Received this yesterday from (I think) Operation Mobilisation (OM). > Here is an email I received recently which helps inform us of the situation > in North Korea. It is certainly a very sad situation. > For your prayer times. - *** > > > NORTH KOREA > A NATION WHERE CHRISTIAN FAITH MEANS TORURE AND DEATH > Imagine entire families sent away to concentration camps where they are > almost certain to die; where they spend gruelling hours working twenty > hours a day, seven days a week for months and even years upon end; where > they are sentenced to sickening and dangerous jobs in cesspools and iron > foundries and beaten, tortured, and killed in the most horrifying ways; > imagine being publicly executed following torture. This is not a > description of Jews in Auschwitz in the 1940s, but rather the plight of > Christians in North Korea in the year 2000. > > After fifty years of hard-line communist rule, the implementation of > Juche philosophy and the most severe persecution, it is miraculous that > there are any Christians left in North Korea. However, although the > penalties are extreme, the gospel continues to be spread in the > so-called Hermit Kingdom and North Koreans continue to commit their > lives to Christ. These Christians live under a constant threat of the > direst punishment to themselves and to their families should they be > caught. They are desperately in need of earnest prayer from the rest of > the Church around the world. > > In the 1950s Kim Il Sung implemented Juche philosophy in North Korea. > This philosophy was created to impact every area of Korean life, > government and social structure. Its main purpose was to cement Kim Il > Sung and later his son, Kim Jong Il's hold on absolute power. The > central teaching of Juche philosophy is that there is no power greater > than Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader," and Kim Jong Il, the "Dear > Leader." > According to Juche's tenets, Kim Il Sung created a paradise on Earth > when his rule was established in North Korea. Everything good comes from > him - and the outside world is literally a wasteland. North Koreans have > been taught that Kim Il Sung is immortal - and since his death in 1994 > Kim Jong Il has promoted himself as the physical embodiment of his > father. The son is essentially the father; Nature obeys him and he has > perfect knowledge in all things. Many experts believe that this cultic > belief system has been modelled upon the Christian Trinity with Juche > philosophy taking the place of the Holy Spirit. > > To believe in God is to directly threaten the exalted position of Kim Il > Sung and Kim Jong Il. Kim Il Sung recognised this in the early years of > his control and sought to eliminate all Christians from North Korea. He > implemented the "True Light" policy, the objective of which was to > capture Christians from three generations. Those who had believed prior > to the liberation from Japan, those who believed post-liberation, and > the youngest generation to believe were targeted. Three generations of > families were apprehended; grandparents, parents and children, > regardless of whether or not they all actually had a personal Christian > faith. > > One North Korean refugee told CSW: The Christians would be raided > suddenly and they did not have a chance to hide their Bibles. Some would > hide them under the floor or in their food but then they would bulldoze > the houses and the Bibles would turn up. In Chungjun as a student I saw > many public executions of Christians. They called them "insane believers > in God." They would call them out to the field and hang them. I found it > so terrible I had to cover my eyes. > > After decades of such murderous policies specifically directed at > Christians, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il obviously hoped that the > Christian presence would be entirely eradicated from North Korea. This, > however, is not the case. Ironically, evidence of Christianity in the > country can be found in the reports of public executions of Christians > and firsthand accounts of large numbers of Christians in political > prisoner and concentration camps. > > Unknown numbers of Christians have chosen to keep their faith a secret - > they are unable to share this faith even with their own children. One > North Korean refugee told CSW how shocked she was when, immediately > after crossing the border into China, her aged father recited John 3:16 > to her. He had been a Christian her entire life and had even been > imprisoned for his religious affiliation prior to her birth. Out of > necessity, he had kept his faith a guarded secret for the forty years of > her life and she had never had any idea that he believed in Christ until > their escape, when he seized the opportunity to witness to her. > > CSW heard firsthand accounts of the treatment of Christian prisoners in > the political prisoner camps. The horror and inhumanity of their > treatment is indescribable. Christians occupy a unique position in these > political prisoner camps. They alone are not sentenced to a specific > number of years. Instead, they are imprisoned as long as they keep their > faith. If they renounce their faith and embrace the Juche belief system, > acknowledging Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il as the supreme power, they may > walk free. > In addition, prison guards are promoted if they succeed in > "rehabilitating" a Christian prisoner. This gives them a particular > incentive to target Christians for beatings, torture, harsh labour, > rape, and other unspeakable treatment. One former prisoner had seen a > guard pour molten iron over living Christians in a sadistic effort to > force the other Christians to renounce their faith. > > Christians in political prisoner camps are also subject to a decree that > their faces must permanently face the ground, so their heads are > continually held at a ninety degree angle to the rest of their body. The > rationale behind this is that because they believe in a God in Heaven > they must not look up. As they work, sleep, and eat, they must always > face down. A former prisoner reports that after years of keeping this > position many of the Christians' necks were permanently deformed. Even > in death, their necks were broken by the guards and they were buried > face down to prevent them from "seeing Heaven". > > In another camp, Wachon Prison, a prisoner witnessed the treatment of > the children of Christians. Upon arrival families were separated > according to age and sex. The children were put into cages where they > spent the rest of their childhood. Each morning their mothers would be > forced to walk past these cages where they could see their children, > starving and cold. The former prisoner recounted her experience: > The noise was awful as the children screamed and cried out for their > mothers. Sometimes the women, at great risk to themselves, would knit > socks or gloves with scraps and would throw them to their children to > keep them warm. Sometimes they would even hide some food inside, even > though they themselves were starving. If the mother was caught doing > this she would be dragged outside, alone, and beaten until she could not > hear or see anymore. Then the other prisoners would drag her back in. > Even then I would hear her call out to her children, to make sure they > were all right. Only a mother could understand this feeling. > > The children of Christians are also imprisoned indefinitely. Many spend > their entire lives - however long they last - behind the walls of a > concentration camp. Their crime is that someone in their family has been > found to be a Christian. > Christians in the political prisoner camps are literally worked to > death. According to reports from former prisoners, Christians are > singled out for the worst and most dangerous jobs. Men are sent to work > in the iron foundries and other factories where the mortality rate is > high because of the dangerous conditions and exposure to extreme > temperatures. > Women are subjected to intense labour, such as making shoes with hammers > and needles, for sixteen to twenty hours daily, seven days a week or > they are given responsibility for the toilets and the cesspools where > they are often overcome by the toxic fumes. Inevitably, of all the > prisoners in these camps, Christians have the shortest life expectancy. > > It is remarkable that these Christians manage to maintain their faith in > such dire conditions. A former prisoner who was not a Christian at the > time of her imprisonment recounted: > They had such a warm love that the rest of the people did not know. I > have seen and felt that even in such a difficult situation they were > able to express love for others. They sometimes even took responsibility > for others' wrongdoing; they took the blame to protect others! > Truthfully, taking the blame for someone else is almost unheard of in > such a prison camp because the penalties are so severe. Because of that, > if a person did something wrong they would try to hide it and blame it > on someone else. > I have seen many times that rather than blame someone else, the > Christians would take the blame for someone else! I realised that they > are living in a different world, experiencing a different level of love. > One of the reasons I have survived up to this moment is because of them. > I reflect back and keep it as a guide, remembering them as they gave up > their lives for the Kingdom of God with the type of love that all > Christians should have. > > It would be easy to be discouraged about the future of Christianity in > North Korea. It is important to realise, however, that the persecution > of Christians has been ongoing in its intensity for five decades and > Christianity has not been eradicated! > A former prisoner stated that when she was first imprisoned in the late > 1980s there were about forty older Christians. When she was released in > 1992, all of the original forty had died but there were now 250 > Christians ranging in age from teenagers to people in their 60s. This > increase in numbers shows that Christianity is spreading among North > Koreans of all ages - contrary to the aims of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong > Il! > > Christians in the outside world may feel helpless after becoming aware > of these harrowing stories. North Korea may seem distant and > impenetrable. North Korean Christians, however, are confident that > prayer is the answer. They are aware that Kim Jong Il and Juche's hold > over North Korea can only be broken through divine intervention. > The primary request of each North Korean Christian that CSW met was that > the rest of the Church join with them in prayer for their country and > fellow Christians suffering under intense persecution. They are > confident that God will answer their prayers. > Please stand with them in solidarity by interceding alongside them. > > > How To Pray > As CSW met with various groups and North Koreans we asked them how the > Church should pray. These were their suggestions: > Pray for the North Koreans in hiding along the border areas. > Pray for their protection as they seek food and shelter and as they come > into contact with Christianity, usually for the first time. > Pray for the Christians in North Korean political prisoner camps. > Pray that God would sustain them and that He would give them peace and > joy even in the most dreadful circumstances. > Pray that the hold of Juche over North Korea would be demolished in > order that the gospel may spread freely throughout North Korea. > Pray specifically for the salvation of Kim Jong Il. > Pray that the international community would be persistent in pursuing > the human rights issue in North Korea. > Pray that they would be consistent in pressuring North Korea to abolish > political prisoner camps and to allow true religious freedom. > > > Submitted by > Christian Solidarity Worldwide > > Please, take note: > CSW anticipates, and Christians in North Korea covet much prayer to be > generated, but the material in this article is to be regarded as > sensitive. > You may not publish the article on any web site or circulate it as a > whole or in parts to mailing lists or addresses which you do not know as > safe. If forwarded to friends, do keep this note of restriction > attached. > Please, respect this restriction as asked for by CSW staff. > Lars Widerberg > > > -------------- > > > Give the king knowledge of Your way of judging, O God > and the spirit of your righteousness to the king's son to control his > actions. > Psalms 72:1 Amplified version. > > ******************************* > > PRIORITY NUMBER ONE: > PRAY FOR MEN IN AUTHORITY, 1 TIM 2:1-4 > Lars Widerberg > Intercessors Network > > Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > <Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Storskiftesgatan 87 > S-58334 Linkoping, Sweden > Phone + Fax: +46 13 213630 > > Advice pertaining to financial assistance of the maintenance of the > operative HQ of the Intercessors Network can be obtained on request. > _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm http://rangernet.org Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
