The Bible is very honest about human depravity. In the Old Testament the prophets were profoundly aware of how idolatry can destroy countless lives. In particular they denounced the prophets of Baal who peddled a dark, pagan faith that we need to understand. How did the followers of Baal serve their gods?
Baal, the god and Asherah the goddess, were believed to be gods of fertility. In order to please these gods, the Canaanites built temples in which religious prostitutes, both men and women, would have sex with visitors and the temple priests in order to inspire the gods to fertilise the land. They also engaged in human sacrifice. The following story about Amy Carmichael shows us that humans still engage in these dark, ‘heathen’ ways (1 Thessalonians 4:5).
Amy was born in the village of Millisle in Northern Ireland in 1867. Her parents were devout Christians and Amy’s mother taught her to pray. Amy was saddened that she had brown eyes and she fervently pleaded with the Lord to change the colour to blue. Her prayers were not answered. She suffered from an illness known as neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her feel weak and exhausted. Sometimes she would spend many days in bed.
Amy was a mischievous girl who enjoyed pranks and tomfoolery. On one occasion she had hidden a mouse in her pocket while her family was eating and suddenly there was the sound of squeaking! On another occasion Amy incited her brothers and sisters to climb through a skylight and ‘muck about’ on the roof. She was well-known for such antics.
One day Amy was coming home from church and she noticed an old lady carrying a heavy bundle. She was moved by her plight and she and her brother offered to help. The older, respectable folk were not amused. This old woman was an outcast! She was a ‘shawlie’, a lower class factory person who was unable to afford a hat. “Come away from her!” they chided. Even though Amy was embarrassed, she helped the old lady home and as she stood by a fountain getting her breath back, she heard God speaking to her using words from the Scriptures:
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
1 Cor 3:12-14
Amy returned home and spent many hours searching the Bible until she found this passage in the book of Corinthians. She was overwhelmed and dedicated her life to Jesus. Amy was now developing a strong calling to become a missionary. In 1895 she was commissioned by the Church of England to go to Dohnavur in the south of India.
Here she encountered the Hindu caste system which rejects the biblical teaching that all human-beings are made in God’s image. The word ‘caste’ refers to a particular social group; these castes are traditionally rooted in different kinds of occupation or job. There are four main castes. They are:
Brahmins – priests.
Kshatryas – rulers and warriors.
Vaishyas – tradesmen, artisans and farmers.
Shudras – labourers.
It is often forgotten that there is a fifth group of so-called ‘untouchables’ or ‘outcastes’. These outcastes do the worst jobs in Indian society – street cleaning and toilet cleaning. Even today ‘untouchable’ people are horribly oppressed and exploited. In certain parts of Bihar, a new untouchable bride has to spend the first night with the village head man.
Traditionally Hindus have believed that the caste system has been ordained by the gods. If a person has lived a good life he or she will be reincarnated in a higher caste. To be born as an untouchable is often understood as a curse. The key term here is ‘karma’. Each soul collects good and bad deeds and the accumulation of these deeds determines how a soul will be reborn. A good karma will enable a soul to enter the soul of a highly valued Brahmin baby. A bad karma will condemn a soul to live in the body of an outcaste baby. Suffering in this life is understood as being the result of a bad karma in a previous life.
In India missionary work was very challenging but Amy persisted and was rewarded with a band of Indian women who became Christians. She learned about how newborn low-caste children were sometimes sold to temples as sex slaves for their entire lives. Amy often traveled long distances on India’s hot, dusty roads in order to save just one child from a life of sexual slavery and misery.
Amy rescued many children who had been dedicated by their families to be religious prostitutes. More than a thousand children were snatched from the temples by her and her fellow-workers.
Amy had a very strong sense of Jesus’ sorrow for these children. On one occasion she had a vision of Jesus weeping for the abandoned outcastes. Sometimes, as part of her research, she would visit Hindu temples disguised as a local Indian. Now Amy was thankful that she had brown eyes! Blue eyes would have signalled very clearly that she was a western spy.
On another occasion Amy was accused of kidnapping a five-year-old girl named Kohila. She refused to return the little girl to certain sexual abuse. Instead she arranged for little Kohila to ‘disappear’ to a safe place. The plot was discovered and serious charges were brought against Amy. She faced a seven year prison term. This was a very difficult situation. Would Amy be imprisoned like the apostle Paul for her Christian witness? In the end Amy did not go to jail. A telegram arrived on February 7th, 1914 saying ‘Criminal Case Dismissed.’ No explanation was ever forthcoming.
Amy was a prolific writer and she wrote more than thirty books about her life, her work and her understanding of the Christian faith. Without doubt Amy was a very fruitful and faithful disciple of Jesus but religious prostitution continues to the present day.
In 1931 Amy was badly injured in a fall which left her bedridden for much of the rest of her life. She died in 1951 at the age of 84.
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
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- The Inspiring Story of Amy Carmichael - August 29, 2025
- William Tyndale and Serving God as a humble Cobbler - July 25, 2025
3 Comments
Jim Skillen · August 31, 2025 at 1:55 pm
Much appreciated, Mark. I’ve heard the name “Amy Carmichael” many times since I was a child and fascinated by missionary story books. But I can’t remember reading a book that included her, nor did I read any of her books, and that is true to this day. So this piece of yours is an inspiring read. Another bright example of God at work in a dark world.
Thanks,
Jim Skillen
Hugh · August 31, 2025 at 8:24 pm
Hi Mark. Very interesting! I find the life of the Dalit peoples (used to be called ‘untouchables’) very tragic. Others tell them that God hates them, but Christians reveal how much God loves them. The Good Shepard Church in India works to provide schools, medical centres, refuges, and skills teaching for them, and like Amy, they try to keep them from being sold into temple prostitution. Learning English really helps the Dalit children because it opens many jobs and opportunities for them. Sometimes Dalit people choose to convert to other religions – Buddhism, Islam and Christianity – as this can free them from the Hindu caste system. Reading about Amy Carmichael shows that this work has been going on for a very long time. Thank you for your very interesting article (as always). Hugh.
P K Roques · September 2, 2025 at 6:41 pm
Good read