[RajivMalhotraDiscussion] Sinister appeal by Xitians
Dear Prayer Partners and Supporters,
The RSS has won control of the Central Government through its political party, the BJP. And not by a slim majority; 330 Member of Parliament seats, 278 of these directly. 272 MP seats is a majority in a 544 seat Parliament.
We have been praying for months that God would make His will clear as to the next period of work by the South India Church of Christ Mission. Would it be in a time of persecution or yet more time free from the attacks on Christ’s church during the previous BJP/RSS Central Government control of the Central Government? This has been for us the No. 1 issue since Easter celebrations and evangelism.
God has made His will known today.
We are now beginning the time of the Second Great Persecution of Christ’s church in India this century.
The goal once again will be to make India “Christian free.” The slogan of “..,to be Indian is to be Hindu…” was heard throughout the election campaign. It will now become policy.
The vote could not be any clearer. The RSS is the Indian branch of Hitler’s Nazi Party. It will stop at nothing to make India the homeland of its own brand of Hinduism, called “Hindutva.” Hindutva is very much like Hitler’s “Aryanism.” This goes far beyond what many Hindus normally believe, as a true follower of Hindutva has to believe in one god, Ram. And the RSS are his priests. They are ruthless and driven with a Satanic energy.
Using money power, unending propaganda and a major push by RSS full time “saints”, “India’s Hitler”, Nirendra Modi, now has control of Parliament with over half the seats. Narendra Modi looks and acts like an old-style dictator. It is not by accident. His campaign promises were like Hitler when he came to power in 1933: something for everyone, no specifics. And the very real threat of an end to India’s constitutional democracy if Narendra Modi uses the full power of his majority. This is a Constitution that protects the right of a citizen to be a member of a religion of their choice.
I should be clear that the people of India did not vote for the persecution of Christians. Narendra Modi put forward the “big lie” that he and the RSS didn’t care about religion, they only wanted the “development of India.” No specifics, just “vote for us, and you will get what you want: jobs.” The reality is that with this vote there will be persecution of Christians and Muslims, and no more jobs than before. And I anticipate a level of corruption and attempts to destroy India’s Constitution at a level never seen before. Plus plenty of on-going violence, with Modi’s police in charge of law-and-order.
Almost as hard news as this is the sweeping victory of Jayalithaa, the Chief Minister of the AIADMK party in Tamil Nadu. She has won 38 out of 40 Member of Parliament seats. So she is now the “Dictator of Tamil Nadu”, at least until there’s another election. If ever there is one. It was Jayalithaa who was Chief Minister when the RSS came to power in 1999 and it was she who passed the Tamil Nadu anti-conversion act.
Both the Central Government and the state Government in Tamil Nadu put into place “anti-conversion” laws in 2000, which lasted until 2004. These prohibited baptism of “…any person, under penalty of up to two years in prison for each person baptized and $2,000 fine.” Those of you who have been prayer partners and supporters of the South India Church of Christ Mission will remember the 5 difficult years of open persecution.
The cold-hearted murder of Graham Staines and his two sons, burnt alive in their Jeep in Orissa, was the beginning of many beatings of Christians as they worshipped, killings of Christian leaders, and burning of church buildings.
There was a wide enough repudiation of the attacks on churches, Christian communities and houses, church leaders and church property that in 2004, the Congress Party swept out the BJP/RSS in a landslide. Following that, there were smaller scale regional attacks on Christian and Christian churches in Gujarat (Dangs District) and in Orissa (in the southern coastal and hill areas near to Chattisgarh.). Both these were instigated and led by the RSS. Still, in the 10 years from 2004-2014, Christians in India were able to build Christ’s church, adding tens of thousands of Christians yearly in each state of India.
I have written before often of the “need to harvest the hay while the sun shines.” Those years are now over, and we are at the first day of what will be an evil time until God wills India free of the RSS and its demonic leadership. During this time of darkness, the South India Church of Christ Mission will put to work the lessons learned during its 64 years.
Through the 14 years of this century, the South India Church of Christ Mission has endured 5 years of persecution, responded to the devastation of the tsunami, watched the rural areas of earlier decades change as India urbanizes, and continued to plant churches.
What we know is that in times of persecution, Jesus leads us
with a clarity sometimes lost when Christ’s church is free from persecution. And that causes churches to be planted and congregations to grow. This is because the witness of each Christian is on display to neighbor non-Christians.
What the South India Church of Christ Mission learned, as it grew through the times of persecution, is that God sometimes needs to strengthen Christ’s church with the heat and blood of persecution to have it grow to the next higher level. When you are a Christian in a time of persecution, you will be asked by the mob in its anger: “Are you a Christian?”
And there’s only two answers possible: yes, to glorify Jesus or no, to preserve oneself.
We look now to the leadership and will of Jesus to lead His church through this Second Persecution and to be with us as we strive to do His will and be His servants. Your prayers are also a source of strength to all of us here and have been a critical part of planting the over 1000 churches to date. Whatever comes, this Mission intends to continue to praise Jesus publicly, build Christ’s church and bear whatever burden or suffering Jesus puts upon us for His name’s sake and for the growth of His church here in India.
David Morris