Martyrs: “Christians are like bed bugs…”

20 CommentsMartyrs
Every Wednesday I post something from Voice of the Martyrs’ Be-A-Voice Network hoping you might join in helping those in other countries who are persecuted for their faith.

The Narmada Samajik Kumbh, a major Hindu rally that drew nearly 2 million people to the banks of Narmada River, came to a close on Feb. 13. The incendiary rhetoric against Christians at the gathering in Madhya Pradesh has incited fear and pushed Christian leaders to ask the government for protection.

Father George, a Catholic priest in charge of Mission Mandala, said that most of the anti-Christian speeches at the Kumbh were directed against Christian missionaries. In particular, the last speaker said that Christians are here primarily to carry out conversions. He said, “Christians are like bed bugs, who hide under the guise of so-called missionary work, and drink the blood of the innocent vulnerable people and bed bugs should be killed or else they will continue drinking blood.”

Though Father George pointed out that people seemed uninterested in these talks, he expressed concern about the impact this Kumbh may have on Christian missionaries.

Source: Asia News

Please Pray!

Pray that the hate-filled words of the speakers will fall to the ground and die and that they will not take root in the hearts and minds of the people. Pray for a hedge of protection around Christians and missionaries in India and for Hindu conversions to Christ.

“Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” Isaiah 8:10

Voice of the Martyrs  provides assistance to persecuted believers in India by supplying Bibles and other resources. VOM’s Families of Martyrs fund is used to assist families who have lost loved ones in attacks.

Comments (20)

  1. Allen

    Reply

    Christian missionaries have caused a lot of harm in Africa, so I can understand why there would be outrage.

    In Nigeria, people are killing children suspected to be witches because missionaries told them to obey the Bible and take it literally, and in Uganda they are killing gay people.

    So before you go calling yourself a martyr because someone spilled a beer on you, think of the innocent children being killed because of the religious fanaticism that you promote.

  2. Garrett

    Reply

    I agree with Allen completely: let’s not forget that the Catholic Church’s terrible policy on contraceptives. That has let the AIDS problem there get out of control.

    Though, as a protestant, I suppose Steve isn’t that opposed to contraceptives.

  3. Glenn Parker

    Reply

    Allen,

    What Pastor Steve promotes is the Truth. It is unfortunate that some people in this world represent evil, however, to suppress the Truth because of others’ evil intent is nothing less than depraved indifference.

    I pray that **NO** Christian will ever be silent because of your (or anyone else’s) feelings about the Truth.

  5. Allen

    Reply

    Glenn, all the Africans are doing is taking the Bible literally like the missionaries told them to. No one in America actually does this. They think they do, but less than 10% of Christians have actually read the entire Bible.

    The Bible says you should kill gay people, and witches, and disobedient children. It says you’re allowed to keep slaves, and it demands that women be treated as second class citizens.

    How exactly is it a positive thing to introduce this to a population that is already susceptible to superstitious beliefs?

    I’ve got nothing against missionaries helping out people in third world countries. I know they do some good. Just leave your Bibles at home.

  6. perdita

    Reply

    “…and bed bugs should be killed or else they will continue drinking blood.”

    That is scary. Religious fervor and nationalist zealotry is a horrible mix.

  7. Glenn Parker

    Reply

    Nameless Cynic:

    He said “Leave your Bibles at home.” How’s that?

    Allen:

    Social programs don’t save anyone. People with full bellies go to Hell the same way as anyone else. Bad hermeneutics does not a Christian make. Without the Truth, food and medicine programs help only the flesh, which will perish regardless of your efforts.

  8. Allen

    Reply

    So social programs don’t save anyone, but encouraging people to murder their children does?

    I’m going to need a bit more elaboration because I’m not following you. I don’t see how Bibles and dead kids are better than medicine and education.

  9. perdita

    Reply

    Glenn – you have no actual evidence for what you say and yet you have the nerve to say that spreading your belief is more important than giving food to the hungry and medicine to the sick?

  10. Nameless Cynic

    Reply

    Gee, Glenn. You don’t know your Bible well enough yet? (I mean, obviously not, but still…) You can’t love Jesus without clutching a book?

    I’m going to repeat myself. And I’ll even type very slowly to see if you can understand it better.

    Did he tell you to be silent? Or just to consider your words?

    In fact, I’ll expand on that a little. Are the words a man says the most important thing, or the deeds he performs?

    I wonder where I’ve heard that before? I also wonder if it ties in with your answer to Allen, as well…

    What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:14-17 KJV)

    (Why do “Christians” make such bad Christians?)

  11. Nameless Cynic

    Reply

    Incidentally, Steve, which translation do you prefer? I’m a big KJV fan myself (but I’ve been known to switch to NIV for clarity – some people can’t handle the language and/or the poetry)

    But which flavor of Bible is the most popular around Hope Chapel?

  12. Steve Sanchez

    Reply

    Nameless,

    I’ve been an NIV reader for years and this is the version our church reads. Just this year I’ve switched over to the ESV to change things up a little. Can’t hang with the KJV, but my wife likes it. My youngest daughter, wife and I are going through the One Year Bible together. My oldest too, but with the New Living Translation.

    There you have it!

    And I’m ordering 25 “Atheist Bibles” to hand out at the college campus I visit on Thursdays for those who need solid answers. :0

  13. Allen

    Reply

    Steve, you do know that the Bible was assembled by a committee thousands of years ago, and since that time it has been translated and retranslated, edited and reedited over and over again, a process that is still going on today.

    Could you please explain to me why an all powerful, all knowing God would think this is the best way to get his message out? Why would he trust the same species who couldn’t even resist his delicious demon apples to create a flawless work of literature?

  14. Nohm

    Reply

    Looks like I forgot to close an italics tag. Let’s try that again:

    Steve wrote: “A committee?”

    Did you actually not know that, Steve? Or are you just pulling our leg?

    If it’s the former, then you should know that there were multiple councils throughout the years that have worked on the Bible (which books to keep in, which to not keep, and so on), starting with the Council of Nicaea.

  16. Allen

    Reply

    Steve, I know I’m going to perish. My concern is for the innocent people who are perishing because of the message you promote.

    As a Christian leader, I think you owe us an explanation. What is positive about encouraging supernatural beliefs that cause people to murder their children? Children are literally dying, and it doesn’t seem to bother you at all.

    Will you at least advise new Christian converts to disregard the Bible passages that call for mass murder? Is that too much to ask for?

    • Steve Sanchez

      Reply

      Allen,

      Where is this advice in the New Testament that calls for mass murder? I’m not familiar with that one. You do know that we are NT Christians? The “Love your enemies” type.

      Nohm,

      Yes, I’m aware of the committees. I do not ascribe to your conclusions about those committees though.

  17. Allen

    Reply

    Steve, your own tract available on this site says, “read your Bible daily and obey it.”

    It says nothing about disregarding the Old Testament. Do you not see how someone in Africa who is simply told “read your Bible daily and obey it” would assume that applies to the Old Testament as well?

    You’ve also got to realize the huge holes there are in the logic that an all powerful, all knowing God chooses to communicate primarily through a book that has undergone a large amount of edits over thousands of years. You’ve just got to have faith is what most Christians say. I know, but once you get past that, then you have to believe that not only does he choose to communicate with us thought ancient texts, but sometimes he changes his mind and releases new texts to go through the same convoluted process of edits and translations.

    It is 100% contradictory to the idea of an all knowing God that He would ever change His mind. How could someone who knows everything change His mind on huge issues like slavery and genocide? The only reason anyone ever changes their mind is when they are exposed to new information. If a person knew everything already, his opinions would never change.

  18. Nohm

    Reply

    Steve wrote: “I do not ascribe to your conclusions about those committees though.”

    Which conclusions are those? I don’t see where I stated what my conclusions were.

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