to be prosecuted and persecuted and from place to place already. they ve lost their hope to go back. since the u.s.-led invasion in 2003, the christian community once estimated at more than a million has forced most to flee. under isis reign of terror, churches were vandalized and destroyed. the group boasted about it intends to wipe christianity from the land where it existed for centuries. but for me, as a priest, i don t have any i am not a fighter. because for the christian, for the believers, wherever they go, this is their holy land. two years ago we met this family who found sanctuary at st. mary s. this one room is all her family of five have to call home.
peter whacks off this guy s ear and jesus goes up to his enemy and heals his enemy. somehow we have lost that kind of compassion in that culture. i think young people are going to resonate with that kind of thing. jesus is attractive and irresistible if somebody will take a good look at him. there is another religious movie coming out called noah. it has not been well-received by the christian community. why do you think that is? unfortunately, a lot of christians are known for what they are against, not what they are for. i m going to go see the noah movie. at least it creates conversation. it is one of the reason we bought out the whole theater. christians are really good at criticizing hollywood. we ought to be the first people when hollywood does something well to jump on board and support it. pastor rajy johnston, it wasa
united nations workers in syria. report quotes iraqi intelligence officials who say the man is the head of the head of a powerful al qaeda group. this year one worker was kidnapped and held for eight months in syria. another two dozen u.n. peace keepers are briefly held, eventually released. 45 people killed in violence in iraq christmas day. two car bombs, killing 38 people in baghdad. one of those bombs was outside a christian church in baghdad, the christian community there is persecuted for some time since the war starts. the other bomb at an outdoor market in a christian neighborhood in baghdad. the u.s. embassy in baghdad condemned those attacks. police say terrorists targeted christians celebrating christmas. they are believed to be 500,000 christians in iraq, half of the number that lived in iraq a decade ago. the rest have fled.
rick: big story today, christian pastor who was sentenced to death in iran is now a free man. he was initially arrested for failing to renounce his christian faith. he was released today after spending more than three years behind bars. so why now? our middle east expert, good to see you, thanks for talking about this. what an amazing development for this pastor and for his wife and their two young children. why do you think this happened? it s really ironic that we re celebrating this wonderful news. it is wonderful news for the pastor, his family, the christian community at large. but you have to consider how upsetting it is that he was held to begin with and how many more individuals like him, christians, other persecuted marginalized groups in iran, photo journalists that are being held. and you question the timing of
violence. and the bottom line is, syria is not iraq. assad is not gadhafi. this is much tougher, it s also much more fragmented in terms of the opposition. the position isn t viable, it s not composed of syrian leaders, it s sporadic. if syria unravels, we ll get sectarian conflict between the sunnis and shiites, the christian community of about 2 million people will be in great trouble. we better play it cool. all right, dad. the book is strategic vision. get it for your kids. it s about their future. dr. zbigniew brzezinski. what s that, dad? dad, thank you very, very much. and david ignatius, thank you, as well. coming up, a first look at the new cover of time