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radioWhen Christians are seen as subversive and enemies of the state.
The New Testament was a book written by the persecuted for the persecuted. Persecution has followed God's people since the very beginning - from Noah being labelled a fool for following God, through the plight of the Israelites under the Egyptians then the Persians, to Christ's own suffering and the subsequent persecution of the Christians until the present day.
Jesus said we would have persecution, '...if they persecuted me, then they will persecute you also.' (John 15: 20) and '...in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.' (John 16: 33).
The reason Jesus was persecuted was because He brought a new way, a new Kingdom, a revolution - but not in ways that people could comprehend. The religious order of the day defined the society - Judaism was under threat of losing its identity, being taken into the Roman Empire, Jesus posed a threat to national identity - just like today. In India Christianity is a threat to the Hindu identity they're trying to cultivate, in Sri Lanka Christianity is seen as a threat to the Buddhist national identity.
Jesus made the government and the rulers nervous as well - they couldn't comprehend this new Kingdom He spoke of. They were fearful that their control of the nation was being undermined. Just like today, places like North Korea, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and China - the state seeks to control life, but Christians aren't afraid and will only bow to God and will not worship the Leaders of the country. Christians are seen as subversive and enemies of the state.
Jesus also challenged the whole world by showing everyone's sinfulness. 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.' (John 15: 22) Just like at night our eye's become accustomed to the dark and we don't realise how dark it is until someone turns a light on, this hurts our eyes but we also realise how dark it was. Jesus is that light, and reveals how dark people's lives are. This is the challenge that the reality of Jesus brings and sometimes people don't like being challenged and react to that.
Here's a promise you won't find on a fridge magnet or a cute
book mark: 'In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2Timothy 3: 12) 
Open Doors supports the Persecuted Church in 45 countries around the world by: training church leaders and Christian workers; supplying Bibles and other Christian resources to Christians who either can't get a Bible or have difficulty; providing practical livelihood training and opportunities; visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering; and raising awareness of the difficulties facing persecuted Christians and mobilising prayer support throughout the western world.
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I am a fan of Open Doors and I much appreciated Brother Andrew's book about his dealings with the Israelis and the Palestinians.
This article makes an important point about the perceived clash between a national identity that identifies itself with a particular non-Christian religion and a new identity that people find in Christ.
My concern, though, is that the Christianity I see being propagated around the world today is usually expressed in American cultural terms rather than in local terms. Christians are very often seen as merely being cultural manipulators for American foreign policy.