The Church had but to get established and it became obsessed with numbers --
with the number of souls it had, to use the term so favoured by churchmen,
"harvested" for Jesus. Numbers remain its singular obsession today. The
impulse is not just its own history in this regard. The impulse is not just
its character -- it is, after all, primarily an organization, and therefore
like all organizations it is obsessed with its market-share.
To a very large extent, the impulse is commercial. The Church is big
business. Evangelization is big business. And this business depends on that
"harvesting" of souls. You just have to scan American church publications,
or those of Europe, to see that one of the main grounds on which believers
are induced to donate funds to the church is that the money is needed for
the harvesting work. But even in that there is now a problem.
In Europe as well as in the US, the Church is in serious trouble. Attendance
in Rome itself has fallen to just three per cent of the number of nominal
believers -- in Rome, the very seat of the Vatican. With this shriveling,
has come another problem : the church has been having greater and greater
difficulties in recruiting priests, nuns, and others to man the churches.
The need for focusing on countries such as India has therefore tripled.
Missionary publications bear ample testimony to this focus : they are full
of targets, of detailed plans, of marketing strategies by which the harvest
here is to be multiplied : a church to be "planted" in every village, a
Bible to be placed in every pair of hands, lists and characteristics of
"people-groups" which are to be targetted -- women, scheduled castes, and,
most of all, tribals; the beliefs and characteristics of each target-group
which can be used to enter the group, the beliefs which are liable to be
hindrances and how these may be transformed into aids.
"The majority Meiti are Hindu," notes Operation World, and points to what
may be used to wean them away : "nationalism is lowering commitment to
Hinduism". As a rule, evangelists denounce nationalism , how are they
looking hopefully at nationalism among the Meiti?, you may wonder -- that is
because, in this instance, by "nationalism" they mean feeling for the tribal
identity as against their focusing on what they share with the rest of the
country! Meghalaya : already 57 per cent Christian, focus has now to be on
"the less reached" -- "Some of the smaller tribes -- notably the Hajong,
Mikir and others -- have been less responsive and remain entrenched in their
animism. The Hindu minority has been little affected by the gospel." Mizoram
: already 85 per cent Christian; focus has to be on "the less reached" --
and there is a sign of hope, "The Buddhist Chakmas are being intensively
evangelised by Mizo, and churches are multiplying," followed by the next
target-group in bold type, "The Bangladeshi refugees and the Hindu
population are needy." The beam of hope from Nagaland : "Missionary vision
blossomed as a result of revival. Christians made a solemn covenant in 1980
to live for, and further, world evangelization. They are trusting God that
10,000 missionaries will be sent from Nagaland...." A minor footnote :
Operation World is published by one of the most active missionary
publication houses -- its name? Om Publishing, Carlisle, UK!
That name tells a larger tale. Missionary publications set out how the dress
of the clergy, how the ambiance in churches, how Christian ritual are to be
"indigenised" so that people do not continue to look upon the church as
foreign. Stating that the Cardinal President of the Consilium, His Eminence
Benno Cardinal Gut, has accepted the proposals of the Catholic Bishop's
Conference of India, a circular of Archbishop D. Simon Lourdusamy informed
churches in the country, "(1) The posture during Mass, both for priests and
the faithful may be adapted to local usage, that is sitting on the floor,
standing and the like; footwear may also be removed. (2) Genuflections may
be replaced by the profound bow with the anjali hasta. (3) A panchanga
pranam by both priests and faithful can take place before the liturgy of the
Word, as part of the Penitential rite, and at the conclusion of the
Anaphora. (4) Kissing of objects may be adapted to local customs, that is
touching the object with one's fingers or palm of one's hand and bringing
the hands to one's eyes or forehead. (5) The kiss of peace could be given by
the exchange of anjali hasta and/or the placing of the hands of the giver
between the hands of the recipient. (6) Incense could be made use of in
liturgical services. The receptacle could be the simple incense bowl with
handle. (7) The vestments could be simplified. A single tunic-type chasuble
with a stole (angavastra) could replace the traditional vestments of the
Roman rite.... (8) The corporal could be replaced by a tray (thali or
thamboola thattu).... (9) Oil lamps could be used instead of candles. (10)
The preparatory rite of the Mass may include : ....(b) the welcome of the
celebrant in the Indian way, e.g. with a single arati, washing of hands
etc.; (c) lighting of the lamp.... (12) In the Offertory rite and at the
conclusion of the Anaphora the Indian form of worship may be integrated,
that is, double or triple arati of flowers, and/or incense, and/or
light...."
An evangelical Internet site exults in how that ministry consciously avoids
overturning the beliefs and practices of the target-peoples, how instead it
ensures "deculturisation" over an extended period by introducing into their
awareness what it terms "functional substitutes" for those beliefs and
practices. So much so that it commends its own logo too on this ground! We
have not replaced the lotus, "which is supposed to be the seat of the Indian
gods," it reports, we have entrenched the Cross in it! While addressing the
ignorant and illiterate in India this ministry will point to the lotus,
while addressing the potential donor its selling-point is the opposite :
"The inference is," the site informs that donor, "that the historical Christ
and the Cross must ultimately take the seat of these mythological deities
and thereby Christianity should become deeply rooted in the culture of
India."
Even minor outfits garner literally millions through this harvesting
business. Taken as a whole the enterprise is being conducted on a scale we
just cannot imagine. As the late Ram Swarup had pointed out, even fifteen
years ago, the Mission Handbook, North American Ministries Overseas had put
the number of missionaries raking in the harvest at around a quarter
million. Even then it had put the expenditure on such activity at around one
and a half billion dollars. Of course, it had exhorted the faithful to dole
out much more : "it costs money to stay in business," it had said with
fetching frankness! One of the ways for these missionaries to get their
flock to cough up money has been to paint our people and country in gory
colours -- this has not changed one bit since the 19th century. Starving,
sunk in superstition, crushed under the heels of high-caste Hindus, in the
grip of Satan himself -- hence the urgent duty to save them, and for that
send your donation to.... "The Indian sub-continent, with one billion
people, is a living example of what happens when Satan rules the entire
culture," Ram Swarup quoted from the Texas-based Gospel for Asia. "India is
one vast purgatory in which millions of people.... are literally living a
cosmic lie. Could Satan have devised a more perfect system for causing
misery?"
Nothing gets the faithful to dip into their pockets as atrocity stories.
Missionary publications and Internet sites are predictably full of these :
"Christian suffering in India is the worst in India in 50 years," a site
informed potential donors through the Internet in a dispatch by the Editors
of Religion Today, dated 30 November, 1998 -- that is, even before the
current series of fabrications began to be put out. "Mobs of religious
fanatics have attacked churches and Christian schools, dispersed outdoor
gospel meetings, and beaten evangelists in dozens of incidents this year,"
it proclaimed. "Oppression is widespread," it said, sourcing it to "a person
with contacts." Churches have been burned, an orthodox school attacked for
not teaching Sanskrit, tractors and crowbars used in attack.... Government
deliberately taking no action.... Hence "the workers pray God for their
protection. They 'take the threats before the Lord in fasting prayer and ask
Him to protect them.' Christians have been beaten, tortured with razor
blades, and thrown from a speeding train, and 6 to 12 per year are martyred,
he said." Who said? The very same propagandist-editor who has been in the
forefront of spreading concoctions like "Jhabua re-enacted in Jhajjar".
But not just atrocity stories -- if they were all, they could well drain
potential donors of enthusiasm, "What's the use?," they could conclude. And
so, triumph-in-face-of-atrocity, atrocity-as a-reflection-of-triumph stories
too : the same site, in the same story, "....Hundreds of tribal people in a
section of northern India are becoming Christians through the efforts of
evangelists" -- notice the unverifiable locale : "a section of northern
India"! Next, "The area is known for violent tribal clashes" -- that to
redouble the admiration for the evangelists : they are doing the Lord's work
in spite of the risks the area poses. "'It is the greatest revival we know
of at this time,' he said. 'You don't get this kind of revival without
persecution, and bloodshed, and martyrdom. One comes with the other.'"
Conclusion : give because India is in the grip of Satan; give because with
its billion people India represents such a vast opportunity to save souls
for the Lord; give because Christians are being cut up with razor blades
there; give because in spite of this, in fact because of this bloodshed, the
harvest is multiplying by the hour.... And as in every advertising campaign,
a certificate from a satisfied consumer! "Dr. Donald McGavran made the
following observation about the ECI [the Evangelical Church of India],"
notes a related site on Internet. "'The fascinating story of the unique
church planting ministry of ECI in India must be told everywhere in the
pessimistic missionary world. What Dr. Sargunam and his colleagues have
achieved during the last two decades affirms that the Lord of the harvest is
at work in several parts of India. I have been in a few of these churches
and watched the number of baptisms. I commend Christians everywhere to
support and claim a share in this tremendous victory and help many more
thousands to be discipled and Churches multiplied until Christ returns.'"
The site of AD2000 Mission informs donors, Vasanthraj Albert of the Church
Growth Research Center in Madras, states, 'I believe that India today is on
the map for the global church.' And Peter Wagner, coordinator for the AD2000
United Prayer Mobilization Network observes, 'Of all the nations in the
world, India has the highest potential of fruitful investment of
evangelistic effort at this time. It is the place to invest time, energy and
resources.'"
Organizations upon organizations. Targets upon targets : for "200
people-groups", for "50 languages", for "50 urban areas", for "200
geographical districts." How their mouths water at the sight of "unreached
peoples" : "Remarkably this [the unreached of India] is 30% of the world's
unreached peoples. The goal is to plant churches in all the remaining
500,000 villages and several thousand unevangelised segments of the 300
largest cities in India. To achieve these goals, delegates have agreed to
cooperate with the India Mission Association, which networks to place an
evangelist in every postal code area."
"Calcutta is an amazing testimony to the power of prayer," the site of the
AD2000 movement reports. An estimated 35 million focused on Calcutta one
day, it says. This was followed by a month of on-site prayer. "That month of
prayer enhanced the Mission Calcutta 2000 Network, whose aim is to establish
a church in every one of the city's 93 postal zones by the end of the year
2000. Great progress has been made. Thirty zones that did not have a church
now have one. Today only 30 other zones remain untouched."
And Calcutta isn't the only target, it says. "Varanasi in the state of Uttar
Pradesh is Hinduism's holiest city, with thousands of temples centering on
the worship of Shiva, an idol whose symbol is the phallus. Many consider
this city the very seat of Satan. Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges
at Varanasi washes away all sins. A number of Christian workers took up the
burden of prayer for this city and in prayer-walks boldly declared before
the idols, 'You are not a living god.' One year later it was discovered that
church planting works had opened up in sixty villages around Varanasi over
that past year, with 300 baptisms reported." "An intensive training program
has been implemented to teach people to practice intercession for the target
units," it records. "An experienced prayer warrior from Africa, Dr.
Zachariah Fomum, has played a key role in this training for prayer.... India
is ready and waiting."
One of the difficulties has been that India is "like an intricate mosaic,"
the site says. At last the barrier is being breached. "Much progress has
been made in the last few years to 'spy out the land and its inhabitants'
and to give an accurate and up-to-date picture of the challenges and the
opportunities," it reports. "The Indian Missions Association, in partnership
with Gospel for Asia, has researched and published very informative and
accurate books on what has been done so far and the work yet to be done to
complete the task of evangelization within India. They have defined the work
according to language groups, PIN (Zip) codes, and unreached-people groups
in the country...." The work of others is contributing to the same cause --
hence, the Anthropological Survey of India is completing and publishing its
"People of India Project". Invaluably helpful data....
And that too testifies to God's plan! "Perhaps never before has this kind of
information on India been so carefully surveyed, prepared, well-published
and distributed. In this the North India-Hindi Belt is unique. We do not
believe it is accidental. God is allowing us to 'spy out the land' that we
might go in and claim both it and its inhabitants for Him."
A dozen things can be said of this nonsense. For the moment ponder just two
:
* How does all this feverish harvesting compare with what the Supreme
Court has laid down as the law of the country ?
* When the Church sets out to convert on such a scale, when its little
agents go about "boldly declaring before the idols" their calumnies, is
it at all possible that the targeted society will not react?
This obsession with body-counts is ruinous -- not the least for the church
itself : it has already drained it of all spirituality, exactly as Gandhiji
had warned it would. And even by itself it is bound to ignite a mighty
reaction. But there is another feature which is even more certain to stoke
reaction, an even mightier reaction than this obsession -- it is to this
feature that we shall turn.