decide now, "will you convert?"
This is a link to an article by Associated Press writer TIm Sullivan, found on Yahoo News about the recent rise in persecution againt Christians in Orissa, India.
Christians are getting beaten, their houses and churches burned, women raped, and many are being killed if they refuse to convert to Hinduism. At the end of the article a Christian who has been worshipping and praying in a secret church gathering is asked if he will you convert to Hinduism if his life is threatened. Holding his 4 month old baby in his arms, he answers, “I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”
I don’t envy this man’s plight. I hate the thought of my wife and children having their lives threatened, or my children growing up without either of their parents. It is difficult for me to imagine being faced with a dilemmma like that at all… but I strive to mentally and emotionally place myself in a similar scenario, even though I am not physically there. Why would I try create such a scenario in my mind?
Because one of the least to be envied particulars about this Indian man’s situation is, that he hasn’t already determined how he would act under the persecution that he now faces. It would be unimaginably difficult to make a sound and grounded decision in the face of such incredible persecution. So I do my best to resolve now, and I challenge you to decide with me, “will you convert?”
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Yes, this situation mirrors that of Hindus in the states in the North-East of India, except that the scale of the persecution and the brutality is much less than what the Hindus are experiencing under an organised campaign that involves international funding, and armed guerilla groups. Common stories are that you are told to convert or you get a bullet in the head.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/717775.stm
These armed Christian terrorists are fighting a guerilla war to force the (Hindu) tribals to convert to Christianity:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/758342.stm
The Baptist reign of terror and forced conversions in the state of Tripura:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jun/23flip.htm
(note the states from that article: 3 incidents of kidnapping reported every two days, never a Christian kidnapped, to an average of 500 people missing a year)
Of course, the organised violence by Christians against Hindus is sadly a very old story in India. The Goan Inquisition comes immediately to mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition#Persecution_of_Hindus
India has a policy of affirmative action in place to help people who have traditionally been discriminated against in the caste system to get the opportunity to go to good schools or to hold good positions in the civil service. Many of the people who stand accused of this violence against the ‘Christians’ in question come from the most ‘backward’ (term used in India) of the castes, who are often illiterate, and suffering extreme poverty. It turns out that the gov’t inquiry into the violence is revealing that the ‘Christians’ in question were using fake documents to swidle tribals/natives out of their land, and to take their positions in schools and the civil service. It’s effectively snatching the crumbs out of the mouths of some of the poorest people on earth, and as they don’t have recourse to the law since they are already economically, politically, and socially disadvantaged, they resorted to violence. Many of these ‘Christians’ would convert after being offered aid by churches, then convert back to Hinduism when convenient, by the way.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/484547/