From Randal DickSuperintendent of missions
From Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
I don't normally like to report on the same place too often. However, we have late-breaking news from our people in Bangladesh I would like to share with you.
This communique is from John Biswas, a member of the San Bernardino, California, church and head of the Bengali Evangelistic Association, and is based on phone calls from our brethren in Bangladesh.
"The persecution of Christians, destruction of churches, Christian schools, attacking of Christian families, burning of their houses, looting of their belongings and raping of Christian women as well as insulting of Christians publicly in Bangladesh are not something new. But obviously it is hard to accept when it directly happens to the people we closely know.
"On Dec. 19, a group of militants attacked two of our gospel workers while they were distributing gospel tracts, Bibles and meeting people. These ferocious men came with gun, knife and iron rods and harmed our gospel workers.
"Mr. Satya Biswas was badly beaten and ended up being admitted to the critical care unit in a hospital. This fanatic group also attempted to burn one of our worship centers (church) and to kill the caretaker, a national missionary, Mr. Peter Baroi.
"However, due to the intervention of local people, the church building was saved from being burned, and Peter was able to escape. They have burnt gospel tracts, literature and Bibles."
John called me soon after the first attempt to burn down the training center provided by the Canadian brethren. He said that the gang of Muslim extremists had stormed the church building, poured kerosene around the foundation and were ready to set it alight, when a throng of villagers intervened.
They told the gang to desist, saying that "these people have not hurt anybody."
Then John went on to say in his communique:
"On the eve of Dec. 25, about 30 offenders came again and surrounded the church, to attack the worshipers. Fearful of violence from extremists, who have been trying to target the gospel workers, the prayer service had to be canceled.
"The believers were not physically harmed this time. `As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore' (Psalm 125:2).
"Peter Baroi and other gospel workers are now working with extra caution. They said that they have dedicated their lives for the gospel work of Jesus and their labor is not in vain. `Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain' (1 Corinthians 15:58). Please pray for these suffering Christians and local churches in Bangladesh."
In societies such as Bangladesh, the well-being of the social unit, whether it be the nuclear family, the clan or the village, is far more important than the well-being of the individual.
When a person is converted from Hinduism, or especially Islam, the family often feels that the social unit has been injured. They feel that the well-being of the individual must be set aside for the good of the social unit.
It is not unusual in Islamic countries for Christian converts to have to go into hiding or face beatings, and sometimes death from family members or irate village mobs.
One of the women who accepted Christ had to run away from her family, go into hiding many miles away and assume another identity to serve Christ. She is afraid her family would kill her.
Bangladesh has a constitution that in theory provides for religious plurality. However, the reality is that Islam represents a strong and fairly intolerant majority of the population.
The Hindu population is much more tolerant of other religions than the Islamic population. Either way, the situation can become highly volatile when a parent becomes irate because one of the family members accepts Christ.
Jesus used a number of agricultural models to help us, as human beings, to understand the spiritual dynamics of his kingdom. Humans did not originate the concept of a spiritual harvest.
It was Jesus who told his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers. Some harvests are easily harvested, while others are harvested with great difficulty and at great price.
Bangladesh is one of those fields that is hard on harvesters. Most people have never heard of their Savior. Most people in this field can live and die without ever knowing that Someone came and died that they may be free from sin.
They will live their lives never knowing what they were created to become. They either know Allah--a single being but different in character to the God we serve, or, they know of a host of spirits who must be kept mollified. They feel they are trapped in an eternal cycle of reliving their failure.
This is not unlike the situation at the beginning of the spreading of the gospel beyond Judea--at the beginning of the New Testament church. Yet, God has chosen to show mercy to an increasing number of people in the area of Bangladesh where John Biswas and the dedicated team of fellow servants are working.
All of those people, whether we know all their names or not, must be blanketed with our prayers. This is not merely a Christian duty. We are honored to walk in prayer with these brave people.
Prayer groups that meet weekly in homes or at worship services can be a powerful force, even though they will not be able to see the individual answers to their prayers.
We need to pray that God will give the gospel workers in Bangladesh an extra measure of wisdom so they may know how to best approach the dangerous situations they face. Pray for them to receive favor in the eyes of the populace and officials alike.
John Biswas intends to approach officials of the Bangladesh government, as well as the United Nations, asking them to make sure the constitution is taken seriously. We should pray for wisdom and divine help for the government officials as well.
Classroom Burned--Muslim terrorist sets
classroom on fire.
Anti-Christian Procession--Muslims in Bangladesh
march against Christians April 28.
Aftermath--Terrorists left this Christian school in ruins.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1998