a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

social work done by the Christians is opposed by militant Hindus. According to
S.M. Michael, ‘when the lower-caste students are educated in Christian schools,
they learn not to go to the money-lenders, to the land-lords, to become bonded
labours. If this happens, the nationalists claim, the age-old structures will be
destroyed, and where will the zamindars (landlords) get their labour from?’ 119
Moreover, Pentecostals, at least in Rajasthan, see a spiritual dynamics in
conversion, as an outcome of their public mission like healing and exorcism. The
story of a recent convert to Pentecostalism seems to explain this position:
…. My daughter was seriously ill. We took her to a nearby clinic, but there was
no relief. We did not have money to take her to far away private hospitals. We
came back home hopeless. Meanwhile one of our neighbours talked to us about
going to girija ghar (prayer house) and praying to Jesus. We were not interested
in the beginning, but one late night my daughter became seriously ill. There was
no transport to take her to any hospital. We began to cry thinking that our
daughter will die. She began to throw her tongue out, open her eyes wildly, and
move the body violently. Then we called our neighbour, and as soon as they saw
the girl, they began to pray to Jesus to heal our daughter. To our surprise, she
began to be normal. Then she sat on the coat and asked for water. The next
Sunday we went to the girija ghar along with our neighbour. From then onwards
we began to go to church every Sunday. The Holy Spirit is our helper in every
situation. He began to bless us in every aspect of our life. Then why can’t we
worship Jesus? We do not have proper transport in our village, proper medical
119 Michael, ‘Hindu Nationalism,’ 485. M.T. Cherian also gives the same reason for the opposition
of Conversion by the militant Hindus. See Cherian, Hindutva Agenda, 158.
211