User:Biswasi

Christianity in Nepal

During the 18th century, few catholic monks from Rome came to Nepal and met with the then ruling Malla kings and with their permission started evangelizing the people in the Kathmandu Valley. History tells us that during this period of evangelism of 54 years, around 600 Nepalese (Newars) were converted and Churches were established in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur (one of the four cities of the valley).

In 1767, in his mission of making a single Nepal, king Prithivi Narayan Shah invaded Kathmandu Valley and he pressured the foreign catholic fathers and the converted Nepalese to leave the country suspecting that they could be in league with the then British rulers in India. Since that point of time until a brief revolution leading to establishment of democratic rule in Nepal in 1951, the door to Christianity had been totally closed.. Through the prayers of Nepalese living outside Nepal, the good news of the Lord could come in the country again after 1951. This is also because the Rana rulers had closed everything in Nepal to outside influence for 104 years of their own despotic rule and therefore the new government had no option but to open the doors for international assistance in the various fields of health, education and rural development efforts. A real effort in evangelism started only after this time and the Christians grew both in numbers and understanding of the Word of the Lord. Having a very brief Christian history, Nepali Churches could be compared to the Churches of Bible where people worshipped the Lord and believed in Him in spite of severe persecution from home, family and the laws of the land. Nepali Christians are among the least privileged group of people in the country even though they have been evangelizing in the true spirit of God and discipleship. The number of Christians is ever increasing and almost all Churches are involved with evangelism. Traditional, liberal Christianity has no place in Nepal because almost all believers educated or less educated work under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

In Nepal, the Churches have played a significant role in evangelism and the spread of Christianity. Most of the Churches in Nepal are evangelical and are actively involved in evangelism. Besides, God has also done a lot of miracles among the sick people who later have proved to be good evangelists among their group and family.

Meaningful message of Christ for non-Christians

Nepali people are by nature very religious and fatalistic. They have deep faith in their personal good works and merits they can earn through good works (karma). Most of the people are Hindus. It is very important that we contextualize the teachings of the Bible to our society and its beliefs. There is great diversity among our people with more than 40 ethnic groups. The people living in various part of the country like in terai, Mountains, plains, etc. also differ in their outlook and way of thinking.

Real needs

Nepali Church is in the stage of third generation of believers. Our greatest need in the church is to see that the new generation is aware of the need for personal faith and commitment to Christ. The other related challenge is to give a place and identity to the huge Christian population in a society that is hostile to them. And in the larger context we need to convince people that this is not a foreign religion but a matter of hell or heaven for them. Most of the Christians in Nepal are from the low income and less educated background and so they do not seem to understand the context in Bible deeply.