| Book Reviews |
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Paul Marshall offers an eye opening account of the plight of many Christians through out the world. He first provides a general overview of the problem, followed by details of a specific region. He provides vivid first hand accounts of each experience. Most of those who suffer are women. Yet despite the very real suffering of these people, they are often forgotten or ignored. As Marshall writes, "Professors with a commitment to human rights, who could do factor analysis on the results of nationwide survey data, who could discourse on Hegel and Heidegger, and who knew the intricacies of American consitutional law, didn't know a thing about the people who lived on their street, let alone across the world." Marshall points out that much of this ignorance may be a result of disenchantment with faith in general. Put simply, modern thinkers place little important on religion. In fact, they may view all religious practice through negative experience. More, the news media and the academic community tend to overlook at the contributions of religion in society, while focusing on the negative actions of religious persons. Oppressive regimes do not readily make such mistakes. Marshall points to a Chinese example, quoting, "In 1992 the Chinese state-run press noted that 'the church played an important role in the change' in Eastern Europe and warned, 'If China does not want such a scene to be repeated in its land, it must strangle the baby while it is still in the manager.'" The next problem the West has in comprehending religious persecution, suggests Marshall, may involve stereotypes. As he says, "Too many Americans dump Christians into a stereotype of dead, white, European males" (p. 7). However, most Christians are not white Americans of European descent. "Three-fourths of world Christians live in the Third World" (p 7). This is not a white "First Church of the Blue Rinse" issue, but an issue which affects Christians of all ages, races and genders. While Marshall does not address this point, I would add that such a figure means the Church---that is you and me---should be concerned and interested every time there is a Third World Summit. The everyday lives of our fellow Christians are being dicussed at those summits. Marshall includes a basic introduction to Islam then addresses some of the atrocities carried out in the name of Islam. He makes a clear distinction between mainstream and historic Islam and more violent forms. He details many of the acts perpetrated against Christians, and other religious groups, in predominantly Muslim countries. He points out, for instance, that while many are concerned about the treatment of women in Algeria or the violence perpetrated against foreign nationals, little attention is given to the daily struggle of Christians (and other religious groups) in that country. He then moves on to the remnants of communism. Many faith groups, not just Christians, are persecuted by communist regimes. This includes Christian house churches, muslim worshipers and local traditional faith practitioners. Often faith is viewed with suspicion and may be either regulated or forbidden by law. Some Christians are persecuted as a result of traditional culture. In India, for instance, many Christians are from the lowest castes in society. In accepting Christ, in essence opting out of the caste system, Christians are perceived as a threat. Thus, they become victims of so called "peaceful" faiths such as hinduism and buddhism. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the final groups Marshall addressed are Christians who persecute Christians. This persecution tends to be less overt, but no less hurtful. Most of the examples he gives are of Catholic and Orthodox churches persecuting each other or persecuting Protestant. This, of course, is not meant to suggest that Protestant churches are lilly-white innocents, but would more reflect the lack of political power protestant churches tend to have. Marshall finishes by exploring why little has been done and what can be done.
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