Outspoken Baptist Preacher Assassinated by Three Unidentified Men

A murder in South Asia may have added another name to the two-centuries-old list of martyred Christians. According to Radio Free Asia , on March 18, three unidentified assailants shot and killed 47-year-old Baptist…

IJR SyndicatedMar 31, 20243 min read

Sponsored

In February 2021, the junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Myanmar, formerly Burma. Since then, more than 4,000 people have lost their lives in a civil war that has created nearly 3 million refugees, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

But rebel groups have made progress this year, which could explain the timing of Li’s apparent assassination.

“The resistance groups have never been so strong against the junta,” one rebel commander said. “There is some sort of coordination between the resistance groups, and we are working towards making it better and much stronger with one aim — to throw the junta out of power and restore democracy.”

Coordination of interests and objectives has never been easy in a country populated by hundreds of ethnic groups. Thus, Myanmar’s future — democratic or otherwise — remains in doubt.

For this story’s full significance, however, one must look not to the future but to the past.

From the first Anglo-Burmese War of 1824-26 to the eve of World War II, the British ruled Burma as part of India. Burmese independence from British control came on Jan. 4, 1948.

Thanks to their long connection with the British Empire, the people of Burma — now Myanmar — learned about Christianity.

Although nearly three-fourths of modern Myanmar residents adhere to Buddhism, nearly 8 percent profess Christianity.

That number increases substantially in the northern states. In Li’s Kachin, for instance, roughly 34 percent of the people are Christians, per the Union of Catholic Asian News. The junta has targeted Christian villages and churches there.

Likewise, according to The Christian Post, Christians comprise an outright majority in Chin state, southwest of Kachin. There the junta “finds a target-rich environment for its operations.”

Small wonder, therefore, that the people of Chin and Kachin states have rebelled against a military junta that persecutes Christians.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

Li sought righteousness in a wicked world. Now, he has found peace with his Savior.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.