Wed, Mar 15th - 2:12PM

Believers Framed for Murder

A Gospel for Asia native missionary and several other believers are in jail today because of a plot by radical Hindus to frame them for the murder of a child.

The 16-month-old child was suffering from a prolonged illness and was under medical care in Rajasthan, India. Because the parents had quarreled with the pastor's family over some land, when the child died the radical Hindus saw an opportunity to place the blame on the Christians.

Apparently, members of a local Hindu political party advised the parents to dash their dead child's body against some rocks, breaking its bones. They then took the body to a doctor for a post-mortem examination.

Only after threats from the radical Hindus did the physician reluctantly file a false report, citing murder as the cause. Then the radicals advised the parents to file murder charges against, among others, a GFA missionary and nine other Believers Church members, saying that the murder was part of a plot to grab land for a church building.

This recent incident comes in the context of a larger issue being currently played out in the state of Rajasthan. A person wrote a Christian apologetics book, referencing the Hindu scriptures. When Hindu fundamentalist groups found out about the book, they were angry and began to cause problems for Christians. Not only did they target the organization that published the book, cutting off supplies to its orphanages, but they have lashed out against other ministries as well, such as Gospel for Asia. And this has extended even to framing missionaries and other Christian workers for the murder of a little child.

Gospel for Asia is working with authorities for the missionaries' release. However, GFA missions director Ebenezer Samuel shares, "It's not going to be easy."

GFA founder and president K.P. Yohannan urges that spiritual battles like this one can only be won through prayer and fasting. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ as they face these attacks. Please pray that God will open the eyes of the police and court officials so that those falsely accused of murder will be acquitted of all charges filed against them.

Pray also that God will protect local pastors, families and church members during this ordeal. Pray that far from being a hindrance to the sharing of the Gospel with those who desperately need it, this situation will rather be used of God to further the cause of Christ.