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The pen is mightier than th<br />
Do you know your rights? This<br />
question sounds quite modern.<br />
But it has its place in the Bible<br />
too. In fact, most of the New<br />
Testament is written by a man<br />
who knew his rights and wasn’t afraid to<br />
use them.<br />
St Paul, in chapter 22 of Acts, is facing<br />
a blood-thirsty mob. He is arrested, and<br />
is about to be flogged and interrogated.<br />
But Paul knows his rights – he asks a<br />
Roman Centurion: “Is it legal for you to<br />
flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even<br />
been found guilty?” Paul knows it’s not<br />
legal, and the Centurion knows it too.<br />
Paul is saved (for the time-being) and<br />
is sent to prison instead, then taken<br />
to Rome. During this time he writes a<br />
number of letters – these are known as<br />
‘the epistles’ and make up most of the<br />
New Testament.<br />
Paul is quite an individual, but his<br />
story is not unique. Christians today face<br />
similar hardship and persecution around<br />
the world. They have rights that need to<br />
be protected, and we have a part to play<br />
in making their voices heard.<br />
We live in a democracy here in the UK<br />
and, whatever your opinion on politics<br />
may be, your signature has more power<br />
than you think! You can sign petitions<br />
and write to your MP, international<br />
ambassadors and people with influence,<br />
asking them to do something. And they<br />
just might listen.<br />
Do you remember Meriam Ibrahim? In<br />
2014, Meriam was pregnant, shackled to<br />
the floor of a cell in Sudan and facing the<br />
death penalty just for being a Christian.<br />
Rightly, this caused global outrage.<br />
Petitions were set up, letters were sent<br />
and huge pressure was placed on<br />
political establishments around the world<br />
– and eventually she was set free!<br />
At the time of writing, there are two<br />
church leaders, one aid worker and a<br />
young student on trial in Sudan facing a<br />
variety of false charges – some incurring<br />
the death penalty; churches in a number<br />
of countries have been threatened not to<br />
Meriam<br />
Ibrahim<br />
who was<br />
pregnant,<br />
shackled<br />
to the floor<br />
of a cell<br />
in Sudan<br />
and facing<br />
the death<br />
penalty<br />
for being a<br />
Christian<br />
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats<br />
Church Office: Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA<br />
Tel: (0114) 274 5086<br />
Page 8<br />
email: office@stchads.org<br />
website: www.stchads.org
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