Hearings begin in slaughter of 3 Christians

[dhalltoyo]

FAITH UNDER FIRE

Posted: January 24, 20081:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

Details about the martyrdom of three Christians at a Bible publishing house in Turkey last year are beginning to emerge as suspects testify in hearings, according to a report from Compass Direct News.

There are several suspects in the executions of Tilman Geske of Germany and Turkish nationals Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, according to authorities. Suspect Hamit Ceker was one of the first to testify in court, Compass Direct reported.

Ceker told court officials in Malatya's 3rd Criminal Court he watched as another suspect, identified as Emre Gunaydin, slit the throats of two of the Christians, Geske and Aydin, but he was unaware how Yuksel died.

"I didn't see how Ugur was killed," Ceker testified. "I just heard him cry out 'Jesus!'"


Ceker also testified that although he and other Islamists carried newly purchased knives, plastic gloves and Islamic prayer inscriptions, the purpose of the team of Muslims was to get evidence against the Christians.


Authorities earlier said suspects in the slaughter of the three men had been taken into custody and would face trial.

Christians, who make up less than 1 percent of the population in Turkey, have been subjected to numerous attacks in recent years. In 2006, a Turkish teen shot to death a Roman Catholic priest as he prayed in his church. Two other priests were attacked the same year. Early last year came the death of Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink.


The three victims of the publishing house attack were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit. Authorities said police were dispatched after getting calls about a fight.


When the attack became known, Geske's widow, Susanne, responded in a way that hit the front pages of the nation's largest newspapers.


"Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do," she said, agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23.34), according to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide church, released through Voice of the Martyrs.

"In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne [Geske] has changed lives," the letter said. "One columnist wrote of her comment, 'She said in one sentence what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do.'"


Titled "A letter to the GlobalChurch from The Protestant Church of Smyrna," it was received by VOM shortly after the slayings, and the ministry organization that works with the PersecutedChurch worldwide publicized it.


VOM noted that 2,000 years earlier, this location of Christians was addressed in Rev. 2:8-11:
Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The letter told of a Bible study that was planned that morning involving the three Christians and apparently five Muslims who had been invited.


"No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story," the letter said.


"The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible study, around 10 o'clock," the letter said. "Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman's hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours."


During his trial, Compass Direct reported, Ceker said the Muslims were angered when Aydin said, "We are all the children of Jesus."


Ceker said he tried to persuade the others to leave the men tied up on the floor, but Gunaydin replied, "No, they know me now."


The report said Ceker testified Gunaydin told another suspect, Salih Gurler, to strangle Aydin, but when he couldn't, Gunaydin slashed Aydin's throat. Then Gunaydin took a towel to cover Geske's face and cut his throat.


When Ceker reported he had loosened the cords binding Yuksel's wrists, and slipped a packet under his head, Semse Aydin, Necati Aydin's window, protested.


"They went there to kill our husbands, and then they say they did things to make them comfortable!" the widow cried out in the courtroom, according to Compass Direct. "This is contemptible!"


But Ceker admitted Gunaydin had been complaining about the 49 "house churches" in Malatya and saying Christians were a threat to Islam.

Court proceedings are scheduled to resume Feb. 25, Compass reported.

Source cited: World Net Daily

 

[greg334]

David,

Since the late 17th and early 18th century, the enlighten age, the Christians has been pretty much a passive group of people and allowed things to happen. In the 19th century we seen a surge of more passiveness and tolerance which was from a pull away from God is Vengeful, you will go to h*ll, etc... towards a more of the Jesus loves you, you're forgiven type of church.

For the most part since end of the age of enlightenment, we have really had one or two people who had the followers to act as the old ways would have allowed, John Brown was one. He for all intent and purpose was murderer and a terrorist by our civil standards we have today but are looked upon as a saint for his twisted position that he held on domestic policies.

Would the violence he did to others, innocent and guilty alike possibly be justified on a religious basis while now we are seeing the same conditions world wide and more so in our own country?

The Christians are allowing themselves to be eradicated, they are not taking the warnings given by the Jews to take fundamental Islam seriously and they are sitting on their hands doing nothing to stop the take over of society in Europe and Asia - Why?

There is no doubt in my mind that because we allowed ourselves to become a passive country, our worries are for the people and their rights who want to kill us over the victims rights or destroy the country itself and because we accept and tolerate groups like C.A.I.R, we take their side when the terms of racism, bigotry and discrimination are spoken to us like they are victims.

If we as citizens of this great country do not change and take things seriously, it will come down to either the Christians stand up and fight with blood shed to survive or not fight and go by the wayside to become slaves in the new Islamic world.

I don't see the unity needed to fight this at all at this moment nor do I see it in the future. I see like the republicans, a very scattered group with no cohesion at all.

Here’s why

They as a group, are not upholding of the laws of our nation and maybe this is one reason what I am so critical of the people who call themselves Christian. The issue for me is the passiveness over an INVASION taking place by a corrupt government against a country where freedom reign and where corruption is regarded as dangerous to all.

I don’t blame the people who want to come here; it has nothing to do with them, but us and our stupidity and passiveness.

I have to ask, are some followers so blind that their compassion overwhelms their sense of right and wrong?

Or is it a failure of the religion itself to prevent the uncovering of the true bigger picture of what truly goes on with this open border mentality on issues like human rights abuses and a slave trade?

Yes slavery, it is alive and well and not one civil rights group, Christian or other wise seems to be doing anything but looking the other way on the issue. Most Civil rights groups who should be on the front lines of this issue are worried about symbolism and celebrating someone who would not tolerate it.

Where are they on issues like finding groups of Chinese women brought here to be used as sex slaves or to work in closed shops in our own country for food and abused?

No where

But we embrace the leaders, these men of the cloth as legitimate extensions of the fight for civil rights in this country and all I hear is how they found a piece of rope some where or someone mentioned the word ‘lynch’.

Do we as a country have our priorities messed up?

You know that the right thing to do as Christians is not to support an invasion of our country or look the other way to help these people break the law but be vigilant in defending the country that allows them the freedom to worship as they choose.

It starts right there, our freedoms first.

Our survival depends on our freedoms, not what happens over in another country. We must all become defenders of the country and do what every American must do to preserve the country.


They, Christians should be on the front lines with the Minute Men, they should be politically involved in freeing our political prisoners, Ramos and Compean, it is they that should be fighting for removal of Johnny Sutton, and insist on the impeachment of Bush based on the border and his failure to uphold the constitution.

They, Christians should be the first to speak up about intolerance and fight within their own religion groups like the West Boro Baptist church and rid themselves of this plague.

Will they?

Not a chance.

I don’t mean pick up a weapon and go and hurt someone, weapons are not the power they hold.

I mean register to vote, VOTE, pick up the phone and call people you elect, write a letter, be engaged in the political process not as a Christian first but as an American first who are Christians. By being strong in the political arena, the country will be a strong country and lead instead of follow the world.

So I guess the question for me is when will the Christians think it is right time to fight as one?

Or should we even bother thinking that?

When we will stop worrying about people’s feelings, what other countries think about us and worked toward a unity that will save the country and our culture?

AND to tell you the reason you really need to NOT vote for McCain is the open border mentality he has and the reality that we as a country support the trafficking of people across the border, not only Mexicans but Asians and eastern Europeans. He will push through the reform that he and Kennedy wanted to. He has begun the destruction of the first amendment through the McCain-Feingold act, so once that is abridged, the next step is the second amendment and more attacks on religious freedoms.