Brown's Daily Word 12-31-07

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for the year 2007. Praise the Lord for the new year. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Praise the Lord for His promises. As we say good-bye to 2007 and enter the new year I would like to share some reflections from Psalm 31,
"In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love."
New Year's Eve is one of those few times in the year when just about everybody is thinking about the same thing. There's something dramatic about watching the old year slip away by counting the hours left in it, then the minutes, down to the seconds when the old year has passed into history, never to come again.
We seldom think much about time except when we're running late. Time is a lot like a river and it's carrying all of us downstream. Where is it taking us? What are we doing while we're on the trip? A lot of people have trouble with time management, with putting first things first. Someone put it this way:
"This is the age of the half-read page and the quick hash and the mad dash and the bright night with the nerves tight the plane hop and the brief stop, the lamp tan in a short span, the big shot and the good spot, and the brain strain and the heart pain, and the cat naps till the spring snaps and the fun's done and then comes taps."
If there is anything we truly need in this New Year, it is to get closer to God, to grow in the love of our Savior, and to carry out His will for our lives. That will carry us through no matter what the river of time may bring our way. Psalm 31 is almost entirely a prayer, but you can tell that it's not the kind of prayer that one prays out loud or one that is prayed with folded hands. No, it appears to be the kind of prayer Paul had in mind when he told us to PRAY CONSTANTLY. It's the kind of prayer that you pray while working or driving or when you're under a lot of stress, as David was here.
Prayer and good Christ-centered self-reflection go a long way to having that Happy New Year that we wish each other. Christ-centered self-reflection is the fine art of handling the stress that comes your way by reacting to it in a Christian manner. David joins prayer and good self-reflective talk when he tells God of his circumstances and lays it upon the Lord for help. Notice that he does not minimize his troubles; this is not a case of whistling in the dark. He describes the trouble in all of its sorrowful details.
He said: * 9 "Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my God.' 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me."
The psalm goes on to say, * 16 "Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD 19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD."
There may be times in this coming year when you too will feel cut off from God's sight. You may wonder if God has forgotten you. There is good news for us - The Lord make his face shine upon you. The Psalm says, "Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your unfailing love."
When God's face is shining upon His people, that means that he is SMILING upon them. What more could you ask from the New Year than that? Think of the grim-faced idols that you see on a totem pole and the frowns they present to those who worship these gods. We have a God who came here personally to smile upon us The Psalm says, "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."
This is the God who is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine. Trust him for your future, both your future on earth and your forever future. Jesus said: In this world, you will have trouble, but don't be afraid, I have overcome the world.
That's the kind of God we have to guide us through the New Year; He is the One we can trust, the One in whom we can have confidence for the future, no matter what the New Year may bring.
And we all need to get to work for Jesus! There is no better way to use the time of this New Year. Here is a timely item:
Take time to work--it is the price of success.
Take time to think--it is the source of power
Take time to read--it is the fountain of wisdom
Take time to worship--it is the highway to reverence
Take time to be friendly--it is the road to happiness
Take time to laugh--it helps to lift life's load
Take time for God's Word--it brings Christ near and it washes the dust of earth from your eyes.
Take time for God--it is life's only truly lasting investment. In Jesus' name.
Brown.
I am forwarding some of the communications that I have received from the Christian leaders of Orissa, India. I have also included a map of Orissa. You can locate the Phulbani district on the map.

EFI NEWS
Churches Continue to Burn in Orissa
Churches continue to burn in Orissa inspite of curfew being imposed in different places, we receive many phone calls about the violence which is given below: • Situation in Barkhama village of Baliguda block is alarming. The fundamentalist group ransacked the village, broke two churches and looted the properties of the poor villagers and torched the houses of the new believers. The force was so tremendous that all the villages including women and children had to flee from the village to save their lives and now hiding themselves in the forest. Latest information received from the Bishop of Phulbani reveals that three dead bodies of Christians are lying un-attended. This has not been carried in any of the newspapers so far. • Many Christian NGOs, Institutions including the homes and hostels have been attacked and looted. Mostly these institutions are Catholic run institutions. Due to blockage of road by the activists, neither the media person, nor the Church leaders are able to reach at the spot. There could be much more information from rural churches, which has not reached us so far, due to communication obstructions. • So far 23 churches have been damaged as per the report received till 12 Noon. The damage caused on 26 th December' 07 are to the following 9 churches: A) Barkhuma Area of Baliguda Block – 2 Churches B) Rutungia Area of Baliguda Block - 4 Churches C) Dolgaon Area of Baliguda Block – 1 Church D) Irpiguda Area of Baliguda Block – 1 Church E) Kalinga Area of Udayagiri Block – 1 Church The Arch Bishop of Catholic Dioceses of Orissa, Bishop of Diocese of Cuttack, and all other Church leaders have been trying frantically to take an appointment from the Chief Minister to discuss about the situation. However the CM's office have deliberately failed so far to fix up a date and time with the CM for a discussion of Orissa Church leaders. However the situation in Udaygiri is coming towards normalcy. All Church leaders of Orissa, had a meeting in the office of the Arch Bishop of Catholic Dioceses of Orissa at Bhubaneswar, today at 10:00 a.m. It has been decided that steps be taken to meet the C.M to ventilate the grievances. A fresh memorandum has been drafted with the following demands: A) Initiation of a C.B.I enquiry into the incident. B) Central Police Forces must be deployed immediately as the local police has failed to prevent the communal riot inspite of getting early information. C) Proper assessments be made for the loss of property and lives of the victims of the Christian community in the affected area and proper compensation be paid to them as early as possible. D) Exemplary action to be taken against the Government officials, for their lapses, negligence and in action to prevent and control such situation. E) A fact finding committee consisting of Church leaders will visit the violence sites in order to bring peace in the locality and also to take a stack of the situation. We request all of you to uphold the situation in your prayer and especially for the women and children, who are taking shelter in Jungles without food. In Delhi a Peace Dharna is organised from 4 to 6 p.m at Orissa Bhavan. Please pray for Orissa and intervene to bring normalcy.
Please write or fax to the below mentioned addresses to express your concern:
HON'BLE PRESIDENT OF INDIA SMT. PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL President of IndiaRashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi - 110 004Fax : +91-011-23017290/ 011-23017824Dr. Manmohan SinghPrime Minister of IndiaRoom No 152, South Block,New Delhi - 110 001Ph: +91-011-23012312/ 011-23013149/ 011-23019545Fax: +91-011-23018939
Shri Navin PatnaikChief Minister of Orissa Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome Road, P.O. BhubaneswarDistt. Khurda, Pin - 751 001 (Orissa)E-mail cmo@ori.nic.inOffice Phone 0674-2531100/2535100/2531500Office Fax: 0674-2400100
Rev. Dr. Richard HowellGeneral SecretaryEvangelical Fellowship of IndiaNew Delhi, India
Evangelical Fellowship of India (established 1951) is a charter member of World Evangelical Alliance, an accredited NGO with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
EFI Press Release
Memorandum Submitted to the Chief Minister of Orissa
Shri Naveen PatnaikHon’ble Chief Minister of OrissaBhubaneswar Dear Sir, We, the leaders and representatives of different Churches of Orissa would like to bring to your kind notice, the atrocities committed against the Christians in Kandhamal District and other places of the state of Orissa. The trouble began on 24th December at 8.00 a.m. at Bamunigam village, close to the police station under Daringibadi Block of Kandhamal District. Some Hindu Fundamentalists forcefully removed the Christmas decoration, which the Ambedkar Baniko Sangho comprising the local Christian entrepreneurs, had put up as a preparation for Christmas, with the due permission of the administration. This was followed by exchange of hot words between two groups, as the Fundamentalists insisted to stop Christmas celebrations. Within a few minutes a group of people who were stationed close by pounced on the members of Ambedkar Baniko Sangho with sticks, knives and other lethal weapons like guns. Seeing the crowd coming to attack the people dispersed out of fear. The Fundamentalists began to destroy the shops of Christians. About fifteen shops have been destroyed and looted. They also shot at by guns Christian community badly injuring two of them. They also destroyed about fifteen shops belonging to the Christians and looted the property available. Six seven members of Ambedkar Boniko Sango were beaten up by the mob. On the second day, 25th December, the crowd came back and destroyed the Churches in Bamunigam area. Then they entered the Christian villages and burnt their houses and property. They were also threatened to leave their places. The parish church and the Christians are under threat without any police security. Attack on Balliguda ParishOn the same day, 24th December evening much larger crowd (400to 500) marched into Balliguda town parish and damaged and ransacked the Church building, residence of priest, convents and institutions and looted the property. By 10.00 p.m. the following institutions were destroyed and burned (some fully, others partly). The large parish church, presbytery, convent, computer room, dispensary plus +2 student’s hostel, etc. The same crowd moved into the town and completely burned down the church belonged to the Baptist Christians. They also attacked another church belonging to the Pentecostal Christians. On 25th December they were moving around menacingly threatening the priests and Christians so that they were not even able to file an FIR. The situation is desperate and there is total fear and anxiety among Christians. Two constables asked the priests of Phulbani parish to have no celebration otherwise there will be more troubles. On 25th December, the convent in Phulbani was also attacked by a group of Fundamentalists. They destroyed everything possible from outside of the convent (door, window glasses, etc.) They also destroyed a new school bus. On 25th December the priests and sisters in Pobingia parish were advised to move out to a safer place which they did. And thereafter at 12.00 noon a group of Bajrandal people attacked the church of Pobingia parish and destroyed it. There after they destroyed the priest’s residence in the afternoon. All these happened in the presence of police with impunity. More than half of 24 parishes in Kandhamal District could not celebrate Christmas mass because of fear of attack In Bhubaneswar During midnight Mass on 24th December, someone threw a bomb on Archbishop’s House, Bhubaneswar. Though it exploded fortunately no damage took place. Our Fears 1. Even though the Government have been assuring us all protection the fundamentalists are moving about with lethal weapons threatening the Christians. 2. The fundamentalists go on their destructive activities even in the presence of the police force who often say that they are not enough to face such a crowd. The destruction goes on unabated. 3. The Christians who are already attacked and those who are in great fear of being attacked feel with sufficient reason that they are left to the mercy of the fundamentalists. 4. We don’t see any where sufficient number of police force, the senior police officers who deputed to the Kandhamal District for maintenance of law and order have expressed their inability to contain the situation in absence of adequate force. 5. The Fundamentalists are forcing the Christians to leave their homes and take refuge in the forest.
INSTITUTIONS ATTACKED SO FAR
PARISH CHURCH
VILLAGE CHURCHES
Balliguda
Bodagan-Balliguda

Balliguda town

Kamapada – Balliuda
Pobingia
Mandipanka- Godapur
Baminigam
Jhinjirguda- Bamunigam

Ulipadaro – Bamunigam

Goborkutty-Kattingia

Kulpakia- Nuagam

Dohapanga-Balliguda

4 village Churches - Nuagam

3 more village church

Bakingia ( Raikia )

Boriguda ( Padangi )
CONVENTS
PRESBYTERY
Balliguda
Balliguda
Pobingia
Pobingia
Phulbani
Bamunigam
Sankharkhole
Padangi
Bamunigam
HOSTELS
Pobingia 2
Balliguda 2
Bamunigam 2
Minor Seminary (Balliguda)
Vocational Training Centre (Balliguda)Sarshnanda (Pobingia)
Barakhama, 400 houses are gutted, five people murdered, property looted, one tractor burnt. Sirtiguda ( Balliguda) 7 Churches, 4 Churches in Phiringia, Phulbani Block 7 Churches, Ruthungia 4 Churches, Kallingia 3 chruches, Dalagam one church, Irpiguda one, Tikabali two IA Churches.
Kui Janakalyan Samiti This organization had declared bandh on 25th and 26th December 2007 in order to press for their alleged demands. But it was only a ploy to prevent the celebration and attack the Christians and their churches and institutions. But their real purpose was to: a) Disturb their Christmas celebration, the important feast of Christians; it is even a National holiday. b) Instead of conducting bandh they have unleashed a reign of terror, destroying institutions, intimidating Christians and forcing them to go out of their homes. c) Their entire attention is on driving away Christians from the region. It is evident from the slogan they are shouting at Christians.Most of the priests, pastors and religious sisters in Kandhamal District have taken shelter in the forest. In fact the fundamentalists are in search of finding their hide-outs.All these happened during last three days. We are in receipt of information from various churches and institutions that the miscreants are still active and the destruction of property is still going on and Christians are under attack. On the other hand the innocent Christians are apprehended and Christian officials are victimized in order to appease the Fundamentalists.In view of the facts stated above we demand the followings: 1. That a CBI inquiry may be ordered for proper and impartial investigation for justice. 2. That Central Para Military forces be deployed in adequate strength at all the affected and sensitive places to prevent any further recurrences as the local police has not been able to control the situation. 3. That impartial and proper assessment of the property damaged, caused to various Churches, Christian institutions and other establishments may be made and adequate compensation be provided as early as possible to restore confidence of the people in the administration. 4. That proper compensation be given to the deceased family and injured persons. 5. That the culprits responsible for creating communal disharmony and caused damage to people and properties should be severely dealt with and the Govt. officials be given exemplary punishments for their gross negligence, inaction, apathy amounting to connivance with the perpetrators 6. A Fact Finding Committee consisting of various Church leaders and representatives proposed to visit various affected sites and personnel of the Kandhamal District and other affected places of the state to take stock of the situation and to console the victims and families. Therefore, we request to provide police protection to the team during their visit. Yours sincerely, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath,SVD Bishop Sarat Chandra NayakBishop Samsan Das Rev. Dr. Richard HowellGeneral SecretaryEvangelical Fellowship of IndiaNew Delhi, India
Evangelical Fellowship of India (established 1951) is a charter member of World Evangelical Alliance, an accredited NGO with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

Brown's Daily Word 12-28-07

Good Morning,
We are confronted during this Holy Season, the world is in uproar. It was three years ago the world witnessed the Tsunami disaster. It was on the 23rd of .
January, 1999 when Graham Stains and two of sons were burned alive in Orissa , India. The situation in Orissa is still very tense; I have been in touch with Christian leaders in Orissa. According to their reports, at least eight people have been killed, of whom three were pastors. Twenty churches have been destroyed by arson. Over 400 houses have been destroyed. The Christians have fled in to hills and mountains for safety. I have enclosed some news bulletins here with, for prayer.
The Christians in some parts of the area are in the churches day and night, praying and fasting. The Lord is hearing their prayer.
The way the Gospel according John opens, is majestic and glorious. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. …[4] In him was life, and that life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
… [10] He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. …[12] Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. [18] No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:1-2, 4-5, 10, 12-14, 18
John’s Gospel offers nothing naïve…he sees the darkness…but he sees what is equally true…that is, darkness has been enlightened. The Word of God became flesh. It was a great day in our history when a man first walked on the moon. But John reminds us that a far greater event took place when God walked on the earth. For in it WE SEE THE REAL THING.
John’s words capture the deeper storyline; He provides the cosmic treatment which can be laid upon the events of that timeless night.

“WORD” of God
He was preexistent…always and fully God…What has been revealed is not the exception, but the essence of God. “Word” in Hebrew culture is not simply a powerless object in print. The Word is the very agent of creation. Gen 1- The Lord spoke and it came into being.
Ps. 33:6 “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made.”
> So it is, just as God’s Word established the reality of creation…so again the reality of himself in the flesh is a recreating as real as creation itself.
Though our world may reflect the darkness and digression of a world gone wrong…THIS WORD IS A REVELATION OF THE REAL THING. The Word of God…entered a silent night
…yet spoke volumes and still speaks volumes.
This word was spoken in the midst of simplicity and silence…perhaps because our questions are deeper within… because God was and is speaking to the quiet places of our souls…like the pauses of the poet…he uses the quiet backdrop so that we might hear.
Christmas, John makes clear, isn’t simply about God’s visit, but God’s view. It’s the night God put the world into perspective. In the coming of Christ our sentiments are not only given place, they are filled with substance, with reality. It’s the wonderful night to end our deepest wondering. It’s the night that while the world slept, everything changed.
At Christmas, DO WE SENSE THAT OUR WORLD IS NOT FULLY LOST AND LEFT ABANDONED. DO WE SENSE THE PRESENCE OF ANOTHER SPIRIT IN OUR MIDST? A HOPE?
John declares the reality - GOD IS WITH US. In Jesus, our planet is filled with God’s purpose and penetrating presence. Our tiny planet matters to God. It’s filled with His purpose, as the power of God’s Spirit continues the ministry of Christ continues to fulfill that purpose. “Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men” is not just a good Christmas card, not merely a slogan or sentiment, it has substance and reality, for God blessed the earth. He is GOD WITH US.
At Christmas, DO WE SENSE OUR LIVES ARE GIVEN MEANING, THAT WE RISE TO A SENSE IN OURSELVES AND SEE IN OTHERS A GREATER VALUE? John declares the reality - GOD VALUES US. In Jesus, God reveals the reality of human dignity, a worth beyond our merits. God reveals himself not to the super powers, nor to those who did “power lunches”, but a small nation, a peculiar people, a displaced couple, shepherds. IN JESUS GOD DECLARES DIGNITY UPON THE OVERWORKED, OUT OF WORK, to the CEO and those vulnerable to finding merit, the homeless and the helpless.
John declares the reality. GOD WANTS US AS HIS CHILDREN. Do you ever want to be a child again, unburdened, able to be dependent on someone bigger? God says great!…that’s the kind of love he has for us.
Stephen Covey tells the story of a friend whose son developed an avid interest in baseball. As he describes, “My friend wasn’t interested in baseball at all. But one summer, he took his son to see every major league team play one game. The trip took over six weeks and cost a great deal of money, but it became a powerful bonding experience in their relationship. My friend was asked on his return, “Do you like baseball that much?” “No,” he replied, “but I like my son that much.”
So it is that Christmas reveals the reality of a Fathers Love at the heart of the universe. Is. 9:6 “Everlasting Father”
At Christmas, DO WE NOT SENSE WE CAN SEE MORE CLEARLY IN A DARK WORLD, THAT THERE”S A LIGHT WITHIN THE DARKNESS? John declares God’s reality: GOD HAS COME TO GUIDE US through the light of Christ, for “IN HIM WAS LIFE…LIGHT OF MEN.
C.S. Lewis- “I believe in Christ as I believe in the sun. For I not only see it, but by it I see everything else.”
The reality of light and darkness is one of contrast; there is a choice between the two. It is our choice. Christmas is a choice, for embracing reality, embracing light in the midst of darkness.
Ann, along with her two small sons, went to live with her parents in Texas for the duration of World War II, while her Air Force husband was busy in Europe. It was Christmas time and mother and grandparents were making great plans for the boys. The tree was up and decorated. Gifts were bought and hidden away. The excitement, the gaiety, the beauty of the season seemed to push the sorrows and separation of war aside for a time, but only for a time. Just a week before Christmas Day, word came that Daddy would not only be away for this Christmas, but for all the Christmases that were to come; he had been killed in action. Ann went away to her room and closed the door.
Grandpa and Grandma talked quietly and wondered. Finally they decided to set the tree out and take down the decorations, since sorrow had replace their joy. Ann came out of her room after a while and saw the empty space where the tree had been. “Why, Mother?” she questioned. “What have you done with the tree” “Daddy and I set it out. It seemed out of place with you so broken-hearted.” “Oh, but Mother, let’s bring it back in. Christmas was made for such times as these!” “There is a darkness in the earth this Christmas. Deep, thick, black, darkness that would destroy all that is bright and beautiful if given full release. But the light that blazed forth from Bethlehem still shines from the lives of those who believe everywhere, and the only thing that can put it out is rejection. Surely, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness! Shall we keep Christmas this year? Yes, we must keep Christmas this year, for Christ was born for such times as these.

In Christ,
Brown

3 Killed in Hindu, Christian Violence
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ – 2 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in eastern India killed at least three people when they opened fire on a group of hard-line Hindus who set fire to a police station during ongoing clashes between Hindus and Christians, officials said Friday.

The killings, which occurred Thursday in a remote corner of Orissa state, bring the death toll to four since violence broke out on Christmas Eve when long-standing tensions between the Hindu majority and the small Christian community erupted over conversions to Christianity.

The Hindus had attacked the police station in the Kandhamal district's Brahmangaon village, complaining of a lack of protection after a group of Christians burned down several Hindu homes in an apparent retaliation for earlier Hindu attacks on churches.

About 19 churches, most of them small mud and thatch buildings, have been ransacked and burned since Monday and several homes destroyed, including that of Radhakant Nayak, a member of India's upper house of parliament and a Christian leader in the area.

The state's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, told reporters Friday that three people were killed in the violence at the police station, but provided no other details.

Patnaik also called for more federal forces to be dispatched to the area after local police and a curfew failed to halt the violence. On Thursday the federal government said it was sending a 300-strong paramilitary force to the region.

At least 25 people, belonging to both Hindu and Christian communities, have been arrested for suspected involvement in the violence, Superintendent of Police Narsingh Bhol told The Associated Press by phone.

India is overwhelmingly Hindu but officially secular. Religious minorities, such as Christians, who account for 2.5 percent of the country's 1.1. billion people, and Muslims, who make up 14 percent, often coexist peacefully.

But throughout India's history, the issue of conversions has provoked violence by hard-line Hindus.

Hindu groups have long charged Christian missionaries with trying to lure the poor and those who occupy the lowest rungs of Hinduism's complex caste-system away with promises of money and jobs.

Orissa has one of the worst histories of anti-Christian violence. An Australian missionary and his two sons, aged 8 and 10, were burned to death in their car in Orissa following a Bible study class in 1999.

There were conflicting reports of what started the violence in the rural district of Kandhamal, about 840 miles southeast of New Delhi.

Hindu hard-liners said Christians had attempted to attack one of their leaders, who heads an anti-conversion movement.

But Christians said the fighting began when Hindu extremists objected to a show marking Christmas Eve, believing it was designed to encourage conversions.


A Christian-Hindu Clash in India
Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007 By SIMON ROBINSON/NEW DELHI

A bus set on fire by protestors goes up in flames at Baliguda in Phulbani district in Orissa state, India


The violence that has wracked India's eastern state of Orissa over the past few days seems, at first glance, to be purely religious. On Christmas Eve and Christmas day, Hindu nationalists in the Kandhamal area attacked churches and convents and set fire to houses belonging to Christians, killing one person and injuring at least two dozen more. Since then, more than forty Christian houses have been set ablaze despite curfews and increased police patrols. Local Hindus say the violence began after Christians attacked a Hindu leader. Christians say the attacks — the latest in several bouts of religious violence that have plagued the state over the past few years — were sparked by church plans for a performance to celebrate Christmas.

Related Articles

The Race to the Bottom of India’s Ladder
In most parts of the world people struggle to move up the social ladder. In India, some groups want ...



As with most communal violence in India, this latest explosion of hatred is the result not only of religious differences but of a tangled intersection of political power, communal prejudice and the injustices of Hinduism's archaic caste system.

Orissa is predominantly Hindu, with a small Christian minority. Over the past few years, though, thousands of Hindus have converted to Christianity. Many converts, and the churches they join, say conversion is a way to escape their place in the complex social hierarchy of Hindu caste.But India's right-wing Hindu groups and political parties allege that Christian groups are forcing Hindus to convert against their will, in an effort to change the nature of India. "They want to convert people to Christianity and convert the country into a Christian land," Swami Laxmananand Saraswati, head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), one of India's biggest Hindu nationalist groups, told Indian reporters. "We are opposed to that and that is the source of all disputes and fights." Other low-caste groups and so-called "tribals" — ethnic minorities who stand outside the caste system but have historically been poor and neglected — who benefit from affirmative action programs that reserve for them government jobs and school places, worry that minority Christians may one day receive affirmative action places themselves — diluting their chances of moving up India's social ladder. Groups such as the VHP play on those fears in an attempt to unite India's diverse Hindu population against the Christian or Muslim "outsiders," says Ashis Nandy, a political psychologist and sociologist at India's Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. "If you can identify a common enemy it is easier to unify all these Hindu groups" that, in the view of Hindu nationalists, should "work together to save Hinduism."

One of the hard-liners' main frustrations is the fact that Hinduism is inherently tolerant of other religions and allows that they too could be valid alternative paths to enlightenment. Proselytizing as Christians and Muslims do is, by its nature, un-Hindu, which makes a looming battle for Indians' souls look "very asymmetrical," says Nandy. For Hindu nationalists, the fear of Hindu conversions to Christianity "is a kind of humiliation that is being rubbed in," he says. Ironically, of course, Hinduism's acceptance of other religions is used by extremists as an excuse for hostility towards other religions. "The source of tolerance has become a source of bigotry," says Nandy. Which is why this week's upheaval won't be the last.

Brown's Daily Word 12-27-07

Good Morning.
Merry Christmas. Jesus is born. He is the King of angels, and the Lord of all. The world is now learning of the assassination of the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. We have also received the news of senseless and barbaric violence against Christians in the State of Orissa, India on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day. The report cites that 12 churches were set on fire. One man was killed. The area of the Phulbani district was completely in uproar. Militant Hindus carrying weapons marched, terrorizing Christians and churches. The Government of Orissa, which is pro-Hindu, is very slow in responding to protect the Christians. I have included some of the news releases in this mail so that you can pray for the situation. May the Lord of Christmas bring about His peace in the hearts of those who love Him and worship Him. May He open the eyes of the blind that they may see His grace and love. In the Gospel according to John we read the astounding declaration that, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.” John 1:14. John 1:16, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” What we need more than anything is grace, God’s grace.
I read about another great example of grace and God’s grace in action.
Every Sunday for the past 9 years members of the Landisville (Pa) Mennonite Church have prayed for a son of their congregation. Every month they send him a small sum of money, and every month some of them visit him. Prayer, money, and visits. These sound fairly typical for a caregiving church. BUT THIS SITUATION IS NOT TYPICAL AT ALL. Far from it. Nine years ago, after a meal with relatives on a calm Sunday afternoon, 14-year-old Keith Weaver killed his parents and his sister. The horror of the crime and the loss of lives rocked the Weavers’ family, the church, and the community to the core.
In the midst of their grief and disillusionment, however, members of the Landisville Mennonite Church got busy. They helped clean the house where the murders occurred, established a legal support committee to care for Keith’s needs so that the surviving brother and sister wouldn’t have to, and founded a “seventy times seven” fund to collect money for his expenses. They studied grief, forgiveness, and victimization in Sunday School and sermons, calling on the expertise of area chaplains and counselors. A year after the tragedy, they held a memorial service to lament the loss of their loved ones and TO RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO THE JOURNEY OF FORGIVENESS.
Landisville Pastor Sam Thomas said, “Forgiveness is an act of God’s grace. You don’t forgive and forget. You forgive again and again and again.” When I read this story about their forgiveness toward that young 14-year-old murderer I was humbled. Deeply humbled. Strongly humbled to think that they would do such a gracious thing. And praise to the Lord for His mighty grace at work in their lives!
What we need is more grace! More grace from God and more grace working through us to bless the lives of others! When people are touched by the grace of God they become gracious people. They become an actual extension of the grace of God. They do things they would not otherwise do.
Here is God’s grace in action.
- To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
- For the crowd who crucified him, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
- To the thief crucified alongside, Jesus said, “Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.”

That’s grace in action. And it’s exactly what we all need. Titus 3:4-5, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us - not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.”
II Timothy 1:9, Paul speaks of God “who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus.” God’s greatest demonstration of grace is seen in Jesus Christ! WITHOUT JESUS THERE IS NO GRACE! Jesus is the very personification of God’s grace! And His death on the cross was the “greatest show on earth” of God’s grace!
John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.”
Acts 4:12, Peter, speaking of Jesus, said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
People can argue with God and Scripture all they want. God’s Word stands true and will stand the test of time and eternity. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not the Word of God! And people can call us bigots, biased, narrow-minded or whatever, but we still believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and only true Savior of the world!
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”
“Not by works, so that no one can boast.” Our salvation is not based on how much we do for God and Christ, nor on how much good we do for others in life.
If our salvation was based on our good works, some people would never stop bragging. No one can get into heaven without the grace of God as demonstrated in Jesus Christ! Jesus is the road, the pathway, the door. We are saved by His work, not ours.
Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Why is it that the Lord will never count our sins against us at death nor the judgment? IT’S BECAUSE OF JESUS! And it’s because we’ve put our trust and our hope in Him and Him alone! Our sins are covered by His blood! He bore our sins in His body on the tree! He became sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God! God’s grace sustains us in this way and we need to learn to walk with our heads held high! And there should some leap in our walk and our talk! We should live a joyous life because we know where we’re headed. AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS!
God’s grace sustains us in another way. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” II Cor. 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No,’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
In a corner of the churchyard of Olney Parish Church there is a large tombstone on which the inscription reads: “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserved, restored and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
Our friends gave us the movie, Amazing Grace " for Christmas. We are watching it. It is powerful and very moving. John Newton was the son of a sea captain engaged in Mediterranean trade. His mother died when he was 6, and after several years at school, he joined his father’s ship at the age of 11. Immorality, debauchery and failure followed. Rejected by his father and finally jailed and degraded, he later served on slave ships where he incurred the hatred of his employer’s black wife.
He was eventually brought to his senses by reading THE IMITATION OF CHRIST by Thomas a Kempis, the great German preacher of the 13 and 1400’s. He became converted to Christ. At the age of 39 he became a minister of the gospel and was the Pastor of the Olney Church for 15 years. He wrote many hymns and the most familiar being:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

The grace of God can save us but only if we respond to it. The grace of God can sustain us but only if we trust it. The grace of God can sanctify us but only if we surrender to it.
In Jesus,
Brown



Christian body blames govt for attacks
Urges PM for police protection to Christians

Bhubaneswar, December 26
The Orissa unit of the All-India Christian Council today held the state government responsible for the attacks on churches and Christian organisations in Kandhamal district saying the action initiated by the administration was “inadequate”

“The government does not appear to have taken the matter seriously and the slackness on the part of the administration is evident,” organisation’s state unit president, Rev Pran Ranjan Parichha said.

Parichha alleged that Hindu fundamentalist groups had fomented all trouble.

Denouncing and deploring the attacks on particular community in Orissa, church leaders here today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prevent the massacre of the community and desecration of churches in the state.

In a memorandum on behalf of the All-India Catholic Union, the All-India Christian Council and the United Christian Action submitted to the Prime Minister, National Integration Council member John Dayal said the atrocities against the community in the state on December 24 and 25 were fast exploding into the kind of violence seen in the Dangs district of Gujarat during the Christmas of 1998.

Calling the escalating violence and the targeting of Church leaders a well planned conspiracy, he alleged that the main aggression was from the Kui Janakalyan Samiti with its entire attention on driving away the community from the region.

Dr Dayal appealed to the Union government to impress upon the Orissa government to ensure ample police protection to the community, its personnel and the institutions in the state. — PTI, UNI




Cong, Left flay attacks on Christians

New Delhi, December 26
The Congress today condemned attacks on Christians in Orissa and demanded the state government take immediate steps to stop the violence.

“The unfortunate incidents in Orissa are not good for the country, for any civilised society. The Congress demands from the Orissa government that it should take steps as soon as possible to stop the condemnable incidents,” AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.

Asked if the Congress was for an intervention by the National Commission for Minorities in the matter, he said the state government should get some time to normalise the situation.

“If the situation does not normalise, then bodies like the Minorities Commission can be approached,” he said.

“The state government’s report is awaited. Sangh organisations are being named. The BJP is the ruling party’s (BJD) alliance partner and hence fingers can be pointed at the government. So the matter should be looked at carefully,” Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, the CPI and CPM also condemned the “organised attacks” against Christians and asked the state government to take immediate steps to protect the minority community through deployment of adequate security forces and arresting the culprits.

Maintaining that the attacks by VHP and RSS mobs took place on Christmas and the day before, the CPM Politburo said Kandhamal district has been, “for years, the target of communal activities against the Christian community”.

It said the state government and district administration had “failed” to take adequate measures to protect the minority community. — PTI



Attack on churches
Attempt to terrorise a whole community

WHILE the people the world over were celebrating Christmas on December 25, the Christians in Orissa’s Kandhamal district were at the receiving end with alleged activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad destroying church after church. In the mindless violence unleashed on the community, one person was killed and several were injured. The attack was ostensibly to retaliate against the alleged manhandling of a VHP leader. That the VHP chose to convert some Christians to Hinduism on that day bears out that the whole purpose was to foment trouble. Orissa is one state where the so-called Freedom of Religion law is in force which makes it obligatory for the organisers of such conversion ceremonies to follow certain procedures. That the VHP has been paying scant regard for such a law on the specious plea that what it organises is not conversion but “home-coming”.

Despite all the potential for mischief, the district authorities failed to take any preemptive action. What’s more, they could not even protect the house of a minister from the communally surcharged lot. It is not the first time that Orissa has witnessed religious tension. The burning of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons was preceded by several incidents of attack on the minorities in the name of protest against cow slaughter and religious conversion. It is the kid-glove treatment those behind such violent campaigns received that emboldened them to burn the missionary who was tending to the leprosy patients in one of the most backward areas of Orissa. There are feudal and pseudo-political forces that do not want the poor to get educated and know their legal and democratic rights for fear it would upset the caste-based social system.

The Orissa government is duty-bound to take stringent action against all those who desecrated the churches. It should also go after those who “attacked” the VHP leader and bring them to book. No excuse is good enough to terrorise a whole community. In fact, any leniency shown will be construed as a failure of the state to protect not just the life and property of the people but also their right to preach and practise their religious beliefs. What the Orissa government does in Kandhamal district will show how committed it is to uphold the rule of law and the religious rights of the people.

Christmas
By Steve Herman
New Delhi
26 December 2007

Herman report - Download MP3 (506k)
Listen to Herman report



Curfews have been imposed in four districts in the Indian state of Orissa after rioters attacked churches, police stations and homes. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi that the violence started with a fight over Christmas decorations.


Indian police officers stand guard in front of church in Darigibadi, Phulbani district of Orissa, 26 Dec 2007
Officials in Orissa say hundreds of armed security personnel have been sent to the tribal-dominated Kandhamal district, following a rampage that saw the torching of about 12 churches, attacks on police and offices of charitable organizations. At least one person was killed in the violence.

Authorities say a prominent conservative Hindu figure, 80-year-old Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, was attacked on his way to a town where gunfire had broken out over the installation of public Christmas decorations. Hindu mobs took to the streets to protest the assault on the official of the VHP, the acronym for the World Hindu Council. The VHP is active in the area trying to convert Christians to Hinduism.

Media reports say a member of the Kui tribe was hit by a rock and killed when he was caught between clashing Hindus and Christians. About 25 other people have been injured in the escalating violence since Monday.

Vijay Kumar Nayak, who heads the Ashakiran organization, a volunteer group dedicated to conflict resolution in the troubled district, blames authorities for not doing enough to prevent violence.

"I feel really sorry about our government and our police department who cannot control the difficulties and problems. They don't take precautions," said Nayak. "When everything is finished, the destruction is done, houses have burned, churches have burned, Christians are killed, they implement the rules and all that."

On Wednesday, the national Hindu newspaper described the area as a "virtual war zone," which is now under indefinite curfew.