Story number 1 for 7 Feb 2000

Topping the news today, new legislative restrictions on Christians in India are
growing in the wake of a Christian missionary’s murder. For security reasons,
we’ll call this worker “Mike”. He works with an organization in India, and says people
must now register with police in Orissa State to explain their reasons for converting. “It
has scared people from wanting to share their faith and also scared Christian
organizations from sending mailings to people on their mailing lists because they’re
afraid people will find out that they’re receiving Christian mailings and thus bring
persecution on people that are receiving the mailings. So it’s pretty much put a damper
on quite a few outreach activities and just simple communication.” Mike says that only
means Christians should pray harder. “The Bible says in Ephesians 6 that our battle is
not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities of the darkness of the
world. So prayer is not just a cliché, it’s very, very important to win battles in places
like India.”