There has been a sharp rise in incidence of violence against Christians in several parts of India especially in Orissa, Karnataka and other states of India in the last two months.

An examination of what is going in the church in India and the church-at-large makes one wonder if the time has come to evaluate, re-look, revisit our theology relating to several areas of church, ministry and life – I believe the time has come for us to come up with new paradigms for missions, 'doing the church' and ministry. We have institutionalised almost every aspect of church-life and its mission in the world, so much so in many contexts the survival, sustenance and success of the institution takes priority over faithfulness to the Word of God, the glory of the Lord or the edification of the Church. In our anxiety to be professional we have become too much programme-driven, performance-oriented and fund-based in our operations and ministry patterns. We seem to have forgotten that transformation is a millennial process. We want to see the whole world saved, converted and churched in one generation! When institutions become more important than individuals, when our institutional goals take priority over the glory of the Lord or the objectives of His kingdom – isn't it time to pause and revisit our strategies?

In this brief and quick response – I want to focus on the immediate context of violence against Christians in India in recent past, while I shall reserve my comments on the larger issue mentioned above to a later stage. Let us first look at the reasons for the present violence against Christians in Orissa and elsewhere in India:

1. One major immediate cause is the socio-economic and socio-political reason of the imbalance in growth and development between the two dominant tribes in Kandhamal, the district in Orissa, which has seen one of the worst kinds of violence possibly in the history of the Church in India. One of the two tribes (Panos, a dalit group) in Kandhamal responded to the gospel and these Christians are now better-educated and live in better conditions economically. Some of who do enjoy the dual benefit of a good education as well as benefits given by the government for tribals. The other tribe (Kandha) still remains backward in many ways and this is a cause for heartburn among them against those who converted to Christianity, that they not only enjoy the benefits from missionaries but also from the Government because of their status as tribals.

   There is no doubting about the fact that there has been infusion of funds from abroad for the missionary activities. Although all conversions cannot be traced to the inducements from missionaries, as alleged by the Hindutva groups, there could be certainly some such cases.

2. The Kandhamal area is also known for the cultivation and production of turmeric and other cash crops. The business class of the area exploited the tribals for generations by paying them less for their agricultural produce. Those tribals who are educated (Christian) understand their rights better now and have been demanding better returns for their crops from the businessmen/brokers. The present violence is also traced to the incitement from the business class against the Christians.

3. The immediate cause for the outbreak of violence against Christians in Orissa is the killing of an 81-year-old RSS activist, Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati. He was heading the VHP movement in Kandhamal. He operated largely from two ashrams 150 km from each other. He was a member of the VHP's Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal, a powerful decision making panel. On August 23, Saraswati was gunned down in one of the ashrams at night while celebrating Janmashtami. It was the tenth attempt at killing Saraswati. Few know who killed Saraswati. But, there are some theories. The Orissa Government says the Maoists (who are trying to build a base in Kandhamal) killed him. The government claim is based on two statements purportedly released by the CPI (Maoist), taking responsibility for the murder. The second statement said: "We have decided to punish anti-people, fanatical leaders like Saraswati because of endless persecution of religious minorities in the country. There will be more such punishments if violence is continued against religious minorities in the country." It is too pat for the Orissa Government. And, if true, the statements would mean that the Maoists have entered the religious conflicts of India.

   A second theory comes from the VHP. After Saraswati's murder, VHP International President Ashok Singhal issued a statement saying, "Once again the cruel face of the Christian missionaries has been exposed. Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati was working for 45 years among the tribals by building hospitals, schools and hostels. He was neither a capitalist nor an anti-social. Because of his work, the tribals were awakened to our culture and religion, which was an obstacle only for the Christian missionaries."

   Christian bodies, on the other hand, have a third view. They say they have nothing to do with Saraswati's murder and have sought an inquiry by the Central Government. The National Secretary of Public Affairs of the All India Christian Council, Dr Sam Paul, said, "The Christian community in India abhors violence, condemns all acts of terrorism, and opposes groups of people taking the law into their own hands. We have had major differences with Mr Saraswati, the deceased VHP leader. It was the hate campaigns of the Sangh Parivar [the RSS is often referred to in this fashion], which led to untold misery for Christians — including the unprecedented violence last Christmas in Orissa. But, we wish peace to everyone and urge everyone to follow the rule of law."

   Whatever the truth, the murder inflamed passions. Even those who do not support the RSS were disturbed by media reports that 30 people in masks and hoods had come to kill Saraswati, and that they hacked at his legs after shooting him. When the Orissa Government allowed Saraswati's funeral procession to pass across 150km in Kandhamal, reason went out.

   By August 25, hordes of Hindu militants were attacking Christian homes and places of worship in Kandhamal. The attacks were mainly at night. On September 1, the Orissa Government told the story in figures: 16 persons killed, 35 injured, 185 arrested; 558 houses and 17 places of worship burnt; 12,539 fed in 10 relief camps; 12 companies of paramilitary forces, 24 platoons of the Orissa State Armed Police, two sections of the Armed Police Reserve Force, and two teams of the Special Operation Group deployed.

   The human story is worse. VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia, who trained to be an oncologist but who likes nothing better than to drive non-Hindus out of India, reached Kandhamal for Saraswati's last rites (he was buried in a sitting position — the padmasana — in his Chakapada ashram, where he ran a school and hostel for boys). Togadia said a Christian sect had killed Saraswati. It was enough to trigger murderous assaults on Christians in Kandhamal and elsewhere in Orissa. Hundreds of Christian homes were set ablaze, a few pastors were slain, and warnings were issued asking them to return home as Hindus, or never.

   (The above section is quoted almost verbatim from: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Ne130908CoverStory.asp)

   It must also be noted here that there are several criminal cases pending against Lakshmananda Saraswati in Orissa.

4. The fourth reason is the larger political strategy of the Hindu parivar groups. With the national general elections to the Indian parliament due in early 2009, the Hindu parties want to create a polarisation on the lines of communal and religious identities in order to create a hysteria among the majority community so that it will garner more votes for BJP and to form a government at the centre. This is a larger game plan.

5. There is no questioning of the fact that Christians in general have gone on an aggressive campaign for the fulfilling of the Great Commission in the last 50-60 years across the globe. There is no doubt that this overdrive has given rise to a sense of resentment among many in different parts of the world – apart from creating a sense of fear that they would lose their cultural identity and as in India the fears of western colonialism/imperialism entering in through the Church.

   (Refer to the following links for some vituperative and vitriolic comments about the Christian agenda of conversions – http://christianaggression.com/features_bush.php, http://christianaggression.com/features_survey.php)

There is no question that the persecuted Christians of Orissa must be helped. Thousands of them have lost their homes, properties and families. Hundreds of children are traumatised. Many have fled and are taking shelter either in the government sponsored-relief camps or have fled the State to neighbouring States of India, especially Andhra Pradesh. There are reports that some of them have reached as far as Repalle in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It is also reported that many of them may never be able to return to their homes and even if they were to return it would be difficult to identify their homes/properties for nothing exists there anymore. And it is also reported that it is practically impossible for anyone to go to those interior regions of Orissa, because the roads are either blocked or are being watched for anyone who attempts to return.

1. The church in India must come forward to support and provide relief to these displaced brethren. I believe the church in India has enough resources to do this. It would be counter productive to the cause of God's Kingdom in India at this point of time to go with the begging bowl to the West (I am sure there will be many who would do this to make an extra buck for themselves), especially in the context of the stigma attached to western funding and the way it has been misused by many in the past in the name of ministry and missions. (This is not just my view but of many other, wise and concerned Christians in India).

2. The church in India must do a serious introspection of itself and the way it has adopted the missiological methods and strategies of the West. Some areas for introspection:
   1. The Lord Jesus clearly said to his disciples that if they were rejected they were to leave the place and go to another country, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town." Matthew 10:14; Acts 13:51. If our people do not want to listen to the gospel let us not shove it down their throats. Let us move on, leaving them to themselves.

   2. If our church buildings have been destroyed, why are we so disturbed about it? Do we need these physical structures in order to worship God? Did he not say that those who worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth? And does a building constitute the Church? Or does our identity depend upon it? On the other hand, I would suggest that this is a good time and context for us to reconsider the formats of worship that we have developed and show the right pattern to the world especially in a nation where places of worship are considered sacred and communal conflagrations of the worst kind were witnessed over a place of worship that was brought down in 1992.

   3. There is an urgent need to examine if the charges levelled against us are genuine – the charges of forced conversions, mass conversions, and conversions are causing cultural divide, inducements offered to converts, and that church is anti-national etc.

   4. There is need for clearer definition of what conversion is. Does it mean breaking of all ties with one's family? Does it mean changing one's name and adopting western or Hebrew/Greek (biblical) name, as is the practice among most Christians in India? Does it mean adopting western life-style etc?

   5. A rethink and a redefinition of the mission and priorities of the church – is it to fill the church with more and more members, so that 'my church' is the fastest growing one in town? What are the mission and the priority of the church?

   6. We need to learn to think strategically, that our conflict is not against any community or party, but against cosmic powers (Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 6:10-17). The importance of intercessory prayer needs to be taught and stressed and that we win our battle in the closet and not on public platforms, while we do not ignore or shun public platforms or debates for the sake of defense and clarification.

   7. We must learn to think with clarity and defend with courage. This is one of the most needed responses today and one of the most misunderstood tasks. There is still a lot of scepticism and hesitation on the part of Christians today about the role of the mind in Christian life and ministry and the use of apologetics. Howard Vos writes about the apologists in the early Church, "The Apologists sought to win the legal recognition for Christianity and to defend it against various charges levelled by the pagan populace. In constructing this defense, the apologists wrote in a more philosophical vein." There is a great need today both for those who would think and write apologetically and with the ability to defend our position even on public platforms. For too long the evangelicals in general and the Indian Church in particular has looked upon scholarship with disdain. The cultivation of the mind is neglected on a wide scale in the church such that there is a huge dearth for Christian thinkers with the ability to develop a Christian apologetic to Hinduism.

   8. Constitutional rights and legal recourse: There is one clear difference in what we see in India today and the persecution in the early church or in other regions of the world. In India we have the constitutional right to preach and practice our faith. So persecution or anti-Christian activity of any kind is non-constitutional and illegal. Therefore we are well within our rights to appeal and take a legal action against such activities. Apart from this there is room for silent protest and demonstration, nor for the sake of political positioning nor for the sake of one-upmanship among the leaders. We can take the example of the persecuted church in other nations on this matter. Charles Colson writes about the church in Romania, that one pastor who did not comply with the regulations of the 'official' church, was harassed and transferred by the government. But the people in huge droves came to protest this. This ultimately led to a revolution against the totalitarian regime leading to its collapse in 1989. There are innumerable such examples in the history of the church. We do well to read our history.

3. Finally a few areas for the church-at-large to consider and do a rethink:
   1. Over the last few centuries the Great Commission became the priority of the church, which led to spawning of several evangelistic ministries to the total neglect of the Great Commandment. There is no questioning of the fact that Christians in general have gone on an aggressive campaign for the fulfilling of the Great Commission in the last 50-60 years across the globe. Because of this in many cases, conversion became the main agenda. This we did because we considered it urgent in the context of our eschatological stand that the coming of the Lord was going to be around the turn of the century (20th century). And so the global church went on an overdrive with evangelisation linking the Great Commission to Matthew 24:14. We devised several projects – in the form of Mission 2000, 10/40 Window, Vision 2020 and a host of others, and as some of my Hindu compatriots in India would say, in order to 'harvest our souls'. And when thousands if not millions of dollars were being raised for the purpose, when many lives and their careers were linked to these projects, when the survival and success of many organisations and para-church leaders became involved – it almost became self-justifiable. Anyone who said anything different was considered suspect as to his Christian convictions. Shouldn't there be a re-look?

      No voices were raised regarding the linking of the Great Commission with Matthew 24:14 and it appears that few bothered to check that Matthew 24:14 talked about preaching the gospel as a 'testimony to all nations' and not about 'harvesting souls' or converting people or planting of churches. Somewhere along the line in a very subtle manner converting people became the agenda of the church. How else could we justify the sustained flow of funds – because the flow of funds depended upon the spectacular reports and figures that we generated? In a country as large as India with large masses living below the poverty line and as social outcasts, gathering them and harvesting them for our reports was not a difficult task!

      Neither did we question the priority given to the Great Commission over the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39). Anyone who did was bracketed with the liberals! My point is, isn't the Greatest commandment greater than all other commandments? Should we not be interpreting the Great Commission in the context of and under the Greatest Commandment? If we gave priority to the Greatest Commandment, love and service would become the agenda of the Church, which would include sharing the gospel too. Love would be the primary agenda. Would we be willing to love and serve our fellow countrymen even if they were to declare openly that they do not wish to be converted to Christianity? Would that not be the test of true love?

      Further, it must be noted that the term 'great commission' is a hermeneutical term while the words 'greatest commandment' was acknowledged and used by the Lord Himself.

      In the name of fulfilling the great commission, we have conducted evangelistic campaigns and crusades on a mass scale as we approached the end of the second millennium. It is my sincere prayer and hope that we have not over done it, like an earlier generation of over-enthusiastic Christians lead a different kind of 'crusades' as they came to the end of the first millennium AD and ended up antagonising the Islamic world. How much damage a misplaced interpretation and misplaced enthusiasm can do? History is witness to it – and we do well to learn from it. If we do not, a future generation will surely reap the consequences of our folly.

   2. There is a great need for a redrawing of the criteria of success in ministry both as individuals, churches and organizations. If success were measured on the basis of numbers or largeness (big budgets, big projects, big buildings etc) of the ministry then surely our strategies would call for aggressive evangelism. But is that the right criteria? For many in India entering into ministry and getting linked to some foreign funding agency is a ticket to prosperity. Should the growth of 'my church'. 'my ministry' the primary concern or the growth of God's kingdom?

   3. Most ministries in India today depend upon funds from abroad – this in itself has generated fears of western imperialism invading India through the church. A rethink is very badly needed about such ministry.

   4. A serious introspection is needed in the areas of fund-raising and fund spending. Quite often in order to keep the flow of funds there is dishonesty in reporting and lack of accountability.

   5. We need to know the 'who and how' of starting fellowships, churches and ministries? The trend has been to start churches and organizations at random – in most cases as a competition or personality clashes or even minor differences. Can anyone, anywhere start a church or a parachurch? To whom is such a person accountable? Only to the Lord, the head of the church? Should there be doctrinal, moral and financial accountability systems and to whom?

   Psalm 2: Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, and "throw off fetters." The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying, "I have installed my Kind in Zion, my holy hill…Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

   May the Lord give His Church in India the wisdom and the grace to face the situation it is passing through and come out victorious, purified and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

   Bibliography:

   Vos, Howard F. Exploring Church History (Nashville: Thomas nelson, 1994).
   Matthew C. V. and Charles Corwin. The Area of Light (Delhi: ISPCK, 1998).
   Sunder Raj, Ebe. National Debate on Conversion (Chennai: Bharat Jyothi, 2001).
   Sunder Raj, Ebe, Thambusamy, Sam and Samuel, Ezra. Divide to Rule (Chennai: Bharat Jyothi, 2000).
   Colson, Charles and Vaughn, Ellen S. The Body (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992).
   Bruce, F.F, The Spreading Flame (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1958).