Christians in India Faced Three Attacks per Week in 2009

Compass Direct News reports that 2009 brought hardly any respite for minority faiths in India. Christians faced an average of more than three violent attacks a week, continuing two years of unprecedented attacks. There were at least 152 attacks on Christians in 2009, according to the "Partial List of Major Incidents of Anti-Christian Violence in India" released by the Evangelical Fellowship of India. The of Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh all have anti-conversion laws, which Hindu hardliners routinely use to arrest Christians on spurious accusations of "forcible conversion." Southern India, which had long been considered a haven for Christians, recorded the highest incidence of anti-Christian violence. Of the total 152 incidents, 86 were reported from southern states, mainly Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The morale of Christians in Orissa remained low as few assailants in the 2008 rampage were brought to justice.

In this week's VOMC weblog (www.persecution.net/weblog.htm)

Have you been following VOMC's Persecuted Church Weblog lately? Here are some highlights of recent posts by our staff:

a) Be inspired and challenged by the faith of persecuted Christians in the past in our regular weekly post, "This week in persecuted church history (October 11-17)." (Posted October 11)

b) In "Loss of outrage," VOMC CEO Glenn Penner asks whether, in our information saturated society, we have lost the ability to be truly outraged over injustice. (Posted October 9)

Mubarak Masood Zakaria Photo from AINA

c) In "Does reading the Bible make you a bad jurist?" Glenn discusses a recent Amnesty International appeal to commute the death sentence of a murderer because jurors used Biblical passages in their deliberations. (Posted October 13)

d) You will be shocked by the treatment suffered by Christians in "Christian conscripts brutally mistreated and forcibly Islamized in Egyptian army." (Posted October 13)

e) Have you ever asked how you can help the persecuted church? Read Richard Wurmbrand's wise response in "Ask God what to do. He must know." (Posted October 12)

Throughout the week, we also post updates on incidents of persecution and suggestions/invitations on how you can respond and show your solidarity with your suffering brothers and sisters. Check out www.persecutedchurchblog.com daily!

Christians Take On World Hunger This Week

The Christian Post reports that churches nationwide are calling on their congregations to do something for World Hunger Day on Oct. 16. "I think Jesus was very clear that not only are we to share with people the love of God in sharing about Jesus Christ, but we also are to meet the human needs that exist," said Wendy Norvelle, a spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention'sInternational Mission Board. The denomination took an offering on Sunday for its World Hunger Fund. ThePresbyterian Church (U.S.A) has encouraged its members to participate in Food Week of Action, Oct. 11-18. According to the U.N. World Food Program, more than 1 billion people go hungry every day, some of them pushed over the brink by rising food prices and other fallout of global economic problems.