Steven Garofalo
Spirituality/Belief • Education • News
CHRISTIANS PERSECUTED IN TURKEY AND THE GOOD NEWS!
By Steven Garofalo, May 31, 2024 (Copyright 2024)
May 27, 2024

In an article titled, “Christians banned and facing persecution in Turkey” by ADF, “The Alliance Defending Freedom”, the largest International Legal Firm in the world, we are learning just how persecuted Christians in Turkey have become.

Today, I am gong to read from this well written article-facts on the ground, some testimonial stories, and how you can help turn things around in Turkey. let’s get started! 
DF writes that: Multiple Christians previously residing in Turkey, including Pam and Dave Wilson, Rachel and Mario Zalma, David Byle and others, have appealed their cases regarding their being forced to minister to Christians in Turkey and share their Christian faith with others to the European Court of Human Rights. 

>>> To give you an idea as to the impact ADF is having for Christians in Turkey and the world, ADF International is also supporting over 20 additional cases in domestic courts in Turkey among other nations.

>>> THE

STUNNING STATISTICS
Advocacy Team: Lidia Rieder Reports that: The number of Christians in Turkey has diminished from 20 percent to 0.2 percent of the population in the last 100 years. An estimated 99% of the 83 million strong population identify as Muslim. Although Turkey does not have a constitutionally recognized state religion, its government is increasingly marked by Islamization and nationalism, which creates challenges for religious minorities, particularly Christians. 

In recent years, the government has been specifically targeting foreign Christian workers despite their lawful and often decades-long residence in Turkey. Between 2020 and 2023, the Turkish government placed entry bans on or expelled at least 160 foreign workers and their families. New entry bans are being issued all the time.  

Turkish authorities are branding Christians with so-called “N-82” or “G-87” security codes, which are used to label a person as a “threat to public order and security”. These effectively function as entry bans into the country. The government is wielding these codes to prevent missionary activity in the country. Through the government’s strategic use of these codes, the files with alleged “evidence” against these Christian workers become classified, thus rendering any appeals processes non-transparent and effectively paralyzing domestic legal recourse.  

The 2022 Human Rights Violations Reportpresented by the Protestant Church Association records 185 people who have been arbitrarily branded with the N-82-code, preventing them from entering Turkey solely on the basis of their Christian faith. ADF International is supporting over 30 such cases before The European Court of Human Rights.  

 “It is concerning that we are witnessing increasing displays of hostility, particularly towards foreign Christians, in Turkey. These deliberate attempts to stifle the spreading of Christianity violate religious freedom."  
- Lidia Rieder, Legal Officer for ADF International   

Christian Persecution in Turkey
The persecution of Christians is increasing across the world, and Turkey is no exception. Christians are the most persecuted religious group internationally, and yet this issue receives limited attention from the international community. In Turkey, the government is systematically targeting Christians and their families by banning their reentry into the country, despite their long-term legal residence. Turkey also has systemically shut down Christian seminaries, forcing the Christian community in Turkey to rely heavily on foreign pastors. The entry bans on foreign Christian workers are therefore designed to put a stranglehold on the spread of Christianity in Turkey.  
“It is shocking that a country as advanced as Turkey is now treating foreign Christians who have committed no crimes as terrorists—simply for sharing their faith. 

We urge the Turkish government to cease these discriminatory practices, which show blatant contempt for religious freedom and amount to flagrant violations of the rights and norms outlined in international agreements, including the European Convention on Human Rights to which Turkey is a party and founding member of the drafting Council,” said Kelsey Zorzi, Director of Global Religious Freedom for ADF International. 

CASE STUDY #1: Dave and Pam Wilson
US-missionary couple Pam and David Wilson were banned from Turkey after living there lawfully for nearly four decades. 

Dave arrived in Istanbul in 1980 and took on the leadership of the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC), a ministry begun by Operation Mobilization. His ministry carried out door-to-door evangelism by passing out Gospel tracts and invitations to Bible studies. Pam moved to Ankara in 1984 with a church planting team after having felt a call from God to go to Turkey a year prior. 

Dave and Pam met in 1986 and married in 1988. After getting married, they continued to minster to those in Turkey. Throughout the years, they faced several attempts at deportation by authorities targeting them for their missionary activity. With the help of legal intervention, they were able to remain in the country legally by obtaining the necessary visas and residence permits.  
In early February 2019, however, Dave and Pam left Turkey to spend the Christmas holidays with family in the US. When they returned to Turkey, they were told at the Istanbul airport that they had both deportation orders and entry bans imposed on them.  

Two weeks later, one of their team members received the same entry ban. It became clear that Dave and Pam’s ban was more than an isolated incident. Soon thereafter, Dave, Pam, and two of their team members learned that an additional code, called G-87—a designation generally only assigned to terrorists—had been issued for all of them.  
On 13 July 2021, ADF International filed an ECtHR application against Turkey on behalf of the Wilsons. Their case is pending before Europe’s highest court.  
Rachel and Mario Zalma* 

CASE STUDY #2: In 2009, British couple Rachel and Mario Zalma* (*pseudonyms) moved to Istanbul to support a new Christian church community. They invested significant time in learning the language, history, and customs of the local people. Desiring to bless their neighbourhood, their church offered free English classes and a parent-child playgroup. Donations from their annual Christmas fair went to local charities.   

In 2018, the Zalmas heard word of other Christians barred from entering Turkey after returning from trips to their home countries. Turkish authorities had begun branding Christians with the N-82 security code, a security designation intended to label a person as a “threat to public order and security”.  

Then in 2019, sometime after the Zalmas attended the Family Conference of the Association of Turkish Protestant Churches, these stories became a reality for them too. Before leaving for a trip to the UK, Mario was stopped by the police and informed that he also had been labeled with the N-82 code. “It was terrible not knowing what would happen to him. I heard the officers whispering that we were probably terrorists. I was devastated to experience such mistrust, even though we only wanted to do good for the people there,” Rachel remembers. The police let Mario stay in Turkey to challenge the order in court.  

But in June 2020, Rachel also received the code. Before the police had a chance to deport them, the Zalmas decided to return to England themselves and take legal action to challenge the code designation. As a result of documents produced during the Zalmas’ court proceedings, it has come to light that the Zalma’s case is not isolated. Other Christians in attendance at the 2019 Family Conference of the Association of Turkish Protestant Churches have been met with the same fate.  

With the support of ADF International, Rachel and Mario have now brought their case before the European Court of Human Rights.  
David Byle 

CASE STUDY #3: David Byle, a Christian minister living in Turkey, was forced to leave the country he had called home for 19 years simply because he shared his faith. He and his wife had raised their five children in Turkey and had become close-knit members of the community. 

David faced an unjust deportation decision in 2016 and challenged the legality of the move in court. Though he had been granted an injunction that allowed him to stay until the decision in the case was delivered, David was unexpectedly taken into custody and interrogated by the police. He thereafter left the country and learned that the authorities imposed an N-82 code on him, effectively banning him from ever reentering the country. 

The Byles now reside in Germany. In a letter dated 5 May 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) declined to hear David’s case. An ADF International allied lawyer is now seeking to initiate a new case in Turkey to challenge his entry ban as his visa application was rejected again in 2022 and five years have passed since the imposition of the code.  

ALARMINGLY, THERE ARE A Growing Number of Cases: Unfortunately, there is a growing number of similar cases. ADF International has partnered with Turkish lawyers to support over 20 cases currently making their way through the domestic courts. The clients in these cases have lived in Turkey for significant periods of time, often a decade or longer, prior to being banned from the country. Most of them have deep family ties to Turkey as their spouses and children were born and raised in the country. 

Although the codes given to these religious workers are reserved for individuals who pose national security threats, these clients have no criminal records, and the government has produced no evidence against them. They are solely targeted by Turkish authorities for following God’s call on their lives to minister to the people of Turkey. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can make a huge difference by first praying for Turkish Church and Christians in Turkey. Pray for the leaders in Turkey, that their hearts would be softened and changed and show favor towards Christians in Turkey. Pray for the safety and freedom of missionaries, pastors, and Christians in Turkey. LASTLY, you can support the efforts for Religious Freedom by ADF by making a donation to them at ADFInternational.Org. 

LASTLY, please allow me to encourage you with the Truth. God is on the throne and He is all powerful, loving, just God and He is “THE TRUTH”. As such, He should not, cannot and will not be stopped regarding His Word being preached throughout Turkey. It’s a fact that the church is already starting to grow back rapidly through secret house churches. And that is a great thing. Let’s keep up the valiant work of the evangelist, disciples, teacher, preacher and servant in Turkey until the Gospel flows more freely in light of the true God of the universe. In the interim, please be in prayer for the Turkish Christians and Church and help support www.ReasonForTruth.org/Donate in our International efforts to EQUIP and Encourage the Church in America, Europ, Central/South America and abroad.

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SHOULD CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDERER GET THE DEATH PENALTY
By Steven Garofalo, September 12, 2025 (Copyright 2025)

THE DEATH PENALTY FOR CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER?

Over the past week we have seen a young Ukrainian lady stabbed in the neck - murdered in cold blood by a deranged serial repeat offender who was let out of jail by writing a hand written note stating that he would be a good boy and not do that again. Her crime was simply riding the subway in Charlotte, NC. 

The criminal murderer had been arrested 14 times and let out by a judge that never passed the bar and I believe never even went to law school. She was a DEI activist judge. So what should have been his punishment?

Then there is the assasination of a Charlie Kirk. What should become of him once caught?

The Bible is very clear as to the answer to the question regarding punishment for first degree murder (speaking of humans only). I want to address this issue today for all of mankind, but especially for us as Christians. Before get jump in, I want to make clear that Christians should NEVER defy God’s Word in light of secular of secular thinking or how we feel about taking the life of a human being who pre-meditatively took the innocent life of another human being-who by the way are made in God’s image.

In order to make this not about my opinion, let’s go to what God through His word (the Holy Bible Scriptures) says from the very beginning of time as to what is to be the punishment or response administered to one who commits first degree murder. First degree murder by its very legal definition is to take an innocent life knowingly and premeditated. This is what I want to address in today’s episode. I want to digress for one brief moment in addressing the government authorities who have and continue to fail to do their job by simply incarcerating (putting and keeping criminals in jail) for the safety of the general, innocent public. That’s the more difficult question to answer-but I see it as negligence and possibly an accessory to homicide in many if not most all cases. 

So, the more more difficult question to answer is what ought be the legal and civil liability for judges, governors and other positions of power if those judges (who are acting negligently) results in the loss of human life, meaning the murder of innocent citizens by way of criminals that should have been locked up but were let out uprightly. This is gross neglegence of their part in letting these repetitive law breakers and monsters out of jail with zero cash bond or on things like a written note to behave like a good girl or boy as was the case in the North Carolina man-arrested 14 times, and who ended up murdering a young 23 year old Ukrainian woman on the Charlotte, NC subway simply because he was let out of jail on zero bond for writing a nice promise to the so called non-layer “judge” that he would stop being a bad boy and behave himself as some form of demented bond for his release. That question is yet to be debated but the Bible addresses that question as well when resulting in physical harm or loss or damage to property. Perhaps we will leave that for another day. Let’s get back to the Bible and the death penalty.

The problem with modern Christians is that they see the Bible as an ancient document, somewhat disconnected from biblical truths. In other words, many if not most modern people claiming to Christian don’t see the Bible as the ultimate Standard for right or wrong, but a nice book they can choose and pick from according to how they might feel about a particular subject.

The problem problem with modern “Christianity” is that it’s often distorted and it’s considered extreme by many for Christians to think and act biblically. 

My response this is that society and secular thinking in such cases is not moderate but extreme itself in allowing criminals to repeat crime at more extreme levels. Sadly, in some cases, such thinking results in murder and the loss of innocent life. This is what God gave us as to the consequence of shedding innocent blood in murder. Don’t get me wrong, mercy and forgiveness are very important, but we are to show mercy and forgiveness without forgoing God’s commands. We can forgive the person and still hold them to the physical consequence of the death penalty-and we should. Let’s now take a look at what God tells us about the death penalty from the very start of the Bible, starting in the Book of Genesis, chapter 9.

Genesis 9:5-6 (ESV)
“5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

In other words, God makes clear in the very beginning of time-in the beginning of the Bible, that homocide (first degree murder) demands a punishment that matches the crime. The justification for capital punishment, here established, is the nobility of human life… “FOR GOD MADE MAN (and woman) IN HIS OWN IMAGE”. Thus murder shows contempt for God Himself as well as for one’s fellow man. What Genesis 9 is not saying is that the death penalty is to applied to a person who accidentally ran a red light and killed another person. That still hold consequences, it not the death penalty. That’s a different discussion for a different episode.

THE POWER TO ADMINISTER THE DEATH PENALTY

To be clear, the power to administer capital punishment does not lie with us as individuals or any entity outside of the authority and power of governmental. Romans 13:3-4 makes clear of that, saying:

“3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”

HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS VIEW THE DEATH PENALTY?

FIRST: We must understand and accept that God has instituted capital punishment (the death penalty, not man.) It would be arrogant and presumptuous to think that we could instituted and/enforce or fail to enforce a higher standard than God commanded. After all, God is perfect and as such, has provided us the highest Standard of any being. And this standard applies not only to us as His created beings but also to God Himself due to the fact that He is all good and perfect.

God is Love as well Infinite in His essence and attributes. As such, He loves to an Infinite degree. We should also understand that God has wrath as an infinite degree, and He maintains this in perfect balance. 

SECOND: As Christians (and all human beings ), we must recognize and accept that God has given us government as the authority as we discussed for administering capital punishment, and determine when the death penalty should be applied according to God’s Word. This better ensures that innocent or people undeserving of the death penalty are not put to death wrongfully (see Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7). 

IN CLOSING

Let’s be clear that it’s unbiblical to clam that God opposes the death penalty in all instances. On the flip side, Christians should not rejoice when the death penalty is employed. We can feel the satisfaction of God’s justice being implemented and upheld but we should not rejoice, meaning we ought not celebrate the death of another human being, despite their terrible crime(s). 

In the end, Christians out not fight against or picket or push back the government’s right to execute the perpetrators of the most terrible crimes, especially when involving first degree murder when it’s deserved.

It’s emotionally nice to want to extend mercy and many Christian’s defy God’s Word regarding the death penalty. In such cases, Christian are not only wrong but in defiance of God’s Word. The only answer I have as to why a Christian would do such a thing is that they have compitulated to culture insted of helping form, influence and change the world according to God’s Word. In closing I want to remind everyone of one simple truth in that God does not move to us as His created creation. Instead, we, mankind (meaning all humans-both man and woman) move to Him. He is unmovable. 

Malachi 3:6
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

AND SO SHOULD WE AS CHRISTIANS: 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
“58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain…”

Will you chose to see these verses and the entire Bible as your guide for living and what is right and wrong or will you pick which Scriptures you like or dislike and make yourself the god of the Bible as opposed to God?

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Not Serpents of Skin, but From The Falsehood Of Sin: Uncoiling The Ending of Mark’s Gospel
By Del Potter, M.A.A. (Copyright 2025)

Not Serpents of Skin, but From The Falsehood Of Sin: Uncoiling The Ending of Mark’s Gospel

By Del Potter, M.A.A. August 27, 2025

Opening Remarks

From the outset, this article is NOT contending whether or not the ending of Mark 16 should be included. Although, it is in my humble opinion that some of the strange language in the ending of Mark actually affirms the truthfulness of the events inserted into the ending of Mark. There are several striking words in Mark's longer ending (Mark 16:17–18):

“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them...”

As a first impression, the imagery suggests a miraculous ability to resist snakes and poison. It is nevertheless important to note that serpents and poison consistently function within Jewish, Biblical, and early Christian thought as symbols of false teaching and spiritual corruption, not simply physical danger.


Serpents in Scripture: Symbols of Deception

From the beginning of Genesis through Revelation, the serpent is never merely zoological—it is the archetype of deceit. In Genesis 3, the serpent slithers into the Garden not to bite with fangs, but to inject Eve with poisonous doubt about God’s word. Later Jewish wisdom literature follows this thread:

  • Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 21:2: “Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest too near it, it will bite thee.”
  • Psalm 140:3: “They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers.”

This same imagery flows into the New Testament:

  • Matthew 23:33: Jesus calls the Pharisees a “brood of vipers,” not because of biology, but because of false teaching.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:3: Paul warns that, just as the serpent deceived Eve, so false teachers corrupt the simplicity of Christ.
  • Revelation 12:9: John describes Satan as a serpent “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Therefore, when Mark refers to "serpents" and "deadly poison," his Jewish-Christian readers would have recognized the metaphor: heresy slithering into the church among the people with its false doctrine poisoning the entire church (2 Peter 2:1).


The Poison Of Heresy: A Dangerous Drink

The early Church frequently described heretical teaching as venom or poison. Ignatius of Antioch warned the Trallians:

“I therefore, yet not I, but the love of Jesus Christ, entreat you that ye use Christian nourishment only, and abstain from herbage of a different kind; I mean heresy. For those [that are given to this] mix up Jesus Christ with their own poison, speaking things which are unworthy of credit, like those who administer a deadly drug in sweet wine, which he who is ignorant of does greedily take, with a fatal pleasure leading to his own death.” (Letter to the Trallians 107 A.D.).

This language reflects the very pattern of Mark 16—poisonous teaching disguised as nourishment. The faithful, however, are promised preservation: “it will not harm them.” The believer, rooted in Christ, can discern and resist corruption.

No early Christian expressed this more vividly than Tertullian of Carthage (c. 200 AD). In his treatise Scorpiace, he likens heresy to venomous creatures:

  • Heresy “creeps into the church like a scorpion,” injecting spiritual poison.
  • The faithful must resist with the antidote of Scripture, wielded like the staff of Moses against the serpents of Egypt.

Tertullian believed that the danger was not from reptiles in the marketplace, but rather from false teachers within the church. Similarly, heresy pierces the souls of believers in a quiet and lethal manner, just as the scorpion stings unseen. As a result, he viewed Christ's promise in Mark not as a test of reckless physical stunts, but as a promise that the faithful will not suffer from the venom of falsehood if armed with the truth. As Paul rightly reminds his audience:

 "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (i.e. snakes & poisons)." - Ephesians 6:11


Mark’s Ending and the beginning of the Early Church

NT writers wrote within a culture steeped in metaphor. The early church never staged snake-handling rituals to “prove” faith. Instead, they testified by enduring persecution, refuting heresy, and preserving sound doctrine.

The apologetic force of Mark 16 is not spectacle—it is survival. The church would face vipers in pulpits, scorpions in councils, and poison in doctrine. Yet Christ promises: “These things will not harm you.”

Just as in the first century, serpents and scorpions creep into the church today—not in the form of reptiles, but in the form of false witnesses, compromised truth, and distorted gospels. The call of Mark 16 is not to chase miracles, but to guard against lies.

In a world full of theological poison, the believer’s protection is not daredevil faith, but faithful discernment: Scripture, the Spirit, and the witness of the saints.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers [i.e. snakes] among you, who will secretly introduce destructive [i.e. poison] heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” - 2 Peter 2:1


Closing Remarks

The ending of Mark’s Gospel, far from a literal dare, is a prophetic warning and promise:

  • Serpents = false teachers.
  • Poison = heretical doctrines.
  • The promise = Christ’s people, if grounded in truth, will not be overcome.

Tertullian’s scorpions, Ignatius’ poison, Paul’s vipers, and Jesus’ own words unite: the greatest danger to the church is not fangs and venom in the field, but lies and venom in the pulpit.

In Christ, the Church endures—immune not to biology, but to blasphemy.

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MAN'S PROBLEM-"HIDDENESS"
By Del Potter, M.A.A., August 16, 2025

The Problem Is With Man's Hiddenness Toward God, Not Vice-Versa

Why Doesn’t God Make His Existence Unmistakably Clear to Everyone?

One of the most common objections to faith is: “If God is real, why doesn’t He just show Himself beyond all doubt?” Skeptics ask why God doesn’t write His name in the sky or make His presence undeniable. But Scripture, reason, and the earliest witnesses of the Church tell us a different story: God has already made Himself known, yet it is humanity that hides.

God’s Self-Revelation in Creation

Scripture consistently teaches that God’s fingerprints are everywhere. The Apostle Paul writes:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Psalm 19:1 echoes this truth: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

Job reminds us that creation itself—beasts, birds, earth, and sea—all testify to the Creator:

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7–10)

God’s existence, then, is not hidden. It is written into the very structure of reality. As St. Athanasius later argued, creation itself acts as a universal witness, speaking of God’s power to every culture and language without need for words.

Why Does God Seem Hidden?

The real issue is not divine silence but human resistance. Moses records God saying:

“I will surely hide My face in that day, because of all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.” (Deuteronomy 31:18)

This is not a statement about God being unknowable but about mankind turning its back to Him. God’s “hiddenness” is a moral and relational reality, not an intellectual one. As Isaiah wrote:

“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” (Isa. 59:2)

Early Christians echoed this. Justin Martyr argued that those who live according to reason (logos) recognize the true God through creation and conscience. Clement of Alexandria explained that ignorance of God is not due to His absence, but due to the blindness of the soul enslaved to passions.

The Attributes of God are Revealed According To His Nature.

If God were to force belief by overwhelming proof, He would violate the very nature of faith and love. Love cannot be compelled; it requires freedom. Blaise Pascal later captured this well: “There is enough light for those who desire to see, and enough darkness for those who do not.”

The early Church understood that God provides evidence sufficient for faith, but not coercion. Origen taught that God “gives signs to those who are willing to see, but hides from those who shut their eyes.” This allows space for genuine seeking, humility, and love—rather than forced acknowledgment.

God Is Not Hidden—We Are

When people ask, “Why doesn’t God make Himself clear?” the biblical answer is: He already has. The problem is not with God’s silence but with our ears. The witness of creation, conscience, Scripture, and Christ Himself leaves us without excuse.

It is not God who hides, but man who hides from God—just as Adam and Eve once hid in the Garden. And yet, even then, God sought them, calling out: “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9).

The same God still calls today through the beauty of creation, the testimony of Scripture, and the living Christ. The question is not whether God is clear enough but whether we are willing to see Him more clearly!

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

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