By Senior Pastor Keith Bates
Would you consider killing another person because they think differently to you?
For most of us, that is an unthinkable idea.
If you are an Indian living in the state of Manipur, located in the north-east of the country, your life is under threat because of your faith.
I have seen sickening video clips of a teenage girl being literally beaten and kicked to death. Her crime was that she was a Christian.
In the last year, Hindu extremists have destroyed over 350 churches.
They have burnt over 4500 houses and completely destroyed 300 villages.
Nobody knows for sure how many people have been killed or badly injured. They justify this violence in the guise of restoring the purity of Indian culture.
Christianity is seen as being a western import and a threat to Hinduism.
We tend to think of India as being a country that is similar to Australia. They play cricket, speak English and their government is a democracy.
Australian political leaders smooch up to Indian leaders to open up trade deals and boost their support amongst the thousands of Indians living in Australia.
The governments of both countries prefer to ignore this ugly side of Indian life.
The persecution of Christians is not uncommon in many parts of India, where policies promote Hinduism at the expense of other faith such as Christianity and Islam.
None of this is to criticise Indian people in general.No nation or people group is without sin.
Christians need to be aware of the situation.
We should pray for our brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith wherever they live. Perhaps some people will be led to take some form of direct action, such as lobbying politicians.
Meanwhile, we can give thanks that we can live at peace here in Narrabri.
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