'My Heart Is Broken’: An Afghan Pastor Grapples with the US Withdrawal

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2021

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Earlier this year, Joe Biden announced that after close to 20 years, the United States would be withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. Last week, as the military began its exit, the Taliban was ready and within days had seized control of the country. The ascent sparked widespread fear and led to thousands arriving at the airport only to find their flights out of the country had been canceled. Some even grabbed a hold of the aircraft in desperation. Biden defended the decision, arguing that Afghanistan’s leaders "gave up and fled the country." He also said: "The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight. If anything, the developments in the past week reinforced ending that US military involvement Afghanistan now was the right decision.” He did concede: "The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” As the government fell, it was not clear if the US had done anything to protect those who had worked with the military as translators. Plans to resettle Afghans as refugees seemed to be formulated in real time. The rights of women and girls which were suppressed under the Taliban’s previous time in power also appeared in jeopardy. And the lives of Christians, who according to official numbers only make up a miniscule number of the country’s nearly 40 million people, seem in peril as well. David Paiman is an Afghan pastor and evangelist. You can follow his ministry here. Paiman joined global media manager Morgan Lee and news editor Daniel Silliman to discuss how he converted from Islam to Christianity, the withdrawal’s consequences for the church in Afghanistan, and how we can best support the country and people during this time. What is Quick to Listen? Read more Rate Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Ted Olsen Follow David’s ministry on Facebook Music by Sweeps Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee and Matt Linder The transcript is edited by Faith Ndlovu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.1	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion. Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.
0:26.6	Earlier this year, Joe Biden announced that after close to 20 years, the United States would begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan.
0:28.6	Last week, as the military began its exit, Taliban was ready, and within days had seized control of the country.
0:35.6	Their ascent sparked widespread fear
0:38.5	and lent to thousands arriving at the airport,
0:40.7	only to find their flights out of the country
0:42.4	had been canceled.
0:44.3	Some even grabbed a hold of the aircraft in desperation.
0:47.7	Biden has defended the decision, arguing that.
0:50.4	Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed
0:56.3	sometime without trying to fight. If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced
1:03.1	that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision. That said,
1:08.8	he did concede that this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.
1:13.7	As the government fell, it was not clear if the U.S. had done anything to protect those who
1:17.2	had worked with the military's translators.
1:19.5	Plans to resettle Afghansas refugees seem to be formulated in real time.
1:23.6	The rights of women and girls, which were suppressed under the Taliban's previous time
1:26.8	in power, also appeared in jeopardy.
1:29.4	And the lives of Christians, who, according to official numbers, only make up a minuscule number of the country's nearly 40 million people seem in peril as well.
1:36.9	We wanted to discuss the situation, the church in Afghanistan, and how we can best support the country and its people during this time.
1:46.5	You are listening to Quick to Listen, where we go beyond hashtags and hot takes to discuss a major cultural event.
	...

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