Godly protection in India

"Almost 60,000 uniformed men and boys travelled to Agra, northern India, to listen to their leader, K.S. Sudarshan, and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the nationalistic and fanatic Hindu RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - National Volunteers Association)," reported Celia W. Dugger in the New York Times on 16th October 2000. Minister of the Interior Lal Krishna Advani was among them. "Christians and Moslems must be converted back into the lap of Hinduism," says Sudarshan, calling on Christians to break their links with "foreign-financed and Western-dominated churches" and found a "Church of India". The RSS continues in its attempts to change India's secular Constitution and 'purify India from foreign contamination'. Over half a million men and boys attend the RSS's daily meetings in 45,000 local chapters, which are "recruitment centres with a programme somewhere between Scouts and Hindu Crusaders", according to reports.

With that background, the following report, representative of many which we receive from India, has a particular significance:

Protected from electric shocks

"Four Indian missionaries were praying in their apartment in Orissa, when 15 anti-Christian youths suddenly broke into the room, attacking them with knives, iron bars and bamboo staffs. They were bound hand and foot, then beaten. Three of them were then dragged out and dumped on the ground. Simon, the only one remaining in the room, knew what was coming, and prepared himself to die as a martyr. The fanatic youths planned to torture and kill him with electric shocks, but, by God's grace, Simon did not feel a thing. The youths then attempted to torture Laru, one of the other missionaries, in the same way, but he also felt nothing. Frustrated, the youths dismantled the circuits, because they could not harm the Christians. God saved the missionaries' lives were saved by performing a miracle," writes mission agency Gospel for Asia.

We will not leave until a church has been planted!

The four missionaries were dragged naked through the village streets. They were threatened, and told that they would be killed if they did not recant Christ. They answered "We are already half dead, and you have tortured us. We are ready to die, but we will never deny Jesus, the Lord who loves us." Finally, they were told, "Leave this village within the hour, or you will be killed and buried here." The four left the village, but returned as soon as they had regained their strength. When asked why they did not go to another village to evangelise, they answered "We have been beaten and wounded here. We will not leave until we see a church of people committed to following Jesus. Whatever may come, we are prepared." Within a short time, they had led 14 people to Jesus.

Source: Gospel for Asia, Date: 2 Nov 2000

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