Creation in India
I joined Prof. Andy McIntosh on Monday 24 March at Chennai airport for the long drive to Pondicherry. In the evening, he gave a talk on dinosaurs to a group called Samaritan Helps.
The next day went unexpectedly. Two lectures had been arranged in advance -the afternoon one at the Regional Engineering College, and the evening at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER).
The first was cancelled as a result of pressure on the college from extreme Hindus, who had learned that Prof. McIntosh was a Christian. However, the second lecture went ahead and was part of an Easter programme arranged by Christian students at JIPMER. They had spent much time in prayer and the lecture found the hall packed with postgraduates, medical interns and engineering students. More than 300 participants were present, with over 80% from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds.
The question and answer session was very interesting and many asked meaningful questions. We used up all our creation materials and I was told by the students that nearly 100 copies of the New Testament were distributed.
Overwhelming responses
The response to the Creation Conference at Gangtok Sikkim on 28 March was also overwhelming. We anticipated 60 participants at most, but during the first session, the hall was packed and many could not get in. More than 130 pastors, professors, university students and school teachers attended.
We were exhausted when we arrived next day at Kalimpong in the Himalayas. It was fairly late and the journey through the mountains had been tiring. The Lord was good and we had a reasonable rest, although our hotel was in the centre of town, with a mosque behind and dogs barking all night!
This occasion was our second creation conference at Kalimpong. We had more than 70 participants from various backgrounds, including a good number of teachers.
The next day Andy McIntosh preached at an old Scottish mission called Macfarlane Church. The Lord was good to us and his grace sufficient.
The need in India is immense. It is a vast country with more than 800 languages and dialects and 12 official languages. English is the official language of commerce. We have just finished translating and typesetting two of Dr Peter Masters’ evangelistic tracts in Bengali. We need to produce more English evangelistic resources to reach across India, and more creation literature.
Jyoti P. Chakravartty
