India in the Bible

 India, the land in the EAST King [Solomon] B.C. 970-930 exported spices and ornaments (2 Kings)

 One of the 127 provinces reigned by King [Ahaserasus], the husband of Queen [Esther] (Esther 1:1)

 [Mordecai’s] sealed orders to the Jews in the name of [Xerxes] was send to 127 provinces including [India] (Esther 8:9)

History of Christianity in India

 Apostle Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ brought the gospel to India in AD 52 after the Jerusalem Council (Acts
15:1-30). Gospel reached India, long before reaching any European country.

 Apostle Thomas came to Kerala, India to share the gospel with Jews settled in India for trade.

 He also converted Hindus and established churches in [Kerala, India] (Seven and a half churches).

 Apostle Thomas was martyred while praying in AD 72 in [Mylapore], [Madras].

 Christians kept close relations with Oriental Orthodox Church and is known as [Syrian] Christians.

 After 1498 [Vasco da Gama] traveled from Spain, and they tried to bring Christians under Pope.

 In 1653 a large group of Christians took an oath reaffirming allegiance to the [Syrian] Orthodox tradition, rejecting Pope.

 They tied a rope on a cross, which went bent of the pressure and called [COONAN KURISHU] BENT CROSS oath.

 In 1836, British missionaries brought protestant teachings and Bible translations.

  After 1900 Pentecostal movements started. It is the growing community in India.

Evangelization in India
 Now isolated, but rigorous Christian conversions exist throughout India.

 Some ministries undertaken to spread the Kingdom of God is raising up abandoned children, leadership training, discipleship,
literature, developing native church planters, educating the [dalit] and tribal children, leading community development work,
and providing emergency relief and rehabilitation outreaches.

 In a country where only 30% lives in cities and rest 70% lives in villages. Reaching remote villages is difficult.

 Dedicated and committed evangelists work towards spreading the Kingdom of God.

 2.3% of the total population is Christians according to census.

Persecution in India
 With growing Evangelization, persecution is on the rise

 Opposition and Disowning from family (In a close knit culture, it is difficult to survive).

 Threatening of distributing literature, burning of Bibles

 Places of worships and Christian centers are vandalized

 Murder of Christians

 Destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries etc are on the increase.
Bible in India
 Copies of [Syriac] Bible were possessed by Christians, brought to India before AD 345. Still many churches use Syriac
language.

 It is a direct translation from old Hebrew and Aramaic. (Apart from Latin and Greek translations.) One copy from Kerala,
India is available with Cambridge Library, UK.

 Protestant missionaries started translating Bible in Indian Languages.

 In 1801, first translation in [Bengali], [Marthi], [Sanskrit] and [Punjabi].

 In 1829, New Testament was available in [Malayalam] and in 1841, the complete [Malayalam] translation was made

 There are more than 150 languages in India without a translation of the Bible
Only place in the world 3000 year old civilization and culture exists as such, when many went in ruins.

Language – Samskrit, the mother of Indo-European

languages
• Education – Taxila, the oldest university, 700 BC.
• Mathematics – Numbers (0, 1, ..9), decimal, exponents,
trigonometry, etc.
• Astronomy – Planetary calculations
• Health sciences – Ayurveda, the holistic healthcare
science
• Philosophy – Six schools of thoughts, including Yoga
• Chemistry and Metallurgy – London bridge steel from
India
• Art and Music – 80,000 named raagas (tunes), several
elaborate systems of classical dances

Taxila University – the oldest university in the world, before the time
of Buddha
Philosophers gathered here to have their own schools of thoughts and
imparted instructions
Instructions in military science, medicine, political science, philosophy,
religion, language,
literature, and grammar

We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without

which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!" --
Albert Einstein

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human

speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the
great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most
astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India
only!" --Mark Twain