Just got back from India...

[Psalm 51:17]

It was really a 7-8 day stay b/c when we left on Sunday June 30th, the time zone changes fast-forwarded us another day(got there on Tuesday the 2nd), and then made up a day when we left this last Tuesday(as we hit the rewind button in the time zone). Had a little trouble on the way back as our itinerary got mixed up going back from Amsterdam(thought we would go to Detroit first, but the boarding pass without our realizing it went directly to Dallas). Then this past yesterday had a 2 hour delay in the plane in Amsterdam b/c of technical malfunctions, and ended up catching a later flight in Detroit.

Anyhow, interesting trip to say the least...

1) It's not that India is a "Hindu country" or anything, but Hinduism is its TRADITION(which is even worse IMHO), meaning that it's not like all of its citizen go worship in some temple every week(although some do), but pretty much apply these cultures in their everyday lives. Ended up visiting a temple there on my first day in Coimbatore - to say the least, couldn't believe how just about everything I saw in there(practices et al) just were VERY similar with a lot of the Hinduism/New Age practices that have infiltrated the West, including America. Also visited a woman's technology/engineering univ - their statement all but admitted that they're goal is to indoctrinate their students into a "new era". If that isn't New Agey, I don't know what is.

They have the same occult symbolisms you see the Freemasons, RCC, etc use(and see in the entertainment products as well) like the all-seeing eye pyramid, serpent, left-tilted cross, etc.

Their meditation practices are also very similar to a lot of what we see here like with Yoga AND with Churchianity believe it or not with this whole contemplative prayer movement.

I'm not trying to imply that India is Mystery Babylon, but nonetheless it hit me that Hinduism has been a giant sleeper worldwide in terms of its infiltration - you see it in today's medical profession(ie-Reiki), academia, Hollywood movies like "Star Wars", "exercising" practices like Yoga, and like said even Churchianity has bought into adopting some of their rituals.


2) As Christians we need to be fed with the word of God daily - however I will admit that there's parts of scripture, especially in the NT, where I just don't come to an understanding of it until I have experience in a situation or an observation. Both I and my mom tagged along with my dad who had a conference there at colleges so we could take care of him. My dad did the conference mostly with his colleagues at his univ(along with a couple of others at other colleges).

Remember how we talked about how the world loves its own, and ultimately how they behave? Well, one of the professors that worked at the conference lied, cheated, and schemed my dad to further his research when my dad first started there in 2006 - my dad didn't realize it at first, but nonetheless when he got exposed for what he was doing with his research, he ultimately STILL got his tenure when all was said and done. And the same other people who attended the conference with them, who also claimed to be my dad's close friends for a long time, were also the same ones that VOTED FOR this guy to get his tenure.

It took me awhile to realize why - never could, until the Lord showed me this passage...

Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Without going into all of the details, pretty much my dad's colleagues have done the same for their entire careers. Maybe not nearly as bad as this guy, but nonetheless when you look into this passage, they are BLIND. IOW, how can they judge and discern others properly like this guy, when they have a beam in their OWN eyes?

Pretty much, ultimately, yes, they are lost people(again, without going into all of the details) - if you're lost, you're not going to have the word of God in your hearts. So how else will they have passages like these edifying them?

Eph_4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

1Peter 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:


3) Just wondering - have there ever been times in your SAVED lives when you're with people - let's say close friends of your family, relatives, etc, and it feels like they don't like you and try to avoid you, but no one can pinpoint why? I had that feeling when one of my dad's former graduate students was there(working with the conference). Throughout my lifetime, it's usually been the case that whenever I would cross paths with these people, they would be pretty friendly, but this last trip? Not really, to say the least - and even a long-time friend of my dad's(whom I knew since I was a boy) was keeping his distance somewhat as well.

Pt being that does it kind of feel like that the Spirit in you is doing the work to separate these people from you? When all was said and done, my dad's graduate student admitted he was a practicing Hindu, and my dad's long-time friend was acting childish a few years ago when the new Dean relinquished his duties as Dpt Chairman(didn't talk to my dad for 6 months b/c he wanted my dad to stick up for him afterwards, but he didn't).

Heb 7:24  But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

1John 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Ultimately, these ARE the times we should be REJOICING b/c even as Christians hanging out with the wrong crowd, the behaviors of this lost world wrong crowd will rub off on us. I know as Christians we need to take a stand for the gospel, but at the same time you can't deny the times the Spirit has done the work in keeping us separate from those lu****l and undefiled things our own weak flesh wants to give into.

1Cor 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Co 1:8  Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.


4) While I am NOT endorsing India, at the same time this is something I've observed in poor/3rd world/developing countries I've been in(Turkey, Mexico, and Columbia are the other 3) - b/c of their upbringings in their environment, they know how to survive when all is said and done, and seem to be content if there's food on the table and clothes on their back. One time I saw a few motorcyclists carry large amounts of farm food et al on their laps.

Honestly, you just don't see that in Western countries, especially in America, b/c of how this "consumerism" economy has infiltrated its way. For example, look at the aftermath of Katrina when people that stuck around just went into panic mode. Or for that matter too take all of the road rage incidents in America b/c of the tiniest little infractions - while on the contrary I was surprised how civil everyone on the road was in India even despite all of the overtly-aggressive driving(ie-the tour guide cab driver bumped into a motorcycle breaking off his right windshield along the way, and the motorcycle driver just picked up the broken windshield and went on his business).

To be frank, this was one of those "Examine yourselves..." on my part - having to look at a developing country like this and how people are just surviving, and even I myself have been complaining over little things every now and then. This also gave me an opportunity to spend more time in the word of God with pretty much no electronics around me - no access to the internet, not much American news, only sports news I saw was cricket, although I did manage to catch a few American movies in the wee hours of the night in my hotel room.

Ultimately, I don't think America will ever reach India's status, b/c when it starts to go down that way, they're going to riot.


Again, no, I don't endorse anyone even stepping foot into India - and if anyone thinks they can walk right into this country to preach the gospel and win souls, they are sorely mistaken. I mean I've heard comments how this country would be a challenge to go to to do so, and yes we should pray that thy Father's will in heaven be done that their souls be saved, but again Hinduism has been a LONG TRADITION in this country, and it would be best for the believer in Christ to stay away as a lot of their traditions and practices are very seductive(and seductive enough to infiltrate the West).

Pro 9:13  A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
Pro 9:14  For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
Pro 9:15  To call passengers who go right on their ways:
Pro 9:16  Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Pro 9:17  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Pro 9:18  But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

[Kilika]

Hinduism is part of Indian culture, whether a person is Hindu or not. And Christians make up only about 10% maybe, but that depends on who is making the claim, which is dependent on their agenda and who is defining what a Christian is...(The book of Thomas, the gnostic book, is a huge source of an India/Gnostic/Catholic connection as it's claimed Thomas brought the gospel to India)

Whatever the real number is, apparently Islam is far larger, second only to Hindus.

Wikipedia...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_India

Christianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3 per cent of India's population.[2] The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings state that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 AD to spread the gospel amongst Kerala's Jewish settlements.[3][4][5][6][7] Although the exact origins of Christianity in India remain unclear, there is a general scholarly consensus that Christianity was rooted in India by the 6th century AD, including some communities who used Syriac liturgically, and it is a possibility that the religion's existence there extends to as far back as the 1st century.[8] Christianity was as such established in India even before some nations of Europe had been Christianised.[9]

Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South India, the Konkan Coast, North-East. Indian Christians have contributed significantly to and are well represented in various spheres of national life. They include former and current chief ministers, governors and chief election commissioners.[10][11] Indian Christians have the highest literacy, work participation and sex ratio figures among the various religious communities in India.[12][13][14]

Most Christians in India are Catholics of the Latin Church. The state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas Christian community, an ancient body of Christians (Syriac Christianity) who are now divided into several different churches and traditions. There are two Eastern Catholic Saint Thomas Christian churches: the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. There are also several Oriental Orthodox and independent churches in the Saint Thomas Christian community, including the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Since the 19th century Protestant churches have also been present; major denominations include the Church of South India (CSI), the Church of North India (CNI), the Presbyterian Church of India, Baptists, Lutherans, Traditional Anglicans and other evangelical groups. Roman Catholicism was brought to India by Portuguese, Italian and Irish Jesuits, whereas Protestantism was brought to India by British and American missionaries. The Christian Church runs thousands of educational institutions and hospitals contributing significantly to the development of the nation

ChristianPost.com

Hindus are an overwhelming majority in India, where Christians are a minority at 2.3 percent. Muslims constitute 13.4 percent of the population, while Sikhs make up 1.9 percent.

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/christian-persecution-on-the-rise-in-india-grim-outlook-for-2012-66358/#wrxJCTchzYYc18Sa.99

Charismnews.com

http://www.charismanews.com/world/33604-is-india-the-fastest-growth-gospel-territory

My new friend S.R. Manohar has now caused me to change my mind. He told me that in his meetings with other recognized Christian leaders in Bangalore the consensus has now emerged that India is at least 25 percent Christian with some estimating even a higher percentage. Most of this growth has surfaced within the last 10 to 15 years and it covers both North India (which has been strongly resistant to the gospel) and South India (where the majority of traditional Christians have been located). If this is correct, it would mean that India would have a total of approximately 300 million believers, about twice as many as China. India could well be the number one hot spot for the gospel.

I am aware that some readers of this report would find reasons to doubt the accuracy of Manohar's figures. The India government, for example, paints quite a different picture. Operation World comments, "For many reasons, the most recent census (2001) significantly under enumerated Christians at 2.34 percent. [This would be 28 million Christians - ed.] Christian researchers in India indicate much higher results."

Having said this, the Operation World figure for Christians in India is 71 million, admittedly quite distant from 300 million. However, I cross-examined my Indian friends as much as I knew how, but they would not budge a bit from their numbers. Since I claim no personal expertise in Indian affairs, I cannot give a definitive conclusion. But my friends know that I am the eternal optimist and when I have a choice I tend to see the glass half full, not half empty.

[Psalm 51:17]

^^ One more thing I forgot to mention - from what others have said there, their balance of power in their nation's Parliament in Delhi is Hindu/Muslim - which is no different from Republican/Democrat in our nation's capitol. That way they pretty much fuel the Hegelian Dialectic in order to get certain agendas push through. The latest agenda was their government controlling vegetable prices b/c droughts et al were causing them to shoot up - and they were going through the same "struggles" to get their bill passed. And when I saw glimpses of some of their news programs, it reminded me of a lot of the junk we see here like the O'Reilly Factor, Piers Morgan, etc where they play good cop/bad cop in their entire segment.

I bring this up b/c when Kilika brought up in the above post how Islam is the 2nd largest religion in India next to Hinduism according to the links, it reminded me of what various people up there said about their politics. The Hindu/Muslim balance of power seems to have fueled a big Hegelian Dialectic on their part.

As for their reports, versions, etc of Christianity - not that I support church buildings, but I saw very few. And one of them I saw had the compass/square logo in the front with the Sinanda Immanuel "Jesus" looking figure. And in Coimbature(sp), apparently India has their own Billy/Franklin Graham - forgot the univ's name as well as their names, but it's a "Christian" university runned by them(they also have Catholic employees), and they run a lot of "crusades" and large "revival meetings" as well. When I get a chance, will post more about them later - but suffice to say, they looked fake, and they had occult symbolisms. Really, if this popular "ministry" there is running successful "revival" meetings, then why is Christianity lagging far behind the other religions?

As for the reports of the percentages of Christians there, and what "version" of Christianity they adhere too as the links above talk about - wouldn't surprise me if they're very low and they worship another Jesus, at least from what I've observed(ie-one car sticker showed Jesus with a mark on his forehead, and one shop put a picture of Jesus with other pictures of other Hindu gods).

I can honestly say the Spirit in my has nudged me to warn other brethren to AVOID this country after visiting this place - I've heard of one instance where a Christian woman(who was married to a pastor) in the 1950's thought she could go to India and evangelize the lost there, only for herself to be CONVERTED to the HINDU religion herself. Next thing she knew, she divorced her pastor husband and was helping these Alice Bailey types promoting New Age ideologies. Can't remember her name, but I remember reading about this in one of David Cloud's e-books last year.

[Christian40]

what a joy to read of your adventures

i sure wouldn't want to go to India, what a mess the country is in, hindu filth everywhere, here in Australia we think of Indians as in how well they play cricket (pretty well), yoga stuff and those phone calls that reach here wanting us to check our computers! how annoying!

anyway what one may not know is that there are KJV Bible Believers in India too, only a fraction http://www.baptistchurchgoa.org/ Praise God that there are some strong Christians. 

[Psalm 51:17]

Thank you everyone for the comments. To be honest, b/c it's a 10.5 hour difference in the time zone b/w USA Central Time and India, I am still sleep-lagged, meaning that I still have to adjust back to normal sleeping hours(ended up sleeping all day during the day the last couple of days, and had to play the role of night-owl afterwards).
And throw in the many flight changes and going through TSA.

10.5 hours is a LONG time - maybe that's why they have very little American news up there. On the contrary, in the Amsterdam airport, they had some American news like the George Zimmerman trial, and actor Jeff Daniels of "Newsroom" was interviewed on Piers Morgan.

When I get a chance later in the week, I have a couple of pictures to share in other threads.

[Christian40]

When I get a chance later in the week, I have a couple of pictures to share in other threads.

Cool