Right now I'm sitting in an Internet Cafe, in a tourist city. Right across the street is a school for American missionary kids and there are white people everywhere. It feels like I'm in Canada right now. It's been great to relax a little and encourage the students. An intresting thing happened to me two days ago. We went on our one and only Hindu temple visit. We spent some time in prayer before hand and really tried to prepare the students for what they would be seeing as they entered this place of hindu worship. We decided that we would go and look into the inner most room where the idol worship was taking place but we would not enter it. Since I'm taller I was able to see into the room no problem, this I found to be very moving witnessing real idol worship. We were taking some pictures of the city from the high vantage point the temple gave us and a small boy who was 12 years old walked up. We started to talk and he asked me if I had seen the god and I said I had from the outside but I had not entered the room. I explained that I was a Christian and I lived by a different standard. We exchanged names and he said his name was Rachean. Turns out his Dad was one of the Hindu priests that was right inside performing the hindu worship! He brought me over to the door of the inner most room and as I looked in he called out to his dad. His dad smiled and waved from the front of the stone face of the elephant, I smiled and waved back, and then his dad called out, "please come inside". Not only was God giving me an opportunity to speak to a priests son, but it seemed that God was leading me to the center of the hindu worship to meet the priest himself. Here was where the inner struggle began. That stone face is no match for Jesus Christ, what do I have to fear? It would be a great opportunity to show that a Christian can stand his ground right infront of this god. But would it look like I was paying my respects to this stone face? The moment seemed like an eternity, but it was only half a second. Everything inside of me screamed "go!" but part of me held fast, "I will be different. I will be different. I will not acknowledge that elephant. I will not even enter." So there I stood shaking my head. As I walked down from that temple high on the rock, I started to wonder did I do the right thing? I feel that I did.
I will always remember the time when a Hindu priest invited me into the innermost room.
Thanks for your constant support and encouragement.
8 comments:
yeah right, you did the right thing! im sure you wont burn in hell now. im positive jesus had no other important stuff other than to make a footnote in his journal saying "steven bock did not enter the temple!"
god knows if you did enter, you could have been brainwashed by the satan and got converted instantly and there would have been no hope for u when he visits the second time for armaggedon!
YOU IDIOT!!
oh btw - im being sarcastic & cynical.
now to some logic. if the first commandment was true then why did god sent a second person, his son, to earth? doesnt that mean there are more than one god?
enough for now, i think.
^ 1)Jesus was sent to show the way to God.
2)God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one
does that answer your question smitha? If you have more questions I would reccomend going to a local church and talking to a pastor, or post your questions here, I'm sure plenty of people would be glad to help you out! also the way I read his post Steven was not worried about being converted he was concerned that the people who he was trying to introduce to Christianity would think he was going in to participate, which would make them wonder why he would be trying to teach them about Christianity if he was following their religion.
and to Steven I would like to say way to stand up for your beliefs, hopefully someone saw you and will be intrigued. and thanks for the site, its nice to be able to see what all of you have been up to.
AJ
Hi Steven,
The thing is... most sane people would at least make an effort to understand a different faith's viewpoint before tagging it satanic. The world is not bipolar.
Sanity however, is in short supply. Whether you look for it in Jesus' clan, or among the pagans.
But you are a good natured person. That is enough.
Steven, I envy you. Must be so easy, living in a world where everything is black and white!
Peace man.
You must possess an incredibly small mind.
Hey Steve... Its soo cool to hear all of these experiences from India! Wow that would have been a tough choice. I think you did the right thing! Anyways... I am praying for you (and the rest of the team) and can't wait for you guys to get back!
Hey Steven,
My father is Christian and my mother a Hindu- but I'm mostly a practicing Christian than a Hindu.. My dad never instilled in me the fact that I was not to follow a Hindu way of life. I have always been encouraged to visit temples and even participate in a hindu religious customs (I have been baptised)..I think that is why I was sufficiently horrfied when I read your post.. If I am to believe what you have written, by jove I'll rot in hell. But I'm walking the middle path here-accepting both religions as one, knowing that the teachings each has to offer is not much different than the other. I think religious intolernace stems from what you did- the inability to accept other religions, even if it is on the face value.. Steven what you did is nothing to be proud of.. Even my uncle who is a priest, makes it a point to understand other religions and has even entered other temples!!!(ooooooooh the blasphemy!!!)
Way to go Steve. I absolutely think you did the right thing. I know you weren't worried about being converted or converting the priest but rather the example you set for others and standing up for Jesus as the only way to God. Don't let cynical and sarcastic people discourage you in any way. You have only One person to be accountable to. Have a great day.
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