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Indian Christians Forced to Worship Hindu Deities
Persecution Blog ^ | November 8, 2006 | Stacy L. Harp

Posted on 11/09/2006 8:57:33 AM PST by Sopater

The following is taken from this weeks VOM Canada's Persecution and Prayer Alert.

Over the past week, Indian Christians have been forced to worship Hindu deities in Karnataka state, according to two reports from Compass Direct.

According to a November 3 report, when Hindu villagers in Kurumaradikere noted on October 29 that local Christians had not participated in the annual Depavali festival, they demanded that Pastor Naik (39) and the eleven families of his congregation worship Hindu deities as a "gesture of symbolic repentance."

At a meeting called by local leaders, they interrogated the pastor about whether or not he taught his congregation to reject Hindu deities. They threatened and insulted the Christians and physically assaulted one man by repeatedly slapping him. They also demanded that every church member worship at the village temple. Eight of the eleven families in Pastor Naik's congregation gave in to the demands. The local council chief ordered that the three families who refused to cooperate be ostracized from the village. Pastor Naik has gone into hiding out of fear of further persecution from government officials. The pastor of a nearby village told Compass that a local politician named Raja Naik had instigated the persecution.

On November 6, Hindu militants also forced Christians in the village of Bevainahalli to bow down before Hindi deities, according to a November 7 Compass Direct report. At 5:00 p.m., two Hindu priests and a group of twenty to twenty-five Hindu militants from the Rashitriya Swayamsevek Sangh (RSS) militant group and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, stormed through the village shouting threats to those in Christian homes and ordering the occupants to go to a site near the village temple. Christians who questioned their orders were slapped and told to keep walking.

Once the Christians were gathered together, one of the Hindu priests began to speak against Christianity and told them to "reconvert" to Hinduism. The Christians were then marched to the temple and forced to bow down before the gods. The Hindu priests applied the vermillion marks on the foreheads of each man and woman and told them to eat of the Hindu offering.

Pray that Indian Christians will confidently entrust themselves to God so that they can preach the gospel without hesitation (2 Timothy 1:5). Pray that God will use the faithfulness of those who dared to set Him apart as Lord to bring about mercy in the hearts of their persecutors, as it did in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:28-29). Ask the Lord to keep Pastor Naik safe from harm. Pray that God will work in the hearts of those who denied Him and lead them to repentance. For more information on the persecution facing Christians in India, go to www.persecution.net/country/india.htm. Recent video reports on the persecution in India and what VOMC is doing to help are available on our multimedia website, www.persecution.tv. ***********************************


TOPICS: Current Events; Eastern Religions; Ministry/Outreach
KEYWORDS: depavali; hinduism

1 posted on 11/09/2006 8:57:38 AM PST by Sopater
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To: Sopater

Plain mis-information.


2 posted on 11/09/2006 9:17:06 AM PST by Y2000
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To: Y2000

What do you mean?


3 posted on 11/09/2006 9:26:07 AM PST by Sopater (Creatio Ex Nihilo)
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To: Sopater

Well this ain't happening on my Rez.......


4 posted on 11/09/2006 9:26:50 AM PST by Osage Orange (The old/liberal/socialist media is the most ruthless and destructive enemy of this country.)
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To: Sopater

How do you force someone to worship? All anyone would have to do is appear to be worshipping. I think God can figure out who is really worshiping and wo isn't.


5 posted on 11/09/2006 9:40:08 AM PST by stuartcr (Everything happens as God wants it to.....otherwise, things would be different.)
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To: Sopater

Hey I think the little Blue Guy is cute, and plays a bad a$$ flute. There have been a number of instances of Hindus going after Christians in India---but it's pee in the ocean compared to what Christians go through in Muslim countries. In India--I ask the question to evangelicals especially. How aggressive are your evangelizing tactics? Don't you ever think some people resent this? The Hindus action aren't right, but some food for thought.


6 posted on 11/09/2006 10:22:17 AM PST by brooklyn dave (Dhimmis better not be Dhummis!!!!------or else!!!)
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To: Sopater

Anyone remember Daniel in the lions' den?


7 posted on 11/09/2006 2:02:45 PM PST by MinstrelBoy (If you're a Republican today, you're a hero.)
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To: Osage Orange

LOL!


8 posted on 11/09/2006 7:07:00 PM PST by InterestedQuestioner (Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved.)
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To: Sopater
Oh, those wacky HIndu's!
T'ellwiddem if they can't take a joke!

Vishnu picks his nose!! Neener, neener, neener!!

I'm SOOOO sick of thin-skinned, third-world-hell-hole, religionists who get all torqued, mouthy, and vile if some neighbor doesn't honor their god. Honestly, how insecure can ya get?

9 posted on 11/09/2006 7:17:21 PM PST by HKMk23 (PRO-LIFE: Because a Person's a Person, no matter how small.)
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