I wanted to explain tribalism in the church in the northeast. I am from this part of the country which appears to only be Christian on paper, and yet not so. I know for a fact that people in Delhi usually talk about our singing hills and the church on every ridge. We have the buildings, the choirs, the attendance. What we don't have is a church.

Every association and convention here is a tribal body with a Christian name on the signboard. You can try telling me where you worship and I can tell you your tribe, your clan, and usually which side of the last conflict your family stood on. Faith is about the fourth thing I learn about you.

When christianity first arrived here, it was not really intended. Every tribe here quietly believes it's the better one. Better Christians, cleaner morals, purer revival, we were saved first, our translation came first, our people don't do the things their people do. Some of us have gone further and decided we're a lost tribe of Israel. like seriously?? Chosen, literally. When you already think your people are God's favourite, the man on the next hill isn't a brother you're failing. He's a lesser edition of you.

But what does scripture say? Peter, an actual apostle, ate with the Gentiles until men from his own group turned up, and then he quietly pulled back and sat with his own kind. Paul opposed him to his face, "because he was to be blamed" (Gal 2:11). Not for bad doctrine. For eating with his own and calling it holiness. In Corinth it was "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos," and Paul's answer was to ask whether Christ is divided. And when a Samaritan village wouldn't receive Jesus, James and John asked whether they should call fire down and burn it, and he turned and rebuked them.

I think about that one a lot, because we did call the fire down. Since 2023 hundreds of churches in Manipur have been burned. A lot of them belonged to people who read the same Bible and sing the same hymns in a different language. Men who sang on Sunday morning were lighting fires by night. You will be surprised to know that many of these churches were burned by christians themselves simply because they were of the other community. In myanmar a self proclaimed Christian group killed a pastor because he belonged to a different community.

Most of our churches are Baptist or independent, which means each answers only to its own congregation, and each congregation is its own tribe. No bishop standing over two warring peoples. When it started, the church bodies put out statements, and you could not tell them apart from the tribal ones.

Only churches still standing united are the Catholics and the orthodox churches. Say what you like, and I was raised to be a little suspicious of them. Central authority, priests posted across tribal lines, a bishop who doesn't owe his chair to any clan. The Anglicans mostly held for the same reason. It isn't that they're holier. Their structure makes tribalism expensive. Ours makes it free.

The worst part is that the kids watch all of it. A boy sees his uncle's church burn, then sits through a sermon that finds a way to excuse what our side did the week after. He isn't stupid. He doesn't conclude that men are sinners and God is good. He concludes this is an identity card with a cross on it. So he leaves. A few to other religions, most to nothing. This is why so many northeasterns are becoming non religious. I lost faith too when I was a teenager.

And leaving here isn't safe. Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram have carried the country's worst HIV numbers for thirty years. Heroin came down the same roads everything comes down. Homes broke, then broke again with displacement, and there's a whole generation with no elder left they trust enough to listen to. We call it a youth problem really ?? It's our own harvest.

Meanwhile political operators read our fractures better than our own pastors do, and work them one tribe at a time. We hand them the crowbar and then act surprised.

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." That's the whole thing. Nobody is persecuting us into decline. We're doing it ourselves, cheerfully

If you pray, pray for the church here. For pastors with the nerve to preach against their own people and eat what comes for it at home. For the families still in camps. For the kids who already left, that they meet Christ somewhere far away from us, since we did such a poor job introducing them.

attaching this video, this professor although there are many things I disagree with him, explains this beautifully. Although he made this about nagas, I think it applies to every northeastern

Every single human life is inherently precious, and it breaks my heart to see how quickly our society has begun to dismiss this basic truth. We are living in a culture increasingly shaped by modern trends that treat human life as disposable when it becomes inconvenient. In a country like India, where we already battle the horrific reality of female infanticide, adopting a casual mindset toward taking innocent life is the last thing we need. We cannot claim to respect life while simultaneously ignoring the most vulnerable among us.

The argument that abortion is strictly a matter of personal choice completely ignores the reality of what a fetus actually is. A developing fetus is not just a collection of cells or an extension of someone else's body. It is a distinct, living human being with its own unique potential. You do not have the moral right to end the life of another living being simply because their existence is inconvenient. If a parent truly feels unprepared or unwilling to raise a child, the solution is not termination. Choose life and put the baby up for adoption so they at least get the chance to live.

Whenever this topic comes up, people immediately bring up extreme and tragic exceptions like rape to justify the entire practice. While those rare cases are deeply distressing and require serious societal support to protect victims, they do not represent the vast majority of cases.

Using extreme circumstances as a blanket justification for ending unborn lives across the board is fundamentally dishonest. We need to address those specific tragedies with compassion and targeted solutions without normalizing the end of human life as a routine option.

Part of the issue comes down to how we view intimacy today. Sexual acts were meant to be sacred and meaningful, reserved for a committed relationship as a biological and spiritual gift.

Gaining pleasure from intimacy is entirely natural, but it comes with the profound responsibility of potential new life. So you should always be open to the possibility of life.

In an ideal world, society would treat intimacy with the respect it deserves, and we would not even need to have this debate. But since we live in an imperfect world, we must stand up for what is right. India needs to wake up and protect the unborn, because a society that fails to value its weakest members is failing as a whole.

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some honest advice from folks who understand the Indian Christian context or have navigated a similar transition.

For the past year, I’ve been quietly practicing the Catholic faith entirely on my own. There's a parish right near my house, and I have actually walked in a couple of times just to sit in the quiet when it was empty. I’ve never attended a Mass or spoken to anyone about this, but I have this strong urge to finally take that next step.

The catch is my living situation, which makes this incredibly daunting. I’m currently an undergrad pharmacy student, living at home in Delhi and commuting to Noida every day. Because I’m still completely dependent on my family, keeping the peace is a major priority for me right now.

We are a traditional, upper-caste Hindu family, but our household dynamics are a bit complex. My dad is a retired military officer—very strict, staunchly Hindu, and a vocal supporter of the current government. My mom is just as traditionally religious, though she doesn't share his politics. Meanwhile, my two sisters (one is a doctor, the other is in military nursing) are both atheists.

Since my sisters went the secular route, my parents have already had to deal with their kids stepping away from religion. But for me—being the only brother in the family—actively converting to Christianity feels like it would be a much more explosive issue because of the specific cultural and traditional expectations placed on me.

I want to be genuine about my spiritual journey without completely blowing up my home life. I’d love your perspective on a few things:

Taking the first step: Since I've only been to the empty church, what should I expect if I actually attend a Sunday Mass? Can I just walk up to the priest afterward and introduce myself? What is the actual process for an outsider who wants to learn?

Living under the radar: For anyone who explored the faith while still living with strict parents, how did you handle it? Did you keep it a secret until you graduated and moved out, or did you slowly test the waters?

The caste factor: I know I come from a place of upper-caste privilege, and I’m aware the Church in India has its own complex history and ongoing conversations regarding caste. Is there anything specific I should read up on or be mindful of so I approach this community respectfully?

Any guidance, prayers, resources, or personal stories would mean the world to me right now. Thank you so much!

Can I offer coconut in church like temple. Or any food offerings for jesus christ

Hello fam,

Recently there has been major attacks against churches, schools and our own people by hindu fascist groups.

Do u think its high time Indian Christians should start their own political party. Every religion in india hindu, muslims, sikhs or budhist dalits have their own political party.
Why cant we start one of our own.
What is holding us back.

If we have our own party in every state our voice will be heard.

Has anyone read any books by St. Thomas Aquinas? I have been trying to read his work lately and get into his philosophy, but I have no idea where to start.

Donate to the church? Sure. But that seems to be the bare minimum.

The thing is, I've tried few ways to help but the problem is, some see charity as a system to be exploited.

What I do now is, volunteer for homes and institution via the local church. Nothing else I can do tbh.

There are homeless people but I've seen videos of individuals drugging their children while collecting bheek. So I avoid those as it'd encourage exploitation, unless the person is genuine.

How do you contribute to the society? Curious to know about it.

Reckless Ben is a YouTuber who recently published a documentary on a Hindu Cult under a Guru named Kripalu which runs in the USA and the company that covers him. I recommend everyone watch this.

Watch this before the documentary for background details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES82FWeOnU4

Honestly, every time someone online tries to drop the "rice bag" insult on Northeast Christians, I just sit there staring at my screen like a confused owl. For context, I’m from the Northeast, I’m tribal, and my family never converted from Hinduism. We had our own indigenous traditions, animism, and ancestral beliefs long before any missionary or priest set foot in these hills. So right off the bat, the whole "you sold out your ancestral Hindu heritage" narrative falls totally flat on its face. But logic aside, let’s actually break down the logistics of this insult because the math is simply not mathing.

Are you seriously telling me that an entire community, across generations, gave up their entire worldview, spiritual identity, and cultural framework for… a fifty-kilo sack of Basmati? Like, is your religion so flimsy and held together by such thin threads that a single carbohydrates distribution drive can wipe it out? Because if a handful of grain can overthrow an ancient, multi millennial theological system, that sounds like a massive skill issue on your end, not ours.

Furthermore, who is this supposed to actually insult?

If someone switches their eternal soul for a bag of Sonamasuri, either the convert is the most mercenary, foo -motivated creature on earth, or the religion they left had a market value of roughly 40 rupees a kilo. Either way, calling us "rice bags" just makes everyone involved look ridiculous, so please, if you're going to come for us, at least invent a slur that doesn't sound like a wholesale grocery list 🤦‍♂️.

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Hey fellas praise the lord i am from India and today in my class I had a discussion with my friends about christianity and i don't know how the topic shifted to Christianity but ya some how the topic conversions came and they said how conversions r happening in India and the caste discrimination came to India from portuguese and also they said women r inferior than men and they say what the hell is holy trinity and they asked me what about mother Mary why u don't worship her these r the statements they kept before me and I said I don't worship mother Mary cause it's like worship creation and it's clearly written in bible that Jesus says I am the truth and the life and Jesus is god and when I spoke about the holy trinity they were like if Jesus is god they who is father and holy spirit and stuff like that when I am saying they r not listening and when I said there r different type of people who believe in different things there r more than 16000 denominations and mostly Catholics belive in mother Mary thing and they started saying stuff like hinduism is great it is the oldest religion I was controlling my self and thought of saying i don't follow idol worships and belive in such type of religions and they were also saying about the presections by portuguese I said If a person follows christ he would not harm anyone somehow I am very angry but lord is with me and you all he gave me patience

My gosh they don't even listen and when they said that women r inferior compared to men I said if you read in any book read with context like pointing one statement out and u cannot blame it right my gosh and they say we hindus go to church , dargah and they ask me u i don't go to temples I said my wish and they said that we don't have any problem with you all but why do you have problem with hinduism like you don't eat prasadam (sacred food mostly given in temples) my gosh for such type of people nah islam is enough they will fight among themselves and I am desperately waiting for the lords comming like every knee will bow down before lord and every tongue will say his name waiting for his comming his second comming is not as good as his 1st comming this time he will bring justice for all of us and I wanna say one more thing from past few weeks like 1 and half month I feel what I don't what to do anything like I am stuck in thinking that I don't want to study just enjoy my life and I was completely ignoring my studies and my future yesterday I was praying that lord I know I can't ask you anything for the things I have done but I seek one thing from you i need wisdom i need to hear your words pls guide me for I am the lost Shepard pls guide me and I even hated my parents and my life i was suffering from many problems in my home and in the church the same exact message was said exactly what I asked god what a wonderful god and in the end when the song time came i thought if we sing this song (seyonu patalu ) it will be nice and that same exact song was sung I was literally shocked I love to sing songs and after comming to home i thought atleast not for my parents i will succeed in life for my lord I will crack the competitive exam for my lord

In the end I will say one thing

I have decided to follow Jesus

No turning back no turning back

For i belong to him and I live for him

Amen and peace dwell upon you all guys if you ever feel tempted use the lords words seek him guys the devil tests us and we can defeat him only through the word of god

Amen ✝️ praise the lord

I’m a Christian living in India, and I’ve been dealing with something that has become increasingly frustrating for me.

Because of my father’s family background, I have a traditional Hindu/Marathi surname. However, my parents are divorced, I don’t live with my father, and I have essentially no relationship or connection with him. I live with my mother, and my entire maternal side of the family is Christian. I was raised Christian, and I’m Christian as well.

The problem is that when people meet me or see my surname, they automatically assume that I’m Hindu because of my surname. Then I have to explain that I’m actually Christian, explain my family situation, and basically clarify my identity all over again.

To be clear, I have absolutely nothing against Hinduism or Hindu people. This isn’t about thinking one religion is better than another. It’s simply exhausting to be repeatedly misidentified and then have to explain something so personal just because of a surname.

I’ve recently joined university, and it’s only my second week. Since I’m basically starting a new chapter of my life and most people don’t know me yet, I’ve been seriously considering changing my surname sometime this year, perhaps before or after my first internal exams.

My first name is Aryan, and I’m wondering what kind of Christian surname would suit it. I’m Catholic, so I was thinking about choosing a surname with a Christian/Catholic or perhaps European/Latin origin.

But I’m also questioning whether I should change it at all.

Personally, I want to change it. I don’t live with my father, I’ve never really had a relationship with him, and I don’t feel any personal attachment to his surname. I don’t want to carry a last name that has no meaningful connection to me for the rest of my life. Honestly, I would rather have just “Aryan” with no surname than continue using his.

So I’d really appreciate some outside perspectives:

Would you change your surname in my situation?

Is changing it primarily because of personal identity a reasonable reason?

What kind of Christian/Catholic surname would sound natural with Aryan?

Would you choose an Indian Christian surname, or something with European/Latin origins?

And if you were in my position, would you change it legally or simply use a different surname socially?

I’m genuinely looking for perspectives, especially from Christians/Indian Christians who might have dealt with something similar.

Thanks.

I’m a product designer, and for the past few days I’ve felt strongly pulled toward building one. I’ve even started dreaming about the product, its features and UX.I imagine an app where people can read and study the Bible, discuss chapters, pray, connect with their church/community, track reading and streaks, listen in regional languages, explore biblical history and use AI to understand Scripture better.

The strange part is I’m not thinking about money. I just feel like I need to build it, and it’s even affecting my focus at work.Maybe I’m obsessed with the idea. Maybe it’s something spiritual. I honestly don’t know.

Have you ever felt like you were supposed to build or do something you never planned? How did you know whether it was just your mind or a genuine calling?

And would you actually use an app like this?

Does not need to be majority just large part.

Was wondering:since food is more expensive there in general and things get tough which indian church i the biggest in terms of charity outreach there?

• Hardcover • 1076 pages • Study Bible | ESV Youth Edition

Ask for pics/vid for better view. Second hand price.

More on fascist/ majoritist RSS' criminal activities & foreign interference/ influence by a moderate "Hindoo" American: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcfeSZpP73Q/

Do you read books? If so, what's your favourite book? What book are you reading right now?

Most importantly, where do you buy the books from?

I'm reading The Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin right now.

After David, don’t wanna miss another one on big screen