Livermore, California (PRWEB) November 15, 2011
The real danger of having no Christian presence in the Middle East within the next 5 years will be one of the main topics at a up coming conference hosted by Dr. Rob Dalrymple Director of the Bible Accadamy at Cornerstone Fellowship.
Today, in the Middle East, there are about 30 million Christians and the majority of these Christians are suffering greatly. Over the last 10 years many have sought refuge in the US and various other countries to the point that the continued survival of the Church in the Middle East is being threatened.
According to Professor Habib C. Malik in his article The Future of Christians in the Middle East he discusses the decline of Christianity in the Middle East and how it has become a startling reality:
“The relic phenomenon is an alarming one and the numbers offer sobering evidence of its impending reality. In 1948 Jerusalem was about a fifth Christian; today, it is less than 2 percent. For centuries Christians used to constitute over 80 percent of Bethlehem?s population, but today they are barely a third and falling. In 1943, at the time of its independence, Lebanon was a majority-Christian country, but after thirty years of war and foreign occupation Lebanon?s Christians now make up around a third of the population and the trend is demographic contraction. It is estimated that about half of Iraq?s 1.4 million Christians have fled the country since the American invasion in 2003.”
As the country of Iraq has stabilized in the past few years, the violence against the Church has continued. Even as the Shia-dominated Iraqi government has enhanced its control, it has done little to rein in the targeting of weak Christian, Mandean, and Yazidi communities.
The Jerusalem Post also goes on to report the same finding that Professor Habib C. Malik stated in his findings: ??at the time of Lebanese independence from France in 1946 the majority of Lebanese were Christians. Today less than 30% of Lebanese are Christians. In Turkey, the Christian population has dwindled from 2 million at the end of World War I to less than 100,000 today. In Syria, at the time of independence Christians made up nearly half of the population. Today 4% of Syrians are Christian. In Jordan half a century ago 18% of the population was Christian. Today 2% of Jordanians are Christian.?
Rob Dalrymple Ph.D, Director of the Bible Academy is hosting a conference to bring awareness of the true state of the Church. Through stories and experiences, the speakers can speak first hand to the real suffering of the Church in the Middle East and why the church of the West must become better informed to help care for the needs of Christians, regardless of their race, gender, and social status.
Dr. Dalrymple stated that Christianity and the Middle East is a conference that will provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing the Christian community in the Middle East. Friday November 18th 6-9PM and Saturday the 19th 9-3PM, 348 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, CA.
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