Introduction
Introduction
Persecution is hostility and poor treatment of people because of their beliefs, culture or race. Some examples of persecution are spreading hatred, arrests, torture, confiscating property, murder and executions.
As we have studied, Jesus' disciples and early Christians were persecuted for their belief that Jesus was the Messiah. Some examples include Stephen being stoned to death, Saul imprisoning Christians, and Paul and Silas being flogged and imprisoned in Philippi.
Today 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted around the world. According to Open Doors International (2023), more than 360 million Christian have high levels of discrimination or persecution due to their faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, 5,621 Christians were murdered for their faith, 2,110 churches attacked, and 4,542 Christians were jailed (Open Doors International, 2023).
Task
Your task
First, please read an article provided about religious persecution today. After that, you and a partner will research persecution in a particular country using the websites provided. Finally, you will present your findings and offer possible ways to help the persecuted using one of the digital presentation tools provided.
Continue to the next step to find the links to the article, websites to use and digital tools for presentation.
Process
To do:
1. Read the article "The 50 Countries Where It's Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2023".
2. Then you and a partner are to pick a country from the list "Where It's Hardest to Follow Jesus" (see below for list).
3. Click on the website given for that country below to research information about persecution in the following countries:
North Korea
Somalia
Yemen
Eritrea
Libya
Nigeria
Pakistan
Iran
Afghanistan
Sudan
India
4. Find out the following information and type it in the Google document "Persecution of Christians Around the World" :
-
What does persecution look like in the country?
-
Who is most vulnerable for persecution in that country?
-
What has changed this year?
-
Where is the country located and on what continent?
-
What is the persecution level?
-
How many Christians are in the country currently?
-
What are some possible ways we can help make others aware of the persecution and promote positive solutions?
5. Read the article "How Should we Respond to Persecution of Christians?" to find out some possible ways to increase awareness and help the persecuted.
6. Present your findings using one of the following digital presentation tools:
Prezi Next -creative presentation with functionality
Easelly- create infographics to visual data and content
VoiceThread (App)- media-focused video chat tool
Powerpoint (App)- slide-building presentation app
Google Doc (App)- slide-building presentation app
Evaluation
CRITERIA |
3MEETS STANDARD |
2APPROACHING STANDARD |
1DOES NOT MEET STANDARD |
|---|---|---|---|
What does persecution look like in the country? |
|
|
|
Who is most vulnerable for persecution in that country? |
|
|
|
What has changed this year? |
|
|
|
Where is the country located and on what continent? |
|
|
|
Map Inserted |
|
|
|
What is the persecution level? |
|
|
|
How many Christians are in the country currently? |
|
|
|
What are some possible ways we can help make others aware of the persecution and promote positive solutions? |
|
|
|
Visually Pleasing |
|
|
|
Proofread for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization |
|
|
|
Uses Multimedia or Images on each |
|||
|
TOTAL SCORE: /33 POINTS COMMENTS:
|
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Religious persecution is a serious problem for many Christians around the world. Please continue to find out more about persecution and then take action to combat this persecution. This may be as easy as posting anti-persecution images on social media. Don't forget to pray for your fellow Christians around the world. People are being tortured and dying for their beliefs. Finally, be thankful that we live in a country where we can openly be a Christian. Let's make sure that it stays that way. Blessings!
Credits
References:
Christianity Today Editors. (2023, January 17). The 50 countries where it is hardest to follow Jesus in 2023. Christian Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/january/christian-persecution-2023-countries-open-doors-watch-list.html
Lausanne Movement. (2022, April 1). How should we respond to persecution of Christians? National Christian Foundation. https://www.ncfgiving.com/stories/how-should-we-respond-to-the-persecution-of-christians/
Open Doors. (2023). World watch list 2023. Open doors.org. https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/
Screencastify Squad (2022, November 10). The 10 best presentation tools for students in 2023. Screencastify.org. https://www.screencastify.com/blog/the-10-best-presentation-tools-for-students