The high cost of following the Nazarene

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An unfamiliar symbol began showing up on social media pages late last month The curved line under a single dot is the Arabic letter “Nun,” reportedly used by militants in Iraq to mark the homes of Christians in the country

“Nun” stands for Nazarene, or Jesus

Extremists with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have forced Christians from their homes under threat of death The Iraqi believers and other religious minorities joined millions of Syrian refugees already displaced by civil war In a region rich with Christian history, many have noted, very little evidence of Christianity is left

The onslaught of persecution this summer has awakened many in the Western church to the needs of Christians around the world Many pastors and Christian organizations in July changed their Twitter avatars and Facebook profile photos to include the letter “Nun ”

They also used the hashtag #WeAreN as a show of solidarity with the persecuted believers

“The Islamic militants mean it for evil when they mark homes with ‘N’ for ‘Nazarene,’” wrote Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission “They as- the Arabic letter “Nun” in their social media presence to show solidarity with persecuted Christians in the Middle East sume it’s an insult, an emblem of shame Others once thought that of the cross

“But in that intended slight, we are reminded of who we are, and why we belong to one another, across the barriers of space and time and language and nationality We are Christians We are citizens of the New Jerusalem We are Nazarenes all ”

In Iraq, “There are no Christians left in Mosul ”

That’s how religious freedom advocate Nina Shea described conditions in Iraq’s second largest city in July

Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told CBN News that Islamic militants have eradicated virtually every trace of

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