The following comes from a June 18 Christian Post article by Samuel Smith:
In a passionate speech presenting the historic sacrifice made by Iraqi Christians on Wednesday, Chaldean Catholic Bishop Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo said that although Iraqi Christians have been slaughtered in masses by ISIS, Iraqi Christians have been proudly losing their lives in the name of Jesus since before Islam existed.
Speaking at Skyline Wesleyan Church’s Future Conference in San Diego, Jammo, who’s a native of Baghdad with ancestral ties to the Nineveh Plains and serves as bishop of a Chaldean Catholic Diocese that spans throughout the Western U.S., explained that the Chaldean Christian community’s experience of being forced to choose between paying a tax for their faith or being killed predates ISIS’ brutal demand.
In fact, Jammo explained that Chaldean Christians were first asked to pay taxes in order to celebrate their faith in the year 339 under the rule of King Shapur II, when he told Christians that they must pay double taxes if they wish to continue worshiping Jesus without being killed.
“[The Chaldean patriarch] said, ‘No, this is my land. This is my right given by God to me and Jesus is my Lord and I will not pay taxes for that.’ ‘Then you will be killed. This is up to you,’ Jammo detailed. “He and thousands others [became martyrs]. This is 339, much before Islam, much before ISIS. And then, Islam came.”
Jammo also highlighted the kidnappings and murders of two Nineveh pastors in 2008 — one being the Chaldean Bishop of Mosul and the other being a priest who Jammo had the pleasure of teaching in Rome — who were kidnapped, tortured, killed, mutilated and dumped in the street simply because they were Christian.
As countless Christians have been martyred by ISIS in the last year for refusing to deny Jesus, Jammo urged Christians across the world, who are fortunate enough to freely enjoy their faith without it potentially costing them their lives, not to forget the fatal sacrifices that Chaldean Christians have made for the land of Abraham.
“This is the one side of the battlefield that you should observe. We should observe, this reality. It’s one thing to be comfortable professing our faith, enjoy, clapping hands, singing, what a grace to have freedom to do that,” the 74-year-old asserted. “But don’t forget that this is not the whole field. Chaldeans were for 2,000 years and still now they are at the front. We must share our blessings. We don’t complain. We are privileged to give our blood to witness that Jesus is Lord and that salvation is at hand.”
“We are not disheartened. We are not discouraged. The Lord said that his church, that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church,” Jammo continued, followed by resounding applause. “I always wondered — a gate does not fight. So Lord Jesus, what do you mean by that — ‘the gates of hell will not prevail.’ The gate doesn’t fight. No, you attack the gates of hell and the gates will collapse.”
San Diego-based Chaldean-American humanitarian, Mark Arabo, also spoke at the conference and was critical of President Barack Obama and Congress for not airlifting the displaced Iraqi Christians out of Iraq to safety.
“It’s our disfunction in Washington, It’s our dysfunction in Congress and the White House that has put [Iraqi Christians] to death. It’s our disfunction. It’s Obama’s dysfunction,” Arabo argued. “When Saigon fell, the United States airlifted 150,000 Vietnamese. In the 1990s, President Clinton saved the folks in Bosnia and Rwanda. This is our moment to save these people.”
Arabo, who founded the Minority Humanitarian Organization, has lobbied for the passage of House Resolution 1568, the Protecting Religious Minorities Persecuted by ISIS Act, which would require the State Department to expedite visa processing for Iraqi Christians seeking refuge.
However, Arabo has been disheartened by the lack of concern shown by the president, who has all but completely disregarded Arabo’s call to save the Christians.
“I have had the privilege of meeting a few different presidents. In my brief exchanges with President Obama, I said, ‘Mr. Obama, this is your legacy. President Ford did it, President Clinton did it,'” Arabo explained to Obama. “‘You should take Air Force One to Iraq and airlift all the children and all the Christians and bring them over to America.’ He gave me a real political answer that was very long-winded and not really deep. I said, ‘history is very patient and history is very objective.'”
“However, Arabo has been disheartened by the lack of concern shown by the president, who has all but completely disregarded Arabo’s call to save the Christians.”
Welcome to our world. The president’s trail of damage and destruction will take decades to repair. To ignore such things shows the man has no conscience whatsoever.
Bishop Jammo said: [Obama] …was very long-winded and not really deep.
Is that not the most charitable description of the president you’ve ever heard?
The bishop should have told him there are many golf courses in Iraq and lots of “guys” who would love to play with him.
“I have had the privilege of meeting a few different presidents. In my brief exchanges with President Obama, I said, ‘Mr. Obama, this is your legacy.”
Obama knows very well that these brave Christians would not succumb to the necessary dumbing down process to become useful culture of death, Democrat voters. Obama will have a legacy of not airlifting the children and Christians from Iraq and a legacy of not rescuing American tiny babies that survived an abortion.
Obama simply does not care about the plight of Christians….
Canisius, you seem to have summed up the situation very well. I think that we have to put this killing of Christians at the feet of all the leaders of the free world as well. The war in Iraq, Syria, etc. are all about religions as well. One sect is killing the other because they are different forms of Islam. But no one is caring about the Christians being killed all over the world.
Bob One, If Pharoh Obama wanted to he could unleash our heavy bombers and destroy ISIS’s capabilities with constant sorties,but he has no interest in it. I understand your need to allay Obama of blame (after all you are liberal) but he is the primary person to be called to account for the destruction of Christianity in the middle east. I wish I was 20 years younger and in better health so I could join the local militia’s fighting against ISIS.
God bless you, Canisius. Although you know I do not recommend the tattooing of the body, there are exceptions to most rules and the intentions of the heart count to God. I saw a picture of a Syrian Christian soldier with a tattoo on his right arm of the Lord Jesus Christ with the crown of thorns. I thought to myself his intentions are good and righteous. it is an in your face “I’M a Christian” symbol to the radical Muslims that he was fighting to protect his own people. God bless him too. And Catherine said it all in her post on June 23 at 9:05 a.m.
Arabo,
Why does Obama do nothing to save our Chaldean Brothers being martyred? Maybe it’s because Obama is a muslim, and cares less about their dying, especially for their cause, martyrs for Christ. He’ll get what he deserves. My guess is the martyrs will be in heaven for their ultimate sacrifices for the faith, exactly what they deserve. Sad how the borders are left opened and terrorists can sneak in, even sadder are those muslim disguised refugees who sneek into our borders, establish terrorist cells, and are waiting for the word from ISIS, the Taliban, or the Muslim Brotherhood when and where to strike. You can thank Obama for the future death and destruction, who swore an oath very-likely over the quran to protect the citizens…
Bruce, not that it makes any difference what the religion of our President is, President Obama has never said that he was a follower of Islam. He is not a Muslim as you state. President Obama swore his oath of office over/on a Bible. In this country, your religion is not a condition of office. We are a nation where anyone can practice any or no religion and still be elected to office. That said, your concern about open borders, etc. are valid concerns..