2025-08-09-letter-to-western-christians
AUTHOR: Mayssam
A letter from a Lebanese Maronite to American and Western Christians “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:26
Western Christians are told to fear the Middle East, that it is full of monsters, suicide bombers, and desert dwellers. But no one reminds them: this is the Land of Christ.
Or is it meant for you to forget?
I believe so.
They’ve turned the birthplace of our Savior into a graveyard in your mind. They’ve told you that we are different, dangerous, not worth praying for. That we are already lost.
But I write to you from Lebanon, from the land of Maron, St. Charbel and the monks of the Kadisha Valley, from the land of incense and blood, to say: we are still here. We are still praying. We have not forgotten you, even as you forget us.
Much of Western media tells you there are no Christians in the Middle East or that we are protected! We are not - in fact, we have been systematically eradicated by the deep state. While our media tells us to hate you in return. And between those two lies, a thousand years of communion are quietly erased.
But I say again: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26).
I pray to God, in the name of Jesus Christ, that this letter finds you and your beloved in good health, spirit, mind, and body. I also pray that if any of the above are lacking, our Lord carries you in His everlasting grace and mercy. It has been a long time since we, Eastern and Western Christians, have talked. So, kindly allow me to share some words about the world today and how we see it.
- The Age of the Spirit
This isn’t just a political crisis or a cultural war. Something deeper is unraveling and we all feel it.
Secularism parades as compassion. Extreme Islam is rising. Zionism is on a rampage. Christianity is under attack! Have no doubt in your mind that the devil has one and only enemy - The Son of God.
We see ethnic extremism in Syria, Israel and churches reduced to rubble, funded by Christians who forgot Christ.
And behind it all are men in robes and suits—priests, imams, rabbis, presidents—who smile as they guide millions into the pit.
And still, we remember our Lord has told us everything and more!
[Maybe potential picture of destroyed church in Gaza]
What happened to us?
I think at this point, it is safe to say we live in different worlds, maybe even universes apart.
But we are still the same body. We desperately need to remember that before the division becomes permanent.
And perhaps... We've both believed the lies.
Facing this abyss for more than 1000 years—even before the Ottomans—we, Eastern Christians, are taught that we are unable to face such questions alone, that we cannot be any different alone. The more we live in the world, the more we are tainted, and the more we feel the need to draw back, to seclude ourselves with the Lord—surrendering fully in deep prayer and contemplation of our sins.
Allow me to share some of our experiences. Facing this abyss for more than 1000 years—even before the Ottomans—we, Eastern Christians, are taught that we are unable to answer such questions alone. The more we live in the world, the more we are tainted, and the more we feel the need to draw back, to seclude ourselves with the Lord, surrendering fully in deep prayer and contemplation of our sins. I know my brothers and sisters, that these words might sound weak. In fact, many Christians even have a lot to say about “turning the other cheek”. Yet, allow me brothers and sisters, to remind us of a fact we all know: That the only true strength that we can attain, is to look at the abyss - that is this world - and realize that there is nothing or no one ever worth trusting other than Christ himself. Everything will fall, everything decays and that is not spiritual talk - that is the concept of “Entropy” - Physics. Then why do we think it’s “strength” to rely on anything else? Especially when we have THE ONE? Even if it looks like surrender, because it is! aren’t we supposed to surrender to the Lord? We are not surrendering to the earthly powers attacking us - we are surrendering our existence to the Lord himself! Isn't this what the first Christians did when they were thrown to the Lions in the Roman colosseum? And what did they do? They didn't fight back. They sang! They sang to the Lord! And what was the result? Imagine a minority, living under potentially the most ruthless empire ever existed - The Romans and the radical Jews. And imagine that this minority had no resources whatsoever. But more importantly, when they met, violence and/or retaliation was OFF THE TABLE. Tell me brothers and sisters, how does it make any sense, that a minority who was singing when being fed to the Lions and burned as torches in the streets! Survived? Let alone FILL THE EARTH? Obviously, sense, rationality and any other similar terms can’t answer such question. In fact, Imagine if we could understand God only with our rationality? Would he still be God?! Wouldn't we at least expect that God is bigger than any human capability/tool that we might have? I know that here, we at least agree on this, and to think otherwise; is simply the sin of “Pride.” Brother and sisters, don’t take my words, please inquire about the early Christians, inquire how all this happened! Maybe I am missing something? But please do also inquire, and see if this has happened to any other group in history.
And when you do, I know the peace you will feel, the strength you will attain, The depth of your surrender - In Peace, In Christ. 3. The Real Battle
So what do we do now?
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12).
The battle is spiritual. It always has been.
Through this verse, the Holy Spirit guides us to remember that issues in life are multilayered; and the more complex an issue is, the more the layers.
Addressing any issue through a spiritual lens provides the deepest diagnosis and most enduring solution, because it targets the foundational beliefs and values that shape culture, drive economic behavior, and inform political systems. By transforming the root, we naturally influence and realign all layers above. As Christians, we know that the devil’s greatest weapon is to "desensitize" us. Lower our resistance to Sin! And we have all fallen short!
Yet, allow me to attempt to highlight the depth of the spiritual warfare specifically in the USA:
USA has surpassed 65 million abortions per year. USA has the largest growth for Sanatism in the world. Young girls don’t need to run away from home for pornography - They can do it at home - OnlyFans. Largest number of “conversion therapy” clinics in the world - mutilating young boys and girls to change sex. Largest centre for “systematic and Institutionalized” child trafficking in HISTORY. American pastors worship Israel as the body of God - NOT JESUS. Matt. 6-24 - It is pretty clear which master was chosen. USA, for the last century, is the deep state's main weapon to destroy Christianity.
Two questions arise: How and Why USA?
Why USA?: The devil never attacks the weak - He understands the American Chrsitian potential and is out there for blood - and he is massively succeeding.
How?: This was achieved through the most dangerous and sophisticated psychological, medical and spiritual warfare known to man - and we all know it.
The devil has convinced you to worship freedom - everything in the name of freedom is permissible. I am not saying Freedom is not important but I am saying it is NOT more important than love. Allow me to give some examples:
If I love my wife the way Christ told me to - do I have the freedom to cheat on her? If I love my children, my friends - Will I stay silent while they hurt themselves? If my brother is a drug addict - Should I give him the freedom to stay on his path? If I value honesty, do I have the freedom to deceive those who trust me? - Business is Business…Bro.
Or does Love order me to step in and try to stop him EVEN when it means that I might lose him as a brother and friend?
Isn’t that what Christ meant when he said: ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Matt. 10-35.
Love conquers all - Love conquers through sacrifice not Killing! That is why we must turn the other cheek!
Isn’t this how he conquered the world?
Tell me brothers and sisters - what is harder for you to do?
Have the state cut our hand if you steel - Muslim Law
Or
Have the courage and discipline to cut it yourself: “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matt. 5:30
What more must he tell us to understand where freedom stands in Christianity and what are his “discipline” requirements!
My brothers and sisters, Christianity is made only for warriors!
Rebel on your sins Proclaim the truth Wake up to the lies and deceits Read everything through the spiritual lens. Go beyond your desires for money and fame - Seek the Kingdom of Heaven above all!
You are losing your souls - you are losing your nation! And we need you!
You cannot see clearly without prayer. You cannot discern truth in a world ruled by false prophets unless you retreat to silence. We’ve forgotten how to listen for God’s voice because the noise is constant. Twitter is not the Holy Spirit. The news will not save you.
We are taught to discern by the fruit. But the world is noisy, and truth is subtle. It is only in prayer, only in solitude with Christ, that we begin to see clearly. And when we do, the first thing we see is our own darkness.
Ask yourself: How can we recognize the suffering of others if pride blinds us to our own sin?
There has only ever been one innocent man in history—and they crucified Him.
The rest of us are sinners. We forget this at our own peril.
Here in the East, we were taught - through the trials - to empty ourselves of all worldly illusions. Not to become monks but to become men with monks in them. To kill the false self. To invite the Holy Spirit to invade what’s left.
C.S. Lewis warned us: being “good” is not enough. The devil will hand you good morals if it keeps you from surrender to Jesus Christ. Lewis explains that being "merely good" without turning to God can be twisted into self-righteousness, pride, or complacency. Being a “good person” in the eyes of the world is not the same as being a holy person before God.
Here, Lewis awakens us to our reality and why the Lord called us the salt of the earth. We are invited to be transformed into beings who reflect His own nature. He continues and explains that God requires full surrender, not mere external morality! A surrender that kills our old self to resurrect our true self in Christ.
We are called to measure people not by worldly success, but rather by the depth of the spirit attained through constant redemption, praying for our sins and shortcomings before all. Calvin said it: “We shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own.”
So ask yourself, dear brother, dear sister: when did you last see your own sin with open eyes? 4. The Call Back Home
Here, I kindly invite you to read about the history of Lebanon’s Kadisha Valley, the Maronite monks martyrs, St. Maron and his great disciple St. Charbel!
Pray alone. Fast without posting about it. Sit in silence for an hour, a day, a week. Let the monk in you awaken.
When you fast and pray in solitude, away from news cycles and political noise, the Holy Spirit reveals truths that escape those caught in worldly systems. You begin to see how the same spirit operates whether it's persecuting Christians in Syria or covering up trafficking networks in America.
I write this not as a saint but a man who is too weak to become a monk. And yet, in that weakness, I found something unshakeable.
This is spiritual warfare. When we detach from the Leviathan's distractions, we can see clearly and act with divine wisdom. For how can we truly submit to Him? How can we truly surrender ourselves to His will? How can we invite the Holy Spirit to invade us if we do not, at least from time to time, seclude ourselves in prayer and devotion to Him?
In the Middle East, we still long for you. We long for your strength and your voice. This is a prayer to listen to us, to speak with us directly, without intermediaries or distorted narratives. We want to hear your voices not filtered through NGOs or think tanks or even donations where we never meet face to face, but in truth. We want communion.
Even when we cannot speak—when silence stretches across oceans—we remain united in the Spirit. There is still time to remember what makes us one.
We do not need to defend Christ. Think of it, how can he be all powerful, if he needs us?! For anything? He doesn't need us! He loves us, a personal invitation to join him in HIS KINGDOM with our own free will! For how can we love someone and not give them Freedom?
God is Love!
We need to come to Him.
And in coming, we will be made whole. Take up your cross. Love your enemy. Speak truth in love. Trust His timing. And above all: remember us.
He already won.