The Battle of Religions

There were two very interesting events that happened yesterday.
The first is going to a new church plant. We took a rough four hour voyage to a poor village area. The church consisted of around 25 people or so, all sitting on the concrete floor in one small room that is part of someone's house. Several women got up and shared their story of converting from Hinduism to Christianity. Clasping a Bible and with tears of gratitude, they talked of how Jesus had changed their lives.
On the way home we passed a caravan of around 250 cars and buses full of people going to the Southern tip of India for a Hindu rally. The 250 vehicles were from our area of India alone, not to mention the other parts of the state. So all-together there were thousands of people attending this event. Pastor Banuel said that not only do they celebrate their gods during this rally, but they do chants that put down Jesus and Allah. Clearly a lot of Christians and Muslims do not appreciate this, and lots of fights ensue.
It seems like religion around here often becomes a battle of, "My God (god) is better than yours." And like I said, a lot of Christians jump in this battle also.
As I was sitting in the car thinking about the arguing and fighting between the different religious groups, I couldn't help but think about the women I had seen that morning.
Tears streaming down their faces, speaking of the hope they found in Jesus, a hope they did not find in Hinduism. Thousands of Hindus can rally and speak against Him. But in the long run, the sincere testimony of a poverty-stricken lady in South India is argument enough. Jesus changes lives. He's the hope of the world. And that hope needs to be shared, not battled over.