INDIA – 27 Seventh-day Adventists Die in Religious Violence
On September 19, 2008, we were alerted by a reader in India to a story about the violence between Christians and Hindus in India. Click here to read the story.
India: Aftermath of violence leaves scars on Orissa
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in India have reported at least 27 Adventists dead from anti-Christian brutality that developed in the eastern India region of Orissa in late August. Church leaders said there are still violent outbreaks in the area despite India’s Central Reserve Police forces patrolling the state.
Choudampalli John, president of the Adventist Church in east India, reported that he was not allowed to enter the areas where extremist violence occurred. John also said some Adventists are still hiding in the jungles because they fear retribution from other refugees at government-run aid camps.
Other church leaders commented on the severity of the situation.
Paka Jesurathnam, Adventist church leader for Orissa, reported thousands of houses and three dozen Adventist churches were likely destroyed and looted.
“To evaluate the actual loss of lives, property, people … dwelling places and worship centers is impossible right now,” said Jesurathnam. “To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
“To hear … personal stories [makes] our nerves ache and blood dry.”
The Prime Minister of India has condemned the violence, calling it a “national disgrace,” according to published reports.
Possibly as many as 50,000 Christians from the Kandhamal region of Orissa are scattered throughout the seven government-run refugee camps and the surrounding jungle, Ecumenical News International reported.
Hindu extremists are blamed for beheading an Adventist pastor in August. Samuel Naik, pastor of the Phulwani Adventist Church, and his mother were killed during anti-Christian violence sweeping the region of India. Church leaders reported that Naik’s wife, who was previously reported to have committed suicide, is still alive.
The outbreak came after unidentified attackers killed a Hindu religious leader and four other individuals. Hindus are blaming Christians for the deaths, while the Indian government cited Maoist rebels.
Source: Adventist News Network – http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1222720930/index.html.en
THIS WEEK: Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India
A reader in India has alerted us to contemporary conflict between Hinduism and Christianity in India. Here are several news stories about this:
7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath
Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion…
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday.
The places of worship which were attacked in Dakshina Kannada include Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery in Mangalore city, Christ Church at Kodikal near Mangalore, Believers Church of India at Puttur, Mahima Prathanalaya and Indian Pentecostal (both at Madanthyar in Belthangady taluk) and Bethesda Aradanalaya at Sullia.
The modus operandi of all the attacks was similar: a group of 20-25 persons barged into the prayer halls between 10 am and 10.30 am, damaged the furniture and desecrated the statues of Jesus Christ.
As news spread, Christians in Mangalore came onto the streets in large numbers and blocked roads till night. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes visited the protesters near Milagres in the evening.
Read more from the Deccan Herald – DH News Service Mangalore
Mangalore: Citizens’ Delegation Blames Home Ministry for Collapse of Law and Order
Mangalore, Sep 16: The state home minister is responsible for the total collapse of law and order in coastal Karnataka, and the failure of the state intelligence to warn of such a tragedy. Action must be taken against the district authorities while Christians, who are the victims of this tragedy, must not be targeted and the persons who were arrested on false charges should be released immediately, said Mahesh Bhat, head of the Citizens’ Delegation and noted bollywood director.
Read more and see pictures at Daijiworld
Orissa Govt Acquiesces Plot To Wipe Out Christianity In State
By John Dayal
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 18, 2008, 10.00 Hrs (SAR News):
Late Sunday night I had two very disturbing calls interrupting the unceasing messages and rings from Orissa on my two mobile phones. The first was of two separate gunbattles between police and armed mobs. One was a Sangh Parivar posse attacking a church in Tumuliband and apparently two of the attackers were killed by the police. The second was reportedly a Maoist attack on two villages in the Raikia region.
The second message confirmed something I had been told some days ago – that Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and surgeon Dr. Praveen Togadia (he is still registered, apparently, with the Medical Council of India) had given a call, almost a contract, to his cadres in Orissa that three prominent Christian leaders, two of them living in Bhubaneswar, had to be “eliminated”.
Already, these three have been named in the Oriya language press, and pamphlets while their names have been distributed in villages in Kandhamal and neighbouring districts.
Read more at Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)
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UPDATE:
Mangalore: Hindus and Catholics Agree for Amicable Settlement
Mangalore, Sep 18: The leaders of Catholic Christian and Hindu community have decided to burry the hatchet and resolve differences, if any between two communities with amicable settlement in the future to maintain peaceful atmosphere in the district. They also assured not to hurt religious sentiments of each other. The leaders of both the communities agreed to resolve all differences at the peace meeting led by district in-charge-minister J Krishna Palemar held on Wednesday September 17 in the presence of district commissioner M Maheshwar Rao…
. . .
Fr Francis Serrao said that Catholic Christian institutions never played any kind of discriminatory role among students. The New Life Society has no connection with Catholic Christian community. It is not under the jurisdiction of any Catholic Bishop.
“Baseless allegations against Catholic community and attack on churches either owing to mistaken identity or well-planned strategy have hurt our sentiments. We should respect and encourage the culture of every community. Such incidents should not occur again. Nobody is above the law. Hereafter nobody should take law and order into their hands,” he added.
When he was asked as why other sections of the Christian community had not been invited during the peace meeting, Fr Serrao replied that they also to be invited during next peace meetings.
Puranik clarified that attacks on churches in other parts of the state have no connection with Sangh Parivar. It is a well-planned political conspiracy, fishing in troubled waters. “Being a RSS member, I can say that Hindutva is a nationality. According to RSS, all religions of our country are Hindu only. Hindu community is a peaceful community. We never want to hurt anybody,” he opined.
RAW MATERIALS: This week’s Obama / Dobson broughaha
To help understand what’s going on between Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, we have assembled the raw materials and news stories about the subject.
1. Read Obama’s Speech from June 28, 2006
“Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”
2. Listen to Dobson’s June 23, 2008 broadcast about Obama’s speech here.
“Obviously, that is offensive to me,” Dr. Dobson says. “He’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology.”
3. Read the news reports and blogs. Some of the hundreds that hit the web are listed below with some key paragraphs.
Focus on Fruitcake: Dr. Dobson’s Half-Baked Recipe for Theocracy by Rob Boston
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
“Dobson’s broadcast makes one thing clear: He remains a “my-way-or-the-highway” guy. Dobson is as dogmatic as they come. On this morning’s broadcast, he comes dangerously close to saying that the views of Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christians can be safely discarded because they are in the minority.”
Deborah’s US Liberal Politics Blog – Deborah White
“But as brilliant Obama’s speech was, Dobson’s larger concern is decidedly not words uttered two years ago by the junior senator from Illinois. It’s about the political inroads Obama is making in 2008 with Republicans and younger evangelical Christians disenchanted with Bush administration dishonesties and failed policies, and with the narrow focus of older religious-right leaders as Dobson.”
US News and World Report Blog Buzz: Dobson, Obama – by Robert Schlesinger and Johannah Cornblatt
James Dobson tears into Obama, making WashMo’s Kevin Drum think that irking Dobson really isn’t very hard. Andrew Sullivan seems to think it’s not anger as much as fear, and other liberal bloggers agree. Hot Air’s Allahpundit manages to both brush off Dobson and criticize Obama. And Taylor Marsh thinks it’s the latest reason to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.
“James Dobson Rips Barack Obama” David Brody
Christian Broadcasting Network
During one part of the show Dobson said of Obama, “I think he is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”
Obama has spent a considerable amount of time reaching out to Christians. He has held conversations with everyone from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado. His message has been warmly received by some and shunned by others who agree with Dobson.
‘Fruitcake’ Obama under fire from Christian right leader (AFP)
Hitting back at Obama’s courting of evangelical voters, Dobson highlighted a speech two years ago to religious leaders in which the Democrat said he could not outlaw abortion based on his own Christian beliefs.
“That is a fruitcake interpretation of the constitution,” Dobson said on a radio show aired by his Focus on the Family group.
“This is why we have elections, to support what we believe, to be wise and moral. We don’t have to go to the lowest common denominator of morality which is what he is suggesting,” he said.
“Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?”
Dobson also hit out at Obama’s oft-stated mention of Old Testament passages that call for the stoning of homosexuals, to illustrate his point that the Bible is not always helpful to political discourse.
“That kind of commentary drives me crazy,” Dobson said. “He is dragging Biblical understanding through the gutter.”
4. Your turn. What do you think? Post your thoughts below.
Or you can comment at http://adventistforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/174386/James_Dobson_accuses_Obama_of_#Post174386
THE LIGHTER SIDE: Stand-Up Comedy featuring A Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew, and an Atheist
While we often have to deal with very serious issues on ReligiousLiberty.TV, there is always room to see the lighter side of what it means to live together in a real world where people are able to follow their faith without interference from the state or others.
A Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew, and an Atheist all do a stand-up comedy show together called the Coexist Comedy Tour. DISCLAIMER: This video clip is posted for humor and does describe stereotypes about religion.
Their website describes their act as follows:
Can an atheist, a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim and a Buddhist go on the road together, share a stage and be an example of how to get along? Probably not, but our failures should be good for some laughs.