Christianity Grows in Former Hindu Kingdom’s Prisons
Christianity grows in former Hindu kingdom’s prisons
ICC Note
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is spreading like wild fire in Nepal changing lives of persecutors of Christ and making them His followers.
11/11/2010 Nepal (Insights)-In 1986, the Rev. Anthony Sharma was arrested for conducting an Easter service in Nepal , then the only Hindu kingdom in the world, and one where converts were punished.
Today, the south Asian state is secular and Christianity is growing, especially in prisons, where some inmates say they are comforted by the message of forgiveness and love brought by Christian ministers.
A symbol of the change is Rajendra Karki, aged 26, who ran a restaurant in Kathmandu until his arrest in 2007. Mr Karki says his wife Sabita hanged herself and although neighbours testified it was suicide, her parents alleged murder and he was charged.
In 2008, Mr Karki received a 10-year sentence and was sent to Bhadra Prison in Kathmandu . Christian prisoners have a room there to hold prayers and he began attending out of curiosity. In 2009, he converted to Christianity.
“Jesus was the son of God and yet gave up his life to save sinners,” says Mr Karki. “Christianity says sinners will be forgiven if they repent while Hinduism says sinners will be punished.”
After his release, Mr Karki plans to return home in Ramechhap, a district in western Nepal that lacks roads, running water and electricity.
“There are no Christian preachers either,” he says. “I will take the word of God there.”
Nakhu Jail in Lalitpur town, near Kathmandu , holds Ram Prasad Mainali, a Hindu militant whose National Defence Army planted a bomb in a church in 2009, killing three women. Mr Mainali, now awaiting trial, is reading the Bible.
“Though I was tortured after my arrest, no Hindu ever came to visit me,” the 37-year-old says. “But the Christian missionaries say they have forgiven me and I have abandoned the pursuit for a Hindu state.