Why Turkey Is Accusing an American Pastor of Terrorism

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Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2018

⏱️ 48 minutes

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Summary

Andrew Brunson had been ministering in Izmir, Turkey, for nearly a quarter of a century before it all changed. In 2016, the American pastor was arrested and thrown in jail, without knowing his charges and without bail. When Brunson’s trial finally started last month, he learned that he had been charged “of fueling unrest in the country through alleged involvement with exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an insurgent group.” Both movements are seen as enemies and threats to the Turkish government. Brunson is the “Christian pawn” in Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan’s political schemes, says Brian Stiller, the global ambassador for World Evangelical Alliance. Turkey wants the United States to extradite Gülen, making Brunson’s nationality a bonus for the regime, he suggested. While Brunson’s faith isn’t the only reason that he’s been singled out by the Turkish community, it does reinforce the fact that Turkey is a hard place for Christians, says Stiller. “It’s a country of 150 churches in a state that is 80 million people,” said Stiller. “You are a small minority. You are persecuted in many social and psychological ways.” Stiller joined associate digital media producer Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss how Turkey’s political unrest fueled Brunson’s arrest and why the Christian community is so fragmented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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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.
0:11.0	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at Apologeticsky.com.
0:29.4	Music Michael Del Rosario at Apologeticsguy.com. You're listening to Quick to Listen.
0:31.6	Each week we go beyond hashtags and hot takes to discuss a major cultural event.
0:36.1	I'm Morgan Lee, Associate Digital Media Producer
0:38.3	here at Christianity Today, and I'm with our editor-in-chief, Mark Galley.
0:41.8	Hey, Morgan. Good morning, Mark. Beautiful spring day. Yes, people are here to hear us talk about
0:46.8	the weather yet again. Exactly. Weather is really important in Chicago. Our listeners need to get
0:52.7	used to that idea. We think about it a lot.
0:55.6	All right. Thank you for everyone for bearing with us. All right, who is joining us today?
0:59.2	Joining us today is Brian Stiller. He's global ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance,
1:04.5	the Global Association, which represents some 600 million evangelical Protestants. He's the author
1:09.8	of 12 books, most recently, from Jerusalem to
1:12.4	Timbuktu, a global tour of the spread of Christianity, recently published with the
1:17.4	University Press. Welcome, Brian. Oh, good to be with you, too. And I'm in Toronto. We get the
1:23.2	aftermath of Chicago weather, so it's not a little topic here either.
1:28.5	Okay, yes, exactly.
1:29.9	I feel like it's kind of random that we caught you in Toronto, though,
1:32.7	because sometimes I'll read what you're writing and you're always in a different country.
1:36.3	My role is to travel the world.
1:39.8	We have the World Evangelical Alliance has about 130 national alliances.
	...

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