Orissa Christians thirsting for the Word of God

|PIC1|More than food and water, victims of the recent Kandhamal violence are hungry for the food of the Bible, says one Christian ministry.

According to Audio Scripture Ministries (ASM), "instead of requesting food and blankets and things like that, which they desperately need," people are requesting "God's Word so they can listen to the Scriptures".

In response to the high demand, the ministry has announced plans to distribute 1,000 audio players among Christians in the volatile state of Orissa.

"They realise that if there's going to be any joy in anything that comes into their lives, it will come through God's Word," ASM's Executive Director Tom Dudenhofer says.

"That really gets us excited, to see the power of God's Word demonstrated in the requests of these believers ... who want to listen to God's Word right in the middle of these tough times," he adds.

Most of the victims are unable to read the Word of God, so audio format gives them encouragement and hope, says the ministry.

ASM is, however, concerned that distributing Bible materials will incite more violence from Hindu fanatics. To counter this, the ASM teams are approaching local churches to "discreetly handle all the details that are involved in this process".

In addition, the ASM will also charge a small fee for the audio players, which Dudenhofer says might seem harsh but actually offers a degree of protection. If the players are free, he says, Hindu radicals might make accusations of forced conversion.

Dudenhofer believes this provides the Christians with a sense of "personal ownership".

"It also demonstrates that they are investing their own money into this, that nobody is bribing them," he said.

Over 50,000 people were rendered homeless during the violence in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati.

There are still over 3,000 Christians in Kandhamal relief camps where the living conditions are said to be appalling. Some of them have also complained of being constantly intimidated by Hindu extremists who demand their conversion to Hinduism.