Posted on 11/12/2005 3:21:12 PM PST by MSCASEY
JMM Urgent Prayer] November 12, 2005 Dear Friend in Christ,
I am asking you today to pray for an extremely critical situation. More than 60 new believers in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh are being threatened with death if they do not convert back to Hinduism! It is not enough that they escaped the spiritual bondage that has oppressed their people for centuries, but now radical Hindus have threatened to burn alive any Christians who do not return to their former slavery.
Here is what happened: On November 4, a pastor was attacked and severely beaten by a group of militants who threatened his life. Now the same group says they will conduct a puja (ritual) on November 20 to forcefully convert the Christians in his church to Hinduism--and burn alive any who do not renounce their new faith.
The pastor has filed a complaint with local police, but the area is dominated by a large temple to the Hindu god Shiva. Thousands of pilgrims come to the temple, so Hinduism is important to the local economy. It is not clear if the police will take any action to protect the Christians.
What is most important now is that we pray for this situation. I urge you to pray for the protection of the men, women and children in that place who have committed their lives to Christ. Pray that God will surround them with His angels and turn back any violence. Please also pray for their attackers, that their hearts will be softened and that God will work a miracle in their lives.
Imagine what a powerful force for good they could become if they surrendered their lives to the Living God instead of gods that do not hear them!
Please share this request with your church and your friends. This is a spiritual battle, and only through prayer and fasting will the enemy be defeated in this stronghold.
I thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Asia. Thank you, most of all, for standing with us and with our brothers and sisters in Himachal Pradesh during this challenging time.
Yours for the lost of Asia,
Pastor.Johnson Mathews
Ping to last post!
Ms. Casey's Daughter
Same thing with Lucifer, who led a Third of Heaven's Angel's in Rebellion against OUR AWESOM FATHER.
This does not make sense. India is not a mulsim nation like sausi arabia that has laws to execute christians. In India murder is illegal, as is kidnapping. I dont understand this letter, the Indian laws are being violated, where is the Indian Gov on this? Where is their law enforcement?
> It is the exclusive worship demanded by God [Christ] which makes the Hindus violent.
The liberal churches don't like it much either.
There is no evidence that this whole thing exists other than a few emails.
There have been Christians in India since before there were Christians in Europe. There is a great deal of religious tolerance in India.
I don't believe this. Also contrary to what some say on this thread, the caste system is dying, especially in the government, which has a more or less affirmative action policy. There are many lower caste people in the Indian government.
If people want to get upset about real Christian bigotry and torture, look at Muslim beheadings and other horrors. Or China. India is not the place to look.
I was thinking that too. It is past Nov 20th (the deadline), and I have been searching newspapers that cover Himachal Pradesh, I found a couple, and no mention of the story.
In order to avoid a terrible situation, the threatened folks may want to think about relocating to another part of India. There are areas much more friendly to Christians than the one you've described.
Now for some opinions. Hindus who assail Christians are being strategically stupid. For India, having the support of the global Christian community would be a very good thing. It is Muslims and godless Communists Hindus need to fear.
Some people may not have the money. There are many poor people in India. Heck even here in America many cannot just relocate even though they may desire to so.
I am just glad that they will be okay, the police got involved and stepped in. I praise the Lord that he heard our prayers.
Ms. Casey's Daughter
I just saw the WorldNetDaily article on their website and forwarded it to the 28 people on my prayer list thanking them for praying. I then hightailed it on over here (to FR) to tell you and post to this thread and saw you'd already gotten the good news! Prayer works, guys!! We need to remain spiritually vigilent, however, as the article states the "assailants have gone into hiding", which may mean they're biding their time before trying another attack.
Prayer works! At least the police did get involved. I am so glad.
If you want why don't you post the whole article from World Net Daily! I am in the middle of cooking pies! Ping me if you do! I am so very happy!
Ms. Casey's Daughter
Prayers up!
Here ya go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, November 24, 2005
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Plot to burn Christians thwarted
Extremists gave ultimatum to new converts
Posted: November 24, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Police in northern India thwarted a plot by Hindu extremists who threatened to burn to death more than 60 Christian converts if they refused to return to Hinduism by Sunday.
Members of a Christian movement called Believers Church met peacefully Sunday in the state of Himachal Pradesh, according to Compass Direct, a news service that monitors persecution of Christians.
"We were able to meet without incident," said Ramish Masih Battih, the son of Pastor Feroz Masih.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the radical Hindus severely beat the pastor in a Nov. 4 attack, accusing him of "forcibly converting" Hindus. Masih sustained internal injuries requiring medical treatment and still is recovering.
The pastor's son told Compass Direct the estimated 10 attackers were members of the World Hindu Council and its youth wing Bajrang Dal, which has been blamed for waves of attacks against Christians and other religious minorities since the rise of the Hindu nationalist party BJP in the late 1990s.
A police official said "misconceptions are the root of the problem."
"There are many illiterate people who can easily be misled to believe that Christians are forcibly converting Hindus," he explained.
The Masihs are connected to K.P. Yohannan's Gospel for Asia missionary group.
Yohannan said police tried to arrange a meeting between the pastor and the attackers, but the assailants had gone into hiding.
"One positive outcome of this incident is that people in the area now know that those who come to faith in Christ are doing so because of the power of the Gospel, not the coercion of men," Yohannan said.
At a press conference, he pointed out, "many of the new Christians testified that they had accepted Christ of their own free will often because they had been healed of their diseases."
Last week, the attackers forced Masih, 62, to sign a document stating his willingness to participate in a ceremony last Sunday in which all of the Christians would convert back to Hinduism.
Refusal to participate would prompt the radicals to burn the converts to death.
The congregation meets in the Masihs' home in the town of Baijnath.
Yohannan said the threat was reminiscent of the brutal murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two children in 1999 by Hindu radicals in the state of Orissa, who vowed to burn alive anyone who did not renounce their new faith.
Done!
Yours for the lost of Asia,
K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President
Gospel for Asia
Thank you for posting that! I pray the situation stays stable and the pastor heals rapidly.
Ms. Casey's Daughter
thank you for the prayers for India!!
Ms. Casey's Daughter
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