Psalm 2 – Bow the Knee

500 slaughtered for their faith in Nigeria (
www.persecution.org/slaughter/
, accessed
June 10, 2010). On the 21
st
of January 2010, “A crowd of at least 1000 people
burned down two Protestant churches last night in Sibuhuan (district of Padang
Lawas, North Sumatra). The blaze was the culmination of tension between the
faithful and the local Islamic community, tired of seeing ” too many faithful and too
many prayers ” in a place not registered as a church.” (
www.asianews.it/news-
en/North-Sumatra,-two-Protestant-churches-burnt
, accessed June 10, 2010). On the
9
th
of January 2010, ‘The Australian’, reported that 3 Malaysian Churches were
attacked with petrol bombs. (
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/malaysia-
churches-burnt/story
, accessed June 10, 2010). On and on we could go giving stats
about the Church being persecuted, added to that we could give a long list of anti-
Christian legislation that has been gaining ground in the area of prayer in schools,
abortion, censorship, homosexuality, and many other topics. For example, on the 18
February 2022 the NZ government passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition
Legislation Act 2022. We could speak of the growth of Islam as the fastest growing
religion in the world at the moment according to birth rates, and the cults. The
increase in sin in society for example, for the first time in NZ history more babies
were born to unmarried parents than married in 2022; the weakness of the Church
where only 9% of the NZ population go to Church. By all appearances Christianity is
losing its influence, under attack, and on a seeming retreat. What is our response to
all this?