Presbyterian native of India recalls opposition to Christianity
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, November 23, 1999
Paul Immanuel, a former citizen of India who is now a Presbyterian and an IBM engineer, says India’s recent antagonism toward Christianity may be more intense now but that it is not new.
Immanuel, an elder at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church in Durham, N.C., describes himself as “a former Indian citizen, who, for reasons known only to the Lord Himself, was taken out of the fire and is kept in a (relatively) secure environment 9,000 miles away, now for almost 36 years.”
Three weeks after Pope John Paul II called for missionaries to spread Catholicism throughout Asia, Hindu and Buddhist priests have passed a resolution to stay united against proselytizing by Christians. Many described conversions as a “war against Hindus and Buddhists” and a “spiritual crime.”
In an e-mail to a Presbyterian forum, Immanuel said, “While I think that the current pressures on Christians in India is more serious than ones in the past, several points must be made.”
First, he said, “Opposition to Christianity is not new, either in India or elsewhere. Tradition is very strong that the apostle Thomas was martyred in Madras. (I was saved in a church not far from that site.) I remember having religious riots in India where I grew up as a child. I remember the police coming into the British run school and questioning those of us who were of Indian origin regarding compulsory Christian prayer, Bible reading and visits to the Anglican Church. I remember Christian Publishing organizations being burned down. I remember my Dad telling me that things were going to get worse, because we don’t have the protection of freedom by the British Administration anymore.”
Second, Immanuel said, “In the last several years there has been a revival of unparalleled proportions all across India of evangelical Christians. Churches which had accepted Western style liberalism as well as those who were steeped in the traditional ‘we are closer to Christ because we trace our roots to St. Thomas’ are turning to the Bible for renewal.”
Third, “as the devil’s box (TV) penetrates society in India, people are becoming aware of the rest of the world, the Hindu stranglehold on the people with its oppressive caste system is weakening, especially in villages. God is using all these developments to draw people to Himself from all walks of life.”
Fourth, “there is a real fear among Hindu fundamentalists that before the Kingdom of Christ, no other Kingdom can stand. However, just like Alan [Poole, Immanuel’s pastor] pointed out in his sermon yesterday on the blind man, Jesus and the Pharisees, the Pharisees would rather keep the blind man in his sin than admit that Jesus was whom He claimed to be. …the Hindus see this whole thing as a power struggle, and right now since they are part of the ruling party, they are trying to squelch this “foreign religion.”