The Hamas terrorist massacre on October 7 in Israel has been big news. Understandably, too. Yet thousands of Christians have also been killed for their faith just this year, with perhaps 200 murdered recently in a Christmas Eve massacre in Nigeria. And while this is just one of many such attacks in that African country — which had seen more than 5,000 Christians killed in 2022 — the Biden administration says nothing. In fact, in February, the administration had removed Nigeria from its religious freedom violators list.
A never-ending massacre of Christians being “killed for sport” is reportedly happening in Nigeria, yet the world appears to be largely deaf to the matter.
While much of the world this week has been celebrating a beginning — Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ — in Nigeria they are mourning the end of life — the deaths of more than 100 Christians — as the world remains virtually silent.
Armed bandits ran amok, according to Amnesty International, in some 20 communities across central Nigeria, killing more than 140. In a country where accurate statistics are traditionally hard to come by, some sources have put the death toll closer to 200.
The Christians were killed in a wide swath across an invisible line that separates the mostly Muslim north and the predominately Christian south in the country’s Plateau State. According to multiple sources, Christians represent 46% of Nigeria’s population.
“There was yet another Christmas massacre of Christians in Nigeria yesterday. The world is — silent. Just unbelievable,” tweeted leading evangelist the Rev. Johnnie Moore on X, formerly Twitter.
More than 52,000 Christians “have been butchered or hacked to death for being Christians” since 2009 in Nigeria, according to Intersociety, a civil society group based in Onitsha.
The Christmas Eve attacks were reportedly committed by Fulani herdsmen (apparently Muslim), were coordinated, and involved heavy weaponry. “Survivors recounted militia men attacking in large numbers, indiscriminately killing and destroying homes, vehicles, farmlands and other properties,” relates The Christian Post.
“About 37 individuals, primarily women, children and the disabled, were burned to death in their homes,” the site continues. “Eight churches and parsonages were also destroyed.”
Again, this is just one of many such attacks.
Providing more detail, Persecution.org adds:
Witnesses said that scant security was present to repel the attacks that lasted more than seven hours.
“More dead bodies were found in the bush today,” said Timothy, a local from Mbar village in Bokkos County. “Yes, my village was attacked on Christmas Eve, and other villages close to my community. Many houses were burnt including my church. I can’t say how many people were killed but we found more dead bodies today and we are looking for missing ones.”
Naomi, a resident of Mayong, lost four family members in the attack and fled to an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp. “My house was burnt, and I mourned on Christmas day,” she said.
What’s more, website Sahara Reporters tells us that intact houses “abandoned by victims fleeing terrorist attacks in North Central Nigeria are been [sic] occupied by their assailants.”
This is a recurring theme, too. In fact, “This is how the House of Islam has advanced throughout history, all over what is now known as the Islamic world,” states Jihad Watch proprietor Robert Spencer.
Spencer is referring to how Christianity was the dominant religion in the Mideast and North Africa by the 400s A.D. — until later being squelched by Muslim jihadist hordes. More recently in history this has been occurring in Lebanon, which was formerly known as the “Paris of the Middle East” and where Christians once constituted more than 60 percent of the population; now they’re down to approximately a third.
As for the even more recent Nigerian carnage, Joe Biden is silent. This reflects his administration’s anti-Christian bias, that his handlers didn’t inform him of the attacks, or both.
This is true to form, however. As The Christian Post had reported last February, the “U.S. State Department has reaffirmed its decision to remove Nigeria from its list of countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations after conducting a ‘careful review’ following objections from Nigerian Christians, human rights groups and members of Congress.”
This blind eye, and that of the West in general, is turned despite Christianity being “the world’s most persecuted religion,” as the Cato Institute reported last year.
“The group Open Doors USA figures that 360 million Christians last year lived in countries where persecution was ‘significant,” Cato wrote. “Roughly 5,600 Christians were murdered, more than 6,000 were detained or imprisoned, and another 4,000-plus were kidnapped. In addition, more than 5,000 churches and other religious facilities were destroyed.”
And sometimes at issue is a blinded eye. For example, Spencer reported Tuesday on a Muslim student who threatened to kill an educator “for teaching about jihad attacks.”
This said, it won’t surprise the informed that the Biden administration is ignoring Christian persecution overseas. After all, points out commentator Michael Knowles, Biden is ignoring an assault on religious freedom right here in America, too.
Of course, a truly cynical person could think this is all about left-wing pseudo-elites’ lust for power and control. That is, church attendance is perhaps the best predictor of voting habits, with atheists generally supporting Democrats but regular Christian worshipers breaking strongly for Republicans.
You can’t have too many of those Jesus followers around, you know, ’cause they just might worship God and not government.
This article was originally published at The New American.
Not only did Biden say nothing, but I wonder how many pastors mentioned this on Sunday? It has been my experience that if the suffering of Christians is ever mentioned in church, it's only in passing. Paul says that if one part of the church rejoices, we all rejoice, and if one part mourns, we all mourn.
Posted by: bill | January 04, 2024 at 11:29 AM
WEll bidumb is a catholic so attacking Christians does not surprise me. Oh and the Sabbath is on Saturday and not Sunday. Yeshua observed Saturday. I believe Yeshua had more authority that the Catholics.
Posted by: Darkoss | January 05, 2024 at 09:37 AM