Imprisonment, torture & execution cannot stifle praise
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The Persecution of Christians Down The Centuries

Before his death Jesus warned his disciples they would be hunted down and killed because they had put their faith in him as the Son of God, God's promised Messiah.

Paul writing to Timothy in 2 TIMOTHY 3:12-13 years later said:
Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Kinds of Persecution

From the first century AD onwards Christians have experienced persecution of all kinds for being willing to call Jesus LORD and refusing to bow down to rulers and other gods. Sadly, many have lost their lives as a result of persecution by other Christians.

The forms of persecution have included -
•  Political, state-organised persecution eg 'Dechristianisation' in The French Revolution; Marxism-Leninism in USSR; Maoism in China; etc
•  Religious persecution of Christians by other faiths and of Christians by different Christian groups eg Protestants; Catholics; Anabaptists;etc
•  Scientific rationalism which denies the possibility of the supernatural & regards the scientific method as the only valid form of knowledge
•  Atheism & secular humanism which deny the existence of God and moral absolutes of good and evil in favour of moral relativism
•  Universalism & The New Age drive to a One World Religion which precede the Tribulation & arrival of the False Prophet & False Messiah

For an overview of the persecution of Christians click on the link here  PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN HISTORY.
For an overview of atheism and scientific rationalism, see Alister McGrath THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM.