Sri Lanka (MNN)–On Friday, Sri Lanka’s parliament heard its second reading of a controversial anti-conversion bill. Christian Solidarity Worldwide says the two bills would “severely limit evangelism and conversion to the Christian faith.”
At the same time, United Nations’ special envoy Asma Jahangir as been holding meetings regarding the religious freedom issue in Colombo with governmental officials, representatives of religious communities, political parties and members of the civil society.
World Hope’s Keith Norris says while it’s still too early to be able to guess the potential impact of the law, they’re keeping a watchful eye on what’s happening. “We are praying and hoping that this bill would not pass, and Christians will still have freedom to express their faith and share it with others. But, as we look at this bill, we are trying to make preparations about the future and how this will affect our work.”
Norris asks for prayer. There are substantial obstacles World Hope already faces in their outreach. “We found out that often, people who cannot rebuild on their own land, the government has said they would offer land to them, but if Christian groups come in to build houses, they want us also to build a temple, which most Christian groups are not willing to do. So we are forced to try to buy our own land.”
World Hope is working closely with the Sri Lankan government who has provided the designs for the homes within the community so that there is uniformity. They expect to have these first eleven homes completed by the end of May 2005.
