Endangered Christians

Beatings

An incident in India:

Three Christian Pastors of the Church of the Nazarene in Nagpur were beaten up on February 8th by radical elements as they were screening a “Jesus� Film.

Rev. Ravi Shambhakar, Mr. Ramprakash Sahu and Mr. Satputeed were severely injured and some of their teeth were broken in the thrashing.

And another one:

Pastor B. Anand (48yrs.) (Bakhthula) is the pastor of a church by name of ‘Bethesda Pradhana Sahavasam’ in Ambojipeta village, on the way to Medak, in Andhra Pradesh. The church consists of about 200 believers.

[…]

The radicals took him to the forest area, about 6kms from the village and beat him with wooden logs on his face and his legs. Pastor Anand had seen that the RSS men had a bag filled with ropes and logs and knew that it was well planned as the ‘leader’ among the group had been a very active member in his church for the past 6 months. The pastor came to know only then that he had been a spy and was passing information and planned to harm him. The radicals run a well knit spy network to attack independent pastors.

And yet another one!

Bro. Bhaskar, was saved about 20 years ago, after he was healed from severe convulsions by the ministry of a devout sister who prayed for his healing. Ever since, he has been serving the Lord by distributing tracts, which he gets from his pastor, on the streets of Bangalore. He has been beaten many times as he does this ministry.

And an incident in Vietnam:

On Thursday, March 8, police of Gia Ray province raided Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh�s house and “vandalized” his home and   took him away to the local police station, said Cong Thanh Do, a pro-democracy advocate, who is also known as Tran Nam.

“Both Mr. Chinh and his wife were brutally beaten by the Gia Ray police. Mr. Chinh was released the next day but was continually summoned to the police station for questioning,” he added.

Anti-Conversion Law in India

What if a Christian backslides into Hinduism?

An Anti-Conversion Law has come into force in Himachal Pradesh with Governor V S Kokje giving his assent to it.

It has become the first Congress-ruled state to adopt legislation banning illegal religious conversions. The Governor signed the legislation passed by the state assembly in its winter session in December, Raj Bhawan sources said today.

During the session at Dharamsala, the BJP had obtained a commitment from Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for a law to stop conversions in the state.

Similar legislation exists in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, all ruled by the BJP. The legislation proposes a two-year prison term and a fine of Rs 25,000 or both for persons found guilty of abetting and indulging in conversion from one religion to another. In case of conversion of women and persons belonging to Dalit and tribal communities, the punishment will be three years of rigourous inmprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000. Under the legislation, anybody willing to convert from one religion to another will have to give a month’s notice to the District Magistrate, who after an inquiry, can grant permission to do so.

The population of Christians in Himachal Pradesh is not more than 10,000, but the BJP and Hindu organisations have from time to time complained about conversions by missionary groups.

Rahman Update




Do you recognize him?

Are they interested in a just solution or a political solution or a diplomatic solution?

The judge presiding over the case of an Afghan man who could face the death penalty for converting to Christianity said on Sunday the case was flawed and would be sent back to prosecutors.

The row over the man, Abdur Rahman, 40, jailed this month for abandoning Islam, threatens to create a rift between Afghanistan and the United States and other Western backers who have been calling for the man’s release.

“The case, because of some technical as well as legal flaws and shortcomings, has been referred back to the prosecutor’s office,” the judge, Ansarullah Mawlavizada, told Reuters.

A prosecutor said Rahman’s mental state would be examined on Monday following suggestions that he may be mentally unstable.

Rahman, detained this month for converting to Christianity, told an Italian newspaper from his Kabul jail cell that he was ready to die for his new faith.

New faith? I thought he’s been a Christian for at least 15 years.

Whatever the case, he’s ready to die for it. (Unlike American Christian military chaplains who seem — mostly — to prefer to kow-tow or sue over praying in Jesus’ name?)

Then there’s this in the story:

The government is trying to satisfy Western demands for the man’s release, while not angering powerful conservatives at home who have demanded a trial and death sentence under Islamic law.

Officials in President Hamid Karzai’s government declined to comment. “I’m hopeful something will be worked out,” said one.

Officials and analysts say they do not expect Rahman to be executed. The outcome could hinge on his mental state.

A spokesman for the Supreme Court said the mental examination had been ordered after Rahman’s relatives said he suffered from mental problems — something he denies.

What a pickle the Afghan government finds itself in!

Defying the conservative clamor, one newspaper — Outlook — made the first public call in Afghanistan for Rahman’s release, saying the country could not ignore international opinion when it needed support to fight terrorism and rebuild.

What a bother to have to consider the opinions and support of other countries when pursuing domestic law enforcement!

(I don’t think the Afghans have a corner on such dilemas.)

Whose Actions?

Yesterday I learned of the four CPT people kidnapped by (Islamic?) terrorists in Iraq. My heart does indeed go out to these four and their families.

Last night I had to wonder what CPT’s reaction would have been had this happened in Israel (proper and/or “occupied”). If their (seemingly) anti-Israel track record bears here at all, they would be blaming Israel.

So what do I read just a few minutes ago on the CPT website?

We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people.

They don’t seem to blame the terrorists.

And they certainly don’t seem to accept the reality that what happened is the result of CPT actions.

Their slogan is “Christian Peacemaker Teams: committed to reducing violence by ‘Getting in the way.'”

A word to the CPT organization: Getting in the way is your choice, your action.

Accept responsibility and quit blaming someone else for your choices and actions.

I am not insensitive to nor uncaring about the four CPT folks in terrorist care.

I am saying the CPT statement and obvious political agenda are very diminishing to the four.

May the four show God’s love and grace to their captors.

And may God’s grace be able to sustain them and their families.

Didn’t He Know the Risk?!

From The Washington Times this story of commitment:

A court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for “mocking religion” after he discussed the Bible and praised Jews, a Saudi newspaper reported yesterday.

Al-Madina newspaper said secondary-school teacher Mohammad al-Harbi, who will be flogged in public, was taken to court by his colleagues and students.

He was charged with promoting a “dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer,” the newspaper said.

I wonder what this man’s testimony is.

Oh, and before anyone goes off on what the “religion of peace” does to its opponents, wait.

Remember the Crusades. Remember the Catholic-Protestant battles of not so long ago.

That said, I do believe there is a substantial spiritual and moral difference between genuine Islam and genuine Christianity.

The question for me is simple: Is my faith (and subsequent life) an accurate reflection of the Lord Jesus?

Private
Above all, love God!