Mokokchung, October 29 (MTNews): After Ao Senden and Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM), the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has also expressed regret at the instruction from the state government to all the AHODs and HODs to be in station for the visit of the President of India, saying that it has created undue stress at this juncture. ABAM is set to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ao Naga soil from November 1-3 while the President is scheduled to visit Nagaland on November 2-3.
“The church will certainly not impose its program on the state in this matter. However, since the preparation for the celebration has been long planned it has created an uneasy situation where many of the ABAM members will not be able to attend the jubilee celebration,” NBCC General Secretary Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho said in a statement.
Saying that the ABAM Sesquicentennial celebration is not only historic to the Ao community but also to the whole state of Nagaland, and because of the importance of the celebration, the NBCC has requested the government to make a viable alternative and allow the community to celebrate free from interference.
The Council said that Nagaland is in the year of celebrating the third Jubilee year in Nagaland. “Christianity is 150 years old in our state and this gives us the reason to celebrate God’s faithfulness in the lives of our people and the church. We must never forget that Nagaland is a Christian majority state and we have all the reason to celebrate the history of Christianity,” it said.
NBCC raises concern over heretical Chinese cult
NBCC has meanwhile raised serious concerns prevalent in the state, including “infiltration of heretical teaching regarding the Chinese cult” which it said it had warned about two years ago. NBCC General Secretary Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho stated that the Church of Almighty God is a cult and it has been doing the rounds for several years outside of the state and country. “It has now come in and is penetrating into schools and church youth groups. They have been using credible Christian organizations to lure your people into their teachings,” he claimed.
“It is always difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. What the cult usually does is build their case from the truth of the Bible. But when a person shows interest in the teaching, they slowly decode the fundamental truth in the fundamental belief system and replace it with new teachings to suit their interest,” the reverend explained.
He said that the Council has warned the school authorities to watch out for such groups coming and getting in touch with the students in the guise of counseling, conducting chapel and running camps for the student community. “We must be on our guard,” he maintained.