Christian Persecution in Nepal

Rarely gaining much attention in the international news, Nepal is garnering attention due to its position between India and China and increasingly it's receiving focus due to religious tensions.

A majority Hindu nation, there is great concern and hostility to Christian proselytism and the Himalayan republic is starting to put pressure on missionaries and church leaders. Laws which were passed last year are now being implemented and as of August 2018 sentencing guidelines are set to become significantly harsher. Many fear the state will look the other way if mob violence is used against Christians.

Additionally some are finding trouble due to 'visa violations'. Missionaries will often enter countries as teachers or as businessmen and may indeed engage in these activities even while doing missionary work under the radar.

This would be an instance in which 'breaking the law' is certainly permissible for the Christian. Biblically speaking the state has no jurisdiction with regard to the Church and its activities and so as Christians we are not obligated to report, register or otherwise account for our undertakings. Proselytism is at the essence of who we are and what we do.*

In Nepal there are tensions due to its geopolitical position, the nation and culture's wrestling with transition away from monarchy and modern Western culture making inroads. For good or ill Christianity is associated with these modern changes and challenges to tradition.

Additionally there are some who are bitter that an already growing Evangelical movement received a boost by the terrible earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. Evangelical groups flooded the country with aid and yet in the eyes of some, Nepali suffering has been exploited by Christian agencies who have sought to capitalise on the misery in seeking conversions by means of financial and material assistance.

The Dalits or Untouchables seem to constitute the largest group converting to Christianity. This is understandable but also potentially problematic. One can hope the missionaries are being careful to ensure the converts are not embracing Christianity out of purely pragmatic or materialist reasons. But sadly given the 'results' emphasis found in modern Church growth models this is unlikely. Additionally there is the danger of conversion being equated with an egalitarian ethos and mindset. Again this is understandable given that many of these converts are leaving the caste system but there are dangers. Unbiblical female leadership is rampant, something that also seems to work well in a Charismatic-Evangelical context.

Nepal bears watching. It's one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world and yet is also increasingly coming under persecution. That said, it's also overwhelmingly Pentecostal and so even while we loathe and reject state persecution we must at the same time be cautious in our observations and judgments. And certainly we must avoid any kind of unqualified endorsement of mainstream Nepalese Evangelicalism. While Pentecostalism abroad is often quite different in its character than the all too often decadent expressions found in the West, it is nevertheless a cause for great concern.

Pray for the Church in Nepal and pray that American Evangelicals stay away from it and that they will not collaborate with the US government in attempting to manipulate and threaten Kathmandu.

*Of course many Western Dominionists believe the state should indeed be involved in religious affairs and those on the more extreme end of the spectrum would call upon the state to marginalise other religious and Christian sects out of favour with the mainstream. They too would want the state to regulate and enforce Christian education, block foreign missionaries and stop the building of religious buildings other than those affiliated with state approved Christian bureaucracies.

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-guardian-and-dalits-of-nepal.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-nepal-elections-and-obor.html