Gunpoint conversion
August 28th, 2006 ~ Current eventsThe two Fox journalists have been released, and thank God for that. But consider this aspect of their captivity:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Two Fox News journalists freed by militants Sunday described a harrowing two weeks of captivity during which they were blindfolded, tied in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to say on a video that they converted to Islam.
Judging from the lack of follow-up on this, the gunpoint conversion caused no ripple of concern amongst reporters (though Hugh Hewitt’s blog does make a point that saying the captives were released “unharmed” shows again that — as these guys keep saying — the MSM just doesn’t get religion.)
So is this one that registers an ominous note only to those whose Church has deep roots? You don’t have to go back all that far to find the host of “new martyrs” who won their crowns under Islamic rule. Consider one saint that a brief search of OCA’s saint’s pages turned up — New Martyr John of Crete, who was martyred September 15, 1815. Abbreviating his hagiography:
- was from Crete, and worked as a farmer at New Ephesus (Kusantasi) in Asia Minor. He was a young man, and was engaged to be married
- was perceived to be connected with a street crime and brought up on charges by a Muslim, arrested, beaten and thrown into prison
- given a choice to convert to Islam or die, John refused to convert, saying, “I was born as an Orthodox Christian, and I shall die as an Orthodox Christian.”
- enticed to give up his faith by an offer of marrying a wealthy Muslim girl. He still refused to deny Christ.
- was sentenced to death by hanging. As he was led to the place of execution, he kept saying, “Most Holy Theotokos, help me.” He also asked forgiveness of the Christians he met along the way.
I’m not saying that the martyr’s crown is for everyone. If it was, there would be nothing exceptional about martyrs. But here we are, nearly 100 years later, and the radical Muslims are still fighting a religious war. Have they not noticed how much the Western world has changed? Do they know how many prisoners they would have to go through to find one that wouldn’t deny Christ to save his or her life?
Will they find any?
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August 28th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Interesting that you are writing about this and thank you for addressing it. I have been wondering about this a lot lately too. We see media clips of captives at gunpoint being forced to say that they converted to Islam…knowing full well in their own hearts that they are not, but say so in order to save his/her life. I have been thinking about the thousands of martyrs that have gone before us that have given their LIFE for Christ and the Faith. What would we do in that situation? Do you justify it by agreeing with the terrorists in order to save your life, but know full well in your heart that your a “Christian?” Do we not think that God has ears? And has eyes? And sees and hears us denounce Him and our faith?
What would happen if someone now-a-days that was kidnapped and tortured said he was NOT going to convert to Islam because he was a Christian? What effect do you think that would have on the Christian communities? Any? A lot? It’s hard to say…
It makes me think of a journal entry I wrote on May 22, 2006 during the whole Da Vinci code drama…
“Today as I was driving into work I was listening to the radio and I came across a talk show on 96.5 The Buzz that was talking about the Da Vinci Code movie. They were having people call in to discuss the controversial topics that the film contained in order to win some concert tickets. One guy called in, claiming to be a Christian…First question: “Was Jesus married?” The man responded, “No.” The radio broad casters yell back, “FALSE!!!!” Next question: “Did Jesus have kids?” The man responded, “Well I guess I have to agree with your line of thinking in order to win.” And so he replies, “Yes.” At which point I turned off the radio and sat in silence shaking my head, nearly in tears. I thought back to the early church days where martyrs’ bodies were mutilated and desecrated because they would not denounce Christ or speak of any heretical claims against Him or the Faith. They would give their LIFE (not to mention suffering cruel and horrible deaths)in order to preserve the Faith and Christ’s divinity. And now a days I just heard a man denounce Christ in order to win concert tickets.”
It is a sad state of things. Where Christians have come to believe that their earthly, temporary lives are more important than Christ and the Faith. Maybe if someone does denounce Christ and their faith in order to save their life, they do so because they are not ready to die? Meaning that the want to be right with Christ and repent before their earthly life ends? I know that’s idealogical thinking, but if a true Christian really does denounce Christ and the Faith in order to save their life, then I think they better be spending the rest of their life in repentance. It would be a terribly hard situation…it’s very hard to put yourself in that position and to know what you would do in the same situation…
Good job for getting us thinking about this, Grace!
August 28th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
I think that thing about the concert tickets is just the saddest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Because you’re right, a LOT of people would think a person was overreacting for thinking it was anything more than just a dumb radio schtick.
With all of these accounts of captives, I haven’t heard of any that were asked to renounce their faith and refused, so I just don’t know whether the captors would martyr them for that or not. And I don’t mean to cast aspersions on what a person does under that kind of duress. Even in the times of the martyrs, there were a lot that couldn’t go through with it. And I remember reading at least once about a person who *thought* they were blessed to receive the crown of martyrdom only to be told by their spiritual father that they were mistaken and were confessing the faith out of their own pride. (As I recall, the person didn’t believe it and then broke under torture and denied Christ.) So it’s really a rare thing for a person to be called to do, and if looking through the lives of the saints gives us hundreds of instances of martyrdom, we should still know those are hundreds of uniquely blessed servants of God.
But around about now, I’m thinking I’m in over my head. It’s really a better subject for a homiletician than a humble blogger. (Fr. Elias, got yer ears on?)
August 28th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Have you been reading Jill Carrol’s story? You could find it on the website of the Christian Science Monitor, as that is what she wrote it for, but it’s been serialized in my local paper. They asked her to convert, and she wouldn’t. Interestingly enough, she was really not religious when she was captured, although at the end of the last chapter I read, she was talking about how she was praying and calling out to God.
Anyway, I also was thinking of some of the New Martyrs under the Muslim Yoke in Southern Europe when I read that story as well.
Lord have Mercy - I can’t even begin to imagine being in that situation.
August 28th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Ooo, I’m glad you mentioned her! By a curious coincidence, I just happened to catch the 10th installment of her story yesterday on Yahoo, and I was going to include something about her, but couldn’t figure out how to fit it in. The installment I was reading was about the time of her release, and I thought it did as good a job as anything could of letting you know a little the toll that that kind of experience would have on a person. I wouldn’t think you’d ever feel safe again.
Anyway, here’s the link to the last installment of the series, and if you look on the left column under her picture, you can find links to all the others (for those who haven’t been catching it).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/ojilleleven
August 29th, 2006 at 8:07 am
See I had heard her 2 interviews on Good Morning America about a month ago and she said (out of her own mouth) that she was asked to convert, and she said that she would convert just to appease them and to keep herself safe. She said that she just kept going along with whatever they wanted in order for them to spare her life. So now I’m really confused…hmm…the media sending mixed messages? No way!
August 29th, 2006 at 9:32 am
Well, it sounds like she’s saying different things. I didn’t read the installment in this series where she’s talking about that, so I don’t know.
I think she’s the one who had to do a little explaining when she got home because when she was still overseas she made a point of saying how well she was treated and all that. When she got home, she said that she still didn’t feel like she could be honest.
I’m almost surprised though that we don’t get more of these kinds of back-and-forth things from people that have been hostages for a long time. Hanging around in miserable sometimes painful conditions and not knowing whether you’ll be dead in an hour or still sitting around doing nothing in a month — in that situation, I gotta believe you enter an altered kind of reality just to keep your sanity. The two Fox journalists, for example, have been talking like their biggest worry out of all that’s happened is that other newspeople might not want to go to Palestine. That just sounds like some weird prioritizing, but I can see where obsessing over that would free you from the fear and anger of thinking about what these guys did to them.
August 29th, 2006 at 11:41 am
She did talk about that in the story - that she didn’t feel she was safe when she was just released, so she said everything was great so that she’d not be recaptured.
I also think that part of the reason that she didn’t say she’d convert was lack of conviction in Islam, not an overriding Christian conviction, as I mentioned she wasn’t really religious, although she may be more so now. I don’t know.
August 29th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Which brings up the part of it that makes it a difficult subject. There are a great number of nominal Christians and agnostics in the country. If that’s where you stand, why *wouldn’t* you convert at gunpoint? It would be like someone pointing a gun at my head and telling me to say I like Colgate toothpaste better than Crest.
There was a blog post on this topic here — http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2006/08/28/gunpoint-conversions-martyrdom/ — entitled “What would you do?”
The author is coming from a Protestant perspective and so he occasionally has a point of view that we just can’t relate to (”Once saved, always saved. I don’t have to work to “keep” my salvation. Yes, even if I denied Christ, God forbid it, he’s still my Savior.”) But the post — and especially the comments — are still a good read.
August 30th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
I’m off to read that, thanks for the link. It is something that is very interesting to turn around in my head.