HAPPY DIWALI
--to all who celebrate it. Have a safe and fun day!

(The crackers had me up at 5:15 this morning, but the sweets our neighbors gave us were oh-so-good.)

LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING
As my earliest entries have been archived it's time for a few light reminders:

Hi, I'm an American missionary living in India. I love Jesus and I love India. On this blog I'm sharing candidly about my life, work, religion, and Christianity in India. I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to write me at indiamissionary@yahoo.com. I might share your letter here. I'm always looking for good (preferably low-fat) recipes, so please send those in too.

It's all about FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, and having a good time while we are at it.

Original materials on this site are copyright by me, the user of the pseudonym "India Missionary." Please don't copy them without permission but do feel free to share the link with others.

I'm not responsible for the ads at the top of the page. Blogger puts them there. I'm sorry if anything offensive ever pops up.

Have a nice day!

HAPPY DAY!
Praise the Lord! I just crossed the 100,000 word mark on the manuscript in my book. Oh happy day!

Sigh. But I probably still have around 200,000 more words to write.

TN ANTI-CONVERSION BILL
According to the Times of India, it was just passed into law.

Everyone keeps referring to "forced" conversions. I've yet to hear anyone say they are for "forced" conversions. No one believes in it. And, aren't there already laws protecting people from being forced to do things they don't want? Why is another one needed?

The newspapers have headlines like, "Christians against law against forced conversions." It makes it sound as though they are for "forced" conversions. Actually the whole matter is sort of bizarre.

The main objection from Christians and other minorities, I think, is that if anyone wants to change his/her religion, he/she has to inform the government. I don't think many people would do that for fear of harrassment. I don't think many poor Dalits--or rich Brahmins, for that matter; some of those become Christians too--would feel comfortable discussing their spiritual lives with the magistrates.

One's religion and spirituality is a personal choice. It should not matter to the government at all if someone wants to be a Hindu one week, a Muslim the next, a Buddhist the third, and a Christian the one after that. Or mix it up in any order you like. It may not make one popular, and it would certainly upset one's pastor/priest/mullah, but after all, that's what freedom of religion is all about.

In my long association with Christian missions in India--some of which are very large and well-funded--I have only encountered a money-for-conversion situation once. (Even if that sort of thing were commonplace, think about it: it wouldn't be a forced conversion. It would shameful, tacky, and a fraud, but no one would be forced to violate his/her conscience unless he/she wanted.) Anyway, my one experience with money-for-conversion: a security guard at a house near ours asked my wife how much money we would give him if he converted.

She told him, "Even if you gave me 10 crores, I wouldn't make you a Christian!" The Apostle Peter (St. Peter) put it more bluntly in Acts 8:20-21, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God."

It's all about changing hearts, not statistics. My standing advice for someone who doesn't want to become a Christian: don't.

May each person be free to practice whatever religion he or she wants. Let not the State decide, nor let it force people to stay in the religion to which they were born. Let each one govern his own spirituality. Ultimately, each soul will give an account to God alone--not to you, or me, or the Pope, or Jayalalithaa. To God alone.

Regardless, we will continue to share our message: God loves you, and Jesus died for you; and do our best to love our neighbors as ourselves.

FRIENDSHIP AND SHARING
My mother always taught me there are two subjects you never bring up in polite conversation: politics and religion. While I’m inclined to agree with her on the former, I disagree on the latter. It is true, many people do not enjoy talking about religion. There are many different beliefs, many different opinions, and disagreement is common. Strong disagreement can damage a relationship between friends. Or between communities within a nation.

But let me share my views on religion. Why? Because of friendship. If we are really friends, you would be happy to hear about the good things in my life, my news and my interests. If I found a great bargain while shopping and told you about it, you wouldn’t be offended, though you might have no interest in that particular product. If I went on and on talking about my favorite basketball team and their latest victory, you might become bored if your favorite sport was cricket, but you wouldn’t hate me for preferring basketball. If I got a big raise at work, a promotion, won the lottery, or went on an exciting cruise vacation, you’d want to hear about those things. If something big like that happened in my life but I said nothing about it, you might question how close we are as friends.

How much more should I be able to share about religion, specifically, my relationship with Jesus. He is the best thing in my life, my greatest source of happiness, and the key to understanding who I am. He is the greatest influence on my life, and the motivation behind all I do. My faith is very important to me. We talk about lesser things, unimportant things, silly little things. Shouldn’t I be able to share about the most important thing? It would be strange if I didn’t.

Please hear me out when I speak. Finding Jesus was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. He changed my life. I believe He can do the same for you, too. You may not agree (though ultimately it’s neither your opinion nor my opinion that matters, but God’s own truth). But if we are friends, if we can be friends—and I sincerely hope we can—please listen. I’ll do the same when you have something to share. Who knows what we might learn from each other.

I think friendship is strong enough to withstand a little sharing.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
Two good books available in India at your local Christian bookstore:

THE CASE FOR CHRIST by Lee Strobel. From the cover:

The Project: Determine if there's credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God.

The Reporter: Lee Strobel, educated at Yale Law School, award-winning former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune-- with a background of atheism.

The Experts: A dozen scholars, with doctorates from Cambridge, Princeton, Brandeis, and other top-flight institutions, who are recognized authorities on Jesus.

The Story: Retracing his own spiritual journey, Strobel cross-examines the experts with tough, point-blank questions: How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence exist for Jesus outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual historical event?

Excellent read, very exciting, highly recommended.

WILLIAM CAREY AND THE REGENERATION OF INDIA by Ruth & Vishal Mangalwadi:

"William Carey, not Raja Ram Mohun Roy, was the father of India's 'Renaissance.' The powerful ideas that enabled Carey to awaken the sleeping giant--India--give us the intellectual and moral tools that can make India the greatest nation on earth."

An excellent look at the positive contributions Christianity has made to India. William Carey is considered by Christians worldwide to be the "father of the modern missionary movement."

THE DIFFERENCE
In his book, What's So Amazing About Grace?, Philip Yancey tells a fascinating story. A congress of world religions was taking place in London. The delegates began a discussion, "What is Christianity's unique contribution to the world of religions?" They talked about many of Christianity's fundamental beliefs--miracles, incarnation, resurrection--but these are present in some form in other religions as well. The discussion went on for some time, but they could not come to a conclusion. Was there anything unique about Christianity?

After some time, C.S. Lewis walked in. (C.S. Lewis, an Englishman, was one of the greatest Christian thinkers and writers of the 20th century--certainly one of the most-often quoted.) He asked, "What's going on?" and they told him. "What do you think?" they asked. "Why, that's easy," he replied. "It's grace." Then he walked out.

They realized he was right. It's grace.

Hello! I'm back from my trip. It was a good one. I have many things to share this week, so please check back regularly.

The season has changed, and the weather is nice and cool in South India. It's good to be alive.

BACK AFTER A WEEK
This will be my last entry for about a week. I'm going on a ministry trip now, and with the demise of my laptop, I will be unable to provide any updates while on the road. Please check back again after the 26th. May God bless you.

THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE IN MY WORDS
God loves you. He created you, gave you life, and knows everything about you. He cares about every little hurt. He wants for you to know Him, and for Him to be a part of your life.

God hates sin. Sins are the bad, wrong, immoral things we do. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that we have all sinned at some point in our lives. God is holy, completely pure and righteous. He cannot tolerate sin, and He must punish the sinner.

God made a way in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God Himself. He came into the world as a man and lived completely without sin. Because of this, Jesus was able to make a special sacrifice for mankind—He took the punishment for our sins. By dying on the cross, He stood in our place. God accepts Jesus’ suffering as our own. He paid the price for our sins so that we do not have to.

The really good news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead—He rose from the grave and now lives forevermore! Through Him we can have salvation—right relationship with God and forgiveness of sins. All we have to do is put our trust in Him, and we will receive eternal life.

RAIN, RAIN, COME AND STAY
The last 4-5 days most of South India has seen rain--in some places the first time in over a month. Thank you Jesus for mercifully sending rain and relief. Please send more.

I had a major computer meltdown this weekend but have mostly recovered by now. More posts soon.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GOSPEL?
"Gospel" literally means "Good News." Something good. Something wonderful. Not something bad. "Evangelism" means spreading the Good News.

This is what it is in the words of the Apostle Paul:

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures... (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NKJV)

The Good News is that Jesus died for our sins, and that He is longer dead, but is alive.

That's what the Gospel is all about.

R.I.P.
Rest in peace--my beloved laptop! Today some ants got to it and ate the hard drive. Total loss.

*******RIP*****
***My Laptop***
***1999-2002***
**************

Praise God, we recently got a new computer and had backed it all up.

In other news, most of South India is seeing rain this week, bring much needed relief. Thank You Jesus. Please send more.

YOU'VE GOT SPAM!
Wow. I'm impressed. I've only had this site and my new email address for four days, and I already got my first piece of spam today. Wow. Efficient little spambots.

But I've loved to hear from you. Hopefully this site will be listed in Google soon and I'll start to get some letters from people doing research (wink, nod). Email me at indiamissionary@yahoo.com to discuss India, missionaries, Christianity and Hinduism, or just to exchange favorite recipes (right now I'm looking for low-fat murgh malai kabab and kashmiri pullao recipes).

Remember, it's all about FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION and having a good time while we're at it.

FRIEND FOR LIFE
This is a song written by Margaret Becker & Chris Eaton, from the album What Kind of Love. It describes our motivation and the urgency we feel about sharing the Good News of Jesus, and the joy that comes when He is accepted.


I want to be the one to tell you
I want to be the one to lead you

You called me up today
Tangled in your tears
All tied up and twisting
I told you sit and wait
That I would be right there
With a heart and soul to listen
Don’t want to see you down
And you know no matter what you do
I’ll always be around
All I got to say, all I got to say

I want to be the one to tell you
To tell it like it is
To let you know the God of love
Will never leave your side
I want to be the one to lead you
With everything I am
And see the day when you let Him in
And make a Friend for life

You’re telling me your heart
Is in pieces on the wind
And you’ve been cast away again
I see it in your eyes
The haunted look of loss
That comes when dreams meet their end
I don’t want to force you to have faith
And you know no matter what you do
I’m gonna love you any way
But all I’ve got to say, all I’ve got to say

I want to be the one to tell you
To tell it like it is
To let you know the God of love
Will never leave your side
I want to be the one to lead you
With everything I am
And see the day when you let Him in
And make a Friend for life

And the only thing that matters
Is you know you’re not alone
‘Cause Love will stay here with you
Long after I’m gone

Close your eyes
Make a Friend for life

NICE THINGS ABOUT INDIA.
Flowers. Gorgeous, colorful fresh flowers in India at very low prices. Today was a friend's birthday, and we sent her a beautiful bouquet of fresh orchids. With delivery it was only a couple hundred rupees. In the States it would have been at least $30-40.

Even if you're on a budget, here you can pick up a dozen roses for your wife every month. My favorite are the saffron-orange roses. I never really liked the color orange before, but here it is nice.

So the fresh flowers are one of the things I like about living in India.

TN GOVT.’S MOVE
The Tamil Nadu government has passed an ordinance outlawing “forcible” conversions of people from one religion to another. I have not been able to find the initial story on this, but today’s editorial in The Hindu (our favorite newspaper) has a good perspective. You can find it here, and the opposition parties’ reactions here (scroll down to Tamil Nadu).

I did not want to address this issue so early in my blog without laying important background information first, and I don’t get involved in politics, but as this is in the news I will address it briefly.

There is no such thing as a “forcible” conversion, and this is not going on in modern India. Biblical Christianity has never believed in the legitimacy of “forced” “conversion,” nor has it ever practiced it. Non-biblical forms of Christianity (which really aren't Christian, deviating from the way of Christ) have sadly practiced this in times past, but thankfully those times are long over.

“Conversion” is not a term frequently used within biblical Christian theology. Technically, it means a change in heart—not the changing of a name or the performance of a ritual. People “convert” when they turn away from their sins and accept Jesus’ gift of salvation.

If you understand what it truly means to convert, then you know that this is something that is completely a personal choice and not something that can be forced. How can one human being force another to change his/her heart?

A change of heart is a spiritual matter. If someone would “decides” to become a “Christian” out of impure motivations, then the “conversion” is not legitimate, the spiritual experience of being born again has not occurred, and it is all a sham. Biblical Christians (such as myself) who are most interested in evangelism, the spreading of the Good News of Jesus, recognize that any movement towards Christ must come from the heart. We really do want people to be saved, genuinely saved, so we are very concerned about the motivation for the profession of faith. We don’t want false “conversions” either.

One’s religion and spirituality is a personal choice, and it is so sad that the government feels the need to interfere in it, particularly in a state that has a 1,900-year-old Christian tradition. Freedom of speech and religion are the cornerstone of democracy, and everyone should have the right to exercise these however they want. If someone wants to change his religion every other week, it’s no one’s business but his own. Everyone should be able to freely explore and share different ideas and experiences, even religious ones, without fear of governmental persecution. That is the sign of a mature democracy.

Much more on all these issues later, so please check back soon. Remember, God loves you, and so do I.

WHAT IF…?
What if the best thing you could imagine was real?
What if the greatest gift there was, you could have?
What if someone were giving away big houses for free?
What if your daddy owned the world?
What if life could be more exciting than a movie?
What if there were an answer to every question?
What if there were a solution to every problem?
What if there was a land where there was no war?
What if there was something after death?
What if you could live forever?
What if the most wonderful Person loved you and knew your name?

What if… what if they all were true?

THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE IN THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17, New King James Version of the Holy Bible)

...But these [things] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31)

..for all [people] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9)

...A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
(Missionaries are people, too.)
HOBBIES: internet, computer games, reading, writing, cooking and eating, weightlifting (to counteract the cooking and eating).
FAVORITE TV SHOW: I don't have a TV because I will watch it too much, but... Tu Tu Main Main
FAVORITE MEAL (HOME): my wife's carrot daal, jawari rotis, bitter gourd or bhindi fry, curds
FAVORITE MEAL (HOTEL/VEG): kashmiri pullao and malai kofta
FAVORITE MEAL (HOTEL/NON-VEG): mutton biryani, murgh malai kabab, daal bukhara, naan, and kulfi
FAVORITE SWEET: ras malai, ras gulla
LEAST FAVORITE SWEET: gulab jamun (Long story, I'll tell it sometime.)
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: any overcooked non-veg dish, brinjal (unless prepared just right), cabbage
FAVORITE COLORS: green, brown
LEAST FAVORITE COLOR: pink
PET: Dog (black labrador)
FAVORITE VACATION: Nepal (beautiful country, so sad the trouble it's going through), Goa or Kerala with my wife
BEST THING ABOUT INDIA: the people
WORST THING ABOUT INDIA: the heat and drought this year