Across India, the anti-Christian forces are growing stronger by the day, and they have many faces, including a white-collar army of lawyers and clerks who file legal complaints against Christian organizations. They also devise devastating social boycotts against isolated Christians in remote villages. According to extensive interviews, Hindu nationalists have blocked Christians from community wells, barred them from visiting Hindu homes and ostracized villagers for believing in Jesus. Last year, in one town, they stopped people from gathering on Christmas.

INDORE, India — The Christians were mid-hymn when the mob kicked in the door.
A swarm of men dressed in saffron poured inside. They jumped onstage and shouted Hindu supremacist slogans. They punched pastors in the head. They threw women to the ground, sending terrified children scuttling under their chairs.
“They kept beating us, pulling out hair,” said Manish David, one of the pastors who was assaulted. “They yelled: ‘What are you doing here? What songs are you singing? What are you trying to do?’”
The attack unfolded on the morning of Jan. 26 at the Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra Christian center in the city of Indore. The police soon arrived, but the officers did not touch the aggressors. Instead, they arrested and jailed the pastors and other church elders, who were still dizzy from getting punched in the head. The Christians were charged with breaking a newly enforced law that targets religious conversions, one that mirrors at least a dozen other measures across the country that have prompted a surge in mob violence against Indian Christians.
Pastor David was not converting anyone, he said. But the organized assault against his church was propelled by a growing anti-Christian hysteria that is spreading across this vast nation, home to one of Asia’s oldest and largest Christian communities, with more than 30 million adherents.
Anti-Christian vigilantes are sweeping through villages, storming churches, burning Christian literature, attacking schools and assaulting worshipers. In many cases, the police and members of India’s governing party are helping them, government documents and dozens of interviews revealed. In church after church, the very act of worship has become dangerous despite constitutional protections for freedom of religion.
To many Hindu extremists, the attacks are justified — a means of preventing religious conversions. To them, the possibility that some Indians, even a relatively small number, would reject Hinduism for Christianity is a threat to their dream of turning India into a pure Hindu nation. Many Christians have become so frightened that they try to pass as Hindu to protect themselves.
“I just don’t get it,” said Abhishek Ninama, a Christian farmer, who stared dejectedly at a rural church stomped apart this year. “What is it that we do that makes them hate us so much?”
The pressure is greatest in central and northern India, where the governing party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is firmly in control, and where evangelical Christian groups are making inroads among lower-caste Hindus, albeit quietly. Pastors hold clandestine ceremonies at night. They conduct secret baptisms. They pass out audio Bibles that look like little transistor radios so that illiterate farmers can surreptitiously listen to the scripture as they plow their fields.
Since its independence in 1947, India has been the world’s largest experiment in democracy. At times, communal violence, often between Hindus and Muslims, has tested its commitment to religious pluralism, but usually the authorities try, albeit sometimes too slowly, to tamp it down.
The issue of conversions to Christianity from Hinduism is an especially touchy subject, one that has vexed the country for years and even drew in Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, who fiercely guarded India’s secular ideals. In the past few years, Mr. Modi and his Hindu nationalist party have tugged India far to the right, away from what many Indians see as the multicultural foundation Nehru built. The rising attacks on Christians, who make up about 2 percent of the population, are part of a broader shift in India, in which minorities feel less safe.
Mr. Modi is facing increasing international pressure to rein in his supporters and stop the persecution of Muslims and Christians. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government body, recommended that India be put on its red list for “severe violations of religious freedom” — a charge the Modi administration strongly denied.
But across India, the anti-Christian forces are growing stronger by the day, and they have many faces, including a white-collar army of lawyers and clerks who file legal complaints against Christian organizations. They also devise devastating social boycotts against isolated Christians in remote villages. According to extensive interviews, Hindu nationalists have blocked Christians from community wells, barred them from visiting Hindu homes and ostracized villagers for believing in Jesus. Last year, in one town, they stopped people from gathering on Christmas.
“Christians are being suppressed, discriminated against and persecuted at rising levels like never before in India,” said Matias Perttula, the advocacy director at International Christian Concern, a leading anti-persecution group. “And the attackers run free, every time.”
“They Want to Remove Us From Society”
Dilip Chouhan sits in an office behind a copy shop in the small central Indian town of Alirajpur, meaty arms folded across his chest. Above him stretches a poster of a tribal warrior. Mr. Chouhan is part of a growing network of anti-Christian muscle.
Just the mention of Christians makes his face pucker, as if he licked a lemon.
“These ‘believers,’” he said, using the term derisively, “they promise all kinds of stuff — motorcycles, TVs, fridges. They work off superstition. They mislead people.”
Mr. Chouhan lives in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, which this year passed an anti-conversion law that carries prison sentences of up to 10 years for any person found guilty of leading illegal conversions, which are vaguely defined. Energized by this law, Mr. Chouhan, 35, and scores of other young Hindu nationalists have stormed a string of churches. Some of the raids were broadcast on the news, including footage of Mr. Chouhan barging into one church with a shotgun on his back.
He said he wore the gun on his back simply out of “fashion,” and a senior police officer in that area said there would be no charges. Instead, as happened with the Indore episode, several pastors in the ransacked churches were jailed on charges of illegal conversions. Police officials declined to share their evidence.
Mr. Chouhan says his group, which uses WhatsApp to plan its raids on upcoming church services, has 5,000 members. It is part of a constellation of Hindu nationalist organizations across the country, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., as well as many members of Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or the B.J.P.
“The B.J.P. is really into this issue, big time,” said Gaurav Tiwari, a party youth leader in Madhya Pradesh.

His B.J.P. comrades in the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh recently conducted several anti-Christian marches during which they belted out: “Converters! Let’s beat them with shoes!” In September, they did exactly that: A throng of young B.J.P. workers from the same chapter barged into a Chhattisgarh police station and hurled shoes at two pastors and beat them up — right in front of police officers.

“I slapped that pastor five or six times,” bragged Rahul Rao, a 34-year-old contractor and officer holder of the B.J.P. youth cell. “It was immensely satisfying.”
In this case, police officers have charged Mr. Rao, who was bailed out by other B.J.P. members. But in many cases, the authorities take the mob’s side.
A recently leaked letter, from a top police official in Chhattisgarh to his underlings, reads: “Keep a constant vigil on the activities of Christian missionaries.”
Another leaked document, from a district administrator in Baghpat, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, last year denied Christians the right to celebrate Christmas at a church. And just a few weeks ago, an esteemed Hindu priest presented, in public, with B.J.P. leaders sharing a stage with him, his remedy for those who try to convert others: beheading.

Christians in states such as Kerala and Goa, which have large historic Christian communities, face much less persecution, if any at all.
But in tradition-bound rural areas where Christians are a tiny minority and community means everything, the pressure is intense.
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Written by David T. Crum |
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Displaying godly living, including a humble soul, glorifies the Lord. It reinforces the process of authentic sanctification, restrains the darkness of the flesh, and serves as a heavenly attribute in evangelistic efforts. Sadly, we all suffer from the sin of selfishness, but thanks to Jesus Christ, we can suppress such ungodliness and exalt He who redeems us in our daily living and affairs.

Bearing the fruit of Christ is a foundational tenet of the believer’s life. Referencing the Sermon on the Mount, how can Christians be the salt and light of the world if they do not possess qualities of godly living, signifying a genuine regeneration of the soul? The answer is simple: The regenerated soul in Christ must remain faithful to the Lord in both word and spirit. One of the traits Christians are constantly taught to embody is the characteristic of humility.
The Proverbs declare:
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life” (Proverbs 22:3-4).
The New Testament teaches:
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12).
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
Millard J. Erickson defines humility as “the quality of not regarding oneself more highly than one should, nor being excessively concerned about one’s welfare or reputation.”[i]
Charles Hodge wrote, “This is the opposite of self-righteousness, of self-complacency, and self-confidence.”[ii] Undoubtedly, the prime example of humility is the Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered for the sake of His sheep. Likewise, church leaders know very well they are called to live peaceful lives centered on humility.
While the concept is relatively simple, the ability to place oneself aside is contrary to the flesh and human nature of mankind. Every soul is guilty of selfish behavior and pursuing self-seeking ambitions. The Scriptures share the story of Peter denying the Lord not once, but three times. Judas, too, acting in his own self-interest, betrayed Jesus. Jonah, in greedy disobedience, ignored God in initially heading to Nineveh.
Mankind clearly disobeys God, each following their own passions and desires (Romans 3:10-11). Though the blemish of the fall and sin lies deep inside each soul, there is hope in Jesus Christ. Thankfully, the Spirit guides those who are in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). However, the stain of selfishness and pride can frequent our daily lives and if uncontrolled, such self-admiration leads to a life lived contrary to the greatest commandment of the Scriptures:
“Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ ” (Matthew 22:37-39).
Nineteenth-century pastor George Winfred Hervey taught, “He who is proudly content with his present character forgets the dignity of his nature, and of his destiny.”[iii]
Bearing the fruit of humility produces a mannerism noticeable to strangers and unbelievers alike. Hervey further explained, “Were this humility more generally cultivated by Christians, what improvement in manners might be anticipated even in what are now esteemed the most refined circles.”[iv]
Admittedly, genuine humility is the complete opposite of every person’s natural being; however, it is perhaps one of the most magnificent traits of a believer’s conversion. While difficult to maintain, it accentuates the love, salvation, and grace of the Lord.
Displaying godly living, including a humble soul, glorifies the Lord. It reinforces the process of authentic sanctification, restrains the darkness of the flesh, and serves as a heavenly attribute in evangelistic efforts. Sadly, we all suffer from the sin of selfishness, but thanks to Jesus Christ, we can suppress such ungodliness and exalt He who redeems us in our daily living and affairs.
Hervey commented, “True humility dwells only in the bosom of those who have repented of their disobedience to God, and of their rejection of his son the Saviour.”[v] He concluded, “You may have gentility; you may have modesty; but humility, and that deportment which springs honestly from it, you cannot claim unless your soul has bowed low with godly sorrow.”[vi]
David Crum holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology. He serves as an Assistant Professor of History and Dissertation Chair. His research interests include the history of warfare and Christianity. He and his family attend Trinity Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Bedell, New Brunswick. 

[i] Millard J. Erickson, The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology, (Wheaton: Crossway), 94.
[ii] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1988), 501.
[iii] George Winfred Hervey, The Principles of Courtesy: With Hints And Observations On Manners And Habits, (London: Forgotten Books, 2018), 29.
[iv] Ibid., 33.
[v] Ibid., 36.
[vi] Ibid.
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Man’s dominion over the creatures proceeded from his relationship with the Lord Who gave him that dominion. It is not enough to say that man’s relationship to God was primary and his relationship to the other creatures secondary. Rather, how man conducts himself in the creation is to display him as being made in God’s image. And this is a duty that man fulfills in knowledge and love to the Creator Who charged him with it. 

As I sit down to write this article, I’m in the midst of preparing to preach Romans 8:19–22 in our congregation’s midweek prayer meeting. It’s an amazing passage that reminds us of what creation was originally supposed to display about God, and about His image-bearers. But it also reminds us that the fallen creation is subjected not to death-pangs but birth-pangs, as it labors and groans forward to the resurrection of God’s children for a new heavens and new earth.
The fourth chapter of our Confession is just two little paragraphs that capture this reality about the creation: it manifests God’s glory (4.1) with His image-bearers as the special manifestation of that glory (4.2).
Manifesting God’s Glory
“It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”
Just as God decreed because it pleased Him, and elected because it pleased Him, so also now He created because it pleased Him. He is God. He is under obligation to none but Himself. And this, too—the adoration, fellowship, and pleasure within the Godhead—is captured in this phrase. For this was a triune pleasure to engage in a triune work.
“for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness,”
The previous clause implies what this clause plainly states: God is ultimate. Creation is not about the creature; it is about the Creator. His power, wisdom, and goodness are essential to Him—necessary characteristics of His essence. Creating does not add these to Him; it is a display that He is like this in Himself. Creating is about displaying His glory.
“in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible,”
God being eternal, the beginning comes when He creates. There is nothing, not even time. Then He creates; He makes of nothing. He alone is uncreated, and nothing else at all is Creator. When man treats matter as if it is so ancient that being or existence are of its essence, sinners are attributing Creator-glory to the creature. But when the Scriptures repeatedly emphasize that at this beginning Jesus was there, creating, they are declaring that He Himself is the Creator, the living God (cf. Jn 1:1–3; Col 1:15–17; Heb 1:1–2).
“in the space of six days; and all very good.”
Here is an important connection between God and man. God is outside of time and infinite in power. He can create in an instant. Yet, He chooses to do so in the space of six days. Why?
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