|
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Prayer Alert: In Nepal, the Flood Isn't the Only Dangerous Issue for Christians There (Video)"It wasn't really a big problem before, and today it's still not on the scale like we'll see in India, or Pakistan, or other nearby countries. But there is now a law against conversion, so it's illegal to try to get someone else to change their religion." -Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International
Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International (CSI), told CBN News that one congregation has 80 individuals and families who lost their homes—and that's just one example. CSI has been working to get food, mattresses, mosquito nets, cleaning supplies, and other items to people in Nepal to help meet basic needs. Veldkamp said there's another dynamic unfolding inside the South Asian nation: persecution, an issue gaining steam and attention before the deadly flooding began. "We've seen in the last 10 years ... persecution of Christians has spiked in Nepal," he said. "It wasn't really a big problem before, and today it's still not on the scale like we'll see in India, or Pakistan, or other nearby countries. But there is now a law against conversion, so it's illegal to try to get someone else to change their religion." Watch the CBN News interview Here Veldkamp said this is a violation of human rights standards, but that this law is used to prosecute pastors and missionaries—even Christians who might happen to visit and speak with Hindu friends.
Veldkamp said there's a new government in Nepal after the previous regime was overthrown in a revolution. An election unfolded in March, which has only added to the uncertainty. "We still don't know really what that means, but the country is in flux [and] is headed in a new political direction," he said. "There are some good signs and some bad signs from the new government, so Christians in Nepal are very concerned about which way the country is going to go now." Nepal is one of two Hindu-majority nations in the world, with India joining it in that distinction. Until 2008, Nepal was a Hindu nation before becoming a federal republic. Today, there are new calls to return to that previous designation—something that should be of concern to Christians and other religious minorities. India has been reportedly putting pressure on Nepal to embrace Hindu nationalism, funding groups that seek to push Christians to reconvert, among other issues. "There are serious efforts to change Nepal's constitution to make it officially a Hindu country again," Veldkamp said. "And in the current environment, that would mean probably the harassment of Christians. Attacks on churches would only increase because then it would be official that this country does not belong to Christians." With pastors, missionaries, and Christians already under fire, he said there's a "real threat that is having a chilling effect" on Believers in Nepal. "Right now, when these things happen to Christians, Christians can say, 'Hey, we're a secular country. Nepal is a country for everyone. It says so in our Constitution,'" Veldkamp said. "And that's ... a good argument. That's a good lever that they can use to appeal to their fellow Nepali citizens for justice." But if Nepal becomes a Hindu nation, these arguments dissipate both legally and in the public sphere. Veldkamp encouraged Believers worldwide to pray for the Church. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here Billy Hallowell writes for CBN's Faithwire.com.
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News Open Doors: a Prophetic Word from Garris Elkins Jim Bakker, Televangelist and PTL Founder, Dies at 86, Wife Lori Bakker Announces Democrat Senate Candidate El-Sayed Loses Local Party Support Ahead of Elections Report: Biden White House Drove DOJ Targeting of Parents Who Protested CRT, Covid Mandates Biden's FBI Tracked Teenage Barron Trump, First Lady What Google's New Satellite Images Reveal About Gaza, and What They Don't Israeli Ceremony Marks 3rd Anniversary of October 7th Terror Attack, Massacre by Hamas Karoline Leavitt to Join Fox News as Contributor Is NewsGuard Censoring Children's Education? New AI Tool Raises Concerns US Treasury Moves to Strip Tax Status From Soros, SPLC and CAIR FBI Has Blocked over $1 Billion in Theft by Cyber Criminals Since January 2025 US Supreme Court Set to Hear Suncor v. Boulder Climate Lawsuit Arguments Wow! Nobody Expected What Just Happened in Brazil '100% Not Geological': Scientist Says Durupinar Formation Could Be Manmade Noah's Ark Site Exposed: School District Used Secret Gender-Transition Database to Keep Parents in the Dark Red States Combine Forces to Choke Off Abortion Pill Pipeline Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
| Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |