essentially this missionary church leader, 02:17 Pastor Montero serving as a Sabbath school director, 02:21 in other words the internal responsibility, 02:23 not even an outward looking position 02:25 but on one occasion this gentleman came 02:27 and asks some advice of church leaders 02:30 and among others he spoke to Montero, 02:32 that's the only contact it had to this man. 02:35 Then a few weeks later something 02:37 that I discovered fairly common in that area, 02:40 there was some murders and the charge was made that-- 02:43 not that murders were common but the nature of the murder 02:46 that young woman had been killed 02:48 and their blood drained for animistic sacrifices. 02:52 That is typical of that area of course. 02:54 And nine women, allude seems unclear 02:57 whether the bodies were ever discovered. 02:59 So it might just been a broad brush charge 03:02 but nine women were killed, blood taken, 03:05 this man that had come to the church just revise, 03:07 was arrested quickly as none criminal, 03:09 confessed quickly and then he said, 03:11 Pastor Montero was the ring leader. 03:15 Well, it's just logical, 03:16 they had the most cleansing connection, 03:18 not to mention such a thing as true Christians 03:22 and people of other faiths have done bizarre things 03:25 but there's not logic 03:26 or almost opportunity for him to do something like this. 03:29 Right. Right. 03:30 And so he was arrested quickly and two other church members 03:34 but its interesting that the charge 03:36 was never really repeated. 03:37 No evidence were call in. 03:38 And that's the thing, that's the frustrating thing 03:40 because I am sure the pastor and his family 03:42 and are very anxious for either a charge or-- 03:48 and then a subsequent trials so he can prove his innocence 03:52 or you know, obviously the case being dismiss 03:54 and so there's no evidence towards the charge-- 03:57 And you think by now, 03:58 after two years if there was some hard evidence 04:00 that would at least be floating around 04:01 but nothing but for of. 04:04 It appears to a number of us 04:06 that there's a bigger political issue applied 04:10 we don't quite know what's going on. 04:11 But there's some higher calculation 04:16 but we don't know why they don't deal with him 04:18 at least just even the sort of put it under the rug 04:20 and quietly let him out of the jail. 04:22 So he and the other stay in jail, 04:24 rotting quite literally, a jail 04:27 where there's no internal services 04:28 just a door or guards outside 04:30 and they throw the prisoners in 04:31 and the food is passed in by family members every few days. 04:34 Right. 04:35 And the prisoners pass out the dead 04:38 and a couple of hundred people have died 04:39 since he's been there. 04:40 So it's not a good situation. 04:42 Now I hear, I imagining myself in that kind of situation, 04:46 it's difficult to but I imagine 04:48 that I, you know, where it would a lot of times 04:50 of discouragement especially 04:53 when you don't have any sort of, you know, 04:55 end inside or hope inside as far as not even a trial or anything. 04:58 But from what I understand Pastor Montero 05:01 is in there leading Bible studies, encouraging other 05:06 prisoners. He certainly doesn't want to get out unless he's 05:08 vindicated. Yes. 05:09 Which I hope for his sake that happens. 05:13 I mean, I don't think its Christians 05:16 or any one of faith to call upon 05:17 to suffer unnecessarily for their faith. 05:20 So if there's a release available 05:24 I think we should take advantage of it. 05:26 Although it's interesting and Paul talking 05:29 about the persecuted through the ages, 05:32 I often preach on these things, he names them all 05:34 and the ones that were showed him to 05:35 and then he says not accepting release. 05:40 But I know what Paul was meaning. 05:42 If to get release you have to compromise your faith, you know. 05:46 Absolutely. 05:48 That used to be the thing in the middle ages, 05:49 you know, we can't, you are out. 05:51 Yes. 05:52 But in this case it's not really that narrowly speaking 05:55 because of his faith but because he is a Christian in a country 05:58 with only 25% Christians, 25% Muslims, 06:02 a very unstable dysfunctional political system, 06:07 lot of prejudice floating around, 06:08 there's animistic practice of blood sacrifices. 06:12 It's easy for him and his religion to be mischaracterized. 06:15 Sure. Absolutely. 06:17 And it's just the irony of the fact 06:19 that he was actually having to help this-- 06:22 wanting to assist this gentleman 06:23 or help this gentleman who he met one time before 06:26 and now has turned 06:28 and you know, is the accuser, it's just-- 06:30 Well, but still-- the Christian needs to help. 06:34 And US, you know, always trying to draw the connection. 06:37 It's not seen as religious liberty problem 06:42 but you know, good Samaritan laws in the US are fine 06:47 but many, many times in the US people 06:50 find themselves under legal challenge 06:51 because they tried to do a good deed. 06:54 And you know, doctors are complaining 06:56 about that all the time with the malpractice 07:00 and so on that, you know, doing good 07:02 they may inadvertently destroy their career. 07:05 It's interesting, I just read an article the other day 07:08 about how we celebrate individuals 07:12 for doing what they should do. 07:15 Get a couple of instances of someone finding money 07:18 and returning it to the individual 07:20 or somebody seeing, you know, 07:23 one person being taken advantage of the other person 07:26 and it was interesting the author of the article 07:27 was saying, are we now at a point in society 07:30 where we celebrate-- 07:31 we're so depraved that we celebrate 07:34 when someone actually just behaves in the way 07:36 they are suppose to, you know, it's interesting. 07:39 And the answer is probably yes, we are. 07:43 And same with whistleblowers. Yeah. 07:45 There is a whistleblowers law 07:46 but practically every time especially in the government 07:48 someone blows the whistle, their career is finish. 07:51 Absolutely. 07:52 So there's really not a protection 07:53 but what is it, integrity isn't something like 07:56 integrity is the best reward. 07:58 Sure. And certainly-- 07:59 Virtually, it's its own reward. 08:00 Yes, and certainly it's our eternal reward 08:03 but that also brings me back to Mr. Masih 08:06 and back in Pakistan and I think about knowing 08:10 that he is a member of this faith group 08:13 and knowing the consequences 08:14 that could happen to him being-- 08:16 publicly being a Christian, I just-- 08:20 I really want to affirm him and his family and just-- 08:23 I mean, it's incredible to know, you know, 08:25 standing up for Jesus in the consequences. 08:28 I mean, he of course did not that his romantic rival 08:31 was going to, you know, 08:33 but he knew that by being as Christian in that environment-- 08:35 Absolutely, it was filled with praline 08:37 and in spite of that he decided to maintain 08:40 his Seventh-day Adventist Christian faith. 08:42 Yeah, absolutely. And that is important. 08:44 One thing that it's worth mentioning 08:46 with Pastor Montero, yes, he wasn't in there 08:49 narrowly speaking because of something 08:51 he had done or not done as an Adventist 08:53 but once he was brought in the media had a field day 08:59 vilifying him from religious perspective 09:00 and mischaracterizing Adventist as people 09:04 with strange practices including some blood rituals. 09:08 So religious prejudice kicked in big 09:10 so I don't think that's even slightly off the limit 09:13 to characterizing this as religious prejudice/persecution. 09:17 Yeah. Well, it's-- 09:20 defiantly both of these families, 09:22 I really have been impressed, 09:24 I haven't-- I am not as familiar, 09:26 it's a newer story that the family in Pakistan, 09:30 the young man in Pakistan but I-- 09:31 in the anecdotes that I've heard about Mrs. Montero 09:36 and her friend bringing food to the prison 09:40 and all those sort of situation really suffering 09:43 but also they seem like they are holding up this great attitude. 09:46 It's impressive, it's certainly is a testimony to their 09:50 relationship with Christ being able 09:52 to see the positive in situations 09:55 and ministering to the needs of those 09:59 in the prison as well that's with them. 10:01 We certainly want to commend them and hold them up in prayer. 10:08 A few years ago I head a rather humorous 10:10 regarding world population levels. 10:13 there's way too many people are being born, 10:17 the world is over crowded and he says, 10:19 somewhere in the world every 3 minutes 10:21 a woman is giving birth. 10:24 And in the audience someone yelled out, 10:25 I say we find that woman and stop her. 10:28 When you are talking about persecution 10:31 we need to realize there are hundreds of thousands 10:34 perhaps millions of people are suffering for their faith. 10:37 Many thousands presently are dying. 10:40 But perhaps it's not all that bad 10:42 as we have in this program with Pastor Montero 10:46 and our brother in Pakistan focus on a particular case 10:50 because in the particular we can see the general. 10:54 We know that Seventh-day Adventist 10:56 as many other Christians and people of other faiths 10:59 are suffering for their faith. 11:01 And when we have a face to that reality 11:04 it will perhaps give us a greater impetus 11:08 to be concern for those unnamed faceless 11:12 but real thousands, millions around the world 11:16 who need relief from the suffering 11:18 that they are facing for their faith. 11:22 From Liberty Insider, this is Lincoln Steed. |
Revised 2014-12-17