RADICAL HINDUS ATTACK CHRISTIANS

Grant Swank* | February 27, 2008

Filed Under Conservative Musings, General Politics

J. Grant Swank, Jr.

Is it just “another Christian story”? Often media considers attacks against Christians as just that; therefore, little reporting is forthcoming.

However, facts must be reported worldwide.

Per CWN News Reporter George Thomas: “It’s been three weeks since Hindu radicals launched a brutal attack against Christians in the Indian state of Orissa.

“Hundreds of homes and churches were destroyed.

“More than 2,000 Christians are in refugee camps. Hundreds more are hiding in the jungles for fear of another attack.

“For the past several weeks, Indian authorities have not allowed journalists, religious leaders or aid workers to travel to some of the most affected villages.

“But with the help of local contacts, CBN News got a first-hand look at communities gripped with fear and anxiety.”

Christians are not only threatened by extremist Islamics but Hindus. Often the world regards Hinduism as peaceful toward Christians. What is fact is that Hindus frequently undercut Christians and their work as vehemently as extremist Muslims. This is especially true in India. The carnage is nothing new.

“’As the mob was destroying our churches, I could hear them chanting ‘victory to our Hindu gods,’” said Solomon Naya, a pastor in Kandhamal.

“’All we could do was hide in our homes and pray.’”

Christian evangelism is considered anathema by many Hindus. Distribution of Bibles, speaking of Christ, establishing church buildings are considered affronts to many Hindus.

There are occasions when extremist Hindus leaders manufacture incidents relating to Christians provoking trouble. Locals believe these untruths and that starts the attacks against Chastens. Attacks escalate and spread.

“More than 700 homes were destroyed in three days of fighting.

“’They burned everything that I had,’ said Obed Diggal, a resident in Kandhamal District. ‘This is all I have left, what I’m wearing.’ Four people lost their lives.

“’I saw my grandfather burned to death right in front of my eyes, and I could do nothing to save his life,’ said Nabaghana Naik, another resident of Kandhamal District.

“Across this district, church after church became targets for the raging mob.

“’They warned us not to spread the love of God and not to tell others about Jesus,’ said Sunderson Digal while standing on what is left of his small village church. Digal’s church is just one of the close to 100 churches that were destroyed in the attacks that began on December 23.

“Despite all of the violence and destruction, all of the residents that CBN News spoke with said that in due course, these churches will all be rebuilt.”

Christians know that Christ warned they would be hated as He was hated. They also know that Hindus do not know Christ personally and therefore do not know His saving grace.

Consequently, Christians continue to continue, believing that their Christian relatives and friends who have been slain are in heaven. They also believe that Christ will honor their persistence in rebuilding their churches.

“Sajan George, who heads the Global Council of Indian Christians, was asked if he had any evidence that the violent onslaught was a coordinated and planned attack.

“’This was well-coordinated, well-orchestrated because it has happened in 80 different places,’ he replied. Dr. Sajan’s organization documents the persecution of Christians in India. He says the attacks weren’t just random acts of violence.

“’They marked the houses, they knew where the churches were and they spontaneously went and attacked,’ said Sajan. Sajan and other Christian leaders believe the attacks are part of a much larger campaign by Hindu fanatics to stop lower-caste Hindus, known as Untouchables or Dalits, from converting to Christianity.”

Untouchables become Christians. Then they realize that in Christ’s eyes they are not untouchable but redeemed souls. That makes extremist Hindus all the more incensed. They want the untouchables to remain just that.

The Christian gospel lifts each individual from sin into Christ’s redeeming mercy. However, that is totally against the caste system. Those at the lowest caste must remain there in this life, per Hindu teaching.

“’God is moving among the Dalits and setting us free,’ said Daniel Digal, a Dalit convert. ‘The Hindus don’t like this, so they accuse us of bribing and forcing others to convert, and this is not true.’”

All the more that organizations such a Gospel for Asia continue giving the gospel to untouchables. In that they see souls saved and lives changed from depression to joy.

“Umasankar Acharya is a top leader of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu extremist group that often uses violence against Christians and other minority faith groups. He accuses Christians and foreign missionaries of using conversions to try and lower the number of Hindus in India.

“’This is a problem, and we will deal with it,’ said Umasankar. ‘We will get all the Hindus together, the whole Hindu nation, and whoever stands against the rights of Hindus, we will finish them.’”

Once again Christians realize that it is not only Islam World Rule but Hindu dominance that threatens the Christians.

“In an effort to counter the spread of Christianity, Orissa and several other Indian states have laws that require people to get permission before they can change their religion.

“’They want to annihilate the Christians of India,’ said Pastor Solomon. ’They want to turn this country into a Hindu nation.’”

Contributor's website: http://jgrantswankjr.blogspot.com/

*Content posted by a user may not be completely written by that user. Content from another source is cited in either block quotes, with quotes or with a link to the original material. Content from other sites is posted for commentary and news purposes under fair use. Each user is responsible for their own postings and a particular posting should not be construed as being endorsed by this site or it's owner.