As Russia Tortures Evangelical Christians, US Baptists Urge House Speaker Johnson to Take Action

More than two years into the Russia-Ukraine war, evangelical Christians in Ukraine continue to face being tortured, having their places of worship shut down, and experiencing other horrors at the hands of Russian soldiers, according to a letter Southern Baptist leaders wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson. 

On Monday, Daniel Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Richard Land, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC); and Ukrainian church leaders sent a leader to Johnson asking him to “consider the plight of Christians” in the Eastern European country. 

“Despite Russian efforts to paint Ukraine as intolerant of Christians, it is the Russian government that has aggressively harmed peaceful law abiding faithful Christians in the occupied areas of Ukraine,” the letter says.

Johnson is a former trustee of the ERLC and as the newly appointed House Speaker he’s under pressure for a $95 billion package, that includes aid to Ukraine, that was passed in the Senate in February but still has to be approved in the House. 

House conservatives who opposed the funding package have threatened to trigger a vote to remove Johnson from office, Christianity Today reports.

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