Christians in India’s Orissa state who were victims of the recent wave of communal violence are now being told to “covert or die” by Hindu fanatics.
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Orissa Christians Told to 'Convert or Die'
By
Peter B. Beita
Christian Post Correspondent
Wed, Jan. 23 2008 09:24 AM EST
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Comments
Prophet
citsonga
ProfessorX
Wake up guys and petition the United States Congress to pass a resolution to save Indian Christians from Hindu extremists. If you keep mum then you have not resisted evils but would be considered as a silent complices in the court of Almighty The-God.
I honor those who have faced the ultimatum, and have not strayed from their faith. They will die for their love of God, not for their hatred of others. But I also pray for their safety. But whatever the outcome, the Lord be glorified.
"For if I die, I die as unto the Lord. If I live, I live as unto the Lord. So whether I live or die, I am His."
Blessed be the martyrs, for God alone will recompense their blood.
professorx here is some stuff to consider.
george bush considers himself a "saved" Christian, yet he has sanctioned the torture and imprisonment of so-called enemy combatants without any chance for due process. Perhaps most of these so called combatants are actually innocent. How would one know though without a trial or hearings? bush ordered the dropping of bombs on Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq knowing full well that many innocent civilians would be killed. Indeed whole families were killed. bush claims Jesus to be his favorite philosopher and his savior. Didn't Jesus say “Turn the other cheek” & "Thou shall not kill"? Sometimes we cant, but how was Iraq and its people our enemy. Iraq and saddam was not a threat to the US and had nothing to do with 9-11. Saddam was bad news to be sure, but there were other ways of dealing with him that would not have involved the wholesale destruction of a country. The US itself has committed many crimes in the ME over the decades. What gives us the right to play God there considering the poor track record of the US in the ME? What would Jesus have done? Dropped bombs on Iraq. Based on his teachings, I think not. bush gives Christianity a very bad name indeed. I find it rather interesting that among my agnostic and atheistic friends, they ALL opposed the Iraq war. My Christian friends mostly favored the war, seems a bit odd to me considering they claim to lead a so-called Christian life.
professorx
"the very fact that the alleged people who commited those atrocities demonstrates that they were not saved christ-followers. "
The fact of the matter is, the indigenous people that weren't exterminated by white Europeans were sent to concentration camps and Christian Europeans occupied their lands and controlled their fate. Both Africans and the Indigenous peoples were shortchanged by the constitution with the result of continued enslavement of Africans and the continued genocide of the indigenous peoples. If one accepts that the founding fathers were mostly Christian, as I read on these boards all the time, then one would have to also conclude that the Christian founding fathers are also responsible for enslavement and genocide of other human beings.
citsonga, the very fact that the alleged people who commited those atrocities demonstrates that they were not saved christ-followers.
citsonga
Surely I cannot cry on the graves of those killed by so called Christians (if they were) but certainly I would support to eradicate any killings in future. I am Pro-life and against violence.
khanson
"In modern day India what extremist Hindu organizations are doing against Christians can only be parallelled what Nazi did to Jews in Germany"
You might have added what christians did to Africans and Indigenous Americans.
'Convert or Die'
Sounds like the same deal the invading christian europeans gave to the "heathen" indigenous peoples of the americas.....
chicagomel: "I've never understood why the extremists are so opposed to the Gospel anyway, why they feel such a need to resort to violence and intimidation."
Jesus warned us beforehand this would happen. (Matt 10)
www.persecution.com & www.persecution.org are good places to learn of the persecution Christians face on a global scale.
I agree. People in India and outside of it should pressure the government to stop the extremists and uphold the laws, and whatever rights their constitution grants them. I've never understood why the extremists are so opposed to the Gospel anyway, why they feel such a need to resort to violence and intimdation.
Christians should bombard the Indian Embassy with letters expressing their outrage at this dastardly and cowardly behavior of Hindu extremists. We must support our brothers and sisters in Christ, with prayer, and action.
Thank you for praying with me Star2, you are my sister, in Christ :)
Dangy
Amen.
God does not "test" us, He asks only that we trust Him when the world tests us. Jesus has been tested in our place and He was victorious! TRUST in the power of the completed work if Christ!
Fear is not of the Lord. Standing on our own strength we will fail, but in Christ all things are possible! Dare we jugde our brothers and sisters in Christ? We, who have never faced anything that compares to the persecution they are under? No! Instead, pray daily that the Lord strengthen and protect them, pray daily that God removes our foolishness and focuses our mnds and our hearts on His righteousness.
Father, in the precious name of Jesus we ask that you use us this day, that Your Holy Spirit begin to make us true "salt and light" in this world that others may see and know Your strength, Your power, Your love. Remove from us, dear Lord, fear of the world's "boogeymen," fill us with your love, give us hearts for Your will. Teach us how to love our enemies, Lord, bring to our minds the faith of those three Hebrew boys who trusted You completely and were shown Your power, who saw Your very presence in the fire with them, and escaped unharmed! Lord, please let us to stop focusing on the bad things in this world and redirect our gaze, continually, to focus on Your completed work in Christ Jesus. We thank you for all You have done, for all You are doing, for all that You have promised to do in our lives, make us willing and useful to You in this world. Lord we ask that You open our eyes and our hearts that we will recognize those who bravely stand with You, that we may support them with our love and our prayers! Do not allow us to foolishly trust in the world's institutions, remind us that we are fully owned by You, and that You alone are worthy! In the name of Jesus. Amen
There is no excuse...only the grace and mercy God grants for all of us to sincerely repent.
There is no greater reward than to be presented before God in Heaven and acknowledged as one of His children.
Yes, we will all face this decision whether at gun-point or some form less violent. For each of us God will choose the appropriate test.
In modern day India what extremist Hindu organizations are doing against Christians can only be parallelled what Nazi did to Jews in Germany. The Evangelical Christian organizations must put ethical and political pressure upon the Indian government to eradicate violence gainst Christians in Orissa and provide safety of thousands of Christians who are being masaccred because theu love Jesus Christ.
There's no way we can judge these people. If you only had to decide for yourself it would be easier, but imagine someone pointing a gun at your little child, threatening to kill them unless you deny your faith. I would personally do anything to protect my child's life. If they were old enough to decide for themselves, they'd have the freedom to do so.
I know what I would HOPE to be able to do if I were in this kind of situation, but could I really say for sure what I WOULD do? I would like to be very brave in my love for the Lord, but like Peter who three times denied Jesus (even after being with Him for 3 years), fear can sometimes paralyze us, especially if there are others lives at stake along with our own.
As is always the case, some profess acceptance of the Lord's saving grace through a relationship that never truly reaches the heart. But for others like Peter, God will imbue us with strength as we continue to seek Him. But for the Grace of God go you and I. May the Lord fill His suffering people with strength and peace, and the certainity of His presence. Amen.
gavulav
I forgive you. I love you in the Lord.
star2
I'm truly sorry for misjudging what was in your heart and for failing to understand what you were trying to get through to me. I was not being deliberately obtuse, I think the lights just went a little dim there for a moment.
gavulav
Re: I know the scriptures you have quoted and I understand your outrage that another Christian appears to be bending backwards, compromising the faith, and advocating an unscriptural notion. What I really want to say is that our Indian brothers and sisters need our understanding and compassion more than our quick and unequivocal condemnation. I'm assuming that you have no idea what it's like to live in fear of your life, to be ostracised by relatives because you call on the name of Jesus and to never be sure if your children will come back home from school each day.
You have misjudged what was in my heart and you did not comprehend much of anything that I wrote in response to what you said.
star2
I know the scriptures you have quoted and I understand your outrage that another Christian appears to be bending backwards, compromising the faith, and advocating an unscriptural notion. What I really want to say is that our Indian brothers and sisters need our understanding and compassion more than our quick and unequivocal condemnation. I'm assuming that you have no idea what it's like to live in fear of your life, to be ostracised by relatives because you call on the name of Jesus and to never be sure if your children will come back home from school each day.
I still maintain that prayers, not righteous condemnation, is what they need.
gavulav
Only God knows the heart of each believer that failed to take a stand for their faith. Only God knows if He is able to restore them to their faith. If He is able, and they surrender, they will have to take a stand against their enemy even though it will cost them their life. If they don't, God will leave them and they will perish.
Re:Our prayers are needed more than ever.
Re: FullGospel said:Let us pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters who fight the good fight for Jesus.
Yes, I agree with you and FullGospel that we should pray for these persecuted Christians. We need to pray that God will help them to be strong against the enemy and that they will not deny their Jesus even if it will cost them their life. We need to pray that God will meet their needs and that others will come to faith because of their witness for Jesus.
One day the Christians in America will face similiar persecution. We need to learn to take a stand for our Jesus now against the enemies of God and not compromise with the world even if it cost us the things that are dear to us.
gavulav
Jesus said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:28)
gavulav
Jesus said, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."(Matt 10:33)
gavulav
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Revelation 12:11)
Let us not judge our suffering Christian brothers in Orissa State too hastily. I reckon that I am a strong Chrisrian and if I were faced with that kind of choice, I would take the smart option, pretend to go along with my oppressors while worshiping the one true God secretly. I believe these are smart Christians; they live to fight another day. From now on they have an even greater opportunity to show Christ in what they do - now that their mouths are gagged.
Our prayers are needed more than ever.
Rev 17:14 "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
akonda
Re:"I and my family have left the faith but God will remain with us" - what does this mean? Is it possible to give up the faith and yet God remains with them? I dont think so.
Jesus said, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matt 24:13)
Jesus said to the Church in Smyrna: "Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not ne hurt of the second death." (Rev 2:10-11)
"I and my family have left the faith but God will remain with us" - what does this mean? Is it possible to give up the faith and yet God remains with them? I dont think so. I am amazed that they are willing to give up Christ rather than suffer for his sake. Which brings up the question - are they really Christians? Or are they like the seed that fell on the stony ground? It would be nice to see them standing up for the faith rather than giving it up.
Let us pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters who fight the good fight for Jesus.