PERSECUTION

Radical Buddhists Persecute Christians in Sri Lanka

By Gary Lane
CWNews

August 27, 2004

CWNews.org – COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Stories of persecution of Christians in nations dominated by Muslims or Communists, such as Pakistan and China, are common.

But you may be surprised to learn that Christians have been beaten and their churches burned in the predominantly Buddhist nation of Sri Lanka.

Buddhists are taught to show tolerance for beliefs that differ from their own and compassion is an important element of their faith.

But, in recent years, militant Buddhists have shown little tolerance and compassion for Sri Lanka's Christian minority.

Just ask an evangelist we'll call 'Esther' to protect her identity.

Esther was called to minister to Buddhists in a rural area of Sri Lanka. Radical Buddhists threatened her life, because of her evangelistic efforts. She explained what happened one night in September 2003. She and three young converts were abruptly awakened from their sleep as a mob of angry men stormed into their house.

She said, "I ran to the front door and I was preventing people from coming in, but they kept beating me. Some of them managed to come in from the back door. And they dragged the girls out and they were beating them too. And, they were trying to molest them. And it is only through God's grace that they were not raped and they were not molested."

Once outside, Esther said the mob demanded that she and the three young women renounce Christ. Esther said, "And they forced us to kneel down. And they told us to declare that Buddha is our god. We refused to say anything. So, we just stood there and the men kept beating us."

'Esther' was hospitalized for one week as a result of injuries she sustained from the mob beatings. She is not alone. Sri Lankan Christians-only about 7 percent the population here-have experienced increased hostilities at the hands of the Buddhist majority.

Godfrey Yogaraja, Chairman of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), explained why.

Yogaraja said, "Due to the 20-year civil war there's been a lot of disillusionment, people have been hopeless. So, here was the Christian faith which was giving them hope, which was giving them new meaning in life.

So," he went on, "we found a lot of Buddhists and Hindus coming to know Christ in the last 10 years. And, with the growth of the church, we have also seen growth in hostilities and opposition-as the majority Buddhist community has felt that they were losing ground."

Buddhist monks have pressured landlords to evict Christian evangelists-leaving them nowhere to live. Churches have been attacked as well.

During the one year period-January 2003 to January 2004-the NCEASL recorded 136 attacks against Sri Lankan churches; 60 attacks occurred during the first four months of 2004.

One of the most recent occurred last Easter Sunday in the village of Wadduwa-10 Christians were injured when a crowd of angry Buddhists threw stones and beat church members as they left the service.

The Easter incident followed two earlier attacks just after Christmas 2003. Police were called when a mob of several hundred Buddhists stormed the church and interrupted services on Sunday December 28th.

The following evening some members of the mob returned to the church. They picked up a number of stones and threw them against the church building, breaking a number of window panes. It awakened the pastor and members of his family at 2 a.m. No one was injured, but it was a warning to the church-don't hold services here anymore.

Services at the church were discontinued-the militant Buddhists got their wish-the church building was empty on Sundays and every other day of the week until the Easter service.

Pastor Sunil says his church is praying for its persecutors and ministry to the community will continue with or without an open church facility.

In addition, Pastor Sunil said, "We think that what they are doing is out of ignorance-they don't know the love of the Lord. So, our believers are praying for their salvation…My commitment is not for the building, but my commitment is for the believers in the area…"

Pastor Sunil and other evangelists may eventually face jail time and hefty fines if they continue to proselytize.

Legislation that would make religious conversion a criminal offense is now under judicial review by the Sri Lanka Supreme Court. If the Anti-Conversion Bill passes constitutional muster and is signed into law, Christians who share their faith with non-believers could be accused of resorting to tactics of "inducement" or "force" to win converts.

Opponents of the legislation say it would violate Sri Lankan constitutional guarantees of free thought, conscience and religion.

Yogaraja said, "I think one of our main hopes is there would be international pressure brought on the government of Sri Lanka. That's the only way to stop the legislation going through."

Meanwhile, attacks against Christians intensify.

Esther says she will continue to share the Gospel despite repeated assaults and threats against her…

Esther added, "God has shown me that he is going to bring a lot of people from this area to Himself. I know that God is going to do something magnificent and I'm going to be prepared for it. I have become stronger through this experience and I have told the Lord that I am prepared to even give my life, if he so wishes, for His cause."

Yogaraja predicts that the persecution of Sri Lanka's Christian minority will increase. He said, "As the church grows, the persecution is also going to grow. So, our task now is to prepare the Christians to face up to what is to come, to stand firm and to be faithful to the Gospel."

A footnote regarding that proposed anti-conversion law is: This month, thousands of Christians marched and prayed through the streets of Colombo, in protest.

In addition, they presented a Petition to the minister of Christian affairs asking that ithe anti-conversion law be withdrawn. Several Buddhist leaders have also spoken out against the proposed anti-conversion law.

Visit the Voice of the Martyrs Web site.

Visit the Sri Lankan Embassy Web site.

Visit the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka Web site.

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