Stirring Hearts Over Religion in India

India is such a sad country to us sometimes. Just a couple weeks ago was the time of the Festival of the goddess Durga (Festival of Bonalu) here in India which is a Hindu festival to worship the goddess of power. We were sitting in our apartment and jumping every few seconds and the horrendous BOOMS of fireworks being deployed at our balcony level from the buzzing street below. The air is filled incredible noise with people yelling and the major drummers all in a massive procession of worship. There is a large cart with very bright flashing lights carrying a god and garlands of flowers and pots of food, and very loud music and drums and people in procession dancing in the streets. It really is heartbreaking sometimes when we are reminded of how lost these people really are. Remind you of anything? For me my mind went to a story strait out of the Old Testament when Moses was on the mount and Aaron was with the people and they created a golden calf to worship. The people here were dancing around a cart with streamers and garlands of flowers to decorate a moving cart holding a depiction of some shiny gold god. Tragic.

Well this weekend (today) is the Festival of Ganesh. This god is a the strange elephant looking god with a long trunk. They are absolutely everywhere. Some devout Hindus refuse to work this weekend so they can go to the temples and pay homage to this god. Even the Rangoli outside our front door had a bronze bowl full of brightly colored flowers as an offering for Ganesh.


There are small lights above every door in our apartment complex of a Ganesh statue. Out of respect for the One True God, we never turn that light on. But they truly are everywhere you look- on street corners, in the corners of buildings, along the roadside, including the lobby of our apartment.
We stopped by a local mall today after church to find some lunch. On the main level there was a large platform with a huge Ganesh statue completely decorated and food prepared and laid out as offerings was confusing and sad.


Truly tragic. In all the beauty that we see on a regular basis …it is times like these, times of festivals and incredible fan fare being displayed in long processions down the streets that we realize how sad and empty and LOST this country is. It is heartbreaking really.

Miles and I have been talking to lots of Christians we have met at Powerhouse (our church), and Sparky’s Diner and we have learned a lot about bringing the gospel here and what that entails. It is not the same as in the States or even other parts of the world. Culture creates some hurdles that are difficult to jump over and break through to bringing the Truth to this land. Talking to many pastors here as well as local Christians who have converted from Hinduism, we have learned that the visual is very important to worship and religion in India. Their culture is based on many gods they can see and touch (as empty as those gods are), and it is difficult to break through with Christianity which is based on faith in things you cannot see.

The other roadblock to spreading the Word here is the fact that the people are so confused when it comes to Christianity. Often Christianity here blends aspects of Hinduism, just substituting Christian symbols for Hindu gods. We see large statues of saints and Jesus and of Mary carrying a helpless (powerless) infant baby Jesus. There are parades for Mary too here, and people wonder why the locals are so confused. Seriously, it breaks your heart. It gets me choked up just thinking about it! This is a lost people who desperately need Jesus. It is so warming to hear from our new friends we have met through the diner who are here to share the love of Jesus through building strong relationships with customers, and the local communities. It is such a great time of sharing, learning about culture, ministries, and building relationships ourselves with them and others. It is our prayer that we too although here for a short time can let their Lights shine in this part of the world that is so very dark.

-Jenny