Christian girls beheaded on way to high school

This is why we need more people in international conflict resolution.

Three girls have been beheaded and another badly injured as they walked to a Christian school in Indonesia.

They were walking through a cocoa plantation near the city of Poso in central Sulawesi province when they were attacked.

This is an area that has a long history of religious violence between Muslims and Christians.

A government-brokered truce has only partially succeeded in reducing the number of incidents in recent years.

Police say the heads were found some distance from the bodies.

It is unclear what was behind the attack, but the girls attended a private Christian school and one of the heads was left outside a church leading to speculation that it might have had a religious motive.

Two or three other girls who were walking with these had their throats slit, but according to news reports they live. The region where the girls were beheaded has been a flashpoint for Christians-Muslim fighting and of Christian persecution. Voices of the Martyrs reports that 2003-2004 saw a series of assassinations of Christian pastors and leaders (no word on whether there was similar assassination of Muslim imams and leaders). VoM also blames Saudi money for funding radical mosques in the region, claiming that before the money started flowing there was less religious tension.

Kathy earlier had wondered what it meant that Jesus said "I have come not to bring peace but a sword." One might posit that this is the sword, distant as it seems to us in DC. Obviously I don't mean that Christ came to kill these girls, but if Christ was implying one of the outcomes of following Him would be violence (resulting from persecution) then few stories illustrate as vividly what so many of our sisters and brothers in the global body of Christ face.

You attend church, you go to school, you go to youth group. Maybe at some point you had an in-tears-praying experience, maybe you've just always grown up believing. One morning you're walking with your four friends to school, as you doubtlessly do every day. You might be a little nervous about a test. You might hope that that guy from the cricket team talks to you today. You might be tired of listening to "that girl" always talking about which boys like her, but you put up with her prattle because it's nice to have company on the walk.

Then six men dressed in black come at you. Maybe your first fear is of being mugged. You then realize this is more serious--will they rape? Why are they doing this--do you even suspect it has to do with your religion? Do you have any reason to fear your head being chopped off before you see their machetes? Maybe your life flashes before your eyes, maybe you get a prayer, maybe your faith is so strong that you aren't even afraid, and your prayer is "Lord Jesus, please forgive these men."

Maybe you only get halfway through.

According to the Italy-based news agency AsiaNews, the three deceased have been identified as:
15-year-old Yusriani Sampoe
16-year-old Theresia Morangke, and
19-year-old Alvita Polio.

The result of Christ might be a sword, but the same Christ, in the same gospel, said "blessed are the peacemakers." May Christ fill all of his vessels in Poso, Indonesia, and may our prayers be with them and with the families of Yusriani, Theresia, and Alvita.

(For more info on them, check ChristianPost and International Christian Concern.)