In December 2017, it was noted that Christian persecution in India would become a major trend for the future to be watch, for as world events built towards another war, Hindu nationalists will attempt to use them to advance their domestic agenda by using them as a cover for their persecution of Christians and Muslims. Violence has reached the levels of an attack against a Christian every 40 hours, and in spite of minor interruptions, the trend has continued to increase constantly.

The British All-Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion and Belief, a group associated with Parliament and made up of Parliament members but lacking any official status in Parliament, has issued a report condemning the violence against Christians and Muslims in the name of advancing the Hindutva ideology:

A report by the British All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief criticized the Indian government for failing to protect religious minorities from violent Hindu hardliners. The report, entitled Commentary on the Current State of Freedom of Religion or Belief, also said that anti-conversion laws in seven of India’s state are also a threat to the safety of Muslims and Christians.

The December 31 report said that the rise of the nationalist “Hindutva” ideology has led to an increase in religious oppression in the country. The report went on to say that even though Prime Minister Modi “has finally” condemned mob violence against minorities, his government has “remained largely inactive in proactively tackling spiraling religiously motivated violence.”

Since taking power in 2014, the BJP-led government and Prime Minister Modi have overseen a regime in which religiously motivated violence has skyrocketed. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) cases of anti-Christian violence have more than doubled under BJP rule.

In EFI’s 2014 annual report, 144 cases of anti-Christian violence were recorded across India. In 2017, after three years of BJP rule, that number skyrocketed to 351 cases of anti-Christian violence. (source)

Now it is important to note that this report has no official status whatsoever. It is akin to the meeting of Rescue Christians in February 2018 in Hungary with members of the Hungarian government, which wanted Christian rights groups to sign a paper expressing their union with the Hungarian government in opposing Christian persecution, but without committing to or even expressing a desire to do anything at all to remedy the situation. This is a common theme with Christian persecution, for many good people believe that the governments of the West or other ones in the world actually care on some level about Christians, when the truth is they could care less save for what usefulness they believe they can extract from their plight before abandoning them. Just as with the Americans, her British ancestor is notorious for selective intervention and focus on major conflicts in order to advance a political ideology of power without any moral compunction.

India has a special relationship with the UK because of her colonial history and those of the nations in the Hindu subcontinent- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is true that many of the former colonial powers want to re-assert themselves worldwide the question becomes, do the British want to go back into India?

Thus far, I have yet to see a possible notion that the UK is going to return to any nation in the subcontinent in a serious capacity. This is different for example than with China and the situation of Hong Kong, for it is curious that the British would give Hong Kong back to the Chinese presuming a 50-year period of “transitional” rule for the enclave, and knowing the anti-Chinese tendencies of the UK and US and her preparations for war against China. It would seem that under such circumstances, that the UK returned Hong Kong to China as a form of a bet, wagering that either China would fall by her own hand, or that China could be defeated in a war that would either way result in the return of Hong Kong and more territory to the UK.

The other reason for talking about the Christian persecution, especially with a group that is all made up of Parliament members but has no real status is for the most likely answer, which is that the British government will have a way of saying that it is addressing Christian persecution but without taking any measures that could even suggest the government opposes it. This “report” and group gives the government the option to either address or ignore Christian persecution depending on what they view as politically expedient at a future moment.

Things like this are a crucial reminder to Christians that it does not matter how “patriotic” a man considers himself, because the government ultimately does not care about morality or principle at all and will immediately turn against Christians if they believe it serves their temporal interests. The almost blind nationalism and patriotism of so many people, especially in the US, is ultimately going to backfire on them because whether intending to or not, their actions are forcing a choice between obedience to one’s faith or the will of those who control the government at a time when their philosophies are absolutely opposed to each other.

As Jesus said, ‘a house divided cannot stand’ (Matthew 12:22-23) for a man cannot espouse two opposing views that cannot be synthesized and blend them, and ultimately one will overtake the other, and the one that overtakes is the one that a man supports by his thoughts, words, and actions.

This is also not to say that Christians should ignore the things of the world, for while being in the world, Christians are to separate from the ways of it while working to live a moral and righteous life within it, which necessarily requires participation.

It is to say that Christians must be wise, and must partake of both but see absolutely no moral equivocation between faith in or obedience to Christ and patriotism. Many will deny that they have such a connection between the two, but ask these same “Christians” if it was right for the US to illegally and immorally invade Iraq in 2003 and murder Saddam Hussein on false pretenses, or if the US should illegally, aggressively, immorally, and dangerously follow the manifest lies of Netanyahu and attack Iran, or if the President needs to “build a wall” despite those around him using the same language employed by late 19th century and early 20th century eugenicists, and watch what they have to say.

This is not to say that Christians should not fight. Rather, that Christians must be highly discerning about who they support and especially, who they either want to associate with or who wants to associate with them because frequently in the US, they sadly have shown themselves to be a group of easily deceived fools that meander aimlessly along whatever path they are shown so long as they are made to feel good about it. This is a criticism that crosses all denominations, but is most pronounced in the political realm with the Evangelical Protestant types because their genuine love of their country, lack of understanding of the philosophical roots of the American nation, and the inherent flimsiness of Protestant theology and philosophy allows them to be uprooted and manipulated without even sensing they are being manipulated.

Patriotism is good, but adherence to the faith must never be equivocated with government favor lest one find oneself receiving a form of acknowledgement of one’s plight but no help, and then being surprised at why nothing is being done.

As always, prepare yourselves accordingly.