Persecution of the Church

"Tertullian, addressing the rulers of the Roman Empire, cried out: 'Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust.... The more you mow us down, the more we grow; *the seed is the blood of Christians*'. Or, as Bishop Festo Kivengere said in February 1979, on the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda: 'Without bleeding the church fails to bless'. Persecution will refine the church, but not destroy it. If it leads to prayer and praise, to an acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God and of solidarity with Christ in his sufferings, then - however painful - it may even be welcome." - John R.W. Stott