1 Peter 3:13-17 — And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

There has, naturally, been outrage at the beheading of two Western journalists by ISIS in Iraq. I fear, though, that the news media has a short attention span. Attention has largely shifted from the terrible attacks on Christians in Nigeria, by Boko Haram. The news media give barely a passing nod to attacks on Christians in India by Sangh Parivar, an umbrella Hindu nationalist group, said to be looking to cleanse the minority Christian population in India, much like ISIS is doing in Iraq and Syria.
In a prescient observation in early August, Newt Gingrich said “Now, in an arc of terror from Boko Haram in Nigeria through Hamas in Gaza to ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, there is a clear wave of vicious religious warfare being waged against civilization by fanatics who openly promise and engage in genocidal killing.”
A recent frightening development is that ISIS is reportedly strengthening its ties with Boko Haram in Nigeria, offering the militants advice on how to build an African caliphate. “Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of ISIS’s lightning advances in Iraq,” The Nigeria Security Network warned. Christian leaders have said that tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims are fleeing the northern parts of Nigeria where Boko Haram have captured several towns, including Michika earlier this week.
When we take all of these developments into consideration, what should we conclude, and how should we react.
It would be reasonable, I think to conclude that the external threat to Christianity is as fierce as the internal threat. It would not be surprising, in the next few years, to hear an all out declaration of war on the church.
How then, should we react? Peter gives a really interesting answer: “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;” We are not to be afraid of the terror that ISIS is seeking to bring. We are to be ready to respond with God’s truth when our faith is attacked. But there’s more.
We are to be joyful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says “Rejoice evermore.” It doesn’t say “Rejoice evermore except when Sangh Parivar, Boko Haram and ISIS attack.”
We are to love our enemies. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matthew 5:44)
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of how difficult and contrary the Christian life can be. Knowing that tomorrow I will be in church remembering the attacks of September 11, 2001, it would be comfortable to condemn the forces of Islam. It would seem reasonable to hate, and fear … It would be comfortable, reasonable, and wrong. We need to turn the arc of terror into an arc of love.