Pastor Sukdev Giri facing death threats after video testimony of conversion to Christianity, salvation, goes viral
According to Morning Star News, a pastor in Nepal has received numerous death threats after a video of him sharing his Christian testimony and his experience was a former Hindu went viral. The wide abuse against the pastor and his family is a telltale sign of rising religious intolerance against Christians in Nepal.
In March 2019, Pastor Sukdev Giri, Pastor of Trinity Fellowship Church in Nepal’s Chitwan District, shared about his journey of becoming a Christian at the International Christian Media Workers Summit in Kathmandu. As a part of his testimony, Pastor Giri described how the acts of Hindu gods such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva led him to question his Hindu faith. This questioning, and Pastor Giri’s discovery of the testimony of Jesus Christ, eventually led him to accept Christianity as his faith of choice.
On August 11, a video of this testimony was publically published on YouTube. Since then, the video has received more than 750,000 views and Pastor Giri has been accused of abusing Hinduism. This has led to death threats and Pastor Giri having to live in hiding.
“Highly abusive and derogatory words were used against me,” Pastor Giri told Morning Star News. “Calls also started. And I immediately discarded by old SIM card and kept the phone away for some days. I have dedicated my entire time to travel, as my family feels it is unsafe for me to start in my hometown in Chitwan.”
The reaction to Pastor Giri’s testimony is a sign of the times in Nepal. Like India, religious intolerance in Nepal is primarily driven by the ideology of radical Hindu nationalism. In recent years, the acceptance of this ideology has led Nepal to pass laws criminalizing religious conversion and public discussions about religion. Under these laws, Nepal has arrested and charged 17 Christians, including two Americans.
Nepal photo/ CIA map
India: Christian man Arvind D’Souza stopped by police, despite committing no crime
Yale Law report: UN should be held accountable for Haiti cholera outbreak
