by Max Dawson
That is the report coming out of Afghanistan—that a Bible app on your cell phone can be a death sentence. According to religionnews.com “reliable sources report that the Taliban demand people’s phones, and if they find a downloaded Bible on your device, they will kill you immediately.”
We are not surprised at this action because the Taliban are notorious for their bloodthirsty brutality. They are also notorious for their hatred of the gospel message. Wherever the Muslims get a stranglehold on any country, the religious freedom of Bible believers is quickly eliminated. There are many examples of that in Middle East Muslim countries.
Men ought to be free to study any and all religions. They ought to be able to weigh the evidence for one against the other. People ought to have the liberty to choose that which they believe to be from God. But when the Islamic faith comes into power, they immediately squelch that kind of choice. I think they have a religion that cannot stand the test and trial of examination. There is no evidence that the Islamic faith came from God. Nada. Zero. Zip. In talking with my Muslim friends, I ask them for evidence. It is something most of them have never thought about. They just tell me that to deny Mohammed as a prophet of God is a terrible sin! That’s not evidence.
The gospel alone offers evidence that it is from God. No other religion (aside from Old Testament Judaism) is confirmed by miracles, signs, and wonders. (See such passages as Jn. 20:30-31; Heb. 2:3-4; Ex. 4:1-10.)
Do you have any Bible apps on your phone? I have two. One from Olive Tree; the other from YouVersion. I use both of them regularly when I am out of my office. I am thankful for these apps. And I am thankful that I live in America where I am free to openly study the Bible—whether it is in digital format or in a traditional book form.
If you and I lived in Afghanistan this morning, we could be murdered for doing what we are openly free to do in America. Thank God for our liberty!
Are you studying your Bible regularly? Do you follow some kind of Bible reading plan? Bible reading is part of our lives as believers.
There are people in Afghanistan dying because they have a Bible on their phone. There are people in America who are dying spiritually because they have a Bible and never read it.