Pastor Jeewer Joeswa wasn’t sure what to think when a massive, chanting Hindu throng in northern India brought the corpse of a Christian woman to his church site – then set the building on fire.

 

Seema Devi, 23, had put her faith in Christ several months before, after the pastor had offered up healing prayer for her. Now, on Jan. 16, Pastor Joeswa was surrounded by a Hindu mob administering last rites and burning her body on church premises in Sehal Village, in Jammu and Kashmir state.

 

“A mob of men and women, at least 1,000 in number shouting, ‘Jai Sri Ram, Jai Sri Ram [Hail Lord Ram],’ brought Seema’s body to the church,” Pastor Joeswa told Morning Star News.

 

The mob alleged that Pastor Joeswa had prayed for Devi and so was responsible for her death, Chittaranjan Tandy, secretary of the Friends Missionary Prayer Band, Jammu Region, told Morning Star News. He said that her husband, Rinku Kumar, was kept in police custody for his own security after the mob tried to burn him alive alongside his deceased wife.

 

“The police from Nowshera police station tried to control the mob, but they put fire on the church building, vehicles of believers parked near the church, church equipment, furniture and every object in sight, including the food grains,” Tandy said.

 

In the violence at the village in Rajouri District, the mob alleged…

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a rare 1,800-year-old Roman mosaic in the Caesarea National Park.

The mosaic dates to between the second and third centuries A.D. Another building was also found and is believed to be what we now know as the shopping mall.

The excavation work is part of a reconstruction project at the entrance bridge to the park and a promenade from the town of Jisr al-Zarq to the park.

The Israel Antiquities Authority says the reconstruction project is the largest ever undertaken in Israel, costing some $28.5 million.

The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and the Caesarea Development Corporation are underwriting the project.

“Old Caesarea never stops surprising, fascinating and thrilling us, time after time revealing slices of history of worldwide significance,” said Guy Swersky, vice chairman of the Edmond D. Rothschild Foundation.

The discovery of the mosaic was “exciting,” Swersky said.

It has three figures, multicolored geometric patterns and a Greek inscription.  The three men represented are wearing togas and most likely belonged to the upper class.

“If the mosaic was part of a mansion, the figures may have been the owners,” said Dr. Peter Gendelman and Dr. Uzi Ad, executive directors for the project. “If this was a public building, they might have represented the donors of the mosaic or members of the city council.”

The other building…