The weaponisation of religion as a tool of oppression is not limited to nations who call themselves Christian. Iran was cited in this article as an example of how its national government uses the Islamic faith as a pretext to silence its political opponents — the focus was on the government of Iran, not its citizenry. The current Indian nationalist government has been employing the Hindu religion for years as a means of curtailing its political detractors, especially if they adhere to another faith. I was in India five years ago and this was freely admitted by a number of Seventh-day Adventists whom I had conversed with, who have lived in that country all their lives — both ministers and laity. One does not need to refer to Western media sources to document these developments — the local press in those nations furnish the necessary evidence to prove the point.

“And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The reverse reading is true — where the Spirit of the Lord is not present, there is oppression, irrespective of country, race and creed. Human nature without Christ is the same the world over — history testifies of this. The world needs Jesus, and with it the liberty of the gospel which upholds freedom of conscience for every individual.