(Worthy News) - A house church in India was violently attacked Sunday, June 30th during a worship service, marking the third Sunday in a row the church was harassed by Hindu radicals.
Mrs. Sheeja, a 13-year veteran of house church planting, had already told the 15 members of her church near Hyderabad not to sing or use musical instruments so as not to stir up the ire of local radicals all too zealous for a reason to close down Christian worship.
“I have asked my church members not to clap their hands during the praise and worship time to avoid any kind of noise,” Sheeja told International Christian Concern.
Her attempt to appease the spirit of persecution was ultimately in vain, as four men stormed the hall where the believers met for worship and began threatening violence if they did not disband.
In May Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a two-thirds majority in India’s parliamentary elections, leading many Christians to fear a change in the Indian constitution--which nominally recognizes freedom of religion--would soon be in the works, meaning deeper entrenchment of religious persecution in India.
“Under a new ‘Hindu Constitution’ which Modi and his party wants to implement, all these freedoms we take for granted may not exist,” said the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations shortly after the BJP election victory.
Since Modi’s initial election in 2014, India has jumped 18 spots on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List for Christian persecution, from 28th to 10th.