“He Knew!” Persecution Eases in Sri Lanka (COLUMN)

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By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist
housechurchesCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- I read regular commentaries on the persecuted church and one in particular has stuck in my mind. It's a chilling 2013 article in America’s Baptist Press agency titled “Sri Lankan churches attacked, closed.” It detailed an escalating series of attacks on churches by mobs of Buddhist extremists. In many cases local authorities refused help, sometimes even effectively endorsing the violence. Some people had reportedly become afraid of stepping foot in church. Yet, it was something else that caught my attention and has remained in my memory...

Tamil And Sinhalese Christians Unite To Overcome Aftermath Of Sri Lanka War

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service srilankaCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- At least a quarter of a million civilians, including Christians, remained displaced Wednesday, May 27, in Sri Lanka following the government's final military crackdown on independence seeking Tamil rebels, but Tamil and Sinhalese Christians said they have united to overcome the crisis and show reconciliation is possible.

Sri Lanka Rocked By Attacks Against Christians, Churches

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos Sri Lankan Christian nuns offer prayers COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- Sri Lanka has been rocked by attacks and threats against individual Christians, their pastors and congregations as part of a new wave of violence and intimidation by suspected Buddhist and Hindu militants that began three months ago, BosNewsLife established. Christians in Sri Lanka's Kagelle District have been especially targeted, with reports that at least three pastors and their congregations have been attacked by militants in the area. "They have been insulted verbally, had their properties burned, and undergone severe pressure to close their church doors,"said well-informed advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which closely monitors the situation.

Sri Lanka Blames Islamists For Deadly Church Bombings

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- Sri Lanka's government has blamed a radical Islamist group for...

Sri Lankan Chuch Continues To Meet Despite Destruction

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- The leader of a church in northwestern Sri Lanka which was destroyed by suspected Buddhist militants says his congregation will continue worship services. "No attack can stop us. We shall continue to meet and pray under a tree," said Kamal Wasantha, who leads the Kithu Sevana Prayer Centre in Paharaiya. "We shall continue to meet and pray under a tree."

Sri Lanka Evangelicals Attacked By Angry Mobs

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service ap1107130542 (1)COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- Evangelical Christians in heavily Buddhist Sri Lanka are facing attacks and death threats with authorities reluctant to intervene, according to the organization representing them. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) documented several cases in recent weeks including in northwestern Mannar district .

Sri Lanka Christians Fear Persecution As Fighting Continues

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By Kristov Esocia, BosNewsLife Special Correspondent sri-lankaCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- Major fighting continued Tuesday, January 20, between Sri Lanka's navy and independence seeking Tamil rebels, adding to concerns among minority Christians who fear renewed persecution by authorities, officials and rights investigators said.

Sri Lanka Pastor Forgives Bombers (UPDATE)

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service with reporting by Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- The senior pastor of a Sri Lankan...

NEWS ALERT: Sri Lanka Detains Christian Activists

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By BosNewsLife Asia Service ruki-fernando COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- Two prominent Christian rights activists remained behind bars  in Sri Lanka, after they were detained by the country's feared Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), church officials and fellow activists said.

Sri Lanka Pentecostals Face Harassment and Detentions

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (BosNewsLife)-- A Pentecostal congregation in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province has been told to...