Sri Lanka (MNN) ― Sri Lanka's 60th Independence Anniversary has been marked with carnage. Police say at least 12 people were killed by a bombing on a crowded bus Monday after a weekend of bloodshed. Twenty-nine others died in two separate blasts.
Ethnic tensions have continued, although no outright war has been declared. The Tamil Tiger rebels are thought to be behind the latest outburst of violence.
Government authorities are calling the blasts the latest effort in the rebel separatist campaign. However, a scrapped ceasefire with the Tamils last month was marked by a dramatic escalation by the Tigers.
Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says while the Constitution contains a statement guarding freedom of religion, many Christian activities are seen to violate the special status awarded Buddhism.
The faithfulness of believers in the face of opposition is evident in that there has been a significant growth of evangelical Christianity since 1980.
This has resulted in increased opposition from militant Buddhists. But they are not alone in their pursuit of believers. Many times, the persecution has more to do with believers getting caught in the crossfire.
However, "Christians are seen, in some ways, as sort of a remnant to Colonial rule," explains Nettleton. "The colonial rulers were the British, which was a Western nation. And so there's some lingering animosity toward Western things, and Christianity is sort of lumped in as one of those western things to be despised and opposed."
There is a growing disillusionment with Buddhism that has caused many to consider the claims of Christ. Nettleton says, "What our prayer needs to be is that this is a time of Christian revival, that Christians even amidst the unrest can be a bold witness for Christ, and, as Hindus and Buddhists are asking questions about eternity, that Christians can provide the answers and be witnesses for Christ."
