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India: Christians brunt of unprovoked attacks
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John Henry
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Aug 12, 2007 12:01 PDT
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FAITH UNDER FIRE
Indian Christians targeted in unprovoked
attacks
Gangs use guns, knives, sticks, stones to injure leaders
August 11, 2007
(c) 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Another series of unprovoked attacks on Christian ministries in India
have been documented by
Voice of the Martyrs, the ministry to persecuted Christians around
the world, raising concerns that the trend will continue to grow.
In recent months, an increasing number of attacks by Hindus have been
reported on Christian organizations or individuals. In Hindu-dominated
parts of the world, such attacks often are violent and sometimes lethal,
while in the United States they have remained verbal.
According to
VOM, one of the recent attacks was in Rajasthan, India, where five
men launched an attack on Emmanuel Ministries.
Voice of the Martyrs contacts in the region reported that the attackers
carried handguns and a sword but also used a large stick and rocks and
stones in the attack.
"They started fighting Mr. Jetha, one of the ministry office staff.
They shouted that they would kill 'M.A.' [a ministry member], and Samuel
Thomas, the leader of Emmanuel Ministries, and continuously beat Mr.
Jetha," the sources told VOM.
"They threatened that they would 'kill and willingly go to prison
for six years,'" the sources confirmed.
In a second incident a few days later, members of Believers Assembly
Church in Sri Ganga Nagar District were ordered to police headquarters
after Hindu fundamentalists complained believers were converting local
villagers, the sources said.
"The new believers were threatened by police and pressured to leave
Christianity and return to Hinduism. They were also warned that if they
fail to return to Hinduism the provisions of the Anti-Conversion Act of
Rajasthan, would be used to arrest them," the sources said.
In still another attack about the same time as the two in Rajasthan, a
mob in Karnataka that included about 15 Bajrang Dal extremists armed with
clubs, bats and knives attacked another Believers Church.
They beat the pastor mercilessly, the sources said.
"The attackers barged into the church and abused the Christians,
using filthy language and began hitting and stabbing them. They destroyed
the pulpit, chairs, musical instruments, furniture, and window panes and
damaged the church walls. The pastor was also severely beaten with a
cricket bat and his body was swollen," the sources reported.
In the U.S., the
Hindu
American Foundation has attacked Christian organizations ranging from
the Southern
Baptists' missions board and
Gospel for Asia to
Olive Tree Ministries, which aims to teach Christians about their
beliefs.
"The proliferation of websites promoting religious hatred is an
unfortunate consequence of the universality of access to the
Internet," said Vinay Vallabh, the lead author of a report that
attacked the Christian groups for their expression of their beliefs.
"We must vigorously identify, condemn and counter those who use the
Internet to espouse chauvinism and bigotry over the principles of
pluralism and tolerance," Vallabh said.
Vallabh's report, called "Hyperlink to Hinduphobia: Online Hatred,
Extremism and Bigotry Against Hindus," expresses his hope that
Internet Service Providers will start censoring Christian postings of
their beliefs, "a necessary step as we continue our balancing act
between free speech and licentious speech that leads to violence in the
electronic age."
VOM is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide
to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the
world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville,
Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.
It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started
smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard
was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for his
refusal to recant Christianity.
He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about
the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security
Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars
on his body.
The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized
in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was released.
Source:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57115
Previous stories:
Court
delays equal treatment for Christians
Hindu
persecution campaign targets pastor
Hindu
appointed to run Christian religion studies
Free
newsletter links persecuted Christians with prayer
Christian 'hate sites' blasted by Hindus
Hindus
force Christians to 'reconvert'
Church
brother taken hostage by Hindus
Anti-Christian rage hits previously quiet area
Food
stockpiles face threat of rat invasion
Christians
face Christmas beatings, church burnings
Ambush by
'radicals' leaves pastor in hospital
Pastors
seek police help, get beatings
Indian
judges OK 'Hindu Taliban'
'Homely'
bride prompts lawsuit
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"Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them
which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."
(Hebrews 13:3)
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)
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