Indifference to religion or skepticism is what one thought was the meaning of being secular. It also means the separation of religion from civil matters or public education. It means that moral judgments are to be without reference to religious doctrine, being neutral in matters of belief. The state and religion are different and operate without interfering in each others affairs. Secularism in India has a different form. It means equal treatment of all religions by the state. Although the Indian constitution does not define the relationship between religion and state, it does state that India is a secular nation where the people of India have the freedom of choice to believe in any faith and that it is a personal matter to which the state or the government of India has no say.
Religious intolerance in India has since 1964 picked up in momentum and persecution of Christians has been according to the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, a matter of "national shame" in 2008. Right from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south, to Odisha in the east and Gujarat in the west, Madhya Pradesh in the centre - nearly all the states of the Indian Union have had anti-Christian violence without retaliation or revenge from the Christians!
What does the Bible say about anti Christian violence and persecution? Christians, who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, belong to His Church. The Church has the Lord Jesus Christ as its Head and the believers are His Body. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:22 "Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved." He also said in Luke 6:22 "God will bless you when others hate you and won't have anything to do with you. God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man." In John15:18 "If the people of this world hate you, just remember that they hated me first." Christians have had a long history right from the Roman rulers down to the present, of being persecuted for following the Lord Jesus Christ. The real followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have had no fear in facing persecutions. We know the reward of eternal life. The Bible has already told us that when the end times approach the Church will be under attack and the world will hate the Church and Christians. We also know that love is more powerful than hate, forgiveness than violence! "Love your enemies", said Jesus, "and bless those who persecute you."
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| Christian Martyrs of Nagasaki in 17th Century Japan |
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| Christian Martyrs in Madagascar in the 19th Century |
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| A Young Girl Burned for her Faith in 20th Century India |
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