Sat, 04/10/2008 - 3:02pm Anti-minority campaign can undo economic gains in India <http://www.persecution.in/node/3292>
Saturday,4 October 2008
- Amulya Ganguli India's secularism has rarely been under a greater threat. The reasons, however, are mixed and complex.
posted in: Current Issue <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/32> , <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/30> , East India <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/2>
read more <http://www.persecution.in/node/3292> newsman's blog <http://www.persecution.in/blog/5> add new comment <http://www.persecution.in/comment/reply/3292#comment_form>
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Sat, 04/10/2008 - 2:00pm Pastor threatened in Chattisgarh <http://www.persecution.in/node/3291>
The Indian Pentecostal church of God was started in Kirandool in Bastar District Chattisgarh State in the year 1969. Since 2002, Pastor George Kuramootil has been ministering in this church. There are around 125 people in the church of whom 90 from another religious background.There are two shops belonging to christians near the church.
posted in: Current Issue <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/32> , <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/30> , East India <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/2>
read more <http://www.persecution.in/node/3291> newsman's blog <http://www.persecution.in/blog/5> add new comment <http://www.persecution.in/comment/reply/3291#comment_form>
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Sat, 04/10/2008 - 1:53pm Christians attacked in Chattisgarh village <http://www.persecution.in/node/3290>
Pastor Satish is a pastor of an Independant Church in Bacheli 10 km from Kirandool Bastar District, Chattisgarh State.On 28th September '08, Sunday morning in village Bacheli, his church believers were targeted by the Bajrang Dal. who instigated 200 local people to attack a particular area in Bacheli village, beat up around 40 Christians with stout sticks.
Six Christians were seriously injured in the attack while dozens of others susutainsed simple injuries.The other believers sent urgent messages to the police who arrived and and took them to the Hospital were they were treated.
Pray for these areas were there is lot of persecution.
posted in: Current Issue <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/32> , Persecution <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/25> , Central India <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/36>
newsman's blog <http://www.persecution.in/blog/5> add new comment <http://www.persecution.in/comment/reply/3290#comment_form>
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Sat, 04/10/2008 - 10:43am Home Minister sends strongly-worded letter to Orissa <http://www.persecution.in/node/3289>
New Delhi, India: After the Union cabinet took a serious view and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed anguish over continuing violence against Christians in Orissa, Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Friday shot off a strongly-worded letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asking him to take effective measures and provide security for the community.
The letter came hours after the Union cabinet expressed grave concern over the situation in the state with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directing Patil to present an appraisal report on the situation at the next cabinet meeting.
posted in: Current Issue <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/32> , <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/30> , East India <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/2>
read more <http://www.persecution.in/node/3289> newsman's blog <http://www.persecution.in/blog/5> add new comment <http://www.persecution.in/comment/reply/3289#comment_form>
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Sat, 04/10/2008 - 7:51am 38 days after the brutality ,the Orissa CM publicly admits rape of nun <http://www.persecution.in/node/3288>
<http://static.flickr.com/3193/2911420848_5fa912f522_m.jpg>
Bhubaneswar, 38 days after the brutality on the Religious Nun, the Orissa CM publicly admits that the rape of the young nun was Savage and Shameful.
He told Patnaik to take effective measures to control communal violence and to apprehend elements that continue to stoke violence and hatred.
posted in: Current Issue <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/32> , Persecution <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/25> , East India <http://www.persecution.in/taxonomy/term/2>
read more <http://www.persecution.in/node/3288> newsman's blog <http://www.persecution.in/blog/5> add new comment <http://www.persecution.in/comment/reply/3288#comment_form>
________________________________
Sat, 04/10/2008 - 7:46am Rally in London Oct 4 against anti-Christian violence in Orissa <http://www.persecution.in/node/3287>
London, Oct 3 : A rally calling for an end to the current wave of anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Orissa will take place in London Saturday Oct 4.
Many Christians have been killed, and an estimated 50,000 forced to flee their homes in the eastern state as attacks on Christians have escalated across the country after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district Aug 23.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Brown's Daily Word 10-3--08
Good Morning,
It is Friday. Thank you Jesus. Sunday is coming. Jesus came as the Lord of the Sabbath. He destroyed the power of sin and death. He came to set the captives free. He came to give life abundantly.
Henry David Thoreau claimed that most men “live lives of quiet desperation.” To avoid that fate, he spent two years, two months and two days, alone in the woods of Walden Pond. He described his experiences in his 1854 book, "Walden", “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” This is Thoreau’s philosophy of “abundant life”. As an early adopter of Darwinian evolution, he advocated a return to nature accompanied by a casting off of religion. A different idea is illustrated by a “veteran mountain climber sharing his experiences with a group of novices preparing for their first major climb. He had conquered many of the world’s most difficult peaks, so he was qualified to give them some advice. ‘Remember this,’ he said, ‘your goal is to experience the exhilaration of the climb and the joy of reaching the peak…. If your purpose for climbing is just to avoid death, your experience will be minimal.’” (David Egnar, Our Daily Bread, February 13, 2003). Fear robs the climb of joy. Sometimes Christians avoid the errors of Thoreau only to slip into those of a novice mountain climber. Professor David Egnar (Cornerstone University and RBC Ministries), who was listening to the mountain climber, said: “Jesus did not call us to live the Christian life just to escape hell. It’s not to be a life of minimum joy and fulfillment, but a life that is full and overflowing. Our purpose in following Christ should not be merely to avoid eternal punishment. If that’s our primary motivation, we are missing the wonders and joys and victories of climbing higher and higher with Jesus.” Many voices call us to their path. Above the noise, however, if we have ears to hear, Jesus offers abundant life. He frees your soul from bondage to sin and the fear of failing in self-justification. Listen to his words of hope, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news…. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor" (Luke 4.18). Receive Jesus as he is offered in the gospel because he gives abundant freedom. He also heals broken hearts, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11.28-30). We must be careful of lightning because electricity follows the path of least resistance. Rivers too, never flow up the mountain, but always down and around. As fallen creatures in a fallen world, we find it easier and more pleasurable to do the same. Watching TV is easier than cooking for our neighbor. We may hope to be happy by taking the path of least resistance, but that path surely does not lead to joy. One of my favorite writers is G. K. Chesterton. He once said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” There are days when following God seems the very opposite of abundant life. But whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will save it.
It has been said that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000—that’s genius. Nelson Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars—that’s capital. Uncle Sam can take paper, draw pictures on it and make it worth $100.00—that’s money. A machinist can take a $5.00 bar of stainless steel and make it into a $5000.00 surgical implant—that’s skill. An artist can take inexpensive canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000—that’s art. God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s discipleship.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zJHgaoVa4
It is Friday. Thank you Jesus. Sunday is coming. Jesus came as the Lord of the Sabbath. He destroyed the power of sin and death. He came to set the captives free. He came to give life abundantly.
Henry David Thoreau claimed that most men “live lives of quiet desperation.” To avoid that fate, he spent two years, two months and two days, alone in the woods of Walden Pond. He described his experiences in his 1854 book, "Walden", “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” This is Thoreau’s philosophy of “abundant life”. As an early adopter of Darwinian evolution, he advocated a return to nature accompanied by a casting off of religion. A different idea is illustrated by a “veteran mountain climber sharing his experiences with a group of novices preparing for their first major climb. He had conquered many of the world’s most difficult peaks, so he was qualified to give them some advice. ‘Remember this,’ he said, ‘your goal is to experience the exhilaration of the climb and the joy of reaching the peak…. If your purpose for climbing is just to avoid death, your experience will be minimal.’” (David Egnar, Our Daily Bread, February 13, 2003). Fear robs the climb of joy. Sometimes Christians avoid the errors of Thoreau only to slip into those of a novice mountain climber. Professor David Egnar (Cornerstone University and RBC Ministries), who was listening to the mountain climber, said: “Jesus did not call us to live the Christian life just to escape hell. It’s not to be a life of minimum joy and fulfillment, but a life that is full and overflowing. Our purpose in following Christ should not be merely to avoid eternal punishment. If that’s our primary motivation, we are missing the wonders and joys and victories of climbing higher and higher with Jesus.” Many voices call us to their path. Above the noise, however, if we have ears to hear, Jesus offers abundant life. He frees your soul from bondage to sin and the fear of failing in self-justification. Listen to his words of hope, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news…. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor" (Luke 4.18). Receive Jesus as he is offered in the gospel because he gives abundant freedom. He also heals broken hearts, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11.28-30). We must be careful of lightning because electricity follows the path of least resistance. Rivers too, never flow up the mountain, but always down and around. As fallen creatures in a fallen world, we find it easier and more pleasurable to do the same. Watching TV is easier than cooking for our neighbor. We may hope to be happy by taking the path of least resistance, but that path surely does not lead to joy. One of my favorite writers is G. K. Chesterton. He once said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” There are days when following God seems the very opposite of abundant life. But whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel will save it.
It has been said that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000—that’s genius. Nelson Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars—that’s capital. Uncle Sam can take paper, draw pictures on it and make it worth $100.00—that’s money. A machinist can take a $5.00 bar of stainless steel and make it into a $5000.00 surgical implant—that’s skill. An artist can take inexpensive canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000—that’s art. God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s discipleship.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zJHgaoVa4
India update 10-03-08
Orissa, India: 'A Systematic Plan to Wipe Out Christian Life'
By Nirmala Carvalho9/30/2008
Asia News (www.asianews.it/)
"A systematic plan to wipe out Christian life is underway, killing people and destroying their property.Nothing prepared us for this.”
Hindu Terrorist groups are hunting down priests, nuns and pastors in order to kill them. In Orissa, these fundamentalist groups have total immunity.
BHUBANESHWAR, India (AsiaNews) – Three bodies were recovered from a river in Kandhamal, the district in Orissa state hit by a wave of anti-Christian violence for more than a month now. The bodies belong to a couple and a woman reported missing after they visited a local village to administer immunisation. Elsewhere Hindu radicals continue their rampage in areas like Raikia (Padrikia and Mondasoro), Tikabali and Didrabadi (near Daringbadi). (Proud to be Catholic? Show Your Support Right Now! Virtual Vigil of Prayer and Solidarity for the Persecuted Church in India. Please Sign the 'Catholic Action' Petition!) “The situation is unbearable. A systematic plan to wipe out Christian life is underway, killing people and destroying their property,” a local source told AsiaNews. “Nothing prepared us for this.” Fr Nithiya Executive Secretary, CBCI Commission for Justice, Peace and Development, confirms that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (BD) are carrying out forced conversion to the last Christian.“This plan is not only politically motivated but is part of a scheme to wipe Christians off the face of Orissa,” the priest said. He described in detail the pattern the plan follows. 1.First Christian Dalits and Tribals are threatened if they do not convert to Hinduism. Once a village has been selected, fundamentalist groups announce ahead of time the date before which residents must convert. 2.Christians are told they must bring back their relatives who fled to refugee camps or anywhere else before the conversion deadline expires. 3.On conversion day Christians must sign a document in which they acknowledge that they freely chose to convert. If they refuse to sign they are tortured and killed. 4.Even of they become Hindu they must still pay a fine of 1,000-1,500 rupees (20-30 US dollars). 5.As a token of their "re-conversion" they must smash Christian statues, vandalise churches and even kill those Christians who have resisted forced re-conversion. 6.Those who do not become Hindus are robbed of all their worldly possessions (homes, land and more) which are given to their Hindu neighbours. Everything left over is set on fire. 7.NGOs and humanitarian workers are not allowed into the forest and the refugee camps where Christians have found shelter. Currently there are some 25,000 people in 17 such camps. Only doctors are allowed in to provide medical care but they are under close supervision for fear that they might engage in “forced conversions” to Christianity. 8.Both the VHP and the BD are hunting down priests, nuns and pastors as well as their families in order to kill them. 9.All the violence is taking place in broad daylight in cities and main roads with the police standing idly by. In Orissa fundamentalist groups have total immunity. Whilst all this is happening state authorities are saying that all is under control and that everything is fine.Little news is getting out of Orissa; whatever information is making its way out it is being manipulated. India’s national newspapers and even the BBC have reported that Orissa tribal associations like the Kui Samaj are trying to defend the rights of poor Tribals against the arrogance of Christians who are stealing their land and threatening their leaders. “First of all no one has pointed out that the Kui Samaj is not any association. This group is linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bajrang Dal, i.e. the world of Hindu fundamentalism,” said a priest from Orissa.“What is actually a form of caste warfare is being described as an interethnic clash. Upper class Hindus cannot accept that Christian Dalits and Tribals are improving socially and economically. What is more, local merchants are lending a hand to non-Dalit Hindus by supplying them with the kerosene and petrol they use to set Christian properties on fire.”
By Nirmala Carvalho9/30/2008
Asia News (www.asianews.it/)
"A systematic plan to wipe out Christian life is underway, killing people and destroying their property.Nothing prepared us for this.”
Hindu Terrorist groups are hunting down priests, nuns and pastors in order to kill them. In Orissa, these fundamentalist groups have total immunity.
BHUBANESHWAR, India (AsiaNews) – Three bodies were recovered from a river in Kandhamal, the district in Orissa state hit by a wave of anti-Christian violence for more than a month now. The bodies belong to a couple and a woman reported missing after they visited a local village to administer immunisation. Elsewhere Hindu radicals continue their rampage in areas like Raikia (Padrikia and Mondasoro), Tikabali and Didrabadi (near Daringbadi). (Proud to be Catholic? Show Your Support Right Now! Virtual Vigil of Prayer and Solidarity for the Persecuted Church in India. Please Sign the 'Catholic Action' Petition!) “The situation is unbearable. A systematic plan to wipe out Christian life is underway, killing people and destroying their property,” a local source told AsiaNews. “Nothing prepared us for this.” Fr Nithiya Executive Secretary, CBCI Commission for Justice, Peace and Development, confirms that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (BD) are carrying out forced conversion to the last Christian.“This plan is not only politically motivated but is part of a scheme to wipe Christians off the face of Orissa,” the priest said. He described in detail the pattern the plan follows. 1.First Christian Dalits and Tribals are threatened if they do not convert to Hinduism. Once a village has been selected, fundamentalist groups announce ahead of time the date before which residents must convert. 2.Christians are told they must bring back their relatives who fled to refugee camps or anywhere else before the conversion deadline expires. 3.On conversion day Christians must sign a document in which they acknowledge that they freely chose to convert. If they refuse to sign they are tortured and killed. 4.Even of they become Hindu they must still pay a fine of 1,000-1,500 rupees (20-30 US dollars). 5.As a token of their "re-conversion" they must smash Christian statues, vandalise churches and even kill those Christians who have resisted forced re-conversion. 6.Those who do not become Hindus are robbed of all their worldly possessions (homes, land and more) which are given to their Hindu neighbours. Everything left over is set on fire. 7.NGOs and humanitarian workers are not allowed into the forest and the refugee camps where Christians have found shelter. Currently there are some 25,000 people in 17 such camps. Only doctors are allowed in to provide medical care but they are under close supervision for fear that they might engage in “forced conversions” to Christianity. 8.Both the VHP and the BD are hunting down priests, nuns and pastors as well as their families in order to kill them. 9.All the violence is taking place in broad daylight in cities and main roads with the police standing idly by. In Orissa fundamentalist groups have total immunity. Whilst all this is happening state authorities are saying that all is under control and that everything is fine.Little news is getting out of Orissa; whatever information is making its way out it is being manipulated. India’s national newspapers and even the BBC have reported that Orissa tribal associations like the Kui Samaj are trying to defend the rights of poor Tribals against the arrogance of Christians who are stealing their land and threatening their leaders. “First of all no one has pointed out that the Kui Samaj is not any association. This group is linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bajrang Dal, i.e. the world of Hindu fundamentalism,” said a priest from Orissa.“What is actually a form of caste warfare is being described as an interethnic clash. Upper class Hindus cannot accept that Christian Dalits and Tribals are improving socially and economically. What is more, local merchants are lending a hand to non-Dalit Hindus by supplying them with the kerosene and petrol they use to set Christian properties on fire.”
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