Christians wonder: Why won't President Obama acknowledge Christian persecution in light of Oregon shooting?

US President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about the shootings in Oregon from the White House in Washington on Oct. 1, 2015.Reuters

The Christian community is wondering why US President Barack Obama—nearly a week after the massacre at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon—still has not acknowledged that the nine individuals gunned down by the lone assailant were Christians targeted because of their faith.

On Oct. 1, a gunman entered a classroom and started firing shots. The survivors recalled that the killer, who was reportedly a student in the class, first asked his fellow students one at a time if they were Christians. Those who answered "yes" were reportedly shot in the head, killing them instantly, while those who answered "no" or offered no answer were shot in the legs, leaving them wounded but still alive.

The Christian community is wondering if Obama would have responded differently if homosexuals or Muslims were the targets of that attack instead of Christians, according to Charisma News.

Christian community leaders have been calling on government leaders, particularly Obama, to publicly condemn the brutal act. But so far, there is only silence.

It is in this light that Christian activists will be laying "I Am Christian" signs outside the White House at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

"Any person singled out to be executed because of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or ANY other factor should be unequivocally condemned by our leaders and institutions. That is why it is so troubling that President Obama and the establishment press have been virtually silent on Christians being singled out for execution during the mass shooting in Oregon," said Reverend Patrick Mahoney, Pastor of the Church on the Hill and Director of Church on the Hill in Washington, D.C.

"It is difficult to believe that several days after the shooting, with the facts fully known, the White House has not addressed and condemned this targeting of Christians for execution because of their faith," he further said. "The Christian community is left to wonder what the response of President Obama would have been if a person had been asked if they were gay or Muslim and then shot in the head. Our sense is, if President Obama could call Michael Sam and Jason Collins and publicly congratulate them for being openly gay and professional athletes then he should at least publicly condemn the violent targeting of Christians for execution."