Hinduism, a most peaceful religion indeed:

Sources within Nepal, the mountainous nation sandwiched between India and China that holds Mt. Everest, have told the Voice of the Martyrs that the persecution campaign encompassed all parts of Rajan's life when he became a Christian.

"Hindu neighbors have dug up Rajan's cauliflower and potatoes," the VOM reported its sources confirmed. "He has lost his whole year's income."

Villagers took every opportunity to make life difficult for him, including their response when some water from his field inadvertently spilled onto a neighbor's land, the sources reported.

"He was recently fined 6,000 rupees (about $100, a large sum in Nepal), after water from his field spilled over into a neighbor's field," the VOM sources reported. "Normally, this would not be a problem, but the neighbors consider water from Rajan's field unclean because he is a Christian.

"Normally, we wouldn't fine you, but because you changed your religion and became a Christian, you need to pay 6,000 rupees," the villagers told him, according to VOM.

They even turned Rajan's wife and family against him, and he was forced to leave his home, to stay with a pastor briefly, and then to move to another village.

"When Rajan left his home to live with the pastor he was sad, but said his experiences had made Jesus more precious to him than before," the Voice of the Martyrs reported. "His pastor told us that as persecuted believers, they have learned that one of the results of persecution is that Jesus becomes much more precious to them."

There is virtually no difference between hardline Hindus and Muslims in their ability to use violence and commit crimes against Christians. Stories like this from across the border in India are sadly common with Hindu-on-Christian violence becoming a regular occurrence in some states of India. It's a sobering reminder that Jesus wasn't kidding when he said that he came to bring division, not peace, and that those people who follow him and call him Lord would invariably find themselves on the receiving end of all manner of evil for his sake.

As I have said before, on the issue of religious violence we can safely excuse most religions their violent pasts in "pre-modern times" as being more of a product of ignorance and primitive culture rather than the work of the religion itself. That past, however, has no bearing on the present day where there is no excuse for toleration of religious violence and persecution.