Here are some thoughts about
India while we were there. Some of these thoughts are derived from our own personal observations and also our interactions with the natives who live in
India.
1) There is a Sea of
Lost Souls - About
1.2 billion people live in this ancient land that is slightly more than one-third the size of the
U.S. The religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. There is no monolithic religion in India, especially Hinduism (dominant religion - 79.8%) which has a pantheon of gods and idols.
Religious diversity is also comprised of
Islam (second largest religion in India - 14.2%), followed by
Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and other religions. A great challenge that missionaries face is the diversity of languages and dialects. The languages of the
Indian family can be partitioned into several language families: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian,
Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, and other minor languages. Here is a more granular description of the languages spoken in India (
Indian government disignates a bilingual approach towards the official language: Hindi and
English):
Gujarati,
Kannada, Kashmiri
Konkani,
Maithili,
Malayalam,
Manipuri,
Marathi,
Nepali, Odia,
Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali,
Sindhi,
Sinhala,
Tamil,
Telugu, Tulu,
Urdu (spoken by
Muslims in India). Profitable missionary work will strive for language assimilation. It will garner their attention. Being in India, provoked our spirits. Many image bearers are in their way to
Hell. India, in regards to population, is by far, the single least evangelized nation on earth. Many souls in India have never heard the name
Jesus. See
Wikipedia or nationmaster.com for stats concerning the languages
2) Blatant
Idol Worship - God is not pleased with idol worship; nor should his missionaries. All you need to do concerning God's hatred of idols is to revisit the OT. If there is any close direct application of idol worship as seen in the OT - India would be that country. There are millions of man-made idols and creatures that are worshipped. One of their most sacred animals is the cow.
Believe it or not, people have been murdered for eating beef. This is
Romans 1:22 lived out before you. To preach against idols and exalt Christ as the only
Savior and
Lord is to go against the grain of the ancient
Indian religion and society of Hinduism (an ancient and very old religion).
3)
Challenges that Full-Missionaries
Encounter - They encounter loneliness, harsh criticism from the brethren, betrayal, and persecution.
Don't believe it? Go read the wonderful biography of
William Carey's that is written by his great grandson, S Pearce
Carey. He will give you a detail account of what
the missionaries faced in India. And that transpired hundreds of years ago. The problem continues even now. Oh, pray for the brethren. They need it.
4)
The Power of
Unashamed Field Preaching - Many see this type of preaching in India as foolish, provocative, and dangerous. But many have also been encouraged by it. Critics who spurn this method of preaching have their work cut out for them.
The burden of proof lies with them to prove that open-air preaching is unbiblical. Not everyone is called to open-air preaching.
Despite the criticisms, field preaching is a great and powerful crucible that is used to rapidly permeate the
Word of God in the limelight.
We are not responsible for conversions, but we are responsible for faithfulness.
Success is not determined by numbers, but faithfulness. God has also used it to encourage the universal body that have been discouraged and has fan the flames for saints that need more boldness and passion.
Praise be to God.
5)
Traditions of
Men - The demonic caste system is one of them. The caste system is a hereditary class of
Hindu society that is distinguished by the relative degrees of one's ritual purity, moral pollution, and social class; to name but a few. Many of the problems in India such as poverty and the lack of compassion for their fellow neighbor stems from this ancient tradition. Carey also faced the caste system in the church. What a shame. For example, some churches had different communion plates. Per my conversation with sources in India, the caste system is still ingrained in some churches today.
6)
The Bible is the
Authority - Some who profess Christ in India will equate the
Hindu Vedas (religious primary texts) to the
Bible as being inspired. No divine ancient writing is inspired, but the Bible alone.
7) Not
Everyone who Professes to be a
Christian is a Christian
8) Pentecostalism - They have a huge denominational presence in India.
Charismatic teachings concerning the
Holy Spirit and Bibliology have been harmful to many.
It's teachings must be boldly and lovingly confronted for its errors because it effects the life of the church.
9)
Women Preachers (problem)
10) Suffering is
Unavoidable in the
Mission Field
11)
Resolve and
Passion in Christ is Important to
Survive the Mission Field
- published: 29 Feb 2016
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