[dc]L[/dc]ast week, North Korean dictator Kim Jong -un reportedly ordered the deaths of 33 Christians who received money for building underground churches from a South Korean Baptist missionary. The dictator, who “won” his reelection with 100% of the vote and 100% voter turnout has not spared his own relatives from his anger, killing his uncle and all of his uncle’s relatives, including children and grandchildren, last year for allegedly “attempting to overthrow the government.” He is raising these same charges against these Christians and their fate, and that of their families and churches is unknown as of this writing. See The Washington Times (3/6/14) for more information.
The persecution of Christians in North Korea is addressed in a new film, “The Apostle: He Was Annointed by God” which portrays a fictionalized account of the real suffering believers are facing. According to a review in Forbes, “The film introduces, on a highly personal level, the types of conflicts among all these people that we can only imagine – the aging father who just wants to pay off the authorities whenever expedient, the pregnant woman who hides away but also gets killed, the Christian who praises Kim Jong-il in a sermon in one of those phony authorized churches in Pyongyang, the young soldier who himself is a Christian and attends underground services while in uniform.”
Forbes has also been reporting on the case of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tour operator held in North Korea. In the words of Forbes contributor Donald Kirk, “The worst fear of the ruling elite in Pyongyang is that people will begin to believe in some other faith, to realize there’s another way. The powers-that-be cannot tolerate such defiance of their own state religion. Kenneth Bae, if he was indeed thinking of spreading Christianity, challenged a system that cannot survive such an assault on its foundation.”
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Mathew 16:18