Why no Outrage over Conversion of Tsunami Victims?

On December 26 2004 the earthquake that occurred in the sea near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia created tsunami the giant tidal waves which caused huge disaster in the countries like Indonesia, SriLanka, India, Thailand and Malaysia. More than 11/2 lakh people have died…Two grave sins grieve God the most. One is Idolatry and the other is Adultery. These two sins alone will bring curses and disasters to the nation. Look at our nation the land is grieving due to the curse of sin. …Instead of worshiping the God who created heaven and earth they worship demons and evil spirits as their God.[1]

The tsunami striking us in the last days of 2004 must be seen not as an ominous signal for the future, but as the culmination of a legacy of hate and destruction that we, the Indian people, unitedly and finally overcame in the political sphere in 2004.[3]

In the fishing town of Nagapittinam, we encountered an elderly woman who had lost everything. The tidal wave had killed her family, crushed her house, and shattered her livelihood. … Prema Sunder pressed a few coins into the woman’s hand and whispered, “Buy yourself a cup of hot coffee.” The woman looked up. Tears began to well in her eyes. Soon she was talking about her broken life and her shaken Hindu faith. Growing up in Nagapittinam the woman had followed Hindu tenets her entire life. She was entrenched in a dogmatic belief system of idol worship and mandatory offerings. As a child she had been strictly warned that Christianity was a taboo religion.  Yet because Prema had offered a compassionate cup of coffee the woman was now open to the Christian message.[7]

Since the 2004 tsunami, Southern Baptists have found opportunities to meet both physical and spiritual needs of those who survived the disaster. More than 4,000 people along the coast of India and into Bangladesh have professed faith in Christ and more than 1,400 churches have been started.

“100 people accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, 35 were baptised and about 12 house churches were started.”[8]

Samanthapettai, near the temple town of Madurai, faced near devastation on the December 26 when massive tidal waves wiped it clean of homes and lives.Most of the 200 people here are homeless or displaced, battling to rebuild lives and locating lost family members besides facing risks of epidemic disease and trauma.Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.Heated arguments broke out as the locals forcibly tried to stop the relief trucks from leaving. The missionaries, who rushed into their cars on seeing television reporters and the cameras refusing to comment on the incident and managed to leave the village.[9]