The Cost of Being Christian

“Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God.” (Revelation 20:4)

The recent story about the brutal beheading of 21 Coptic Christians by Islamic Jihadist has shocked and saddened many. The secular mainstream media and, even the White House, have gone out of their way to minimize the “Christian connection” to the victims of this satanic savagery. These 21 Christians from Egypt are not merely victims of “random violence,” they are true martyrs of the Christian Faith!

When these Muslim terrorists (from ISIS) released a video of their mass execution of these Christians, Egypt responded with jet fighters carrying bombs, the pope condemned the destruction of life and President Obama went golfing. In the White House official statement about the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians the White House referred to the victims as “Egyptian Citizens” rather than Christians, implying there was no religious motivation for the attack. So who are these “Coptic Christians?”

The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of Saint Mark (one of Jesus Disciples) who brought Christianity to Egypt, a dozen of years after the Lord's ascension. He was one of the four evangelists and the one who wrote the oldest canonical gospel. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within half a century of Saint Mark's arrival in Alexandria as is clear from New Testament writings. This church has had an unbroken line going all the way back to the Apostles in the first century.

The contributions of the Coptic Church to Christendom are many. From the beginning, it played a central role in Christian theology---and especially to protect it from a number of early heresies that began to make their way into the church. If you attend a church that recognizes (or uses) the Nicene Creed, it was written by a leader of the Coptic Church.

These 21 individuals were executed for one reason, and one reason only….their Christian faith.

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.