India (MNN) — Hindu jealousy over the growth of the church
may be behind a series of troubling e-mails that have been hitting Christian
circles in the U.S.
Samuel Stephens with India Gospel League says, "The real picture is actually militant
Hindus who are trying to create this problem."
When Dalits rejected the caste system, many turned to
Christ. Others turned to neo-Buddhism. Stephens says it appears that Hindus are trying to stir up trouble on
the birthday of the founder of the new-Buddhist movement. "Almost every year on that anniversary,
there's a large movement to neo-Buddhism from among the Dalits. This e-mail was
sent out particularly during that time."
It's a ploy to create confusion and disorder and blame the
Christians. "People are watching. Some kind of problems will arise, and the
Hindu militants can get some kind of mileage out of this." Stephens says it's a tactic
similar to the one used to trigger the violence and persecution in Khandmal
District in Orissa on Christmas day.
Stephens asks people not to forward
it. The e-mails are being sent out under the names "Pastor, Dalit freedom
network," "Sudhir – Architect," and "United Church." It reads in part, "Please pray for churches
in India. Buddhist extremists in India burned down 20 churches last night.
Tonight they plan to destroy 200 churches in the province of Olisabang. They
plan to kill 200 missionaries within 24 hours."
According to Stephens, the extremists have been widely distributing anti-Christian
and anti-missionary e-mails. One of the stated strategies of the RSS, the
leading Hindu extremist group that is behind all this, is to create such
confusion and disharmony between minority groups in the country.
Stephens says clear communication of the Gospel is
critical. "Pray that God would give
us wisdom to effectively communicate the Gospel in ways which are acceptable to
the people." Your support can keep
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