Awake! Arjuna

TamilNadu: Attempts to create a Christian votebank

2007-04-18T09:38:00.001+05:30

conversionwatch@yahoo.com wrote:

To: ConversionWatch@yahoogroups.com
From: <conversionwatch@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 23:04:54 -0400
Subject: [ConversionWatch] TamilNadu: Attempts to create a Christian votebank TamilNadu: Attempts to create a Christian votebank

April 22, 2007
Organiser

(Having converted a sizable segment of Tamil Nadu, missionary groups are planning to control the State Government)

source: Organiser, April 22, 2007
This is vote bank

âNo political party can come to power in Tamil Nadu without the support of minoritiesâ, asserted Bishop Peter Fernando, chief of Madurai Diocese, while talking to presspersons in Madurai recently after a meeting of a political convention of catholic Christians of Tamil Nadu and Podicherry. The Bishop demanded fulfilment of the election promise by parties, namely, reservation for Christians and Muslims. The meeting also passed a resolution demanding that cemetries be handed over to the Christian community. The meeting repeated the demand for resrvation to âDalit Christiansâ on par with Hindu Harijans. The meeting called upon Christians in all political parties to work for religious interests as parties divide Christians.

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Video: Christian aggression in Cauvery Layout, India

2007-03-03T07:54:00.000+05:30

Video Series: Christian aggression in Cauvery Layout, India

PDF | Print | E-mail

Monday, 26 February 2007

Here is a 4 part series on the aggression by a Christian group in a residential layout called Cauvery layout in Karnataka, India

http://www.crusadewatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=666&Itemid=132

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[ConversionWatch] Lobby Power in India: Discovery Channel puts off Jesus documentary telecast

2007-03-03T06:26:00.000+05:30

conversionwatch@yahoo.com wrote:

To: ConversionWatch@yahoogroups.com
From: <conversionwatch@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 11:51:35 -0600
Subject: [ConversionWatch] Lobby Power in India: Discovery Channel puts off Jesus documentary telecast

Lobby Power in India: Discovery Channel puts off Jesus documentary telecast

Friday, March 02, 2007
India E News

Roman Catholics in the metropolis Friday called off their protest against the proposed screening of a controversial documentary on Jesus Christ after broadcaster Discovery Channel decided not to telecast the programme in India.

The Catholics in the city had earlier sprung into action against the worldwide premiere \'The Lost Tomb of Jesus\' that claims to show the burial place of Jesus challenging the basic tenets the Christian faith.

\'The Lost Tomb of Jesus\' is a feature documentary, directed by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron of the \'Titanic\' fame, Flex Golubev and Ric Esther Bienstock.

The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) had written to the Discovery Channel\'s office in New Delhi requesting it to refrain from broadcasting the feature documentary scheduled for a worldwide premiere Sunday.

\'We have called off our protest from today after Discovery Channel expressed regret that the channel had inadvertently hurt religious sentiments of the Christian community and decided not to telecast the feature documentary in India,\' said CSF general secretary Joseph Dias here Friday.

\'We had taken up the matter with the TV channel, sending it notices threatening an agitation on the day of telecast and legal action. The CSF had also presented a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers including the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister P.R. Dasmunsi in a move to prevent the telecast.\'

Dias said that CSF would, however, continue with its awareness campaign against the documentary.

\'We will continue with our awareness campaign against the documentary, exposing the falsehood promoted or implied by it.\'

\'We will also take up the issue with the Indian government for the possibility of banning the book by Jabobovici slated to be released before Easter and also ban the sale of DVDs intended to cash in on the hype the documentary has generated ,\' Dias told IANS.

The CSF is also protesting references made in the documentary to Judah as the secret son of Jesus through Mary Magdalene and portrayal of Mathew, one of the writers of the Gospels, as a maternal relative of Jesus and the mention of the burial of Jesus\' siblings in the same tomb.

\'The Lost Tomb of Jesus\' traces the discovery of thousands of tombs containing ossuaries or limestone boxes that served as coffins in the first-century Jerusalem.

One of these tombs was found to contain ten ossuaries. The feature documentary makes a case that the 2000-year-old \'Tombs of the Ten Ossuaries \' belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.

The film also documents DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries and reveals new evidence that throws light on Jesus\' relationship with Mary Magdalene.

The documentary includes dramatic recreations, based on the latest historical evidence, illustrating accurate images of Jesus of Nazareth, his family, his followers, his ministry, his crucifixion and his entombment.

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Madassas or America's Faith Based Initiatives?

2007-03-02T11:01:00.000+05:30

Evangelicals' work in Africa criticized

By KATY POWNALL, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 1, 2:51 PM ET

ALER, Uganda - "Telephone to Jesus. Hello?" the children of Aler refugee camp sing, their bare feet thumping the ground as they dance wildly in their concrete chapel. Most camp residents have never used a phone, but they are learning about Jesus. The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, smiled as he watched the children members of a club run by Samaritan's Purse, the Christian missionary organization he leads.

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Fwd: [ConversionWatch] Baptist Tirupati, Pentecostal Mantralaya

2007-02-24T07:23:00.000+05:30

Baptist Tirupati, Pentecostal Mantralaya
>
> J. Anil Kumar
> Feburary 18, 2007
> Karmavira, Kannada Weekly
>
> (A reader translated the article from Kannada)
>
> On January 8th, I reached Mantralaya. After taking the darshana of Brandavan of Sri Raghavendra
> Swami, I decided to go to the Panchamukhi-kshetra where Swami-ji had performed penance for 12
> years. This is the place where Raghavendra Swami was blessed by Sri Anjaneya Swami. To go to
> Panchamukhi which is 21 kilometers from Mantralaya, I took an auto-rickshaw.
>
> As soon as we left Mantralaya, we saw a Christian colony. We saw a white colored church. The
> door of every house had a big cross on it. On the top of every house there was a picture of
> Jesus also. I thought they may be the houses of local Christians.
>
> After I continued on the road for 5 kilometers, I saw another large church. Around the church
> there were crosses on all the surrounding homes. It seems that the homes were recently
> decorated. As we came near the Panchamukhi village, a big steeple welcomed us. There also was
> a big church under construction.
>
> Out of curiosity, I asked the auto-rickshaw driver about this. He said the following: \"Sir,
> in every village in this district, there is a church. Some villages are completely Christian.
> These people have been tempted with new houses or jeeps or auto-rickshaws. This is
> famine-struck area. The farmers are on point of committing suicide. In this state of
> desperation, who would say no to money? \"
>
> The above experience of Gurudutt, a Non-Resident Indian. He has already published this on the
> internet. A copy was sent to me from my friend by email.
>
> There was a campaign to convert Tirupati to Christianity. Pejawar Swamiji investigated and
> confirmed this to be true. He then fought against this plot of the missionaries. After the
> opposition of the Christian community of Andhra, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Samuel
> Rajashekhar Reddy pledged not to endanger the Hindu identity of Tirumala.
>
> Now the same warning bells are being heard around Mantralaya. Why is it happening like this?
>
> \"We shall encircle and undermine them and finally storm\". This was the proclamation of the
> missionaries of the 19th century. Even in the present day, this motto is still in practice.
> This summer in the Iraq War, as the American army advanced, American Baptist and Pentecostal
> missionaries entered Iraq to convert the people like how sheep are herded. In 2004, the
> Christian Science Monitor reported in detail about this. It is breaking news that now
> candlelight processions have begun in villages across Nepal.
>
> For the last two decades, the Christian churches in Europe have lost the attraction of the
> people. This is no secret. In European news media, reports and statistics are always
> confirming this. Therefore, the Catholic Church in Europe has wanted to convert people from
> other parts of the world for a long time.
>
> America, which is comprised of groups of small churches, is competing with the Catholic Church.
> Before Catholic missionaries can start their work abroad, the Baptist and Pentecostal
> missionaries beat them to it. They will spend any amount for money to bring non-Christians into
> their fold. It is difficult for the Vatican accept this approach.
>
> Cut-throat marketing! To convert non-Christians, there is competition between different
> churches! Not only this, but there is also a competition to convert other Christians from one
> church to another. In this also, American are far ahead.
>
> There is reason for this. In America, conversion has become a business. Missionaries have good
> income. Their plans have a budget and their commissions are proportionate to their success.
> Vacation, traveling and other expenses are available to them. They are not only ordinary
> missionaries; these people may be tele-evangelists like Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn. They are
> kings of billions of dollar businesses!
>
> To resolve the inter-church disputes, arising from attempts to convert non-Christians, there was
> recently a conference in Geneva to consider the viewpoints of all churches. As a result, a
> common \"code of conduct\" for conversion was written.
>
> \"In one Christian family, the husband is Catholic, the wife is an Evangelical Protestant, and
> the children are Pentecostal Protestant. We should stop this,\" says Sweden Lutheran Reverend
> Hans Yuko who took part in the Geneva World Council of Churches Conference. By 2009, the
> code-of-conduct is expected to be ready.
>
> This basically means \"We should not eat the whole animal when it is caught in a trap, we should
> compromise by dividing it and eating in pieces\"!
>
> In other words, Mantralaya is for one group, Tirupati is for another group, Iraq is for another
> and Nepal is yet for another!

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Who is supreme - the Pope or the Supreme Court?

2006-06-01T10:41:00.000+05:30

Who is supreme - the Pope or the Supreme Court?

Wednesday May 31 2006 10:34 IST
S Gurumurthy
newindpress.com

The Pope wears two hats ï¿½ one religious, as the global pontiff of the Catholics, and the other political, as the head of Vatican State. The second one gives him and the Catholic faith a global political and diplomatic status which no other faith can match. As the head of the Vatican State, the Pope relates to all heads of State as a political equal and more.

When the present Popeï¿½s predecessor, John Paul II, came to India, he proclaimed that the Church planted the Cross on Europe first, then on Americas and Africa and now, he said, it was Asiaï¿½s turn to bear the Cross! Asia was ripe, he said, for harvesting the souls ï¿½ read heathens ï¿½ for Christ.

In Latin America, John Paul II abused the Protestant Christians as ï¿½wolvesï¿½ for targeting the Catholics for conversion! Why the hate for conversions in Latin America and love for it in Asia? Simple, the more efficient conversions by Protestants in Latin America are endangering the Catholics, but Asia, with its huge and weak heathen population, offers itself almost competition-free for the Church to convert.

Working on his predecessorï¿½s intent to plant the Cross on India, the new Pope Benedict XVI has moved further and virtually abused India for growing religious intolerance and for impeding the church work by anti-conversion laws. Two weeks back when the new Indian ambassador to Vatican, Amitava Tripathi, presented his credentials to the Pope as the head of the Vatican state, the Pope shocked him saying that Indian laws against conversions offend freedom of faith and should be rejected as unconstitutional.

This angered even the normally timid, secular Indian establishment to react sharply, call in Vaticanï¿½s charge de affairs in Delhi and tell him sternly of the Indian Governmentï¿½s strong disapproval of the Popeï¿½s conduct.

But has the Pope the moral authority to fault others for lack of religious freedom? In the Popeï¿½s own Vatican State no faith other than his own is allowed. If the Papacy regards even other Orthodox and Protestant Christians as heretics, where is the question of freedom for idol worshipping heathens to whom the Bible itself denies freedom. The Vatican Constitution is named as ï¿½Apostolic Constitutionï¿½, that is constitution of Christian missionaries! Spain where till date Catholicism is the state religion has again a treaty with the Papacy. Will the Pope allow freedom of faith in Vatican and sermonise on freedom to those countries?

Presumably the Pope was misled by his establishment in India. The Churches selling his faith in India have been campaigning, but falsely, that the anti-conversion laws passed by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa States decades earlier and by the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Governments in recent times are unconstitutional. But long before, in 1977, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had overruled the challenge to anti-conversion laws of MP and Orissa. The Popeï¿½s own agencies in India had challenged the laws. The Court firmly told the soul-harvesters that the religious freedom under the Indian Constitution was limited to the right to propagate oneï¿½s faith and did not extend to convert other faithfuls.

The MP Government did not wake up one fine morning and pass this law. In 1950s it had appointed a committee headed by Justice Neogi, which included a Christian member who was also a Gandhian, to study allegations of forcible and fraudulent conversions of tribal and illiterate people by foreign missionaries. The committee submitted a voluminous, unanimous report detailing fraudulent conversions by the Church. The MP Government then under the Congress party merely enacted the recommendations of the Neogi committee. The pontiff of Indian secularism Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was then the Prime Minister.

The Supreme Court has declared that religious conversion is not part of religious freedom in the Indian Constitution and Indian anti-conversion laws are constitutional. But the Pope asserts the other way round, that is, conversion is part of freedom of faith in the Indian Constitution and Indian anti-conversional laws are unconstitutional. The question is: who is supreme in India ï¿½ the Pope or the Supreme Court?

Awake! O Arjuna.

http://awakearjuna.blogspot.com

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re Brahmins the Dalits of today? - Francois Gautier

2006-06-01T07:29:00.000+05:30

http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/may/23franc.htm

Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?

May 23, 2006

At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so today?

Doctors in arms

There are 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi; all of them are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins (this very welcome public institution was started by a Brahmin). A far cry from the elitist image that Brahmins have!

There are five to six Brahmins manning each Shauchalaya. They came to Delhi eight to ten years back looking for a source of income, as they were a minority in most of their villages, where Dalits are in majority (60 per cent to 65 per cent). In most villages in UP and Bihar, Dalits have a union which helps them secure jobs in villages.

At Ground Zero of the quota protests

Did you know that you also stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she will secure a job.

"Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing in villages. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs have spaces; whereas there is no provision for gaushalas (cowsheds) for the cows of the Brahmins."

The middle class deserves what it is getting

You also find Brahmin rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 50 per cent of Patel Nagar's rickshaw pullers are Brahmins who like their brethren have moved to the city looking for jobs for lack of employment opportunities and poor education in their villages.

Even after toiling the whole day, Vijay Pratap and Sidharth Tiwari, two Brahmin rickshaw pullers, say they are hardly able to make ends meet. These men make about Rs 100 to Rs 150 on an average every day from which they pay a daily rent of Rs 25 for their rickshaws and Rs 500 to Rs 600 towards the rent of their rooms which is shared by 3 to 4 people or their families.

Did you also know that most rickshaw pullers in Banaras are Brahmins?

Do our institutes connect with the real India?

This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu. Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by Brahmins -- the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs.

400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits, now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who gives a damn about them? Their vote bank is negligible.

And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a district in Andhra Pradesh (Brahmins of India by J Radhakrishna, published by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the poverty line.

Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicule. Financial constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the 'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their children.

Who are the real Dalits of India?

In fact, according to this study there has been an overall decline in the number of Brahmin students. With the average income of Brahmins being less than that of non-Brahmins, a high percentage of Brahmin students drop out at the intermediate level. In the 5 to 18 year age group, 44 per cent Brahmin students stopped education at the primary level and 36 per cent at the pre-matriculation level.

The study also found that 55 per cent of all Brahmins lived below the poverty line -- below a per capita income of Rs 650 a month. Since 45 per cent of the total population of India is officially stated to be below the poverty line it follows that the percentage of destitute Brahmins is 10 per cent higher than the all-India figure.

There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562, Vokkaligas Rs 914, Muslims Rs 794, Scheduled castes Rs 680, Scheduled Tribes Rs 577 and Brahmins Rs 537.

Appalling poverty compels many Brahmins to migrate to towns leading to spatial dispersal and consequent decline in their local influence and institutions. Brahmins initially turned to government jobs and modern occupations such as law and medicine. But preferential policies for the non-Brahmins have forced Brahmins to retreat in these spheres as well.

Caste shouldn't overwrite merit

According to the Andhra Pradesh study, the largest percentage of Brahmins today are employed as domestic servants. The unemployment rate among them is as high as 75 per cent. Seventy percent of Brahmins are still relying on their hereditary vocation. There are hundreds of families that are surviving on just Rs 500 per month as priests in various temples (Department of Endowments statistics).

Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and disrespected.

At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300 (Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice. The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as 'exploiters.' The destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the parties known for Hindu sympathy.

The tragedy of modern India is that the combined votes of Dalits/OBC and Muslims are enough for any government to be elected. The Congress quickly cashed in on it after Independence, but probably no other government than Sonia Gandhi's has gone so far in shamelessly dividing Indian society for garnering votes.

From the Indian Express: 'These measures will not achieve social justice'

The Indian government gives Rs 1,000 crores (Rs 10 billion) for salaries of imams in mosques and Rs 200 crores (Rs 2 billion) as Haj subsidies. But no such help is available to Brahmins and upper castes. As a result, not only the Brahmins, but also some of the other upper castes in the lower middle class are suffering in silence today, seeing the minorities slowly taking control of their majority.

How reservations fracture Hindu society

Anti-Brahminism originated in, and still prospers in anti-Hindu circles. It is particularly welcome among Marxists, missionaries, Muslims, separatists and Christian-backed Dalit movements of different hues. When they attack Brahmins, their target is unmistakably Hinduism.

So the question has to be asked: are the Brahmins (and other upper castes) of yesterday becoming the Dalits of today?

Awake! O Arjuna.

http://awakearjuna.blogspot.com

"One Nation Under Constituiton. Not God. Not Religion"

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Da Vinci: Cross with the Code?

2006-05-24T07:59:00.000+05:30

Da Vinci: Cross with the Code?

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=132&page=4

By Sandhya Jain
Organiser

It must have come as a surprise to Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das-munshi that Indiaï¿½s supposedly small Roman Catholic community can field two hundred organisations to protest the screening of the Hollywood blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brownï¿½s bestselling novel by the same name. Certainly it would have mattered to him that not only are these the UPA chairpersonï¿½s co-religionists, but belong to the same majority Christian sect, headquartered in Vatican City.

Little wonder then, that while the Christian world will view the film with no cuts or disclaimers, Indiaï¿½s I&B Minister feels the Catholic Churchesï¿½ Association of India (CCAI), rather than the Censor Board, should have the final say in the matter. After all, this is a secular country, and secularism, as I have argued elsewhere, is the twin god of Christianity, the face it turns towards the world when it wants to conceal the designs of the cross.

In fairness, however, the Vatican and the Indian evangelical industry are right to be wary of the film. The Da Vinci Code is no ordinary fiction. It represents the latest in a long history of dissent in the Catholic church regarding the true nature of the mission of the Christian church that suddenly emerged in Rome in the early centuries AD. Was Christianity ever intended to be anything more than a political movement, or did it have religio-political goals, and why did Jesus and his Apostles break with Jewish community and opt for aggressive evangelism among non-Jews? These are not questions that will go away until the Vatican opens its archives and furnishes some credible answers.

Indeed, the core issue is how and when the early Christian Church conceived its plan for world dominion, and the driving force behind this ambition. Anyone who is concerned with fundamentalist Islamï¿½s jehadi face and its plans for world conquest, must be interested in the early Christian Church, as this is where a blueprint for such dominion was first conceived and implemented. It would be a mistake to believe that the quest has been consigned to the dustbin of historyï¿½all rich Western nations have a huge budget for evangelical activities oversees, and conversion is a major foreign policy agenda. Indeed, the Christian nations do not spare even fellow monotheistic traditions like Islam, and Christian missionaries are very active in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, not to mention other parts of the globe.

This central mission of an unknown group striving for control of the whole world and its economic resources and thought processes, is what the Da Vinci Code exposes in the form of a novel. It is bound to make the thinking public ponder about the supposedly spiritual content of this faith, which is unable to win adherents without resort to special tactics, and does not even have a credible theology around its key figures. Forget that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child or children, or even the stories that he was not the first born child of his own mother, Mary. These are side issues for Indians.

What is important, however, is why there is so much suspense about key components of the Christian story, when it is a religion that supposedly began with one man and his band of followers. It would be safe to say that Jesus was born in a Jewish family and initially aspired for leadership of his own community. On being shunned, he turned towards the Gentiles, the non-Jews of Jerusalem, who were in search of a religion.

But what was the religion he preached? Was the heavenly father he spoke of the same as the Jewish Yahweh, or someone else? Who or what is the Holy Ghost, the third element of the Christian Trinity? To the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely no credible information about the role and purpose of this divinity in the spiritual evolution of Christians. Ultimately, we are asked to believe what the Vatican says, and it says very little beyond the fact that belief in Jesus is imperative for human salvation. Yet Christians are prone to deride Muslims for similar adherence to the Prophethood of Mohammad.

This makes the criticism of the film by some Indian Muslim organisations highly suspect, and the UPA government would do well to take adequate precautions that vested elements do not create trouble on the pretext of protests against the film. The protests are an act of muscle-flexing by the Christian church that is determined to plant the cross in India. And typically, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, a Roman by birth and a Catholic by faith, has refused to reveal her mind over the agitations, though anyone who has observed the disproportionate rise of Christians to top jobs in the Congress party and its state governments will know how avidly she promotes her communityï¿½s interests.

Awake! O Arjuna.

http://awakearjuna.blogspot.com

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Hypocritical NCM wants to stop Christians from reconverting to Hinduism

2006-02-13T11:26:00.000+05:30

Hypocritical NCM wants to stop Christians from reconverting to Hinduism

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=86008

INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
Monday, January 16, 2006
NEW DELHI

After failing to broker peace between the saffron brigade and tribal Christians in Dangs, Gujarat, the National Minorities Commission (NCM) has asked the Centre to intervene to check the illegal and unconstitutional reconversion of tribals reportedly being planned by VHP-led groups next month.

In a letter to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, NCM member V V Augustine has said that the proposed programme of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the local Adivasi Kalyan Samiti had led to simmering tensions which could flare up any time.

The NCM member had visited Dangs to assess the situation arising out of the proposed re-conversionthe Ghar vapsi samaroh to be organised at the Sabri Kumbh Mela in mid-february.

In its report on the situation in the district, the NCW says that tribal Christians are feeling insecure and fearing attacks as the day approaches. Dangs 1.8 lakh population is spread over 113 villages and there is a tussle between missionaries and Hindu groups to bring the tribals into their folds.

The NCM report says the Hindu organisations made no bones about their plans to reconvert the tribal christians and bring them back to the Hindu fold when the minorities panel met their leaders.

Augustine alleged that the Hindu groups are violating the Constitution and also the anti-conversion law of Gujarat by holding such a programme.

The NCM has conveyed its apprehensions of a likely flare up in the communal situation in Dangs to Chief Minister Narendra Modi too.

The report says the VHP had distributed pamphlets in which the Adivasis have been advised to hoist an orange flag on their houses during the Kumbh. This, the Christians fear, was meant to make identification of the Christian houses easier and make them vulnerable, the report says.

Awake! O Arjuna.

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Bush refuses to pay tribute to "pagan" Mahatma Gandhi

2006-02-13T11:23:00.000+05:30

Bush refuses to pay tribute to "pagan" Mahatma Gandhi

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/feb/09guest.htm

February 09, 2006
Rediff.com

George W Bush's protocol handlers have notified South Block that the American President's deep belief in his born again faith precludes his visiting Mahatma Gandhi's Samadhi at New Delhi's Raj Ghat -- during his forthcoming visit to India.

When asked -- by reporters on a recent trip aboard Air Force One -- if he will be breaking a decades long tradition of foreign dignitaries visiting India paying respect to the Father of India, Mr Bush, as is his wont, was caught off guard and mumbled something about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ views cremation as a pagan practice.

Astonishingly, the Indian press and the liberal elite have thus far given a free pass to this blatant insult to the memory of the Mahatma and to all Indians.

Indeed, none of the alacrity shown in demanding US Ambassador David Mulford's head -- for his ostensibly insensitive comments on India's Iran policy -- has been on display in the case of Mr Bush.

Before some of those mentioned above lather themselves into a frisson of fury over the latest slight from the US hegemon, they should stop and substitute Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for George W Bush, 43rd President of the United States.

The absolutist Saudi monarch not only broke a hallowed tradition of paying homage at Raj Ghat observed by every foreign leader but offered an outrageously preposterous reason for doing so.

The king is reported to have indicated that a visit to the Mahatma's memorial would violate the principles of his faith. By inference, India's current head of State President A P J Abdul Kalam should be guilty of sacrilege for his many visits to the Samadhi.

The government may have had its (mistaken) reasons for fawning over the Saudi ruler but the near complete lack of commentary particularly in the normally strident Leftist papers such as The Hindu boggles the mind.

Should President Bush or Prime Minister Blair or even the Pope have dared to commit such an egregious folly, headlines would have blared in those Leftist organs about India's sovereignty and ancient history being trampled upon by ugly colonialists who still seek to subjugate India economically and culturally, if not militarily.

Instead, what ensued were a few tame reports that acknowledged the radically changed protocol. Of course, the king's arrival in India saw a continuance of the cravenness that resulted in the timid acceptance of the insult. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh chose to break protocol and greet the Saudi king at the airport.

Any measured analysis of the first visit of a Saudi king to India in 51 years would note that the attention from the other side was not accidental.

While the Saudis have the world's largest reserves of oil, they need new markets just as much as any other oil rich country and quite evidently foresee a resurgent India as a future economic player and potential partner.

An overarching dependence on the US has come to bite the Saudis since September 11, 2001, with negative sentiment amongst the US population and even some bureaucrats riding at an all time high.

Indeed, President Bush's latest State of the Union speech calling for alternative energy sources only underscored the need for them to look to other markets and alliances.

Arguably, there is no country better than India, with its large Muslim population together with a rapidly growing economy that offers the most potential.

Instead of recognising the not inconsiderable advantages India possesses, the government and the media elite is unfortunately intent on aligning the country with an opaque and hitherto unreliable feudal family that rules a nation by decree.

Indeed, the historical record of the Al-Sauds should cause any impartial observer to cringe at their treatment of minorities and foreigners both within and outside their country.

While it may be a while before the family hold on that country's oil patrimony is tested, it is utterly irresponsible to hitch India's energy and economic future to a country that no bookie in his or her right mind will offer odds on its enduring in its current form.

The last point also begs the question why the Oil and Natural Gas Commission's current tear to acquire assets -- almost exclusively from private Western companies accountable to shareholders -- in the name of 'energy independence' in countries tottering on the edge and led by brutal dictatorships is not viewed as tilting at windmills.

But then again, it is hard to wean away politicians and bureaucrats from a decades long regimen that calls for a government solution to almost any economic issue.

In the end, the gratuitous subservience to the Saudis results in a genuine loss of national pride. What is worse, however, is the unbridled spending of taxpayer monies in the name of energy security without involving the private sector. That is likely to have a far greater negative impact that will be felt for generations to come.

Awake! O Arjuna.

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At odds with the cross

2005-12-19T14:57:00.000+05:30

At odds with the cross

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=jain%2Fjain77.txt&writer=jain

Sandhya Jain
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Daily Pioneer

Two indigenous groups with a lived history of centuries of civilisational amity are supposedly engaged in fratricidal conflict in Assam's Karbi Anglong district. To the bewilderment of the majority of Karbis and Dimasas, gangs of armed and hooded goons have been killing members of both tribes since late September, while sparking rumours that the other group is behind the killings.

The gangs carry modern weapons but hack their victims with the traditional dao, and their modus operandi does not conform to the usual forms of killing in the Northeast.

The general calm among the civilian population of both tribes, despite media hype over ethnic strife, led their leaders to believe that hidden forces are operating behind the scenes. A joint delegation of Karbi and Dimasa leaders visited the capital last month to apprise Home Minister Shivraj Patil of their suspicions that hostile elements are making mischief to seize sensitive territory.

Their concerns are central to any discussion on the nation's territorial integrity as there is an intimate relationship between land and faith. In the Indian experience, change of faith has resulted in change of national loyalty. The violent Tamil secessionist movement collapsed because the cultural unity of the Indic civilisation overcame colonialism's divisive Aryan-Dravidian legacy.

In contrast, regions where Islam became predominant seceded from the motherland. The eminent religious studies scholar Arvind Sharma feels Hindus should reject the British-imposed term "Partition," as the division was not a mutual decision of the concerned parties; rather some parts were instigated to walk away.

Secession did nothing for common citizens in Pakistan or Bangladesh, but it gave post-colonial Western imperialists a foothold in our part of the world. Worse, the footprint is getting larger, whether or not we admit it. The Twin Towers tragedy gave America the opportunity to secure bases in Afghanistan and Peshawar (Uncle Sam does not easily relinquish bases offered by docile democrats and dictators), and the Kashmir earthquake has brought it literally on our head. We can ignore this altered geo-strategic environment at our own peril.

Even today, the regions where the country faces secessionist threats are those where internationally-funded religious conversions and religion-based infiltrations are altering the demographic profile, a fact substantiated statistically by Census 2001. In the circumstances, the Union Home Minister would do well to heed the Karbi-Dimasa cry for help.

Both claim a proud and ancient Hindu lineage - Dimasas claim descent from the Mahabharata hero Bhima, while Karbis claim to be the offspring of Hanuman's brother Sugriva. In fact, Karbis believe they came to the Northeast in search of purthemi kungripi (Sita Mata) during the Treta yuga, and failed to return to Ayodhya; Dimasas hold that they migrated from Hastinapur (Delhi) via Himachal Pradesh and Cooch Bihar, and established a kingdom at Dimapur, which they ruled for four hundred years.

Both tribes worship Mahadeo Shiva and other Hindu deities. Both communities are staunch nationalists and vigorously resist missionary activity in their areas, with the result that conversion is virtually nil among Dimasas and only five percent among Karbis.

Both tribes believe that the genesis of the present crisis lies in the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) demand for Greater Nagaland (or Nagalim). They say an internationally-sponsored attempt is currently underway to create a Christian belt in the region, which is to include Chamling and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills of Assam, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

The fact that the Karbis (who are predominant in Karbi Anglong) and Dimasas (the majority in NC Hills) are staunch Hindus is a major stumbling block in the goal of Nagalim. Hence the church has adopted a two-pronged strategy. On the one hand, Karbis and Dimasas, already squeezed between Christian Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, are being subjected to violence to compel them to convert to Christianity, as are tribals in neighbouring Tripura. A Hindu sadhu was shot dead some time ago.

On the other hand, the Church may be using Karbi and Dimasa militant outfits to achieve its objectives. The United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) of the Karbis and Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) of the Dimasas were set up by certain sections to pursue a political and economic agenda.

The Dimasa DHD was armed and trained by NSCN (IM), but when it refused to pay taxes and work for Nagalim, their relations soured. NSCN (IM) then prompted Hmar People's Convention (HPC) to object to the Dimasa militant camp near Haflong, provoking armed clashes between them in 2003.

Intra-Dimasa conflicts between DHD president Jewel Gorlosa and vice president Dilip Nunisa led the former to form a new outfit called Black Widow, which worked with NSCN (IM) to set scores with DHD.

NSCN resents DHD's desire to include Dimapur and adjoining Dimasa areas in a Dima homeland. NSCN is powerful enough to get some MLAs, MPs and student bodies of four hill districts of Manipur and some MLAs, Village Council Chiefs and student bodies of Changlang and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh to visit the Hebron Camp in Nagaland and issue a statement supporting inclusion of their districts in Nagalim. Obviously the conspiracy to carve out a huge Christian territory in the region is being carefully planned and executed.

The Karbi militant outfit, UPDS, was also armed and trained by NSCN (IM). It too seeks an autonomous state/separate homeland, but lacks a popular mandate and advances its demands at gun point. The UPDS signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in May 2002, while the DHD did so in January 2003, but it seems likely that these militant groups (or their splinter groups) were nonetheless used by NSCN (IM) to create trouble in the area.

The Karbi Lingri National Liberation Forum (KLNLF) was set up by a group of extremists who disagreed with the UPDS ceasefire agreement with the Government.

There are thus enough armed gangs moving about the region with impunity. From September 26, 2005, over one hundred Dimasas and Karbis have died in violence, and over one thousand houses across 40 villages torched; nearly 52,000 persons have been forced to take shelter in relief camps. The enquiry ordered by the Assam Chief Minister does not inspire confidence, largely because of his minority-appeasing credentials.

The critical question that remains to be answered is why international forces are allegedly determined to convert these tribes and sponsor separatism in the region. Delegation members who say they risked their lives coming to Delhi, point out that the reasons can be discerned in the undue interest taken in the Northeast by former US President Jimmy Carter, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches.

What is going on is a post-colonial quest to re-colonise India through strategic balkanization, and this area is rich in oil, uranium, mineral and forest wealth.

Given the fact that the NSCN (IM) ceasefire with the Government ends on January 31, 2006, the outfit is under pressure to create unrest and force an out-migration of the local population. Hence it has built bridges with Bangladeshi infiltrators also, and more violence may ensue in coming days.

The State Government is notable for its absence in the area, while militants are operating freely, threatening villagers trying to return home from relief camps in order to harvest their crops. An ill-wind blows in the Northeast.

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The value of a Hindu life!!!!

2005-12-17T10:12:00.000+05:30

http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/16rajeev.htm?q=np&file=.htm

The value of a Hindu life

December 16, 2005

Consider the following events that took place involving people from Kerala in dangerous situations in the recent past:

A driver with the Border Roads Organization is kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan, which threatens to kill him within 48 hours. The state and central governments do practically nothing. E Ahamed (the MP from Kerala), in charge of the foreign ministry since Natwar Singh was sacked, does practically nothing. The driver's decapitated body is found by the roadside.

read the entire article at http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/16rajeev.htm?q=np&file=.htm

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Churches Mushrooms in Tirumala

2005-12-06T10:39:00.000+05:30

Churches Mushrooms in Tirumala

http://haindavakeralam.org/PageModule.aspx?PageID=308&SKIN=B

12/5/2005 3:46:58 PM
Haindava Kerala Correspondent
Tirupati, Dec 05

Churches are mushrooming in the holy hills Tirumala, one of the most sacred religious place for the Hindus, in Andhra Pradesh with the alleged tacit approval of the government.

According to a report in the vernacular daily Andhra Jyothi plans are afoot to construct a church up in Tirumala when there are already seven churches in Tirupati. The report alleged that the AP Chief Minister, Dr Y Samuel Rajasekhara Reddy, a convert to Christianity, was providing all the government support for building the new church. The government controls the management of the temples in Tirupati and Tirumala through the TTD Trust.

To facilitate the operations they have already converted the Executive Officer of T.T.D into christianity (again, this officer is appointed by the government itself). The plans came to light when 100 acres of land, up in Tirumala, was put to auction by the executive officer and the Christian missionaries started bidding for it.

The Hindu organisations have questioned this move which they said not at all necessary when the temple is not at all in need of any money. Even if the temple needed money, there are FDs from T.T.D worth more than 15,000 crores in various banks, which can be withdrawn at any time. Over the years, the guideline followed by T T D is not to sell any land to anyone. They used to lease the land for different Mutts (like our Kashi Mutt) and Chathras. The lease period was not more than 30 years which needed renewal on its expiry. This being the case, why would they sell the land now?

They said that even during the British colonial rule they(missionaries) did not dare to come to Tirupati/Tirumala with their conversion plans. But now, with the help of our own people, they are crossing all the limits of toleration, they said.

Meanwhile, according to a report in the Hinustan Times Report on July 26 last from Mineapolis, 23 Indo- American organizations in Houston had urged Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to ask the Andhra Pradesh government to maintain the sanctity of the religious place which is a holy shrine for the Hindus world over. Agitated by media reports from India that the AP government was actively considering the application of a religious society to build a church atop the Tirumala Hills, the abode of Lord Venkateshvara, these Indo-American organizations held an emergency meeting at Houston on 16th July to discuss the issue. The meeting decided to send a representation to the Prime Minister.

Awake! O Arjuna.

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VHP: Congress Govt. Soft on Christian-Driven Militancy

2005-11-12T10:57:00.000+05:30

VHP: Congress Govt. Soft on Christian-Driven Militancy

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57966

Tuesday, November 08, 2005 at 1237 hours IST
Press Trust of India
Indian Express

VHP today accused the Congress-led government of being soft on extremist forces to appease minorities.

The present internal security scenario is the worst since independence and the government should adopt a pro-active approach to ward off another round of terrorist attacks, VHP secretary Surendra Kumar Jain told reporters.

\"Several states in the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram are in the grip of either jihadi, Christian-driven or Maoist militancy,\" he alleged.

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Who are the real Dalits of India?

2005-10-19T10:59:00.000+05:30

Who are the real Dalits of India?

http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/18franc.htm

October 18, 2005
Francois Gautier
Rediff.com

When we hear that a resolution is to be tabled in the US Congress next month to address the problem of \'caste discrimination and untouchability\' in India, one feels like asking Americans if they forgot the horrible treatment they meted out to their Negro slaves!

And look at the condition of their own poor black people today, as seen recently during the New Orleans Katrina cyclone.

United States Congressman Christopher Smith, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said that for all the progress India has made over the years, it was highly regrettable that the lot of these \'untouchables\' remained in such a terrible state as they continued to be victimised under the yoke of a shameful caste system.

Has Congressman Christopher Smith ever been to India? Probably not. He no doubt relies on the testimony of Indians like Kancha Ilaiah, founder of the Dalit-Bahujan (Scheduled and Backward Caste) movement, and author of the book Why I Am Not A Hindu.

What would Congressman Christopher Smith find if he bothered to visit India and make an honest assessment?

That true, there are still atrocities committed against Dalits in India, but that there are also a number of atrocities committed against upper caste Indians, including against the Kashmiri Pandits, thousands of them having been butchered (ten of them during the recent earthquake in Kashmir) and 400,000 of them being refugees in their own country.

That Dalits are coming up, thanks to a reservation system put into place more than 40 years, ago, to the extent that India\'s last President was a Dalit.

That many of the saints and avatars worshipped in India are from lower classes: Maharshi Ved Vyas, who wrote the Mahabharata, which also contains the Bhagavad Gita, was the son of a fisherwoman; Valmiki, once a highway robber, who composed the Ramayana, was also from a fisherman\'s caste; Chandragupta Maurya of the Maurya dynasty originates from Muria, a tribe which used to collect Peacock (Mor) feathers; and today\'s Amrita Anandamayi, who hails from Kerala\'s fishermen caste and has millions of followers, many of them upper caste Indians.

That in a country of 85 per cent Hindus, we find today a Sikh prime minister, when Sikhs represent only 2 per cent of the country\'s population; a Muslim President, when the Muslims are only 20 per cent and a Christian supreme leader, who rules this country with an iron fist, although she is not elected and holds no post, whereas Christians are only 3 per cent of India.

Who are the real Dalits of India then?

When the British arrived on the subcontinent, they found, as many other invaders had discovered before them, that the biggest stumbling block to a strong grip on India were the Hindus and that they could not govern such a huge country without splitting this community.

They thus used three tools:

1. The Aryan invasion theory, of two civilisations, that of the low caste Dravidians and the high caste Aryans, always pitted against each other -- which has endured, although it is now totally disproved, as it is still today being used by some Indian politicians -- and has been enshrined in all history books, Western, and unfortunately also Indian.

Thus were born wrong \'nationalistic\' movements, such as the Dravidian movement against Hindi and the hatred against the much-maligned Brahmins, who actually represent today a minority, which is often underprivileged.

Many Brahmins were chased out of Tamil Nadu in the early sixties. It is also very difficult nowadays for a Brahmin, however qualified, to find a job in the government as many posts are reserved for Dalit and backward castes, even if they are underqualified.

This Aryan invasion theory has also made India look Westwards, instead of taking pride in its past and present achievements. I am a Westerner and a born Christian, but I always wonder why there is such great fascination for Sonia Gandhi, a White-Skinned Westerner.

Is she unconsciously perceived as a true Aryan by the downtrodden Dravidians and a certain fringe of that Indian intelligentsia which is permanently affected by an inferiority complex towards the West? This fake Aryan invasion may even have given a colour fixation to this country, where women will go to extremes to look \'fair.\' But isn\'t black beautiful?

2. The vilifying of the caste system: \'Caste was originally an arrangement for the distribution of functions in society, just as much as class in Europe, but the principle on which this distribution was based was peculiar to India,\' wrote Sri Aurobindo.

But the British and Christian missionaries quickly targeted the Adivasis and the Dalits for conversion by telling them: \'You are the first inhabitants of India and you were colonised by the bad Brahmins, during the Aryan invasion. By converting to Christianity, they continued, you will become free from the grip of your masters, who have enslaved you both socially and religiously.\'

Thus they set the Dalits and Adivasis against the mainstream of Hindu society and sowed the seeds of an explosive conflict which is ready to blow-up today. Missionaries have also always been advocating covertly a breaking-up of the country.

Kancha Ilaiah has been lobbying hard at the UN so that the Adivasis and Dalits are recognised as \'the original settlers of India.\'

Belgium historian Koenraad Elst writes that the missionaries were ultimately all set to trigger a Christian partition in India: \'At the time of Independence, Christian mission centres had dreamed up a plan for a Christian partition in collaboration with the Muslim League. The far Northeast, Chota Nagpur and parts of Kerala were to become Christian states, forming a non-Hindu chain with the Nizam\'s Hyderabad and with Pakistani Bengal.\'

3. The weaning away of the Muslims from the Hindu majority which ended in the Partition of India. The British used to the hilt the existing divide between Hindus and Muslims. The Congress was weak; it accepted what was forced down its throat by Jinnah and Mountbatten, even though many of its leaders, including Nehru, and a few moderate Muslims, disagreed with the principle of partition.

It was also Gandhi\'s policy of non-violence and gratifying the fanatical Muslim minority, in the hope that it would see the light, which did tremendous harm to India and encouraged Jinnah to harden his demands.

Today the Congress has taken up this dangerous game again, witness the Andhra assembly which just approved a 5 per cent job reservation for Muslims; and Sonia Gandhi wants all other Congress-ruled states to follow Andhra Pradesh in providing Muslims with education and job quotas.

It is a measure of how the British and the missionaries were successful in planting the seeds of dissent, even amongst Indians, that this misinformation endures today in India and finds a sympathetic ear in the US Congress.

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Baptists Convert Temple Builders To Weaken Hindu Infrastructure

2005-10-02T10:43:00.000+05:30

Baptists Convert Temple Builders To Weaken Hindu Infrastructure

Source: IMB Newsletter

In mid-2005 International Missions Board (IMB) of Sothern Baptist Church (SBC) planned to convert Sonar People of Maharashtra to weaken Hindu Temple construction. Sonar people are expert craftsmen who make deities and related prayer supplies for Hindu temples. Southern Baptists Church strategized that if these people are converted to Christianity and forced to abandon the trade Hindu temple construction and many religious activities coming to a grinding halt.

IMB sent first batch of missionaries to be tentmakers. Within 4 months his first batch is successful in not only establishing their presence but also in converting over a dozen families. In one family, the patriarch (name withheld) was ill due to old age. The missionaries supplied him some medicines and guaranteed him heaven if he converts to Christianity. The psychologically weak old man converted and forced his entire family to embrace Christianity. As idol or a statue is a taboo in Christianity the family abandoned their family practice. The family is now unemployed and is dependent on the Church for their livelihood.

The team expects to convert the entire Sonar community in a decade.

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World Christian Database: India is now 6% Christian

2005-04-25T22:15:00.000+05:30

World Christian Database: India is now 6% Christian

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?id=1114450073&type=news

The 2005 edition of the World Christian Database (http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org/) says that India is now 6% Christian. The government of India last conducted a census on the Indian population in 2001 said that Hindus were 81.4% of the population followed by Muslims at 12.4% and Christians at 2.3%. However, the more recent data from the World Christian Database states that Hindus are now 74% of the population and Christians are 6% of the population. The new survey claims that Catholics have grown from 1.52% of the population in 1970 to 1.66% in 2005. The recent data suggests that the rampant and aggressive conversion by Christian missionaries is much more widespread than previously acknowledged.

Religious breakdown in India according the World Christian Database:

Hindu: 74%
Muslim: 12%
Other Christian: 4%
Catholic: 2%
Sikh: 2%
All other: 5%
Not religious: 1%

Catholic population:
1970: 8,432,713 (1.52%)
2005: 18,250,000 (1.66%)

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Indian Court Fines Two for Refusing to Mourn for Pope

2005-04-21T21:41:00.000+05:30

The petiton could have been dismissed as frivolous, or as not having any substance. BUT NO they were punished for filing a case. What message does this send to the rest of the nation? That if you file cases, you could be punished for it. In a democracy , one has the right to challenge the government. And they did it the democractic way, by going to the court.

What is "abuse of process"?

Imagine if a christian or a muslim had filed a case objecting the mourning of the death of a hindu priest, I am sure the courts and the press would have supported it in the name of secularism.

Is the country you want?

*********************************************************************

Indian Court Fines Two for Refusing to Mourn for Pope

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8246094&type=topNews

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?id=1114092544&type=news

Reuters
Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 0929 hours IST
New Delhi, April 21
Express India

The High Court has fined two men Rs 10,000 for legally challenging the mainly Hindu country's official three days of mourning for the death of Pope John Paul II, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The High Court in New Delhi said the petition urging the government not to declare official mourning for people "less significant for our country" and complaining of lost working days was a publicity-seeking "abuse of process".

It was not clear if the two men, one of them a college lecturer, must pay Rs 10,000 each or the combined amount together.

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See this christian flyer....

2005-04-21T16:26:00.000+05:30

Be Patient..its takes a while to load...

http://www.christianaggression.org/features_hijack.php

1. Flyer 1 - http://www.christreview.org/img/feature_kumbhmela_1_large.gif

2 Flyer 2 - http://www.christreview.org/img/feature_kumbhmela_2_large.gif

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Christian Businessman Accused of Bribing Hindu to Convert

2005-04-17T10:30:00.000+05:30

Christian Businessman Accused of Bribing Hindu to Convert

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?id=1113713528&type=news

Friday, April 15, 2005

A Christian business man has been accused of attempted conversion by an Indian court in Kayamkulam Taluka, in Kerala's Alappuzha district.

"Mr. Vidya Sagaran was arrested by local police on March 30," said defence attorney Ranjit George. "The Judicial First Class Magistrate of Kayamkulam granted him bail on the 31st."

Vishwanathan Pillai accused Sagaran of forcing him to convert from Nayar caste (Hindu sect) to the Pentecostal faith.

India does not have an anti-conversion law, and so in such a case section 153A of the Penal Code an be used to charge those accused of forced or fraudulent conversions.

Section 153A states: "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or both."

Pillai claims that Sagaran lent him money to entice him to convert. As Pillai says, later Sagaran insisted on returning the money since Pillai did not convert.

The defence attorney explained: "Sagaran was the mediator for the money transfer between his neighbour Pillai and third person. After he asked for money to be returned, Pillai accused him falsely."

In the area of India from where Pillai and Sagaran live there are three Christian churches including the Emmanuel mission church, the one attended by Sagaran. Hindus claim the radical calls for evangelism by missionaries in the tsunami torn areas have influenced on this small church.

Plight of Dalit Christians

2005-03-07T17:20:00.000+05:30

Plight of Dalit Christians

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1110122794&type=articles

Living as Dalit Christians
Author: P.N. Benjamin
Publication: Deccan Herald
Date: January 9, 2004

Twenty-two bishops and nearly three hundred delegates from dioceses spread all over the four Southern States will descend on Bangalore to attend the four-day Synod meeting of the Church of South India (CSI), beginning on January 10. The CSI runs 2000 schools, 130 colleges and 104 hospitals. More than 75% of its four million members are Dalit Christians.

Social justice has been one of the main concerns of the Catholic and Protestant Churches in India since the 1960s. Though social justice is a profound idea, yet, like many other profound ideas, it gets profaned when men who mouth it are sans character. That is why "almost 20 million Dalit Christians have been tamed and reduced to eternal slaves of the organised Church bodies," as a statement issued by a Dalit Christian organisation revealed recently.

To corrupt George Orwell's famous aphorism: all Indian Christians are equal, but some are more equal than others. By embracing Christianity, the Dalits have not found themselves emancipated from economic and social inequalities. Conversions have neither offered the Dalits a way of escape from the bondage of caste nor have they fostered the social transformation of the Dalit Christians. They still live under the same conditions of discrimination, exploitation and oppression.

The Dalit Christians are "twice alienated', both by the Government and the Church. On the one hand they are denied, as Christians, the rights and benefits availed of by their fellow Dalits, and on the other, as Dalits, they are dominated and persecuted by the upper castes and the elite Dalits within the Church. The majority of Dalit Christians suffers from economic disparities, demoralising social discrimination and cruel denial of equal rights.

The Church has sinned more than others in perpetuating social injustices against Dalit Christians. In Indian Christian communities, caste discrimination takes many forms. There are some churches built for separate groups. These places of worship even today retain their caste identity. Another example of casteist practice is allotting separate places in churches. Usually, the Christians of Scheduled Caste origin occupy the rear of the church. A flaring instance of caste distinction is found among the dead. The dead of the Dalit communities are buried in separate cemeteries

It is said that charity begins at home. But, the home (Church) where it begins, the Dalits Christians do not belong. According to a study, all the landed properties of churches in India put together, the church is the second biggest landlord in the country, next only to the Government. In addition, the Church institutions and Church or Christians-led NGOs receive foreign financial support amounting to over Rs. 2500 crores per year. There is no transparency with regard to these funds as well the massive income accruing from the elite schools, colleges and hospitals and also shopping complexes built all over the major cities in the country. The poor Dalit Christian does not even get the crumbs, leave alone participation in Church matters. There seems to be a vested interest in keeping the Dalit Christians where they are to maintain the status quo in the Church.

The Church's call for re-distribution of national resources in favour of Dalit Christians will be heeded only when its own resources are re-allocated and used with a clear partiality for Dalits in its own fold. The Church's fearless stand for justice will no longer let it remain silent about the discrimination within the Church - a matter of shame to its members and anembarrassment to its friends.

To a religion that has always prided itself on the advocacy of complete equality of all human beings, irrespective of caste, colour or race, the charge of discrimination within its own family is galling. Strangely enough, the Church has won its adherents in this country on the strength of its teaching about the dignity of all human beings and its rejection of distinctions based on birth, colour and race. Now it finds itself charged with failures on this very score. To the untouchables, the oppressed and those victimized in socially stratified society, Christianity once brought a message of hope. The reason it has lost its appeal is not that it has ceased to preach equality, but it has lost its nerve to practise it. It has compromised its own teaching.

Church of South India Synod Executive Committee recently declared: "Caste discrimination is a blot against humanity. Caste is a direct assault on 200 million Dalits of India denying them their dignity and humanity and as Church we condemn this draconian discrimination." After reading it, one is tempted to tell the CSI leaders: "Physician, heal thyself!"

The Church must realize that the Dalit Christians' plight calls for a deeper analysis of the problem so that Christian leaders do not throw stones at the caste system prevailing in Hinduism, but look to something more meaningful and constructive within itself.

Re: ICC Feedback: (Please donate the 'Tsunami Charity Match' proceeds to a secular charity not to an evangelical ministry like World Vision)

2005-02-19T09:31:00.000+05:30

Subject: RE: ICC Feedback: (Please donate the 'Tsunami Charity Match' proceeds to a secular charity not to an evangelical ministry like World Vision)
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:04:48 -0000
From: "Enquirys Email" Add to Address Book

Thank you for taking the time to write to the ICC.

When it was agreed that the first World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match was to be held in Melbourne, the main focus for the international Cricket community was to support a charity that was already well established and had a strong reputation in the countries that had been hit by the tsunami disaster.
It was vital that the maximum amount of good could be achieved with the money that was raised and therefore World Vision was chosen as the most appropriate charity. This decision was supported by all of the member countries of the ICC and the players who played in the game.

For your information, the second tsunami match will be organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and after the match has been held the fundsraised will be distributed by the ACC to worthy causes throughout theregion.

Kind regards

ICC Corporate Affairs

-----Original Message-----
From: CricInfo system account
[mailto:cricinfo@web1010.london.uk.cricket.net] On Behalf Of Arun
Sent: 10 January 2005 04:08
To: icc-site-reply@cricinfo.com
Subject: ICC Feedback: (Please donate the 'Tsunami Charity Match'
proceeds to a secular charity not to an evangelical ministry like World
Vision)

Subject: Please donate the 'Tsunami Charity Match' proceeds to a
secular charity not to an evangelical ministry like World Vision

Comments:
Sign the Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/Tsumatch/petition.html

To: International Cricket Council
To
Malcolm Speed
Chief Executive Officer
International Cricket Council

Dear Sir,

We thank you for trying to help the Tsunami relief work by organizing a
'Tsunami Charity match'. We hope that it will bring some solace to the
effected families.

Our primary concern is regarding the utilization of the proceeds. It
has been mentioned in your brochures and website that the proceeds would be
donated to 'World Vision International'. We would like to bring to your
attention that World Vision is an evangelical ministry often found to
mix 'religious conversion and charity'. One of the India's leading
investigative newspaper 'Tehelka' (www.tehelka.com) did an undercover
operation and exposed that World vision has been involved in
clandestinereligious conversion. World Vision International on its website claims "In all World Vision projects, staff are ready to give a reason for
their hope and their labours. Christian education is included in project activities whenever appropriate and desired by the community ". Many feel that this is a very mild way to put forth their objective.

The effected regions are largely Budhist, Hindu and Muslim. Due to the extreme zeal among evanglicals to implement 'project Joshua' (i.e., toconvert 10-40 Window), we fear that the Cricket Match proceeds may beused for this unintended objective. Therefore we request you not todonate to the money to 'World Vision' and in turn donate to some localsecular charities.

Thank you
Sincerely,

Communal Voting: Congress Candidate Woos Christian Voters

2005-02-18T11:44:00.000+05:30

Communal Voting: Congress Candidate Woos Christian Voters
Fernandes woos Christian voters

Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050217/punjab1.htm
Tribuneindia.com

Read the entire artcile @ TribuneIndia.Com Scroll Down the page

Kariyal (Ajnala), February 16
Even as Christian votes are a deciding factor in the crucial Ajnala byelection, Mr Oscar Fernandes, a Member Parliament and general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, today held a closed door meeting with the priests in the presence of the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and the PPCC President, Mr H.S. Hanspal, on church premises in this remote border village, here today.

Before addressing an election rally, Fr Franco (Jalandhar), Fr Paul and Fr Thomas Valia (Ajnala) apparently got a promise from Mr Fernandes and the Chief Minister that the genuine demands of the Christian community would be accepted after the byelection.

The local Christian leaders urged the Chief Minister and Mr Fernandes that the members of the community belonging to the economically weaker sections should be given all facilities given to other Scheduled Castes. They also demanded that one Assembly constituency should be reserved for Christians candidate in the state. However, they appreciated the state government for declaring ‘’Good Friday’’, as a gazetted holiday.

Amid slogans of ‘Halleluia’ (praise for the Almighty), Fr Franco, openly sought votes for the Congress candidate, Mr Harpartap Singh Ajnala, He said the Christian votes were a factor which could tilt the balance in the byelection.

Mr Fernandes, said Christian community had always reposed faith in the policies and programmes of the Congress. He said the Congress was the only party that had been instrumental in the overall development of the downtrodden and fought for the common interests of the underprivileged section of the society. He said the Union Government had already decided in principal to give all economic and social facilities equivalent to the reserved categories. He said the state government too was committed to give due representation to the representatives of the Christians. He complimented the people of Punjab in general and Christians in particular for their unflinching support to the party which was evident from the verdict given during the byelections of Malout, Garhshankar and Kapurthala.

Read the entire artcile @ TribuneIndia.ComScroll Down the page

Mr H.S. Hanspal, President, PPCC, while addressing the Congress rally said the state government was fully determined to grant minority status to the educational institutions run by Christians and would provide all financial assistance so that these temples of learning may continue to provide quality education to the children.

Speaking on the occasion, Capt Amarinder Singh said the state government was committed to uplift the downtrodden. He said all efforts would be made for the overall development of the border constituency.

Fellowship congregations ease out traditional Kerala churches

2005-02-17T12:11:00.000+05:30

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1019257.cms

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2005
Timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Read the entire article @ Timesofindia.indiatimes.com

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala's traditional churches can't be blamed for thinking the world is coming to an end.

Hundreds of independent fellowship churches (IFC) - and their number is rapidly growing - have resulted in dwindling flocks at traditional churches.

One of the fastest growing IFCs is the Kottayam-based Heavenly Feast, which has 10,000 members and now plans to spread its wings to other districts.

Not surprisingly, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is concerned.

"We are trying our best to control these so-called evangelical superstars because we strongly believe that religion is what one does with one's solitariness. These so-called churches are divorced from reality," its spokesman, Father Paul Thelakkat, told said.

One reason why there has been an increase in IFCs is their style of worship - they give more emphasis to the Bible than the rituals of traditional churches - and the manner in which they spread the word through local TV channels.

They also promote faith healing and promise miracles. Then, high wattage instruments belting out the latest music accompanies worship in the new churches.

Gheevarghese Mar Theodosius, a senior bishop of the Mar Thoma Church, admitted that services at the new churches could be more emotionally satisfying - but wondered whether this served any purpose.

"Isn't this a withdrawal from reality and running away from problems? Only when there is sickness you would know about health. When the mind is weak, people tend to move out seeking instant relief from these churches," he contended.

According to him, the IFCs might have been increasing of late but a reverse flow is visible as well.

Read the entire article @ Timesofindia.indiatimes.com

"There have been cases where people who have left our churches a decade back for the IFCs have returned. One negative point of these churches is that in the modern world, even Christianity has become a market product", said the bishop.

Heavenly Feast's Thomas Abraham agreed that some IFCs had split due to differences of opinion between the top leaders in interpreting the scripture and in some cases due to the quest for more power.

"Haven't traditional churches too split? This is not something bad for people like us," Abraham contended.

Thelakkat said the Syro-Malabar Church had initiated steps to prevent its flock from being weaned away.

"We are driving home the message that a mature religious personality is one who is not enamoured by wonders and one who is calm, deep rooted and committed," Thelkat pointed out.

As for faith healing, "it is possible for us to get healed through our own prayers," Thelakkat maintained.

There are pluses and minuses for both traditional churches and IFCs - and with society getting more and more materialistic, the tussle between the two streams could well leave the faithful in a trance.

Former Bush Aide: 'Minimal commitment' from the White House plus Democratic hostility hinder the faith-based plan

2005-02-17T11:46:00.000+05:30

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/160/story_16092_1.html

Please, Keep Faith
Former Bush Aide: 'Minimal commitment' from the White House plus Democratic hostility hinder the faith-based plan
Beliefnet.com

Read the entire article @ BeliefNet.Com

Four years ago, while visiting a small urban charity, President Bush launched the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He called it "one of the most important initiatives" of his administration.

It was hard evidence of the "compassionate conservatism" that Texas Governor George Bush embraced in his first major policy speech of the Presidential campaign, "It is not enough for conservatives like me to praise [compassionate] efforts. It is not enough to call for volunteerism. Without more support and resources, both private and public, we are asking them to make bricks without straw." That day a conservative Texas governor promised more than $8 billion during his first year in office to help social service organizations better serve "the least, the last, and the lost." More than $6 billion was to go for new tax incentives that would generate billions more in private charitable giving. Another $1.7 billion a year would fund faith-based (and non-faith-based) groups caring for drug addicts, at-risk youth, and teen moms. $200 million more would establish a "Compassion Capital Fund" to assist, expand and replicate successful local programs. Legislation would ensure that reported government discrimination against faith-based social service organizations would end. A new White House Faith-Based Office would lead the charge.
It was more than a bunch of promises. It was a new political philosophy of aggressive, government-encouraged (but not controlled) compassion that simultaneously rejected the dollars-equal-compassion equation of the "War on Poverty" mindset and the laissez-faire social policy of many conservatives. It was political philosophy of the heart as much as the head.

This was a dream come true for me. Yes, I actually dream of social policy. But since the early-1990s I've been what columnist E.J. Dionne termed a "com-con" or "compassionate conservative." I worked for William Bennett and John Ashcroft in the mid-1990s on issues like immigration, welfare, and education as they tried to promote a more compassionate Republican approach. While pure com-cons were never terribly powerful in Republican circles, Bush's endorsement of this progressive conservatism was exciting. And when he became the president, there was every reason to believe he'd be not only pro-life and pro-family, as conservatives tended to be, but also pro-poor, which was daringly radical. After all, there were specific promises he intended to keep.

Sadly, four years later these promises remain unfulfilled in spirit and in fact. In June 2001, the promised tax incentives for charitable giving were stripped at the last minute from the $1.6 trillion tax cut legislation to make room for the estate-tax repeal that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy. The Compassion Capital Fund has received a cumulative total of $100 million during the past four years. And new programs including those for children of prisoners, at-risk youth, and prisoners reentering society have received a little more than $500 million over four years--or approximately $6.3 billion less than the promised $6.8 billion.

Unfortunately, sometimes even the grandly-announced "new" programs aren't what they appear. Nowhere is this clearer than in the recently-announced "gang prevention initiative" totaling $50 million a year for three years. The obvious inference is that the money is new spending on an important initiative. Not quite. The money is being taken out of the already meager $100 million request for the Compassion Capital Fund. If granted, it would actually mean a $5 million reduction in the Fund from last year.

This isn't what was promised.

I served in the White House for two-and-a-half years as a Special Assistant to the president and eventually as Deputy Director of the Faith-Based Initiative. I have deep respect, appreciation, and affection for the president. No one who knows him even a tiny bit doubts the sincerity and compassion of his heart. Likewise, the people around the president are good and caring people. I know this firsthand because I experienced it during a health crisis in my own life when their kindness was evident.

That is why writing this is difficult.

I take solace in realizing that the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives that now sits outside the White House gates has effected change. The Office has used regulations and executive orders to end overt religious discrimination in the government grant-making process. Groups like the Metropolitan Council for Jewish Poverty, once denied an HHS application because it had "Jewish" in its name, are now welcome partners. Tens of thousands of faith-based social service groups, churches, synagogues, mosques, and secular non-profits attended free White House conferences where they were given information needed to navigate the federal grants labyrinth and the rules about what to do with money if they get it. A website now allows all social service groups to sort potential grants by category. These are good things.

But they are a whisper of what was promised. Irony of ironies, it leaves the faith-based initiative specifically, and compassionate conservativism in general, at precisely the place Gov. Bush pledged it would not go; it has done the work of praising and informing but it has not been given "the resources to change lives." In short, like the hurting charities it is trying to help, the Initiative has been forced to "make bricks without straw."

Why?

The first reaction might be that the recession or 9/11 made it impossible to do the full faith-based initiative. And, to be sure, 9/11 - with the ensuing effort to secure America, hunt down terrorists, and eliminate Saddam Hussein - made the world a very different place from what it was when Gov. Bush made domestic promises during his run for the White House. There are two things worth noting, however; first, the White House didn't even come close to fulfilling those promises before 9/11. More important, since then it has pushed an ambitious domestic agenda: three huge budgets have been submitted, each of which had billions of dollars for other domestic "priorities" but lacked any new money to pay for "compassion agenda" promises, which are ever more in need of fulfillment. After all, there are now more poor Americans than ever before.

So what happened?

Read the entire article @ BeliefNet.Com

1) On Capitol Hill, Republican indifference couldn't overcome knee-jerk Democratic opposition.

The moment the president announced the faith-based effort, Democratic opposition was frenzied. Hackneyed church-state scare rhetoric made the rounds; this was "radical" and "dangerous" and merely an "attempt to fund Bob Jones University." One Democratic African-American congressman came to the White House to back the president but was threatened by influential liberal groups that they would withhold funding if he didn't denounce the President. The next day he was forced to retract his statement. All of this came despite the fact that former Vice President Al Gore had endorsed virtually identical faith-based measures during the 2000 campaign.

Congressional Republicans matched Democratic hostility with snoring indifference. Sen. Rick Santorum spent endless hours alone lobbying Senate Leadership to give some floor time, any floor time to get a bill to help charities and the poor - even after 9/11 when charities were going out of business because of a decline in giving. He was stiff-armed by his own party.

At the end of the day, both parties played to stereotype -- Republicans were indifferent to the poor and the Democrats were allergic to faith.

2) There was minimal senior White House commitment to the faith-based agenda.

Capitol Hill gridlock could have been smashed by minimal West Wing effort. No administration since LBJ's has had a more successful legislative track record than this one. From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the "poor people stuff."

Not only were the tax items dropped from the 2001 tax relief bill, they were also ignored on numerous occasions when they could have been implemented. In December 2001, for instance, Sen. Daschle approached the Domestic Policy Council with an offer to pass a charity relief bill that contained many of the president's campaign tax incentive policies plus new money for the widely-popular and faith-based-friendly Social Services Block Grant. The White House legislative affairs office rolled their eyes while others on senior staff yawned. We had to leave the offer on the table.
They could afford to. Who was going to hold them accountable? Drug addicts, alcoholics, poor moms, struggling urban social service organizations, and pastors aren't quite the NRA. Charities haven't quite figured out the lobbying thing yet. More significantly, over time it became clearer that the White House didn't have to expend any political capital for pro-poor legislation. The initiative powerfully appealed to both conservative Christians and urban faith leaders - regardless of how much money was being appropriated.

Conservative Christian donors, faith leaders, and opinion makers grew to see the initiative as an embodiment of the president's own faith. Democratic opposition was understood as an attack on his personal faith. And since this community's most powerful leaders - men like James Dobson of Focus on the Family - weren't anti-poverty leaders, they didn't care about money. The Faith-Based Office was the cross around the White Houses' neck showing the president's own faith orientation. That was sufficient.

At the same time, the White House discovered urban faith leaders had been so neglected for so long that simple attention drew them in. Between 2002 and 2004 more than 15,000 white, Hispanic, and African-American religious and social service leaders attended free White House conferences on how to interact with the federal government. The meetings, held regularly in battleground states, were chock-full of vital information and gave thousands of groups invaluable information about government grants. They were hardly pep rallies for the President. But the conferences sent a resounding political message to all faith-oriented constituencies: President Bush cares about you.

Some liberal leaders have been quoted as saying the administration was looking to "buy minority votes." Nothing could be further from the truth. There wasn't enough money around to buy anyone. The conferences actually underscored how difficult it was to even get a grant. But by traveling across the country, giving useful information, and extending faith-based groups an open hand, powerful inroads were made to "non-traditional" supporters. One senior Republican leader walked into an early conference, stared wide-eyed at the room full of people of diverse ethnicities and said to me, "This is what Republicans have been dreaming about for 30 years." This is more damning of Democrats than anyone else. Where, exactly, has their faith outreach been for the last decade?

3) Liberal antipathy magnified the Initiative's accomplishments.

Secular liberal advocacy and interest groups attacked every little thing the faith initiative did. When Executive Orders were issued permitting an organization to simply display a cross or a Star of David, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State called it "a crusade to bring about an unprecedented merger of religion and government." When we helped Boston's historic Old North Church (of Paul Revere fame) get new windows through a historic preservation grants program at the Department of the Interior, the clamor was the same. The net effect of all the jabbering was the appearance that great progress was being made.

Had these liberal groups or an alliance of charities held the White House accountable for how little was being done -- especially compared to what was promised -- there is no telling what might have happened...or what might still happen.

I left the White House in December 2003. By that time, I'd grown quite frustrated with White House and Congressional approaches to faith-based issues and I let those in power know it. Virtually everything I've written here I told to those above me more than a year ago. I hoped things would change. But frankly I didn't quite trust my own judgment. I'd survived an intense health crisis but quickly returned to work; I wondered if my grumpiness came from fatigue, stress, or something my doctors secretly did to me while I was sick. I left, and went fishing. Literally. I joined the professional bass fishing tour and spent a chunk of my time on my (loaned) Skeeter boat stalking fish, clearing my head, and pursuing God. I figured that with time, my anger would subside.

I was right. The anger did. The sadness hasn't.

I'm writing this now because there is a lot of time left. There are more budget supplementals to come for Social Security and Iraq totaling scores of billions. The White House can still do a great deal for the poor. It can add another few billion to insure every American child has health care. It could launch a program to simply eliminate hunger. Groups like America's Second Harvest have the plan. Bump up the Compassion Capital Fund to $500 million a year and be marveled by change.

Given new budget realities, climates, and conditions it is easy to dismiss these suggestions as naive. But no one ever said faith was easy...or cheap. In 2000, Gov. Bush said, "I know that economic growth is not the solution to every problem. A rising tide lifts many boats, but not all." He then went on to propose a new approach to those who were still stuck behind. The promises are still there and I am trying to keep the faith.

The Importance of Interfaith Dialogue: A Buddhist Perspective

2005-02-17T10:14:00.000+05:30

A Talk Delivered by the Late Ven. Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara at Gethsemane Conference
http://www.buddhistcouncil.org/ratana.htm
Buddhistcouncil.org

Read the entire article @ Buddhistcouncil.org

The Late Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara

In his recently published work, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, 2 His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, made some observations with which I, as a Buddhist, wholly 3 agree. The Holy Father reminded us all, that "what unites us is much greater than what separates us ... It is necessary ... to rid ourselves of stereotypes, of old habits. And above all, it is necessary to recognize the unity that already exists. A Since all of you are already knowledgeable about the history of inter-religious dialogue, it isn't my intention to bore you by rehashing it. But I think it is worth our while to pause every now and then, to "step back" and remind ourselves just how far we've come in the last three decades. The evidence, which confirms the Pope's observation of a "unity that already exists" 4 is most encouraging. Formal interfaith dialogue, however, does not materialize, fully developed, out of a vacuum.

It evolves gradually, in response to the needs and aspirations of the broader community of which its participants are members. The "unity that already exists," of which the Pope speaks, is the life of the community, and a tacit consensus, that 'what unites us" is at least as important as "'what separates us." On the other hand, this pre-existing "unity" must be recognized, and positive steps taken to build on it. No less encouraging, therefore, is the evidence that what was begun some thirty years ago continues with increasing momentum.

1. Brief History of the Development of Inter-religious Dialogue

While in recent times interfaith dialogue has become not only national but international In its scope, I cite the experience of Los Angeles as but one example, since it is the one with which I'm most familiar. Almost from the very beginning, dialogue in Los Angeles included Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Since it is unique in being a truly "global" community, Los Angeles provided an ideal environment for such dialogue. Over 120 languages are spoken there. And all religions and ethnic groups are represented as well, including all major Buddhist traditions, each with its own language and customs.

Formal dialogue, however, required a catalyst, and it was the Catholic Church which, by the enlightened leadership of its pontiffs, provided it. As early as 1964, in his first encyclical letter, Ecclesiam Suam, Pope Paul VI already emphasized the need for Inter-religious dialogue, an attitude which was further underscored in Nostra Aetate which was wholly dedicated to the subject indicated by its title. It was Nostra Aetate 5, however, that set the stage for the beginning of genuine inter-religious dialogue. This decree initiated a fundamental change in the way the Church viewed other religions. For the first time, it encouraged dialogue with them.

Read the entire article @ Buddhistcouncil.org

For its part, the Catholic community in Los Angeles lost no time following the guidelines set by Nostra Aetate. In 1969 the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, together with representatives of the Catholic and Jewish communities, founded the Inter-religious Council of Southern California (ICSC). In 1971, Buddhist communities joined in. This became the focal point of the Los Angeles dialogue. In 1974, the Catholic Archdiocese formed the Commission on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs (CEIA) to coordinate and expedite its relations with other religious communities. The work of both of these organizations continues, sponsoring ongoing dialogue, but also (and just as important), informal contacts among the various participating religious organizations. These activities have enhanced considerably mutual understanding, and a lessening of conflicts among religions.

Development of dialogue after these first steps was impressive. Nostra Aetate, to Its great credit, called upon Catholics to repudiate anti-Semitism in all its forms. It also encouraged them to promote dialogue between Catholics and the Jewish community. In 1977, In Malibu, an all-day conference, the first of its kind, brought together about 50 Catholic sisters, with about as many Jewish women. Since that auspicious beginning, conferences have been held annually. It's worth noting too, that in Los Angeles, the Catholic and Jewish communities had already developed strong ties prior to Nostra Aetate indeed as far back as the 1920's. And in the 1950's and 1960's Loyola University (now Loyola Marymount) became a meeting place for members of the two faiths, and the American Jewish Committee did much to encourage this. During this period, however, such contacts were mostly informal, but nonetheless important. 6 Most significant as well, have been the activities of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles, and is dedicated to combating racial and religious bigotry.

Through the initiatives of both of the organizations I mentioned earlier (ICSC and CEIA), meaningful informal exchanges with the Buddhist community were begun, and have continued apace. A highlight of this process was a visit by Pope John Paul 11 to Los Angeles in 1987. In 1989, the Los Angeles Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue began .7 It marked the beginning of a formal Buddhist-Catholic communication. It was sponsored by the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California and the Catholic Office of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs. A commemorative pamphlet published in 1991 described this as a "very early and preliminary dialogue, with a great need for mutual patience and simply getting to know one another."

This is certainly true. But what I think is most significant is that this formal dialogue in fact conferred recognition on what had already been happening, more informally, for almost twenty years. And this "Informal" communication continues to the present. day, alongside more formal or "official" dialogue. This suggests that the mandate for our dialogue, far from being "imposed from on high," whether by Nostra Aetate or anything else, is an expression of a genuine respect and friendship, which, I would like to think, would be happening anyway. As a document prepared by the Vatican's Secretariat for Non-Christians puts it. "Dialogue does not grow out of the opportunism of the tactics of the moment, but arises from reasons which experience and reflection, and even the difficulties themselves, have deepened." 8 This is not to suggest, of course, that Nostra Aetate did not provide the impetus to get It going; it surely did. But if the will to carry it forward had not existed, I think we would not be meeting here today.

Also encouraging, is the evidence of international interreligious dialogue. In 1979, The World Council of Churches first published its Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies. In the index to the fourth edition of that publication, I counted 75 major international meetings concerned with interreligious dialogue, from 1969 to 1989. 9 And most recently, in Summer 1995, the Vatican Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue organized a Buddhist-Christian Colloquium in Taiwan. It was attended by 10 Christians and 10 Buddhist scholars, as well as four members of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and many monks and nuns from the monastery in Taiwan, as well as some of the Catholic Bishops in Taiwan. The attending scholars came from Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Italy, and the United States. The very fact that a international colloquium at such a high level was taking place at all, seems to me, a most auspicious development.

II. The Prospects for an Ongoing Dialogue

Perhaps the only mistake we can make now, is to allow our optimism to become complacency. While it is true that much has been accomplished by way of interfaith dialogue, there remain significant stumbling blocks to its longevity. One of the most enduring impediments to dialogue is the belief by members of the various religions, that by participating in it they may be compromising their own beliefs. 10 I would like to address this concern. In his book which I cited at the beginning of this address, the Holy Father, with characteristic eloquence, makes another point with which any Buddhist would find it hard to disagree, and which states an important Principle on which dialogue can go forward? "... there is basis for dialogue and for the growth of unity, a growth that should occur at the same rate at which we are able to overcome our divisions --- divisions that to a great degree result from the idea that one can have a monopoly on truth." 11 For a Buddhist, his or her faith is no bar to dialogue with other religions. The reason is that Buddhism is neither a system of dogmas, nor a doctrine of "salvation" as that term Is generally understood in theistic religions. The Buddha exhorted his disciples to take nothing on blind faith, not even his words. Rather, they should listen, and then examine the teachings for themselves, so that they might be convinced of its truth. 12

Once, when the Buddha was visiting a market town called Kesaputta, the local people, known as the Kalamas, sought his advice. Wandering ascetics and teachers used to visit the town from time to time, and were not reticent about propagating their own particular religious and philosophical doctrines, and at the same time disparaging the teachings of others. The Buddha advised them in this way:

It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain ... Do not be led by reports, or tradition, or hearsay. Do not be led by the authority of religious texts, nor by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances?, nor by delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, nor by the idea, "This ascetic is our teacher." But rather, when you yourselves know [that) certain things are unwholesome and wrong, [that such] things are censured by the wise, and when undertaken, such things lead to harm, [then] abandon them. And when you yourselves know [that] certain things are unwholesome and good, [that such] things are approved by the wise, and when undertaken such things lead to benefit and happiness, [then] enter on and abide in them. 13

What the Buddha's teaching offers, then, is an intellectual and spiritual 'crutch," that we may use until we are able to tread the path to liberation and Enlightenment alone. While the teachings of other religions do have much in common with Buddhism, the latter is unique in its emphasis on this point. As the Buddha put it? "One Is indeed, one's own savior, for what other savior could there be? When one Is in control of oneself, one obtains a savior difficult to find. "14 The Buddha compared his doctrine, the Dhamma, to a raft which one uses to cross over a lake or stream, but is left behind when one reaches shore. It would make no sense to continue lugging the raft about, once it had served its purpose. 15 So attachment to doctrine for its own sake, be it religious, political, or ideological, is illogical from a Buddhist's point of view. It follows then, that a Buddhist needn't fear "losing" his faith by coming into contact with the faiths of others.

This principle of "eclecticism" has, in my view, two corollaries. The first is that differences between faiths should not be overdrawn, or created where none exist. For example, in his book, the Pope characterizes Buddhist soteriology as "almost exclusively negative." This he explains in the following way:

We do not free ourselves from evil through the good which comes from God; we liberate ourselves only through detachment from the world, which is bad, The fullness of such a detachment is not union with God, but what is called nirvana, a state of perfect indifference with regard to the world. To save oneself means, above all, to free oneself from evil by becoming indifferent to the world, which is the source of evil. This is the culmination of the spiritual process. 16

Now, it seems that such "indifference" to the world, were it true, would be but a step removed from contempt for the world. And nothing could be farther removed from the Buddhist attitude. In fact, it was out of love for the world, that the Buddha spent 45 years of his life teaching. Nor was he reticent about involving himself in what today, we would call "social issues." On one occasion, in fact, he intervened to prevent what started as a petty squabble over land ownership, from developing into armed conflict. And many Buddhist traditions emphasize the Bodhisattva ideal. This means that even one who has achieved liberation vows to remain in samsara (the cycle of birth and death), until all sentient beings have been enlightened. It is difficult, in Buddhist terms at least, to imagine an altruism more encompassing than this.

The second corollary is that we must be no less candid about our differences than we are sanguine about our similarities. Sometimes Buddhists who are highly regarded in the Buddhist community, and whose words therefore carry an aura of authority, lose sight of this principle. In a misguided zeal to promote an ecumenical atmosphere, they misrepresent the Buddhist position, by making it more compatible with the beliefs of other religions than it actually is. For example, in a recently published work, Thich Nhat Hanh has attempted to attenuate the doctrine of "no-self (anatta) by suggesting that the Buddha did not really mean what he said. 17 Such attempts to water down basic Buddhist principles tends to.have the opposite effect of that intended, because other participants will then express opinions on Buddhism, based upon what they have heard, believing that they have it on good authority. As a result, their remarks will appear. to their Buddhist colleagues as ill-informed or disparaging of Buddhism.

What I am actually talking about here are canons of sound scholarship which all participants in the dialogue should recognize and try to honor. When non-Buddhists express opinions on Buddhism, they should take care to do their homework. Ill-informed comments not only engender ill feelings, but an attitude of condescension on the other side. Genuine dialogue, however, is possible only in an atmosphere of mutual respect, based upon a consensus that it is being conducted among equals. And, this is obviously no less true when Buddhists talk about Christianity or other religions, At the same time, it is necessary that all of us remain committed to an open forum, where the participants are free to express ideas and views without fear of recrimination for "political incorrectness." it may happen that certain religious communities who are only recently part of the dialogue and therefore new to its ways, will be unable to "find their tongue" when others make criticisms which seem to them unjustified or ill-informed. Their first inclination, then, will almost naturally be to want to silence their critics. This is all the more reason why the representatives of each faith should be aware of the special needs of others. And again, this means each member should recognize a responsibility to familiarize himself with the traditions of the others.

These caveats, however, are not merely a paraphrase of the old saw, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." As Buddhists, we cannot and do not close our eyes to the evil and injustice in the world. We are no less bound than our Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu brethren to take a stand on it. The easy part, of course, is staking out a position when we agree with each other. No religion that deserves to be taken seriously condones slavery or oppression in any form. Both the Pope and his predecessors have issued encyclicals sternly condemning political and religious persecution, as well as reproving the excesses of all forms of economic organization, capitalist, socialist, or communist. And Buddhists would be the first to agree. The hard part is taking a stand, when we disagree with each other. And this I identify as a second potential stumbling block to interfaith dialogue. Buddhists have often said what everyone knows, but is all too easily forgotten, that harsh or idle words, once uttered, cannot be retracted. They remain "out there," to poison the ambiance in which dialogue takes place, and may, in the few seconds required to utter them, undo what has taken years to accomplish. On the other hand, we cannot and will not always agree; and none of us can hope to en)oy the approval of everyone all the time. As the Buddha reminded us, "There never was, there never will be, nor does there exist now, a person who is wholly praised or wholly blamed." 18 The very fact we however, and expressing our willingness to talk to eachother, suggests that we ... all of us ... must be doing something right!

Reflection on this second potential impediment to dialogue at once reveals a second reason why continue. In the WCC's booklet, Guidelines on Dialogue to which I alluded earlier, the author remarks that "it is easy to discuss religions and even ideologies as though they existed in some realm of calm quite separate sharp divisions, conflicts and sufferings of human kind." 19 I wholly agree. And not only I, but all Buddhists would agree with the author when he suggests that "religions and ideologies often contribute to the disruption of communities and the suffering of those whose community life is broken." 20 Religious differences have often been the most deeply rooted and destructive of all. Lf we, as representatives of the world's major religions, can show the rest of the world that we can communicate with each other, they just might come to realize that there is no reason why they cannot do the same.

In Buddhism, virtuous conduct (sila) includes "right speech" (samma vaca). And by practicing the virtue of right speech in the context of dialogue, we will be setting an example for the larger community to emulate. As I pointed out earlier, dialogue already takes place as a part of the life of the community, even before it becomes formal. The many problems which beset our communities, indeed all mankind, at the close of this century are articulated in the political forum --- the environment, nuclear proliferation, international terrorism, human rights, urban violence, social justice, and the like. Representatives of the religious community, therefore, are drawn into the fray. The only question is whether we will rise to the occasion.

I would like to focus upon just one of these issues --- one indeed, that must concern us as representatives of the world's religions --- religious intolerance and persecution. Not only has it not disappeared, but it is actually on the rise in many parts of the world, and has shown itself in shameful incidents, even in our own country, and even within the last few weeks.

A recent spate of Church bombings has elicited a formal response from the White House, and has alarmed the public out of its characteristic lethargy. In fact, on the very day that I was working on this address, I happened to glance at the daily paper, only to see on the front page, a heart-rending picture of a 92-year old black minister standing in front of what was left of his church, in Boligee, Alabama. Let me put it in his words: "The last Sunday we were in [our church] I had a real good sermon. And there wasn't any quarrel in the church. My sermon was about turning over a new life, to start a new thing, to start living better, to start working together, to live in the Spirit of God, to get along. Four days later they called me. My daughter drove me back out there. And it was all burned down. It was gone. The church was all down in ashes, just one wall and one corner still standing. The other walls had fallen in, and there was nothing left but ashes. So I said a prayer, and I asked the Lord to take charge. I asked the Lord to take control of it. I asked him two things. I asked him to help me build another church. And I asked him to tell us who did it. Because he's the Lord. He knows " 21 The very same day the Times reported that a church in South-central Los Angeles had received its second arson threat. 22

As a Buddhist, who with great sadness must watch what is happening to his Christian brethren, I am reminded of the words of the Buddha: 'Yo appadutthassa narassa dussati suddhassa posassa ananganassa. Tam eva balam pacceti papam sukkhumo rajo pativatam' va khitto." ("Whoever harms a harmless person, one pure and guiltless, upon that very fool the evil recoils like a fine dust thrown against the wind" ) 23 When I see things like this happening, I find it difficult to forgive the perpetrators, even though I know I must. The Buddha told his monks that "even if bandits were to sever you savagely limb by limb with a two-handed saw, he who gave rise to a mind of hate towards them would not be carrying out my teaching." 24 As a Buddhist I do not profess to know whether Christ ever really healed the sick, raised up a cripple, made the blind see, the deaf hear, or raised the dead. But I do know that he never made anyone lame, or blind, or mute-, nor did he ever put anyone to death. He was at the very least a good, compassionate, and virtuous human being; he was, indeed, everything that the Buddha was, and taught us we should be. Even though we (and I speak now not only as a Buddhist, but as a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, as a human being, as one of you) ... I say, even though we may wonder whether we can find it in our hearts to forgive those who harm us, who beat us, kill us, defame us, or burn our churches and temples, we must remember that Christ himself had no second thoughts about those who persecuted him, beat him, spat upon him, and even killed him. He forgave them from the cross; can we do less?

And this is why we must continue our dialogue; this is why we must talk! The only alternative to talk is the build up of resentment and anger, which in time must inevitably become open hostility and conflict. Nor can religions take the attitude that they will start talking, when they have " settled scores." As the Buddha reminds us, "in those who harbor such thoughts as 'he abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,' hatred is not appeased." 25 In Buddhism there are few instances of "eternal truths," and so, when the Buddha himself declares something so to be, we have to assume that he really meant it. In an often-quoted verse, the Buddha stated that "hatreds never cease through hatred in this world?, through love alone do they cease. This is an eternal law." 26 And did not Jesus say, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"? 27 And again, in St. Paul's letter to the Romans, we read? "Bless those who persecute you', never curse them, bless them ... resist evil and conquer it with good." 28

III. Concluding Note

The Pope's conviction, then, that what unites us is greater than what separates us offers firm ground upon which to continue building an edifice in which all faiths can feel at home. I, as a Buddhist, believe that Buddhism is a .universal" religion, in the sense that it is concerned with the fundamental human condition, and thus with the problem of suffering, first and foremost. The Buddha said, "A Is suffering I teach, and the cessation of suffering." But in this respect it is like other religions, and Christianity in particular. 29 For it too, is concerned with the problem of suffering. As the Pope himself reminds us, "Stat crux dum volvitur orbis." ("The cross remains constant while the world turns.") 30 For Christians (as well as other theistic religions), this observation has at once led philosophers and theologians to seek an answer to a most perplexing question: since there is obviously evil in the world, how can God permit it? 31 The Buddhist is no less aware of, and concerned about, the reality of evil and suffering. But for us, the question is not how God can permit it, but rather, what are we going to do about it?

In any case, the corollary of the universality of suffering is not that we claim that everyone should be a Buddhist, but rather that, with respect to the fundamental problem with which Buddhism is concerned, everyone already is a "Buddhist," whether he accepts that name or not. Referring to Hinduism and Buddhism, the Holy Father states that "the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. The Church has a high regard for their conduct and way of life, for those precepts and doctrines which, although differing on many points from that which the Church believes and propounds, often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. " 32 On this point, I must mention a comment by Francis Cardinal Arinze, President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. In one of the most gracious gestures of the Church in our memory, a letter sent this year to the Buddhist community, the Cardinal extended his wishes for a "Happy feast of Vesak." Vesak is the day on which Buddhists commemorate the birth, Enlightenment, and death of the Buddha. True to the spirit of its founder, Buddhism has been renowned throughout its history for its tolerance of other beliefs and values. But as the Cardinal reminds us, this is not enough. He points out that "the pluralistic society in which we live demands more than mere tolerance. Tolerance is usually thought of as putting up with the other, or at best as a code of polite conduct. Yet this resigned, lukewarm attitude does not create the right atmosphere for a [truly] harmonious existence. The spirit of our religions challenges us to go beyond this. We are commanded in fact love our neighbors as ourselves. 33 And in the Dhammapada the Buddha exhorts us: "Conquer anger by love, conquer evil by good; conquer avarice by giving; conquer the liar by truth." 34

Now, it seems to me that since we are so ready to embrace each other, and claim that we are already "honorary members' of each other's religion, there is really no reason why we cannot continue talking. We are alike in that we all suffer, and our primary concern is the end of suffering; this is what we call liberation. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has put it: 'I am interested not in converting other people to Buddhism but in how we Buddhists can contribute to human society, according to our own ideas." 35 And I have always maintained, and maintain today, that if we had enough in common thirty years ago to begin talking to each other, then we have enough in common to continue.

NOTES

1 Text of address, delivered by Ven. Havanpola Ratanasara, Ph.D., at the Gethsemani Encounter, Gethsemani Abbey, Trappist, Kentucky, on July 24, 1996. Return

2 H H John Paul 11, Crossing the Threshold of Hope (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994). Return

3 This is not to suggest that I agree with everything the Pope said in his book. The points on which we disagree, however, are eclipsed by the points on which a consensus seems attainable, as well as by the breadth of the Pope's vision and his genuine concern for a continuing dialogue with other faiths. Return

4 HH John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold oj'Hope, p. 147, p. 149. 1 may be taking the Pope's remarks a bit out of context.. But it is characteristic ofinsightful observations that they can be interpreted in contexts other than those in which they were made. Return

5 Nostra Aetate, "in Our Times," is more freely translated as "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions." Return

6 See Rabbi Alfred Wolf, Msgr. Royale M. Vadakin, eds., A Journey of Discoverw A Resource Manualfor Jewish?Calholic Dialogue (Valencia: Tabor Publishing, 1989). Return

7 The author has been a Co-Chairman of the Los Angeles Buddhist-Catholic dialogue since its inception. Return

8 See "'I'he Attitude of the Church Towards the Followers of Other Religions," in Handbook for Inter-religious Dialogue (HID) (Morristown: Sliver, Burdett & Ginn, 1990), pp. 57-64. Return

9 Guidelines on Dialogue with People qf Living Faiths and Ideologies (GD) (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1990). Return

10 Thus, as the WCC's Guidelines on Dialogue explains: "Often ... dialogues take the form of participating in the prayer or meditation practices of others. This type of dialogue remains controversial because Christians are not agreed on whether it is possible to participate in the spiritual life of their neighbors without compromising their own faith." GD, p. viii. "The Christian community within the human community has a common heritage and a distinctive message to share, it needs therefore to reflect upon the nature of the community Christians seek together with others and upon the relation of dialogue to the life of the churches, as they as themselves how they can be communities of service and witness without diluting their falth or compromising their commitment to the Triune God." (emphasis added) GD, p. 1. "Often there is the request to show how a dialogical relationship could be supported from a biblical and Christian theological perspective." GD, p. vi. Return

11 H H Pope John Pau I 11, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 147. Again, I am quoting somewhat out of context, and can provide no more than the same Justification I offered earlier for so doing. Return

12 See The Majjhima Nikaya. Vol. 1. ed. V. Trenckner (Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 1993), p. 320. Also, in the English version, The Collection of the Middle-Length.Sayings (Majjhima Nikaya). Vol. III. trans. I.B. Homer (Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 1990), p. 382. Return

13 The Book of the Gradual Sayings (Anguttara Nikaya), or More Numbered Suttas. Vol. 1. trans. F.L. Woodward (Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 1989), pp. 171-172. Return

14 "Atta hi attano natho ko hi natho paro siya. Attana' va sudantena natham labhati dullabham." Dhammapada, 12:4. For a particularly good translation ofthis work, see The Dhammapada: Pali Text and Translations with Stories in Brief and Notes. trans. Narada Thera (Kuala Lumpur: The Buddhist Missionary Society, 1874), p. 145. Return

15 The Middle-Length Sayings (Majjhima Nikaya), pp. 173-174. Return

16 HH John Paul 11, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, pp. 85-86. This characterization of Buddhism in negative terms is not conducive to dialogue, since it situates the dialogue in a proselytizing forum, albeit negative. The Pope, being the supreme head of the Church, commands great authority, no less moral than ecclesiastical. By virtue of his office and statute, he may be expected to appeal to a wide audience, both Catholic and non-Catholic. What he says, therefore, will likely be taken at face value, even if it is not well-informed. People who hold high office in the political and judicial realms have come to realize, especially nowadays, that they have, ironically, less "freedom of speech" than the rest of us, since their every word is likely to be scrutinized and measured. They therefore, simply cannot afford the luxury of not buming the midnight oil, if necessary, to "do their homework" before they come to the public forum. And if this is true of national figures, it is even more true of those whose audience is an interriational one. Return

17 The Buddha did not present an absolute doctrine. His teaching of (no-self) was offered in the context of his time. It was an instrument for meditation ... There is something more important than no-self. For a Buddhist to be attached to any doctrine, even a Buddhist one, is to betray the Buddha. It is not words or concepts that are important. What is important is our insight into the nature of reality and our way of responding to reality.- See Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ (New York: Riverhead Books, 1995), p. xii. In fact, the Buddha was quite unequivocal on the doctrine of no-self" and for good reason: then, as now, it lent itself perhaps more than any of his other teachings to misunderstanding. On more than one occasion the Buddha issued sternrebukes to those who misrepresented his teaching on this point. See, for example, The Majjhima Nikaya, Vol, 1, pp. 256-257. Return

18 "Na cahu na ca bhavissatl na c'etarahi vijjati; ekantam nindito poso ekantum va pasamsilo." Dhammapada, 17:8. Return

19 Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies, p2. Return

20. Ibid. Return

21 The Los Angeles Times, Monday, June 24, 1996, p. A 1, A 12. Return

22 Ibid., p. A 12. Return

23 Dhammapada, 9: 10. Return

24 See The Collection of the Middle-Length Sayings (Majjhima Nikaya), p. 223. Return

25 "Akkocchi mam avadhi mam ajini mam ahasi me; ye tam upanayhanti verarn tersam na sammati." Ibid., 1:3. Return

26 "Na hi verena verani --- sammanti'dha kudacancam; averenca ca sammantl --- esa dhammo sanantano." Ibid, 1:5. Return

27 Matt. 6: 44. Return

28 Romans 12:2 1. Return

29 "As Bhikkhu Buddhadasa has put it: "Buddhism is a universal religion. It can be put into practice by everyone, in every age and era. People everywhere have the same problem: to free themselves from suffering --- suffering which is inherent in birth, aging, pain, and death, suffering which stems from desire, from grasping. Everyone without exception, celestial being, human being, or beast, has this same problem, and everyone has the same job to do, namely eliminate completely the desite, the unskillful grasping which is the root cause of that suffering. Thus Buddhism is a universal religion." Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Handbookfor Mankind (Bangkok: Mahachula Buddhist University Press), pp. 76-77. Return

30 HH Pope John Paul 11, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 147. Return

31 The Pope devotes two chapters to this question. See Ibid., pp. 60-68. Return

32 Ibid., p. 80. Return

33 Letter to the Buddhist community, from the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, dated April-May, 1996, Francis Cardinal Arinze, President. Return

34 "Akkodhena jine kodham asadhum sadhuna jine; Jine kadariyam danena saccena alikavadanam." Dhammapada, 17:3. Return

35 The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings By andAbout the Dalai Lama. ed. Sidney Piburn (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1990), p. 62. Return

Bibliography

* The Book of the Gradual Sayings (Anguttara Nikaya), or More Numbered Suttas. Vol. 1. Trans. F.L. Woodward. Oxford:. The Pall Text Society, 1989.

* The Collection of Middle-Length Sayings (Majhima Nikaya). Vol. Ill. Trans. I.B. Horner. Oxford: The Pall Text Society, 1990.

* HH John Paul II. Crossing the Threshold of Hope. New York? Alfred A Knopf, 1994.

* Narada Thera, Ed. Dhammapada: Pali Text, Translation with Stories in Brief and Notes. Kuala Lumpur: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1978.

* Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies. Geneva: WCC Publications, 1990.

* Handbook for Inter-religious Dialogue. Morristown (New Jersey): Silver, Burdett & Ginn, 1990.

* Buddhadasa, Bhikku. Handbook for Mankind. Bangkok: Mahachula Buddhist University Press.

* Wolf, Rabb Alfred. Vadakin, Msgr. Royale M., Eds. A Joumey of Discovery.? A Resource Manual for Jewish-Catholic Dialogue. Valencia (California): Tabor Publishing, 1989 .

* Thich Nhat Hanh. Living Buddha. Living Christ. New York. Riverhead Books, 1995.

* The Majjhima Nikaya. Vol. 1. Ed. V. Trenckner. Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 1993.

* Pilburn, Sidney. The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness. An Anthology of Writings By and About the Dalai Lama. Ithaca (New York): Snow Lion Publications, 1990.

Gujarat Restores Good Friday Holiday

2005-02-14T09:23:00.000+05:30

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=35165

New Delhi, Feb. 09
CWNews.com

Officials in India's western Gujarat state have restored Good Friday to a list of public holidays, after heavy pressure from local Christians.

Last year the ruling Baratiya Janata Party (BJP), which is heavily influenced by militant Hindus, took Good Friday off the list of state holidays. The All India Christian Council protested that move, taking the case to court, and finally won a victory. On February 1 the BJP leadership announced the restoration of the holiday.

Gujarat has been the scene of frequent conflicts between Hindu zealots and other religious groups in recent years. Christian and Muslim leaders, along with other religious minorities, have insisted that state government authorities must take action to protect other religious groups.

N-E angle to Geelani's attack?

2005-02-14T08:54:00.000+05:30

http://www.dailypioneer.com/archives2/default12.asp?main_variable=front%5Fpage&file_name=story2%2Etxt&counter_img=2&phy_path_it=F%3A%5Cdailypioneer%5Carchives2%5Cfeb1105

Pramod Kumar Singh
New Delhi
The Pinoeer

Read the entire article @ The Pioneer

With the modus operandi of the person who shot at SAR Geelani, pointing towards the involvement of a North East militant group, the pitch in the sensational attack has been further queered. The weapon, a 7.65 calibre pistol used by the assailant, is commonly used by North East militant groups.

Unfortunately, the person who can shed light on the issue, Geelani himself, is still unfit to make a statement, as the three bullets lodged in his body are yet to be extricated.

But on the request of the police, the AIIMS late on Thursday night agreed to set up a thre-member medical board to ascertain the nature of Geelani's injuries.

Unless the bullets are extricated from Geelani's body, they cannot be matched with the empties found in the second search conducted by the Crime Branch.

Sources said that police have identified a mystery woman, who appears to be involved in the well-thought out plan to attack Geelani. Geelani was a regular at Ms Haksar's residence and it was a well known fact that Geelani was visiting her to discuss his case which was being heard almost on a daily basis in the Supreme Court.

Sleuths of the Inter State Cell (ISC) quizzed Haksar and her husband Sebastian Muviah San Hongray regarding the incident at their residence. Sebastian Muviah San Hongray, a Thankul Naga and an activist of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muviah group), was present in their residence at 163, Vasant Enclave on Tuesday night when Geelani was shot. As a matter of fact, Hongary had taken Geelani to AIIMS in his Scorpio jeep.

But police is flummoxed over how Geelani managed to walk up to the residence of Haksar after being shot thrice. Geelani staggered over 60 yards instead of falling at the spot. It was comparatively dark when the unidentified assailant fired at Geelani and also managed to escape to safety.

Read the entire article @ The Pioneer

"If Geelani did not fall on the ground, how would the assailant who was facing him while firing know that he had actually shot the man. What is another puzzle is why Geelani did not shout for help after being hit. Neighbours claim they did not hear an shouts for help. These are some questions which needs to be addressed", a senior police officer added.

Most importantly, the police could not find the empty cartridges during the preliminary search, but at 2 am, five empties were found at a distance by the Crime Branch. Most importantly, there were no blood stains despite Geelani being shot thrice and walking up to 60 yards.

The police is also investigating whether Geelani was shot somewhere else and later dumped near Haksar's residence, since the first call to the police was made at 10.10 pm by the duty constable of AIIMS alerting that Geelani had been shot, the police official added.

Meanwhile two more persons have told the police that they heard the gunshots. Ms Juhi Kaul, daughter of former Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Gautam Kaul, who is the next door neighbour of Haksar, on Thursady told the police that she heard the gunshots. Vinay Bhandola, a Merchant Navy officer, who lived in the same locality, also told the police that he heard the shots being fired. Their statements have matched with that of Colonel Kishan Thapa, who had told the police about the gunshots which apparently were caused by a pistol.

Police have also picked holes in the statements of Ms Nandita Haksar given to Delhi Police. Contradictions have been found in the statements of Ms Haksar given to the police after the incident and her recorded statements by the investigators.

Initial investigations have not ruled out the involvement of certain persons with whom Geelani had enmity. Senior police officials said that Geelani's wife, Arifa and his brother, Bismillah were questioned about persons, who harboured ill-will toward Geelani. A Delhi Police team has been sent to the Kashmir Valley on the basis of certain leads and the cellphone details of Geelani.

The investigators are looking for persons, who could have harboured enmity towards Geelani. The police is investigating whether Geelani had any feud with any Kashmiri group or he had entered into an argument with people who disapproved of his ways. Geelani was still unfit to make a statement as the three bullets lodged in his body were yet to be extricated. Doctors treating Geelani at AIIMS reportedly told the police that it will take some time before they could declare him fit for a statement.

"Only he could shed light on the person who followed him and opened fire", a police officer involved in the investigation said. The records of Geelani's cellphone indicate that Ms Haksar called him at around 6 pm on the fateful evening and he reportedly left for her residence at around 8 pm from Zakir Hussain college.

Australian Cricketeer Waugh Raising Funds for Missionary Groups in India

2005-02-14T08:48:00.000+05:30

Thursday February 10 2005 16:16 IST
Press Trust of India (PTI)
KOLKATA

Mixing commerce with philanthropy, former Australian skipper Steve Waugh is now on the look out for a business partner from India in between his efforts to relieve the sufferings of the thousands of tsunami victims in the Andamans.

Waugh, on a tour of the country for the last few days, has already met the chief ministers of Maharastra and Karnataka to explore business opportunities before coming to Kolkata, where he is held in high esteem not only as a cricketer but also as one of the sponsors of a home for children of leprosy sufferers 'Udayan'.

"I've been looking at business opportunities around India. I also hope to meet the corporate leaders and government officials in Kolkata," Waugh told reporters here on Thursday.

Waugh said he was here as a representative of a leading Australian bank, which had assets of 85 billion dollars, and was trying to identify business partners for his personal commercial venture in which Kolkata would be an important cog.

"I have had a 20 year stint with international cricket. I also hope to return to the game some time later as a commentator or coach. But now it is time for business."

"Kolkata is my second home. With every visit I tend to fall more in love with the city. I won the World Cup in 1987 here. I also scored a memorable hundred during the my last test appearance here in 2001," he said.

"I have special feelings for Udayan. I feel if I can make some difference to the lives of the little needy people at Udayan, that will be my greatest achievement," said Waugh, who played a Prime role in setting up the girls wing of the home.

The cricketing legend said he was looking for a piece of land in or around the city to set up some commercial venture, but did not go into specifics.

"I think the opportunities in Kolkata have increased during the last six months. Anyone coming to the city from the airport can see with his own eyes the new infrastructure which is coming up," he added.

After his work with the kids of Udayan, Waugh was now working on setting up a school for visually impaired girls here in collaboration with the Christian Blind Mission and theorthodox church.

"I am also in the process of setting up the Steve Waugh Foundation. We're hoping to get the foundation up and running shortly, trying to rope in big corporates. I want to make a difference to the lives of the people. I don't want to look glossy," he said.

In his bid to come to the aid of the thousands of tsunami victims, Waugh has joined hands with a number of celebrities in the city to raise funds through a charity auction of his cricket gear on Thursday.

Among the items which would come under the hammer is a designer bat made by some members of Australia's aboriginal tribe Gunya.

"It is from my personal collection, and is uniqueness lies in its design, which they have made for me. This is also the first ever bat made by them," Waugh disclosed.

Waugh is also scheduled to deliver a special lecture on leadership titled 'from the cricket pitch to corporate boardroom' in the evening.

The Dark Side of Tsunami

2005-02-14T08:33:00.000+05:30

http://yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_17876.shtml
http://rawstory.rawprint.com/1204/westboro_tsunami_statement_1230.php

By: William Fisher
Published: Feb 9, 2005
YubaNet.com

Read the entire article here @ YubaNet.Com

For the fundamentalist wings of Christianity and Islam the South Asian tsunami has meant very different things. Some Christian groups have seen it as an opportunity to thank God for the deaths of sinners, or to use aid as a cover for proselytizing among people of other faiths. For some Muslims, it was "punishment from Allah" of "infidels, invaders and occupiers, headed by the U.S."

The website of the Topeka, Kansas, Westboro Baptist Church, thanked God for the tsunami and "any gay Swedes who were killed while vacationing there."

See it for yourself WestboroBaptist Church

The website also lauded God for killing Americans in the tsunami, as well as Americans killed by jetliners on Sept. 11. "Thank god for all dead Swedes!!! God Hates Fags (homosexuals), God Hates America, God Hates Canada", itcontinued.

The website explained: "Fags have a three point agenda: 1) decriminalize sodomy, 2) add fags to the protected classes as victims like blacks, and 3) criminalize Gospel preaching against fags. Sweden's doom is now irreversible! Sweden has drawn to it the wrath and mocking of God!"

Some Christian missionary groups were accused of using the disaster as an excuse to proselytize. The "Chicago Tribune" reported from India that "Christian evangelists arrived at a disaster area wearing fluorescent yellow T-shirts emblazoned with 'Believers Church' on the back and 'Gospel for Asia' on the front." They gave each tsunami survivor a sleeping mat, a plate, a sari, a 55-pound bag of rice and, in the bottom of a white plastic bag proclaiming "Believers Church Tsunami Relief,'' a book containing biblical verses warning against the dangers of alcohol. They also set up an orphanage for 108 children, including many Hindus, and asked the children to recite Christian prayers six times a day.

Another U.S. group, the International Bible Society, announced plans to send 100,000 Christian texts, including a book translated into Thai, "When Your Whole World Changes,'' to survivors, including those in Thailand.

Church leaders in Sri Lanka appealed to Christian groups not to proselytize. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka issued a statement expressing "deep concern" atreports that some groups are trying to "exploit the tragedy to further their own ideologies".

Muslim organizations agreed. "This is a reminder. Do not do this in this kind of situation," Dien Syamsuddin, secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, said after Friday prayers in the main mosque of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

He also condemned reports the U.S.-based welfare group, World Help, planned to adopt 300 Acehnese orphans and raise them in a Christian children's home. The plan was abandoned because of widespread criticism.

The International Mission Board responded by saying, "Critics often accuse evangelicals of seizing on tragedies, wars and natural or man-made disasters to rush into places once off-limits to Christians. They don't care about the victims' physical needs or long-term welfare, the critics say; they just want to save souls and make converts...Christians walking in the love of God, however, care about bodies and souls. They weep with those who weep, heal the sick, feed thehungry and yes, look for opportunities to share the good news of Christ wherever it hasn't beenheard."

But the proselytizing was two-sided. An Islamic militant group in Aceh recruited members as it collected bodies; other Islamic groups handed out thousands of Qurans in reliefcamps.

From the Islamic world also came criticism of other Muslims. A prominent Islamist Website, "Jihad Unspun", said, "The tsunami struck Thailand for supporting the Christian crusaders in the war on terror. The other nations on the Indian Ocean that suffered death and destruction were similarly deserving -- India for its "polytheism" and Sri Lanka for giving its full backing to the Christian Crusaders inside the White House."

In Egypt, an editorial in the government weekly, "Akhbar Al-Yawn", noted that the Arab Doctors Association declined to assist tsunami victims because the disaster is seen as "punishment from Allah." The Association justified its position by saying that this earthquakewas "divine punishment because of the Muslims' oppression by the infidels, invaders and occupiers, headedby the U.S."

Ibrahim Al-Bashar, an advisor to Saudi Arabia's justice minister, explained on Saudi television, "These countries, in which these things occurred -- don't they refrain from adopting Allah's law, which is a form of heresy? Whoever does not act according to Allah's law is a heretic, that's what Allah said in the Koran."

A Saudi cleric blamed infidel tourists for the tsunami. It happened "when fornicators and corrupt people from all over the world come to commit fornication and sexual perversion,"professor Sheik Fawzan al-Fawzan of al-Imam University told Saudi Arabia's "al-Majd TV".

In Morocco, the newspaper "Attajdid" called the Tsunami a "serious warning to Morocco that it has become a destination for sexual tourism."

Nor was the disaster lacking for conspiracy theories. An Egyptian opposition weekly, "Al Usbua", claimed the earthquake was a result of a joint India-Israel-U.S. nuclear experiment that brought about the movement of the tectonic plates located underneath the ocean. The paper said the experiment's goal was a U.S.-Israel attempt to put an "end to humanity".

Another website, "The ShiaChat.com", cited several Muslim clerics as saying that Zionist and American investments in Thailand's beaches and the prosperous prostitution industry there prompted the earthquake that caused the tsunami.

However, these views appear to be far from the norm among either Islamic or Christian groups.

Some religious observers faulted many of America's "mainstream" Christian organizations for their slow reaction to the tsunami. As of December 30, four days after the disaster, the largest of these groups still had not posted a word about the disaster on their websites. They included the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, and the Coral Ridge Ministries. These organizations are led by some of the country's leading televangelists, including the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Dr. James Dobson, and Rev. Pat Robertson. While huge relief efforts were getting underway throughout the world, their websites continued to fight against same-sex marriage, a woman's right to choose, and embryonic stem cell research.

But by mid-January, however, organizations representing Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other faiths were conducting active appeals and raising substantial funds.

William Fisher has managed economic development programs in the Middle East for the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development, and served in the international affairs area in the Kennedy administration.

Tempering Evangelism: Tsunami Missionaries should put Aid First

2005-02-13T16:35:00.000+05:30

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
Dallas Morning News on Tuesday, Jan. 25

Zeal for converting non-Christians sets evangelical Christianity apart from other expressions of the Christian faith. You will find evangelicals all over the world, teaching, preaching and healing broken bodies and broken lives. They do much good.

But sometimes they go too far. We are dismayed at the furor ignited by members of Waco's Antioch Community Church, which sent a relief team into tsunami-stricken Sri Lanka. According to The New York Times, the Waco evangelicals have outraged Sri Lankan Christians and non-Christians by aggressively proselytizing among the country's Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. Some native pastors complain that the Texans are putting all the country's Christians in peril from militantBuddhist factions.

The Rev. Duleep Fernando, a Sri Lankan Methodist, told The Times that the Texans induced him to bring them into a refugee camp, pretending to be merely a humanitarian group. "We have told them this is not right, but now we don't have any control over them," the sadder-but-wiser pastor says now.

Aid to the poor and oppressed is a central tenet of Christianity, and missionary efforts over the centuries have often mixed material aid with subtle or not-so-subtle invitations to convert. It is difficult to draw a bright line between what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

But deception - hiding one's evangelical aims - is wrong. And so is imperiling the lives of Christians who can't hop a plane bound for D/FW if non-Christian militants turnviolent.

Even absent that, the internal damage to a society can be profound. "Soupers" in Ireland and "rice Christians" in Asia are some of the epithets that reflect the bitter resentment toward people who are perceived to have abandoned their historical faith in return for handouts from proselytizing sects.

That's why many Christian aid organizations today try to separate humanitarian efforts from evangelism outreach. But the Waco church explicitly rejects that strategy. One paralyzed Buddhist fisherman told The Times he believes the Waco team is trying to convert him, but that he is "in a helpless situation," and feels he has no choice but to submit to their ministrations. How can Christians be proud of that?

Hinduism and the Contest of Religions

2005-02-13T16:31:00.000+05:30

Subhash Kak
Published on Friday, February 11, 2005
Sulekha.com

Read the entire article @ Sulekha.Com

These are extraordinary times, given how technology is transforming the world and the unprecedented migration of people. Different cultural and religious groups have come in close contact physically, some for the first time; and television has brought to the home new images and possibilities. One would have hoped that people would simply accept cultural and religious diversity; instead, it has become a great opportunity for the proselytizing religions to gain adherents. This is happening in the background of the destructive gale of modernity, whose fury is pointed at all
religious traditions.

The efforts of the missionaries have been enormously successful in many Buddhist countries such as South Korea, where it is estimated that half the population has embraced Christianity. Missionary efforts are also strong in other countries of Asia and in Africa. On the other hand, many intellectuals in the West are adopting Buddhism. Islam is also gaining converts. It is expected that with the falling fertility rates of its women and increasing immigration, Europe will be slowly assimilated into Islam.

India has become a big battleground for harvesting of souls. For some evangelical groups conversion of India to Christianity is essential before Christ returns to earth. The religious clash in India is playing out most strongly in the tribal areas and amongst the poor. Hindus are reacting by calling for a ban on money-induced conversions and trotting out their Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, both of whom spoke strongly against changing religion.

Personally, I am for a complete separation between state and religion, and also the freedom to choose one's religion and the freedom to proselytize. But if religions must compete as in a marketplace, the playing field should be more or less level. As things stand, Hinduism is in this contest with its hands tied behind its back.

Hindus claim that although theirs is an ancient tradition, it is most suited to modernity, as it is not in conflict with science. While it is true that Hinduism accepts all outer science, it also claims to be the science of the inner self or consciousness. Hinduism's explanation of consciousness in transcendental terms runs counter to the main current of modernity, in which only machine-like explanations are accepted as valid, and consciousness is viewed as an emergent phenomenon that does not negate materialism. Hindu ideas of reality are popular amongst the educated but they can hardly be considered to be the mainstream.

Hinduism is very unfavorably placed because it has few institutions to protect it, and those who claim to speak for it in the universities are often non-Hindu and antagonistic to it. The Jews have their yeshivas, the Christians their seminaries, and the Muslims their madrasas; Hindus have no religious schools or universities. Hindus in India don't even have control of the most important of their shrines and temples, which are being administered by the government. Many temple properties have simply been expropriated by the government.

Read the entire article @ Sulekha.Com

The governmental temple management is geared to facilitate the visits of the pilgrims; there is no thought given to the spiritual and social needs of the larger Hindu society. Other religions have their clergy which ministers to the laity; the priests of these temples serve the murtis, they have no resident acharyas.

Tainting Hinduism

As India embraced socialism around 1950, temple priests and businessmen became part of the official demonology. The economic reforms of the 1990s rehabilitated businessmen, but the tainting of Hinduism and its institutions has continued in the textbooks and the media. The ordinary citizen in India is so influenced by this negative stereotyping that the respect for the temple institutions is very low. This has provided the opportunity to the government to confiscate temple properties. The absence of a transparent donation-collection system has helped the critics to tar the temples.

Popular Hinduism works as a sort of spiritual bank account. Doing bad things are withdrawals; giving donations to temples and other charity is a deposit. Modern temples are essentially centered on the activities of the gods and not the community. For ministering, individual swamis have filled in the vacuum. Hindus run to them with gifts for counsel and for all sorts of blessings.

The typical Hindu intellectual is likely to say: Does it really matter what happens in the temples? Isn't it true that temple going is not essential to the Hindu way of life? If Hinduism has lasted a long, long time facing all kinds of challenges in the past, won't things sort themselves out this time around as well?

The challenges in the past were not as serious as the present challenge. Hindu communities were essentially isolated. Prominent temples may have been razed in the medieval times, but the common man was generally left alone. Hindus living in Islamic states took up the Persian language and fashions in their official lives, but their women remained connected to the tradition, keeping it alive generation after generation. The force of modernity, in the absence of countervailing renewal of the tradition, is taking men and women alike away from Hinduism. Now technology, the nature of the workplace, and the media are leading to a disruption with the past. Each tradition must be renewed with deliberation now for it to survive, and if Hinduism doesn't have the tools for this renewal then it is in grave danger.

The thought that Hinduism is imperiled appears nonsensical at first sight. After all over 80 percent of Indians are Hindus, and they are a large number, more than 850 million. I am not suggesting that Hinduism is going to disappear tomorrow or next year, but that if the current trends are not reversed Hinduism might very well become fatally enfeebled in the next hundred years. Such extinction has occurred for dominant religions in the past. The Greek religion in Greece, Roman religion in Rome, Zoroastrianism in Persia, and the Tengri religion of Chingiz Khan disappeared fairly quickly. In India, Buddhism disappeared in the medieval ages, and in Indonesia, Hinduism disappeared almost equally rapidly about three or four centuries ago, with its remaining Hindus fleeing to the island of Bali.

It is true that many Indians are devout; this is for all to see at festivals such as the Kumbha Melas and other festivals, but this expression of religiosity can always carry over even when people have traded one religion for another. Ordinary folk carry on with their pilgrimages, with only a slight change in the symbols of worship. In Mexico, Pakistan, and Persia, the earlier Aztec, Hindu-Buddhist, and Zoroastrian shrines are the new centers of pilgrimage.

The forces of modernity and colonization, as explained in my earlier essays, The Assault on Tradition and Colonizing Body and Mind, are major challenges facing tradition. The tainting of Hinduism in the media has led to a hollowing of the tradition, and the Indian state's discriminatory policies are also weakening it.

The Hinduism of the Indian schoolbooks and the media is in terms of the 19th century colonial theories about it. Hinduism is projected in negative stereotypes, as an irrational belief system. On the other hand, Hinduism is also presented as radical universalism according to which all religions are the same.

The individual who is not lucky enough to be connected to living Hinduism through relatives or teacher (so as to know that the 'official portrayals' of Hinduism are a caricature) is ground out by the mill of these twin messages: Hinduism is negativity, and all religions are the same. This leads to confusion and sloppy thinking at best, and hate for Hinduism at worst. Although these people remain socially a part of the Hindu community, this self-hate is sensed by the children.

As in other religions, Hinduism consists of many different religious communities, which have their own traditions of validating their way and criticizing that of other communities. The caricature of Hinduism that is being presented doesn't tell them that the temple was not just ritual but also the centre of the cultural life as well as a school and college. Temples not only had purohits but also acharyas.

The empty talk of equality of all religions, when in one's own heart one would like to believe that one's tradition is better in some unique sense, also breeds hypocrisy. But the children take it seriously, and often they come to the parents saying that if they have joined another religious group they should not grieve because of the equality of religions.

Lack of conviction

Hinduism has become a shadow. Most Hindus, if they have not consciously done sadhana, cannot explain what Hinduism is. Many have become hostile to not only the ritual but also the entire Indian culture. Most significantly, the confusion caused by the mixed messages about their history is responsible for lack of convictions.

In Assault of Tradition, I mentioned the incongruity of the government of India, a self-declared secular state, running Hindu temples. Many of my correspondents were unimpressed. This is what one of America's most prominent Indian activists wrote:

Is this workable knowing full well that this might lead to endless disputes, inter-caste and within castes, and with the well known proclivity of Hindus to fight among themselves? You know this happens even in the US. A dispute within the Board of a New York City temple went to Court.

Another one, a leading academic in America and an orthodox Hindu, said:

Hindu tradition and civilization are dysfunctional. It would not be terrible to let it all go. It will not be the end of the world. For a time, there might be chaos, later, a new era will begin and what is best about the tradition will return automatically. With all this talk about Hindu tradition, my desire is to let go of all of it all at once. Destroy everything once, and let a new civilization flourish in India.

A third, another leading academic, was very fatalistic. He said that the world resides in the body of Ishvara and, therefore, if Ishvara wished for Hinduism to disappear that was perfectly fine with him. When I reminded him of Krishna's exhortation to fight for truth and against injustice, he changed the subject.

Hindus are tired. They don't want any intellectual fights. They are job seekers, content to devote their energy for the welfare of their individual families. In India, political parties have exploited Hindu grievances to capture power and then done precious little to address these grievances.

A couple of generations ago, most Hindus knew something of the philosophy, some Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, or other scriptures. Now these texts are becoming less known. Most people are absorbed in Bollywood movies, and their practice of the Hindu ceremonies amounts principally to the enactment of the wedding scenes from the silver screen.

Is the Indian State anti-Hindu?

The India state is controlling the temples in the name of 'justice', just as totalitarian regimes and empires have used this slogan to brainwash whole classes of people, to suppress freedom of action and speech. Two provisions of the Indian Constitution, the discriminatory Articles 26 and 30, have been used by the government to appropriate Hindu temples and to prevent Hindus from running their schools and colleges.

M. Venkataraman suggests that the Indian state is anti-Hindu in his Times of India column 'Secularism or state oppression', published on January 27, 2005:

Our Constitution treats all religions as equal. The powers given under its Article 26 are only for positive intervention or for intervention regarding financial and welfare aspects. The founding fathers of the nation could not have visualized that the power invested in the state to intervene in distress situations would actually translate into a weapon used by the state for its arm-twisting tactics.

The government has cleverly used this law to usurp power at many Hindu religious shrines, be it Tirupati, Shirdi or Vaishno Devi.

The state laws pertaining to government intervention in temples, even if emanating from Constitutional provisions, need to be debated and reviewed by the apex court, keeping in view the ways and means deployed by the state to throw out autonomous management and administrators.

The government claims to be acting for the interests of the Hindus, but the truth is, it is actually acting out of self-interest and against the interests of those it claims to be protecting.

These temples are being systematically looted by government functionaries. Here is an illustrative example from the famous Banashankari temple of Bangalore, being managed by the Karnataka government, as reported in the Times of India (Wednesday, October 6, 2004):

BANGALORE: Lok Ayukta N. Venkatachala and his team found that the temple had shrunk in the last several years. In Lok Ayukta's own words:
The 140
acres of temple land is no longer with the temple but had been
encroached upon or given away to various persons. Less than 20 acres
remain with the temple presently.

This means that the temple has lost approximately Rs 250 crore worth
of land at Rs 2 crore per acre. The Lok Ayukta, who had visited the
temple last year, had ordered that a compound wall be built to
prevent further encroachment. One good thing came of that visit.

Several people who had encroached upon two acres had been evicted;
the recovered land is worth about Rs 4 crore. Not just land, the
team found that valuables too vanished. The temple receives
expensive silk sarees, gold jewelry and other valuables from
devotees which are supposed to be auctioned. But no auction takes
place and valuables are disposed off for a fraction of their value.

The hollowness of Hindu intellectual response is clear from the fact that when they do complain about discriminatory laws, their complaint is to ask why Christians and Muslims are exempt from them. By doing so, they have alienated other potential partners in this struggle for liberation. Hindu leaders wish to extend their servitude to other communities, not liberate everyone from it.

Rather than insisting that the state and religion be completely separated, Hindu leaders have asked for subsidies to go for pilgrimage to Lake Mansarovar in Tibet like the subsidies to the Hajj pilgrims to Arabia.

Hindu intellectuals must find a way to appropriately respond to the mechanical aspects of modernity, while embracing whatever is liberating and good about it.

The individual Hindu is in despair. He feels he has no one to turn to. Lacking vision, Hindu parties in power did nothing, because they didn't know where to begin. There is much tamas; no attempts to do the careful analysis which will help define the new legal framework for the collective ownership of the temples. Neither is there effort to make Hinduism a vehicle for spirituality and wisdom for all in these times

Jesuits in saffron and Sanskrit?

2005-02-13T16:07:00.000+05:30

http://www.colaco.net/3/JesSansk.htm

Ashok Chowgule
President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Maharashtra
Courtesy Gomantak Times, Goa August 5, 2002

Read the enitre article @ Colaco.net

Cajetan Coelho’s article “Jesuits in saffron and Sanskrit”, informing the readers of Gomantak Times (July 31, 2002) the various efforts by the missionaries to study Sanskrit and translating the Hindu scriptures into European languages, is quite informative. However, the readers should also know the purpose behind this exercise by the Jesuits, so as to give them a complete picture.

In his article, “The Jordan, the Tiber, the Ganges”, Raimundo Panniker, the Catholic theologian and a former Jesuit priest, says: “The first lesson history makes us aware of is that all our disquisitions are dependent on a temporal factor -that is, on historical circumstances. Were it not for the fact of the political decolonisation of the world, we would not be speaking the way we are today. Dialogue has not sprung out of pure speculation. Praxis conditions theory. Yet it is also wisdom to make a virtue out of necessity.” (The Myth of Christian Uniqueness -Towards a Pluralistic Theology of Religions, John Hick and Paul F Knitter (eds), Orbis Books, New York, 1994, p 96.)

Today’s situation is forcing the Christian churches to modify the language used, as against the harshness of the past. However, the essential philosophy of Christianity has not altered one bit. The Jesuits are expected to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, and hence the sole mediator between man and God. He is also expected to proclaim the ‘good news’, namely that “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1: 15).” And this message is continually propagated at every available opportunity.

Even the proceedings of Vatican Council II more than amply makes it clear the there is to be no deviation from the exclusivism which is the founding principle of Christianity. Thus, we have: “The reason for missionary activity lies in the will of God, ‘who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, himself a man, Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all’ (1 Timothy 2:4-5), ‘neither is their salvation in any other’ (Acts 4: 12).

Read the enitre article @ Colaco.net

Everyone, therefore, ought to be converted to Christ, who is known through the preaching of the Church, and they ought, by baptism, become incorporated into Him, and into the Church which is His body.” (Vatican Council II, p 722, St Paul’s Publications, Bombay.) Three pages prior to the above, we have: (Cf. John. 20:21): Just as he had been sent by the Father, so he sent the apostles into the world, and (Cf, Mark. 16:15): “Commanding them: Go into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe, shall be condemned. “

It is in line with these pronouncements, that Pope John Paul II, during his visit to India in November 1999, asked for the conversion of the whole of Asia (including India) to Christianity in the third millennium, just as in the first Europe was, and in the second America was.

Given this unchanged exclusivist position, it is clear that the reason for the Jesuit study of Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures was not enlightenment, but to find out ways to continue with what they believed is their God-given mandate. Flaws had to be found to ridicule the Hindu scriptures, or give perverted messages to the writings of the sages.

Or even project that Christianity as the ultimate form of salvation is what the Hindu scriptures are actually saying. The essential spirit of Hinduism is pluralism as expressed in the sloka “Ekam Sad, Viprah Bahudda Vandanti”. (Rigveda 1.164.46.) What this says is that there is one eternal truth, but that there are many ways to reach it.

Each person has to find his/her own unique path towards salvation. A guru is at best a guide, who helps the person to work out for himself/herself the path to be followed. However, the guru does not take the ultimate responsibility for the success or the failure, since the guru cannot be expected to understand the totality of the situation the person is in.

Furthermore, in the Hindu philosophy, if a person makes a mistake, it does not mean that he/she is eternally damned. The soul gets reincarnated into another body, and thus the search continues. This enables the Hindu to experiment without fear.

Without an acceptance of this concept of pluralism, any study of Sanskrit and/or the Hindu scriptures implies a shallow understanding of the greatness of the oldest surviving civilization. But an acceptance of the pluralism would clearly mean that the Jesuits would be betraying the teachings of the Church. A truly Catch-22 situation indeed.

An attempt to go around this was to pretend to be Hindu sadhus, and so use the attire and symbols that these sadhus were recognized with. De Nobili claimed that the Bible was the fifth Vedas, a document that was lost but recently discovered by the Roman Catholic Church. He said that he was a Brahmin from Rome. He set himself up away from the traditional structure of a Christian church, and in an edifice that sought to look like a Hindu temple.

The fraud could not last long. In his editor’s introduction to Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, (by Abbe Dubois, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 1994, p xxvii), Henry Beauchamp observes: “The chief cause (of Abbe Dubois’ disillusionment with the lack of success of his missionary effort) undoubtedly was the invincible barrier of what we may call nowadays `intellectual Hinduism’, but which the Abbe called `Brahmanical prejudice’. He refers regretfully to the collapse of the Church, with its hundreds of thousands of converts, many of them of high caste, established by the Jesuits Beschi and de Nobili in Madura; but at the same time he made no concealment of the real causes of their failure. ‘The Hindus soon found that those missionaries whom their colour, their talents, and other qualities had induced them to regard as such extraordinary beings, as men coming from another world, were in fact nothing else but disguised `Feringhis’ (Europeans), and that their country, their religion, and original education were the same as those of the evil, the contemptible. Feringhis who had of late invaded their country. This event proved the last blow to the interests of the Christian religion. No more conversions were made. Apostasy became almost general in several quarters, and Christianity became more and more an object of contempt and aversion in proportion as European manners became better known to the Hindus.’’’

The Hindus more than welcome a genuine and sincere study of the Hindu philosophy. However, any attempt to pervert it, or to give a wrong rendering of the historical events, will be resisted not only by the Hindus, but also by all to whom truth is dear.

Sonia's offensive against Hinduism

2005-02-11T11:46:00.000+05:30

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=64&page=8

Geopolitical fallout of this two-front war
By N.S. Rajaram
The Organiser
Read the entire article @ Oraganiser

Thanks to Sonia Gandhi’s assaults on Hinduism, Christianity is caught in a two-front war—against Hinduism in India and against Islam in the rest of the world. It is a gain for terrorists.

If there was the slightest doubt about the hand behind the recent Benny Hinn extravaganza in Bangalore, it was dispelled by Suzanne Hinn, the miracle healer’s wife. She introduced one Grace Brenta as the lady of honour, “a humble woman, in spite of being close to Sonia Gandhi”. Brenta is a river that flows between Padua and Venice in Italy. It is a name as Italian as Gangadhar is Indian.

The striking thing about the Benny Hinn show, which in vulgarity matched any WWF extravaganza, was the blatantly communal behaviour of its participants. Christian leaders—and their followers—dropped all pretence of non-partisanship and displayed their religious bias. Many, like Margaret Alva, openly came out in support of miracle healing. She obligingly fainted and fell like any WWF wrestler, showing that she had carefully rehearsed the performance during Hinn’s private visit to Sonia Gandhi in Delhi.

Some years back, Smt. Alva as Union Minister had performed her own miracle of allowing Ottavio Quattrocchi to escape, supposedly without the blessings of Benny Hinn or Jesus.

It was not just the performances at the show that reeked of tastelessness, but also the comparisons. The state Congress chief, not to be outdone by anyone in the game of competitive sycophancy, claimed that Benny Hinn’s performance was no different from Swami Vivekananda’s speech in Chicago in 1893! No one, least of all the Congressmen, tried to point out that Vivekananda did not receive such royal treatment, nor did the United States government place a military airport and security apparatus at his service.

Read the entire article @# Oraganise

But the Constitution also enjoins the cultivation of a ‘scientific temper’, which includes debunking charlatans—not promoting them at government expense. To their credit, the media and some intellectuals denounced the fraud and also the sycophancy. It seems the Congress party is floating in a balloon inflated with sycophancy.

One can understand the alacrity with which Congress leaders fell at the feet of the VIP charlatan, after all he came with the mandate from the ‘High Command.’ What was disturbing was silence on the part of technology leaders of the so-called ‘Silicon Plateau’. A high profile software entrepreneur, who raised a hue and cry when the former HRD Minister, M.M. Joshi reduced the IIM fees to help poor students, had nothing to say at the government’s lavish support for this disgraceful extravaganza. So, according to this worthy, it is wrong to subsidise poor deserving students, but alright for the government to subsidise witch-doctors peddling obscurantism.

Geopolitical Consequences

The Benny Hinn extravaganza is only the latest in a series of episodes that has served to drive a wedge between Hindus and Christians. The behaviour of Christian missionaries following the recent tsunami, when many of them refused to serve food to victims unless they first converted to Christianity has made an already bad situation worse.

The assault on the Kanchi Mutt has added to the long-held suspicion that it is part of an international conspiracy against the Hindus. What is remarkable in the circumstances is the open support extended by Christian groups, not only to Benny Hinn, but even to the arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya. Several Christian groups in Bangalore and Chennai held demonstrations supporting the Kanchi seer’s arrest. Why should they do this unless they are genuinely hostile to Hinduism and its sacred institutions?

Christian aggression is not limited to Hindu India. It has been widely reported that missionaries and other Christian organisations have openly tried to exploit the misery of Muslim tsunami victims in places like Indonesia. Sebastian Berger of the London Daily Telegraph (January 22, 2005) reported that Christian organisations see the tsunami as a God-given opportunity to gain converts.

According to The Telegraph report, one evangelist, John, who did not want his surname published, claimed: “I’m not here to do relief work.” His calling was missionary work, he admitted. “They are looking for answers,” he said of the disaster victims, whom he described as particularly good candidates for conversion.

Of course, Muslims everywhere hate Christianity, which they equate with American aggression and Zionism. In India, however, some Christian leaders are trying to instigate Muslim organisations to weaken the Hindus. One may recall the fake ‘Church bombings’ carried out by the Pakistan-based fundamentalist outfit, Deen Dar Anjuman, which Christian leaders tried to use as a pretext to bring down the Vajpayee government.

This is unlikely to help the Christians in India in the long run, for the security of any minority depends on the goodwill of the majority. Christians everywhere are at the receiving end of Muslim wrath who see them as crusaders against Islam. Outside India, Muslim hatred of Christianity has to be seen to be believed.

This growing division between Hindus and Christians is likely to result in serious international consequences. By her heavy-handed actions against Hindu feelings, Sonia Gandhi has aroused suspicions about creeping foreign influence in India. After decades of suspicion and hostility, India and America have worked diligently to build a common front against terrorism. While her motives remain unclear, by attacking Hindu feelings, Sonia Gandhi has revived the Cold War era suspicions of the West.

Further, the sponsoring unsavoury Christian fundamentalist outfits has driven a wedge between Hindus and Christians. India, which is a natural ally of the United States and Israel in the war against terror, will now treat everything from the West with suspicion. By this, Sonia Gandhi has dealt a serious blow to the cause of unity in the war against terrorism.

Thanks to her attacks on Hinduism, in the worldwide clash of civilisations, Christianity is now caught in a two-front war—against Hinduism in India, and against Islam in the rest of the world. With a friend like Sonia Gandhi, Christians need no enemies. The Islamic terrorists on the other hand seem to have gained a useful, even if an unwitting, ally.

Hindutva outfits ask Hindu victims to refuse homes not built by Mutt or govt

2005-02-08T10:53:00.000+05:30

In Kerala, it’s religion over relief

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=64083

RAJEEV P I
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Indian Express

Read the entire article @ IndianExpress.Com

KOLLAM, FEBRUARY 4: An overwhelming excess of donors, many wanting to leave only lasting reminders of charity but not provide for needs of the victims, is casting its shadow on rehabilitation of thousands who lost their homes to the tsunami.

Compounding it are the blatant efforts by Kerala’s loony right to divide the victims: It is Hindu and Christian institutions that had pitched most for building the 3,000 devastated homes in Kerala. Among them are the Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt (which announced a Rs 100-crore package for the victims in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry) and the Catholic Bishops Conference of India which wanted to spend Rs 30 crore in Kerala alone.

The Mutt wanted to build all 3,000 homes on its own, and the CBCI and several smaller church denominations together wanted to do the same if given the chance. That was besides some independent NGOs and corporates who wanted to chip in nominally.

The Mutt was on a collision course with the state government, until the latter abruptly acquiesced yesterday. Kollam, the worst-hit district, is headquarters of the Mutt, commanding a huge following in Kerala and outside. It did not take kindly to the Kerala government permitting it to initially construct no more than 50 of the 1,700 permanent homes, after its first proposal fell through. Besides, the Mutt wasn’t amused at being kept out of the picture in neighbouring Kochi, which the government earmarked mostly for Christian donors.

Read the entire article @ IndianExpress.Com

‘‘We have no problems with the governments in TN or Pondicherry. But in Kerala, we may now need to take a decision on our plans, considering the state’s posture,’’ said Swami Dhyanamrita Chaitanya, head of the Mutt’s rehabilitation programme. The Mutt had proposed to construct two-storey homes with a bedroom on the upper floor and two below. The Government shot down the idea, saying its plan was not tsunami-safe. Instead, it asked the Mutt to go for a smaller, single-storey version. ‘‘The government plan has no provisions like belt foundations or other safety features. We have to ask our own engineers if it is safe enough, and also the beneficiaries, if they would prefer this plan,’’ the Mutt said.

Hindutva outfits that have a substantial say along many stretches of Kerala’s coasts, including the Hindu Aikyavedi and the All Kerala Dheevara Sabha, have upped the ante. They have issued a public statement that Hindu tsunami victims will refuse homes given to them unless built by the Mutt or government.

As the issue began snowballing, Revenue Minister K.M. Mani yesterday announced that the Mutt would be allowed to build 1,300 homes, but the Mutt said it still had no communication on it.

The church denominations, between them, have been permitted to build 1,200, mostly in areas dominated by their community, and the NGOs have to do with 500.

‘‘We now have too many agencies wanting to help with the rehabilitation, and we have to try to be fair to them...But we have already completed the allocation target,’’ said Kollam Collector B. Srinivas.

The flip side is, while 33 different agencies had pitched in to build homes here, only a few wanted to contribute substantially to buying fishing nets and boats and providing support services. ‘‘Houses last long as great charity symbols. Services and other things don’t get much mileage,’’ explained a bureaucrat.

Festival of woes for Hinn men

2005-02-08T09:31:00.000+05:30

BMTC wants the organisers to pay for damages suffered by the buses deployed for the event and the government for damages to other buses.

BY BALA CHAUHAN
Deccan Herald
NEWS SERVICE, BANGALORE:
http://www.deccanherald.com

Read the entire article Deccan hearld.Com

It is a fortnight since the Festival of Blessings sought to lend a healing touch to the suffering and the ill. But there seems to be no end to the woes bedevilling the event’s organisers.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has slapped a notice of Rs 50 lakh on the organisers of the festival towards “compensation for the losses” incurred during the event.
Special buses

According to BMTC sources, there were 250 buses especially deployed for the show. Apart from this, BMTC has also requested the State government to pay Rs 1.19 crore as compensation for losses incurred during the event or “count the loss as a cost during the next fare revision”, said a Corporation official.

During the three-day event that began on January 21, around 600 BMTC buses were damaged in the City. “The organisers say that they are not responsible for the damage done to vehicles not used for the show. From them, we are only claiming for damages to the deployed buses,” said the official.

Read the entire article Deccan hearld.Com

When contacted Gul Kripalani, the chief organiser of the show, now in Mumbai, said they have already paid Rs 10 lakh to BMTC against claims for losses. “Though I wanted to contest their demand we let go and paid more than their claim. How can the organisers be held responsible and made to pay for carnage and vandalism? It is for the law enforcers to ensure peace and calm in the City,” he added.

Kripalani claimed that he was unaware of the new notice given to the Benny Hinn show organisers by the Corporation.

“Such issues are best amicably settled between the parties. We have not given them a time-frame for compensation. We trust that they will comply,” said BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathy.

And while he rued the fact that a lot of newly bought buses were damaged during the event, he appreciated the courage of his staff and commuters, many of whom helped prevent loss of public property.

“I was told that people got down from the buses and took control of the situation,” he added.

Whether the organisers or the government compensates for the loss is an option, said a corporation spokesman.

“In all probability, the bus tariff will be increased in the next fare revision to make do for losses,” he added.

Baptists to Build 10,000 Churches in Karnataka State in 2005

2005-02-08T09:10:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107832343&type=news

Indians Against Christian Aggression

An internal email of the International Mission Board (IMB), a wing of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), revealed that the American based organization is planning to build 10,000 churches in the Indian state of Karnataka. The email states “Pray for the 26 church planters in 14 districts of Karnataka state as they envision starting 10,000 house churches in 2005.” The Baptist Church in Karnataka also runs the Bangalore Baptist Hospital, where many non-Hindus have reported that they were denied medical attention when they refused to convert to Christianity.

Infamous Evangelist Group Plans To Build 1 Million Churches in North India

2005-02-08T08:53:00.000+05:30

http://mnn.gospelcom.net/article/5990

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107650875&type=news

Source: MinistryWatch,
Mission Network News

WorldHelp, the infamous US based evangelist group that attempted to airlift 300 Muslim Tsunami orphans to raise them as Christians, has announced plans to build over 1 million churches in North India.

Earlier this month, World Help announced their "To the Ends of the Earth" program to establish 100,000 organized churches and one-million house churches in North India. World Help's Eric Vess says, "The vision of World Help is to help plant indigenous reproducing churches where no churches currently exists." Vess says that's where Strategic Ministry Partnerships with North American churches come into play. "Strategic Ministry Partnerships" is a way of involving the local church in this project at a partnership level. Pastors told us that this strategy was just what they were looking for their churches.” says Vess.

Vess says these partnerships get the North American church directly involved in church planting by sponsoring a church planting team for a period of three years. Vess goes on to boast that each church has a fixed cost $500 per month and every year about 86 villages in India are converted to Christianity. He notes that their plan to convert India to Christianity is already underway: 3,000 churches and many times more house churches have already been completed.

Hand behind dangerous deeds

2005-02-03T16:44:00.000+05:30

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=63&page=7

By Shyam Khosla
February 06, 05
Organiser
Read the entire articles @ Organiser

Although Gladys, Staines is understandably overwhelmed over the Padam Shri conferred on her this Republic Day, we, the Indian nationalists, are bewildered and ashamed that the widow of a foreign missionary who indulged in fraudulent conversions has been given this rare honour denied to countless worthy men and women. I beg to be excused for being blunt, but I can’t resist the temptation to assert with all the vehemence at my command that neither she nor her husband did anything to deserve a national honour. They brought no glory to this land by hoodwinking poor and hapless Vanvasis to give up their traditional faith and Dharma in exchange for a few pills and ‘selfless service’. On the contrary, Graham Staines so enraged the local people by his fraudulent deeds that a mob attacked his camp and put to fire his vehicle presumably without the knowledge that he and his sons were sleeping in it. No one supports killing, that too a brutal one. However, it is a matter of some satisfaction that our judicial system, with all its infirmities, did bring the culprits to book and punished them.

The government had kicked out of the country many a foreign missionary found indulging in religious conversions by fraud or allurements when Pandit Nehru, the greatest proponent of ‘secularism’, was in the saddle. With an anti-Hindu government in saddle at the Centre, no one expected her and others of her ilk to be asked to leave or stop fraudulent conversions. She left for her homeland—Australia—on her own even while declaring that her heart was in Orissa. There is no merit in honouring a foreign missionary simply because her husband was killed by a mob. Who recommended her for the Padam Shri remains a mystery. Was it the ‘hand’ behind the throne?

Read the entire articles @ Organiser

There are disturbing media reports that a large number of Christian missionaries have descended in tsunami-hit areas and are shamefully indulging in trading charity for conversion among the survivors. An example of how committed Hindus among the survivors resist attempts by Christian missionaries to shamelessly trade charity for conversion is narrated by an eyewitness on the net. The writer witnessed a minor scuffle between a priest and two nuns and inmates of a temporary shelter in Pattancherry village of Tamil Nadu. The inmates resisted attempts by the missionaries to convert them in exchange for charity and eventually forced them to leave the place. This is not a stray incident. Elsewhere, the writer says, the locals complained to the police that a group of missionaries took away the entire relief material they had stored in a temple when they refused to be converted to Christianity. Why is the Union Government a meek spectator to this malicious design to alter India’s religious and cultural identity? Is someone who was born a Catholic Christian behind the ‘hidden’ agenda to weaken Indian identity?

It is no secret that the Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Congress swept the Andhra Assembly and Lok Sabha polls with the unstinted support of the Naxalites. Immediately after assuming office, the state government, presumably under pressure from TRS, announced a ‘cease-fire’ and invited Naxalites for talks without asking them to surrender arms. The PWG was under tremendous pressure during the previous regime because of TDP government’s campaign against the ultras. PWG suffered huge loss of cadres and replenishments were few, if any. With the change of guard and lifting of the ban on the organisation, the PWG held massive rallies even while collecting ransom under the garb of ‘revolutionary taxes’ and its cadres carrying arms moved in rural and urban areas. They also targeted policemen to spread terror. The talks collapsed after the Andhra police carried out raids against the ultras. The state government seemed to be taking a tough line when suddenly it took a U-turn and the Chief Minister invited the Naxalites to resume talks. Media reports say the Congress high command directed the state to revive talks with the Naxalites. The Congress High Command comprises of how many persons? Its motives are suspect.

An equally disturbing question is who prompted or encouraged the Karnataka Chief Minister to allow the scandalous missionary Benny Hinns to hold a three-day conversion mela in Bangalore. The Hindu society was so upset with this unholy man’s ‘miracle crusade’ that senior Acharyas of eight prominent Mutts participated in a demonstration demanding a ban on this fraud. The pamphlets and other literature distributed during the run up to the magician’s visit were highly critical of idol worship and other Hindu practices that offended people to no end. Questions have also been raised about the state government going out of its way to facilitate this ‘miracle cure session’. No one knows how much the government spent directly or indirectly to ensure that this conversion crusade was not stopped.

Why did not the government prevent this fraud to enter India to hoodwink people by his magical feats? Whose hidden ‘hand’ prompted the Congress Chief Minister to ignore public outcry against the crime against God and religion? These are issues that need to be debated. Efforts to sidetrack the issue need to be forcefully resisted. Let the masses know the real face of the ‘real’ power in this country and the threat her hidden agenda pose to the nation’s security and Hindu identity.

Staines on Padma

2005-02-03T16:27:00.000+05:30

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=63&page=4

Organiser
By The Editor
http://www.organiser.org

has been repeatedly pointing out how the UPA under Sonia Gandhi has converted every occasion to make a statement against the national sentiments, how systematically it has been promoting centrifugal politics and crass minorityism in the name of secularism.

In a Hindu-majority State that swears by secularism, it is no virtue to indulge in
proselytisation. It should normally be abhorred for it mocks at the religious freedom the majority has consented to. The Padma award to Gladys Staines defies all logic. She deserves all sympathy, all hospitality—we are a very hospitable nation—and justice. But awarding Padma Shri to this foreign missionary is like recognising conversion as a social activity.

Being the nation’s most coveted honour, the Padma awards, announced on Republic Day eve annually, attract national attention. It has never been free from controversy, sometimes for ignoring very deserving claims, often for not matching to the awardee’s expectations, and rarely for extending them to undeserving persons. In any case, the awards should symbolise the national sentiments, for, it is the State, not the government, that is honouring.

Hence, care has always been taken not to promote divisive political agenda through Padma awards. This is what sadly smacks in some of the nominations this time. This column has been repeatedly pointing out how the UPA under Sonia Gandhi has converted every occasion to make a statement against the national sentiments, how systematically it has been promoting centrifugal politics and crass minorityism in the name of secularism.

In a Hindu-majority State that swears by secularism, it is no virtue to indulge in
proselytisation. It should normally be abhorred for it mocks at the religious freedom the majority has consented to. The Padma award to Gladys Staines defies all logic. She deserves all sympathy, all hospitality—we are a very hospitable nation—and justice. But awarding Padma Shri to this foreign missionary is like recognising conversion as a social activity.

If her service was the criterion, why not also consider Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Sewa Bharati, Amritanandamai Ashram, Ramakrishna Mission, Kushtarog Niwaran Sangh, Shankar Nethralaya, Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Buddhist and Jain organisations to name a few, who are selflessly serving the nation? Are they not considered because of their Hindu tag? Is it necessary that the state has to be explicitly anti-Hindu and pronouncedly pro-Christian and Muslim to prove itself secular?

The government has tried to make a political statement through these awards. Otherwise one cannot appreciate the Padma Vibhushan to Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, Mrinal Meri, and Rev.Halsawma. Most of them were in the forefront opposing the nationalist approach to education brought in by the NDA government.

Irfan was the Babri Masjid Committee’s representative negotiating with the government, as their expert on history. It is strange that in a secular democracy those who support the Babri Masjid Action Committee are honoured and those who want to restore the Ram temple are denounced. If one is to take a look at the list, a less than 2 per cent population, along with the other 13 per cent and Hindu-bashing pseudos have cornered a lion's share of these. It is wrong to put the Padma awards into such a religious scrutiny, but, it is obvious the selection was done on this consideration, hence no offence intended.

This approach has become routine under UPA. In all appointments, minorityism and minorities are favoured and rewarded, even as it condemns the majority claims. That even a national honour like the Padma award has to be made an occasion to promote polemics is the limit, to say the least.

Pope rushed to hospital - Worst Papacy drawing to a close?

2005-02-02T20:44:00.000+05:30

Wednesday
February 2 2005 10:45 IST
http://newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEL20050202002354&Page=L&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&Topic=0&
Reuters
www.newindpress.com

VATICAN CITY: Pope John Paul was rushed to hospital with breathing
difficulties on Tuesday night after a bout of influenza suddenly
worsened.

The Vatican said the 84-year-old Pope had suffered an acute attack of laryngospasm,a blockage of air to the lungs, and needed urgent medical attention.

The frail leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who is also afflicted by Parkinson's disease, was taken to the Gemelli hospital in an ambulance but the Vatican said his condition did not warrant him being placed in the intensive care unit.

Doctors at the Gemelli were due to issue a medical bulletin on the Pope's health at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT).

"The flu condition that has afflicted the Holy Father for the past three days deteriorated tonight with an acute laryngospasm. For this reason, it was decided to urgently take the Pope to the Gemelli hospital," the Vatican statement said.

"The Holy Father is in the same room that he has used in the Gemelli in the past. It was not therefore necessary for him to be placed in the intensive care unit of the Gemelli hospital."

The Polish Pontiff has been treated at least six times in the Gemelli during his 26-year papacy, and has his own suite on the 10th floor of the hospital on the outskirts of Rome.

Medical experts said acute laryngospasm was very rarely fatal, but cautioned that the Pope's age and medical history complicated matters.

"He's an elderly man and that's a serious problem for an elderly patient," said Gerald Berke, chief of head and neck surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Centre.

The Pope has occasionally had difficultly breathing since he came down a decade ago with Parkinson's, a disorder of the central nervous system which can affect chest muscle activity. The flu apparently complicated his condition.

HISTORICAL PAPACY
The sudden worsening of his health again raised fears that one of the most remarkable papacies might be drawing to a close.

The Pope left his mark on the world like few others in the 20th century, playing a leading role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 and also working tirelessly to revolutionise relations with other religions.

While nearly all of the world's one billion Catholics cheered his defence of human rights, he drew criticism from within his own flock for his unbending stance against contraception, gay marriages and women priests.

A handful of well-wishers gathered outside the gates of the Gemelli hospital early Wednesday morning as word of the Pope's illness spread, defying the winter chill to be near the pontiff.

"It is so important to come here and pray for his holiness and help him through his physical suffering," said 32-year-old Marina de Benedictis, wearing woolly hat and gloves. The Pope has been suffering from the flu since Sunday and had cancelled all his public engagements for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The last time he skipped an audience for health reasons was in September 2003, when he had anintestinal ailment.

Only hours before being taken to hospital on Tuesday night, the Vatican had said the flu was progressing normally.

Rome has been hit by an unusual cold snap and the winter chill has coincided with an outbreak of influenza across Italy, that has laid up one out of 100 people.

DECLINE
The Pope's health had been steady in recent months, but over the past decade, the world has watched with pity as the man once known as God's Athlete slowed down to the point where he could no longer walk or pronounce most of his speeches.

Each time his health faltered, speculation has bubbled up over his possible successor, including whether he would be from the Third World where the Church is expanding.

John Paul, the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years, has appointed nearly all the cardinals who will enter a conclave to elect his successor, thus stacking the odds that the next Pope will not tamper with controversial church teachings.

The first time Karol Wojtyla went to the Gemelli Hospital, considered one of the Italy's best medical institutions, was on May 13, 1981, after Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca shot him while he was riding in the "popemobile" in St Peter's Square.

Five hours of emergency surgery saved his life, but he had to return to the hospital later that year for an infection that he contracted from a blood transfusion.

In 1992 he underwent major surgery to remove a large intestinal tumour, which doctors said was the size of an orange and was beginning to turn malignant.

He returned to the hospital in 1994 when he slipped in his bath at the Vatican and broke his right thigh bone. After that accident, he never walked normally again.

Conversion as cultural demise

2005-02-02T15:59:00.000+05:30

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=JAIN10%2Etxt&writer=JAIN&validit=yes

Sandhya Jain
22/04/2003
The Pioneer

An AIADMK leader in Pondicherry recently sounded the alarm over a conversion spree in his constituency, Uppalam, which is resulting in an open assault on Tamil culture in the area (New Indian Express, April 18, 2003). In a debate in the State Assembly, Mr A Anbalagan alleged that married women were being prohibited from sporting the tilak, mangal sutra or flowers in their hair, which are the traditional accoutrements to denote marital status in Tamil culture. He claimed that, in this manner, women who would otherwise like to be attired as sumangalis were forced to change their appearance in the name of conversion, and this was having a deleterious impact on the social fabric.

Discerning readers would have read recent press reports regarding the efforts of Christian missionaries to forcefully convert war-ravaged Iraqis. That these activities have fulsome backing from the Governments of predominantly Christian nations is undeniable, and this should be a cause for concern among civilised world citizens, as monotheism (of whatever variety) militates against the spirit of civilisation itself. The United Nations, which has a charter to respect religious plurality and protect native religious traditions, has a special responsibility in this regard, and needs to shed its current stupor.

Press reports indicate that among the organisations that have rushed to provide humanitarian (sic) aid to the Iraqi people are the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Samaritan's Purse run by controversial evangelist Franklin Graham. Readers may recall that Mr Graham, who is extremely close to US President George Bush Jr, acquired international notoriety by labelling Islam as a "very evil and wicked religion." As for the language used for the Prophet by a Southern Baptist Convention leader, the less said the better.

There can be little doubt that the US Administration is hardly averse to this "aid evangelism". The coming weeks and months, therefore, are likely to see food packets, water, shelter, medical aid, all efficiently exchanged for baptised souls. American evangelists are said to be brimming with the hope that "in victory, God is opening a door for more missionaries". The element of coercion and inducement in such an approach is as overt as it is abhorrent. Mr Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American Islamic Relations has rightly objected that the two groups are "seeking to exploit people in their moment of vulnerability".

In this context, I feel that there is much merit in the Indian view that the right to propagate one's faith is not co-terminus with the right to convert; nor are these rights absolute. There is a greater need to respect the hostility and resistance of persons targeted for conversion towards such mind-control activity, and to recognise their right not to be so humiliated. In other words, where poor people object to the muscular invasion of their hamlets by foreign-funded missionaries, it is the duty of the administration to evict these trespassers. I am told that in Delhi, in the slums of Badarpur and other outlying areas, poor families are currently being badgered to convert, but the police and administration are unmindful of their plight.

What is most objectionable about conversions is that, though missionaries exploit existing vulnerabilities of people and blame their plight upon their traditional faith, the conversion rite hardly solves any problem. Instead, people are cut off from their traditional mores and cultural sources of stability, while encouraged to become alienated from their fellowmen.

Verrier Elwin, missionary-turned-anthropologist, recognised this danger as early as 1944 when he warned that the rapid pace of conversion of tribes would turn them into a querulous, anti-national, aggressive minority community, with none of the old virtues and few of the new, which would pose grave problems to the future Government of India.

Advocating a complete ban on proselytisation, Elwin asserted that "change of religion is actually harmful to the aborigines; it destroys tribal unity, strips the people of age-long moral sanctions, separates them from the mass of their fellow countrymen and in many cases leads to decadence that is as pathetic as it is deplorable. The methods employed are questionable. There is economic exploitation, exploitation of ignorance and social exploitation. Therefore missionaries should be withdrawn from tribal areas."

These words hold true even today, and apply equally to villages and urban slums. If we take poverty and caste discrimination as the legitimising principles of conversions, we find that poverty hardly disappears with change of religion. As for caste discrimination, Indian church leaders are not averse to perpetuating it.

In Tamil Nadu, for instance, discrimination against Dalit Christians is a way of life (New Indian Express, April 14, 2003). They have separate pews, a separate chalice for the Holy Communion, and separate burial grounds. When some enlightened priests rose in revolt, the double chalice system made way for a new system in which communion wine was served with a spoon. In other words, the church found an intelligent way to evade the issue of egalitarianism.

Some churches have erected separate crucifixes (miniature churches) for Dalits, in the vicinity of the main church. Going by the account of a rebel priest, Rev Dr Dhyanchand Carr of the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, Arasarady, Madurai, casteism is so deeply embedded in the church that Dalits have no place in decision-making bodies and Dalit students face immense difficulty entering educational institutions and hostels run by the church. Those who protest against caste bias are quickly demonised as 'Dalit pastors'.

Yet, if conversions are to be effectively resisted so that people are not cut adrift from their social and cultural moorings, the evils bedeviling society must be tackled head-on. To begin with, we must admit that the Hindu social reform agenda has virtually been on the backburner since the death of Mahatma Gandhi. This can be easily calibrated in the degradation of women over the past five decades. Crimes like dowry and bride-burning have spread to communities where they were previously unknown, and new evils like amniocentesis and sexual harassment (in school, college, workplace, neighbourhood) have been added.

For all the rapid strides made in certain spheres, even in the realm of women's empowerment, society in many respects chooses to move in reverse gear. The fact that Dalits are beaten and abused for entering village temples or sharing well-water is simply unacceptable in this day and age. Yet I do not believe it is difficult to end this menace. If the local police station in-charge is made personally accountable for all the offences in his 'thana,' cases will be registered promptly and there will soon be a steep drop in the number of incidents as bigots get the message that the administration means business. It is simply a matter of political will, which successive Governments have failed to demonstrate in order to exploit Dalit sympathy and votes during elections.

Recently, the Samajwadi Party sought to exacerbate social tensions by releasing a CD of Ms Mayawati criticising Hindu gods. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister responded by declaring that, though she is a Hindu, she will not tolerate evil in the name of the dharma. Ms Mayawati has a point. It is now for spiritual leaders and responsible citizens to rise to the challenge and reform society from within by shunning the artificially sustained caste hierarchy.

Preachers and other dangers

2005-02-02T15:54:00.000+05:30

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=JAIN4%2Etxt&writer=JAIN&validit=yes

Sandhya Jain
01/27/2003
The Pioneer

Now that we know the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister owes his political and physical health to the regular intake of cow urine, it may finally be possible for us to maturely discuss hitherto neglected issues that have a vital bearing on our nationhood. I say this because the purpose of this revelation was to establish Mr Digvijay Singh's credentials as a devout Hindu, and thereby deflect a future RSS-BJP attack on his secular persona in the run-up to the next Assembly elections. Gujarat having firmed up a Hindu identity across the country, issues that have been evaded to appease minority votebanks can no longer be brushed under the carpet.

Conversions are one such issue. The abuse of innocents, particularly women and children, by persons claiming religious status is another. Both matters are urgent and sensitive, but I am confident that an informed debate will be to the ultimate benefit of all concerned.

The recent attack on an American missionary in Kerala has highlighted the issue of conversions, particularly with foreign funding. According to a highly coloured account by BBC (January 15, 2003), Reverend Joseph Cooper was assaulted by "right-wing Hindus." Among other incendiary statements, BBC asserted: "In recent years, there has been an increase in violence against Christians in India, who make up about two per cent of the population."

The RSS naturally rebutted the charges. It claimed that Pastor Benson Sam and his wife Sally, who were also injured in the attack, were accused in a case of abduction and rape of a minor girl at Bible College last year. As for Mr Cooper, he had come to India on a tourist visa, which prohibited missionary work.

What is heartening about the episode is the speed with which the true facts were brought to light. Chief Minister AK Anthony, one of our most sensible politicians, refused to make political capital out of the episode. The unencumbered police quickly concluded their enquiries and, by January 20, the American was told to leave the country for indulging in missionary activity in violation of his visa.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) felt the US missionary was probably an unwitting victim of public outrage against the "wrongdoings and immoral acts" of Rev Sam's family (Tribune, January 17, 2003). NCM member John Joseph found that a local girl had allegedly been sexually abused and harassed for four months at the Bible Christian Centre, which had resulted in the issuing of non-bailable warrants against Rev PK Sam and his son. The entire family had gone into hiding since October 2002, following wide reportage in the local media. However, when Rev Sam's son, Benson, suddenly appeared in public at a gospel convention with the foreign missionary (his financier), it "spontaneously aroused the fury of some who knew about the misdeeds of Benson".

Local media reports about the sexual abuse of a poor Dalit orphan girl by Reverend Sam and his family make depressing reading, and the local anger is utterly understandable. It now remains to be seen how Indian church authorities react to the charges of sexual abuse in this and other instances. The police, of course, must now make all efforts to arrest Rev Sam and other accused persons in the case.

Most citizens do not know that India was one of the countries investigated by a high-level fact-finding team from the Vatican some years ago, when worldwide charges of sexual abuse in the parishes could no longer be ignored. The extent of the abuse of both male and female devotees in the US, Europe, Australia and Africa, is now known. Yet there has been no introspection in India, and it is time the church authorities took cognisance of the problem and initiated corrective measures on their own. Certainly they must not indulge in false tirades against others when some scandals come to light.

It has, for instance, been established that the 1998 Jhabua nuns' rape case was an intra-Christian affair; but to this day, the event is presented in Christian rhetoric as a VHP/RSS-led attack on minorities. These canards must now end.

As for the American missionary, some newspapers took umbrage at the Government's decision to expel him; some reported his magnanimity in 'forgiving' his assailants! But contrary to the genial image conjured up by such exuberant advertorials, the Reverend, alas, was up to no good in God's own country. According to the residents of the Kilimanoor Dalit hamlet, Mr Cooper spewed venom against Lord Krishna and attributed the modern scourge of AIDS to the avatar of a bygone yuga (The Pioneer, January 21, 2003). If true, such a statement could legitimately explain local resentment against the group. Press reports suggest that about eight months ago, another foreign missionary in the area was hounded out by local residents for making derogatory remarks against Lord Ayyappa, the preeminent deity of the State.

As the American missionary has departed, it is too late to ask for action against him. A few points, however, are in order. The statement attributed to Mr Cooper smacks of extreme religious intolerance, besides being overtly racist (a fit case for Ms Mary Robinson and her Durban Conference). Such conduct, if committed on American soil, would have led to Mr Cooper being jailed for inciting religious hatred and prejudice among different communities. Indeed, this is the reason why the US Consulate dissociated itself from the case, though it initially said it would send an investigative team to the region.

In this context, I feel that the All-India Christian Council has not helped to improve inter-community relations by labelling the RSS and its affiliates as "violent religious fundamentalist terrorist organisations which need to be banned in the interest of global peace, regional stability and the unity and integrity of the Indian republic". After the complete exposure of the real activities of both Rev Sam's son Benson and Mr Cooper, it seems ludicrous to call the incident a "well laid conspiracy to terrorise and polarise the Dalit and Tribal villagers in a State otherwise known for its inter-religious harmony".

The Council has virtually arraigned the Chief Minister and district authorities for not charging the arrested RSS men with attempted murder, and for asking the missionary to leave for violating visa rules. But its allegation that "the Atal Bihari (Vajpayee) Government fully supports religious bigotry and Sangh violence whether it is in Gujarat, Orissa or Kerala" is extremely irresponsible and deserves condemnation from all mature citizens.

Most mischievous, however, is the Council's attempt to equate the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom with a carte blanche to missionaries, especially foreigners, to indulge in dubious conversion activities, often in the face of local resentment and resistance. The Council has rightly noted that through the centuries, Hindu dharma has spread to several parts of the globe and there is today hardly a nation that does not host temples and welcome Hindu gurus with open arms. But it has failed to draw the correct inference from this situation, which is that Hindu teachers have never travelled anywhere with arms, money or muscle power. They have not sought to eradicate any faith or creed, or to impose only one way of life upon resisting populaces. This was not the case with either the late Graham Staines or Reverend Joseph Cooper.

NGOs urge UN to fight bias against all faiths

2005-02-02T09:15:00.000+05:30

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/534804.html

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107300870&type=news

By Reuters
Paris

The United Nations should stop paying special attention to discrimination against Jews, Muslims and Christians and treat all religious prejudice equally, according to an appeal by Christian and human rights groups.

Human rights diplomats at the United Nations and the Vienna-based Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe said Buddhist and Sikh groups might start pressing for special consideration now that Christians had been singled out.

[What about Hinduism? Where are the advocates of Hinduism? Or is Hinduism not under any threat? If the largest religion on the planet can have itself added to the list, then so should Hinduism, Buddhism etc etc]

The United Nations should stop paying special attention to discrimination against Jews, Muslims and Christians and treat all religious prejudice equally, according to an appeal by Christian and human rights groups.

The non-governmental groups have urged the UN Human Rights Commission to reverse recent steps to highlight anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Christianophobia because they implied a hierarchy favoring the "religions of the book."

"No form of intolerance or discrimination based on actual or supposed religion or belief, or non-belief, is acceptable," they said in a statement submitted for the Geneva-based Commission's annual conference scheduled from March 14 to April 22.

Prompted by the Vatican and several traditionally Catholic countries, the Commission agreed at its 2004 conference to add the term Christianophobia to a "special problems" list requiring monitoring of discrimination against Jews and Muslims.

The new term got a mixed response. Some rights activists supported it while others expressed concern that listing specific religions diluted the overall commitment to defend freedom of religion for everyone everywhere.

The statement was submitted by Christian groups representing Quakers, Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Franciscan order as well as the International Association for Religious Freedom and the International Service for Human Rights.

"It's not that we're not concerned about religious discrimination against certain groups - on the contrary, we are very concerned," said Rachel Brett of the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. "But we're equally concerned about everyone."

Christianity and Islam are the world's largest faiths, with an estimated 2 billion and 1.3 billion members respectively. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and the ranks of atheists and agnostics all count more than Judaism's estimated 14 million adherents.

Human rights diplomats at the United Nations and the Vienna-based Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe said Buddhist and Sikh groups might start pressing for special consideration now that Christians had been singled out.

The statement said listing only "religions of the book" - the three monotheisms that trace their lineage from the Biblical prophet Abraham- "creates an impression of a hierarchy - either of religions or of victims/discrimination or both."

This also ignores strains among different groups within the same religion, it argued. "The implication that religious intolerance and discrimination are only practiced by 'outsiders' is not only wrong but misleading."

Peter Prove of the Lutheran World Federation, one of the groups involved, added this would also overlook issues of conscience that might not be based on a religious belief system, such as a commitment to pacifism.

"Once you start listing, then where do you stop?" he asked.

Doudou Diene, the UN special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia whose reports first used the term Christianophobia, told Reuters recently that the Commission was equally concerned with all religious discrimination.

He noted the many cases around the world that it investigated at its meetings showed it did not focus only on intolerance against Jews, Muslims and Christians.

He said some countries tried "to put a hierarchy among different forms of discrimination" but did not name them.

Victims don't need religion

2005-02-01T10:20:00.000+05:30

http://www.dailyorange.com/news/846144.html - The Daily Orange

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107220778&type=articles

The Daily Orange
By Jean Stevens
Published: 1/31/2005

Translation: enlighten them to the inferiority of their culture and rescue them through religious conversion.

It is sick that in this huge time of need, in which the West could use its wealth and privilege in complete selflessness, these aid givers cannot resist playing missionary, using the Sri Lankaans' weakened state to their advantage.

In the days after the Dec. 26 tsunami in Southeast Asia, millions of dollars poured in from aid groups around the world. In addition to food and other supplies, some American volunteers are attempting to bring another form of "aid" to the area - Jesus. Members of the Antioch Community Church, an evangelical church based in Waco, Texas, have reportedly been working in a Sri Lankaan relief camp not only to help the sick, take care of orphaned children and donate food, but also to "bring" them to Christianity.

The church's Web site, www.antiochcc.com, includes a report from its relief efforts. The author writes, "As we build relationships, we are sharing God's love for them and praying for them as they have need." In response to a devastated fisherman, "I shared with him that the God who created him and the sea, loves him so much."

Some in the West, in the tradition of its hundreds of years of domination of the Rest, could hardly stop themselves from clapping their hands in glee at the opportunity to "help the poor tsunami victims." Translation: enlighten them to the inferiority of their culture and rescue them through religious conversion.

It is sick that in this huge time of need, in which the West could use its wealth and privilege in complete selflessness, these aid givers cannot resist playing missionary, using the Sri Lankaans' weakened state to their advantage.

The population of Sri Lanka is about 70 percent Buddhist,10 percent Hindu and 8 percent Christian, and most are most likely content with their faith. These people are capable of choosing their own religion, and could seek out Christianity if they should so desire. To use two of our dear president's favorite concepts, they should have the liberty and freedom to practice whatever faith they want.

But they are told by these western Christians-from Texas of all places-who know little of Sri Lankaan culture, history or lifestyle, "oh, by the way, your way of life and your faith aren't quite as great as Christianity, and you should give it all up to find Jesus."

Jesus is not what this group should be providing right now. The Antiochs should focus their attentions on what the victims need to recover, not what they THINK these people need. These groups should be coming with food, clean water, medicine and blankets, not a Western ideology. Enough with the cultural imperialism.

Notorious Indian evangelist to raise 2000 Tsunami orphans as Christians

2005-02-01T10:14:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107123355&type=news
newindpress.com

Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield left Cincinnati on Tuesday on Global Peace One Boeing 747 aircraft with millions of dollars in supplies for the tsunami-hit children in India and Sri Lanka.
K.A. Paul, India-born founder of the notorious Global Peace Initiative and owner of the Boeing 747 aircraft, is part of the relief team, which includes 94 medical specialists, search and rescue team members, and other volunteers.

"Our immediate goal is to rescue up to 2,000 children orphaned by the tsunami," said Paul, a philanthropist who was influenced by Mother Teresa and undertook similar measures after the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa cyclone.

"In addition, we aim to provide fresh supplies and new emergency personnel to our operations centres every 72 hours from now until the first of March," Paul, who has alsolaunched several conversion drives in South Asia, added.

Part of the team leaving Cincinnati, including teenagers, will work at Charity City in Hyderabad, preparing for the influx of new orphans, while the medical teams will join local doctors in scouring the coastlines of India and Sri Lanka.

They propose to treat the injured and begin the process of moving the children who have been definitively identified as orphans to the children's home, the philanthropicorganisation said.

"With God as our help, we will see to it that every single orphan in all 11 countries struck by the catastrophe is adopted," Paul said. In the past, Paul has adopted thousands of children in South India with the intent of raising them as Christians.

Construction at Paul's Charity City, a children's village near Hyderabad, was completed recently and will enable the organisation to care for additional 2,000-orphaned children immediately.

The home, often called the world's largest children's home, currently houses approximately 1,000 children.

Global Peace Initiative said it needed some 2,000 sponsors to adopt the orphaned children at the cost of $20 per month to pay for food, shelter and education and medical care. In addition, the organisation is also requesting an initial donation of $100 per child for transporting the children, many injured, from the coasts to Hyderabad and to help defray the costs of new beds, desks, tables
and other needs.

Plans are under way to stage operations from a number of cities across the United States including Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando and Jacksonville.

people who were killed by the natural calamity did not believe in Jesus Christ,

2005-02-01T10:03:00.000+05:30

It's Time to Show Compassion for Tsunami Victims

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107122616&type=articles

The Korea Times
times.hankooki.com

He is reported to have told the congregation that the people who were killed by the natural calamity did not believe in Jesus Christ, claiming that their deaths were the results of God’s judgment.

He also disparaged Indonesia, which suffered the most in the disaster triggered by the quake with a 9 magnitude, for its people’s belief in Islam.

He described Phuket, the world-famous sea resort in Thailand, as a place of evil, saying that promiscuous sex and illegal drug use are rampant there.

The international community is still in profound grief over the enormous scope of human casualties and property losses that six Asian countries suffered from the earthquake and the tsunamis. Since the cruel natural disaster struck the South and Southeast Asian region on Dec. 26, the death toll has risen to over 160,000, with millions of people now homeless. The region is also in danger of being assailed by various infectious diseases because of the decay of human and animal bodies that were buried in a hurry or have yet to be recovered. But one consolation at this time is the demonstration of the global community’s generosity in offering help to the six countries.

In the midst of the sorrow and compassion felt by the world, it is deplorable that one of the renowned Protestant leaders in the country stirred controversy with a sermon at his church in Seoul last Sunday. He is reported to have told the congregation that the people who were killed by the natural calamity did not believe in Jesus Christ, claiming that their deaths were the results of God’s judgment. He also disparaged Indonesia, which suffered the most in the disaster triggered by the quake with a 9 magnitude, for its people’s belief in Islam. He described Phuket, the world-famous sea resort in Thailand, as a place of evil, saying that promiscuous sex and illegal drug use are rampant there.

It is unbelievable that the veteran clergyman delivered such a contentious sermon when we also suffer some 20 casualties, including 12 deaths. In addition, there are dozens of others who are still unaccounted for. His preaching ran counter to the basic teaching of Christianity _ love. It is feared that his sermon would imperil the safety of Korean tourists to the region, especially Thailand and Indonesia, which are their favorite travel destinations in Asia. Worst of all, it might compel Iraqi insurgents to attack our soldiers stationed in the terror-stricken country or kidnap our citizens living there because of his defamation of the Islamic faith.

As a messenger of love, he should have urged the congregation to join the global efforts to help the unfortunate in the six Asian countries. People should help the poor and underprivileged under any given condition. The global community will not develop and prosper without love and cooperation from the people in it.

Now is the time for us to step up efforts to help the tsunami victims overcome their insurmountable hardships as quickly as possible. That befits playing our due role as the world’s 12th largest economy.

Bajrang Dal opposes Padma Shree for Staines' widow

2005-02-01T09:47:00.000+05:30

Bajrang Dal opposes Padma Shree for Staines' widow

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107118245&type=news

BHUBANESWAR, JANUARY 30-22005
Published by Hindu Herald

Rightist organisation Bajrang Dal has opposed the announcement of giving the Padma Shree award to Gladys Staines, widow of slain Australian missionary Graham Stains. The Hindu group said that she is the wrong person to be given such a prestigious award. Subhash Chauhan, president of the Bajrang Dal, Orissa said that giving the award to Ms Staines was a wrong decision. The government had announced the award to Gladys two days ago amongst others.

"Bajrang Dal is of the view that such a prestigious award should not be given to a wrong person. Bajrang Dal is against it. I want to ask that why Gladys Staines had been chosen, only because her husband died while converting people's religion. Is this the reason for giving Staines this award? Sonia Gandhi together with the Centre is indulging in some kind of conspiracy", said Subhash Chauhan, president of the Dal's Orissa unit.

Christian NGO usurping land belonging to a temple

2005-02-01T09:44:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107117940&type=news

Swami Jyotirmayananda
http://vivekajyoti.blogspot.com

The Vishwanatha Swamy Temple at Melavanchur near Nagapattinam registered a police complaint to prevent an NGO from setting up a relief camp on land owned by it. The temple is managed by the Kanchi Math. K. Sivasankaran, power agent of the temple, in a complaint to the Nagorepolice on January 19, stated that the Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation was illegally setting camps on a four-acre vacant site owned by the temple and sought the eviction of the NGO.

The Vishwanatha Swamy Temple at Melavanchur near Nagapattinam registered a police complaint to prevent an NGO from setting up a relief camp on land owned by it. The temple is managed by the Kanchi Math. K. Sivasankaran, power agent of the temple, in a complaint to the Nagorepolice on January 19, stated that the Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation was illegally setting camps on a four-acre vacant site owned by the temple and sought the eviction of the NGO.

“I had asked them for a written request, which was given to me only on Jan 24. I forwarded it to the Sankaracharya. If permission is given by him, I have no objections.”

Sivasankaran claimed he had no authority to offer the land to anyone for any purpose. “

"We should respect the private parties while asking for their land and the administration cannot force anyone” said the Nagapattinam district collector J. Radhakrishnan.

Evangelism in the garb of Relief Work

2005-02-01T09:35:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107117790&type=news

‘Dinamalar’, Chennai

The proselytizers are taking undue advantage of the predicament of the Tsunami victims in thecoastal areas of south India.

They are luring the villagers with cash incentives and with promise to bear lifetime education expenses of their children.

These missionaries are also trying to convert the villagers en mass through village resolution passed by the village president.

A coastal village called Thirumullai Vasal situated near Sirgazhi Taluk of Tamil Nadu, has 55fishermen families. These families have lost their entire belongings in the recent Tsunami. They are now accommodated in the Government school at Thirumullai Vasal. The members of a Christian organization by name “United Bethel Trust” of Coimbatore have already met these fishermen families twice. The Trust President, an Indian, by name Andrew Augustin, belonging to the Pentecostal Mission, is presently living in the USA. After the devastation of the Tsunami, he visited the above village and promised the affected fishermen every help and assistance. He also gathered from these families all the required information about the loss of their belongings etc. and where they want the new houses to be built, and further details about them.

On Jan. 18, 05, the members of the United Bethel Trust again went to the Government Scholl at Thirumullai Vasal and collected further details about the requirements of the fishermen families accommodated there. They also conducted Gospel meetings and prayed for the welfare of these families. These families felt there was nothing wrong in receiving help from this organization

In this way, in several coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, these missionaries are lure the villagersunder the pretext of relief work and convert them to Christianity. Also, taking advantage of the delayed Government relief work for the fishermen, the members of the above Trust divide the people in the name of caste and creed, thereby creating misgivings among them, with a view to covert them.

Foreign evangelists in full swing - ‘Dinamalar’, Chennai

2005-02-01T09:26:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107117689&type=news
‘Dinamalar’, Chennai

Christian Missionaries are hyper active in most of the Tsunami affected coastal villages in Tamil Nadu. Though their conversion programs have been exposed by the Tamil Daily “Dinamalar”, Chennai (Jan. 25 and 27 2005), their activities continue unabated. And Jayalalithaa’s government deeply engrossed in maligning andpersecuting the Kanchi Acharya, and bent on destroying the Kanchi Math, is least inclined in taking any action against the proselytizers.

Christian Missionaries are hyper active in most of the Tsunami affected coastal villages in Tamil Nadu. Though their conversion programs have been exposed by the Tamil Daily “Dinamalar”, Chennai (Jan. 25 and 27 2005), their activities continue unabated. And Jayalalithaa’s government deeply engrossed in maligning andpersecuting the Kanchi Acharya, and bent on destroying the Kanchi Math, is least inclined in taking any action against the proselytizers.

According to Dinamalar (Jan. 27, 2005), the State and Central Government Intelligence Agencies were shocked to learn that the foreign missionaries in Tsunami affected coastal villages in Pondcherry and Tamil Nadu were very actively engaged in converting people to Christianity. Their presence is seen in Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Chengalpet, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Karaikal, Nagapattinam, and Vedaranyam. Most of the lodges in these places are fully booked in the name of local Christian
organizations, and these rooms are occupied by missionaries from America, Denmark, Singapore and other foreign countries.

Two Christian institutions, HBI College and New Calvary Church of Kalpakkam, Chennai, with their camps at Tharangambadi, have put up sheds and carrying on conversion activities from there. These missionaries call their conversion programs as “Kanneer Manimalai” (meaning “Tearful Songs”). They select mostly neglected and isolated places in the town and arrange for prayer meetings. And in the guise of relief to Tsunami victims, they are now openly indulging in conversion activities.

They also frequently visit a coastal village called Kesavampalayam, Tharangambadi, Nagapattinam District, and lure unemployed boys and girls for conversion. Here is an instance: Two young girls, Kalaimagal (age 22 years), daughter of Sambandam and Sarojini (age 21 years), daughter of Gopal, live in Karan Street in the said village. They have finished their plus two course and presently
unemployed. A nun of John School managed by the Catholic Church, Tharangambadi, approached these two young girls and promised that she would provide tailoring course to these girls. She also promised them help for higher education. Believing the words of the nun, these two girls were sent by their parents to Sarlite School at Karaikal where they were accommodated. From there, these girls were sent to a Tailoring institute run by the Madurai Christian Association.

In this way, nuns go from house to house and take away the local children to Homes run by Christian Missionaries. These children are provided with boarding and lodging facilities, besides the necessary books and cloths. They are then brain washed and instructed not to worship Hindu gods and sing only songs praising Jesus. These missionary activities are concentrated mainly in Dalit localities.

Young Christian students wearing T-shirts and jeans visit these villages with 500 and 1000 rupee notes in their hands. They attract people of these villages by lavishly spending money and tell the villages that they are prosperous because they worship Jesus. These students invite the villagers and tell them that if they join them, they will render all help the villagers need.

‘Tsunami-Evangelism’ by Western NGOs By S. Gurumurthy

2005-02-01T09:19:00.000+05:30

‘Tsunami-Evangelism’ by Western NGOs

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1107117561&type=articles

By S. Gurumurthy
(Excerpts, courtesy: The New Indian Express, Jan. 26, 2005)

- - - - - - - - -
Constituting the cultural and political thrust of the West on the Rest, the Western NGOs look for ‘sinners’ belonging to other religions to ‘harvest’ them for their religion, points out the renowned columnist, Sri S. Gurumurthy (e-mail: comment@gurumurthyl.net).
- - - - - - - - -

Many NGOs from the West operate globally. They are no simple instruments of service when they set foot on the Rest. They constitute the cultural and political thrust of the West on the Rest.

Invited by the tsunami disaster, an NGO team from the US landed in Chennai a couple of weeks ago. How? By an exclusive Boeing 747 plane claimed to be one of the two of its kind. The other being the US President’s! This NGO looks for ‘sinners’ belonging to other religions to ‘harvest’ them for its religion. It came here with celebrities, a world champion in boxing and a Miss World runner-up, so that it is not lost in the overcrowded NGO bazaar. The team drove to Thazhangudam, a tsunami-affected village in Tamil Nadu. It declared a charity of Rs. 4000 corers for the 10 affected countries over the next 45 days. ‘Others make empty promises.’ It mocked. Its mission: adoption of children orphaned by tsunami. Obviously, it did not know that parents and not children have been orphaned by tsunami, which has killed children more than the old.

It felt sad that the “TN Chief Minister did not come to receive them.” “A Chandrababu Naidu would have done that,” it moaned. NGOs like this, backed by huge global funds, are ever in search of disasters. Excelling even corporates in PR they build brands. Similar, but smaller, versions of such NGOs have been imported into India in the last few decades.

In normal times they monopolies the metro pages of newspapers and occupy their front pages in times of disaster. They have offices in metros. Led by modern, articulate, sometimes media-space seeking socialites, they are adept in publicity. Liaise with governments and officials. Monopolize all visible spaces. So they access high value cheques from the rich and aid from the state. This is how the western NGO model has created a perception that all non-government activityis ‘NGO’ work.

These NGOs mask the work of neighborhood communities, the real social safety net in India, from visibility…. With the result the amorphous ‘NGOs’ grab all credit as the media keeps repeating ‘NGOs are doing excellent work’. It is the organized, globally funded, metro-based, PR branded NGOs, operating from star hotels and air-conditioned offices and driving around in slick cars whose interviews, TV bits, photos are visible.

These NGOs need photos and TV shots to publicize their work, to raise funds and increase their turnover. They heed disasters to build their brands. In the process the real work of the unorganized local social network is masked by the media bias in favour of organized and publicity savvy NGOs. The central government made us proud by saying ‘no’ to foreign doles for the tsunami disaster. Why not say ‘no’ at least to foreign NGOs and their affiliates here who have globaldesign?

Malaysia Hindu Sangam President Resigns Protesting Christian Intolerance

2005-02-01T09:17:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106967704&type=news

Hindu Press International
KAULA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 22, 2005

The Malaysia Hindu Sangam issued the following press release:

"It is with deep regret that Datuk A.Vaithilingam, President Malaysia Hindu Sangam, resigns from the Executive Committee of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS). Datuk Vaithi has already tendered his resignation on December 1, 2004 but the MCCBCHS did not accept it and appealed to the Central Council of Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) to urge him withdraw his resignation. The Central Council met on January 21, 2005. After hearing the explanation from him, the Council unanimously accepted the decision to resign. The meeting also decided that the MHS will withdraw from the MCCBCHS if the Christian partners do not respect the existence of the Hindu Community in Malaysia. A call was made to immediately stop the unethical methods of lies and falsehoods preached to non-Christians about their respective religions. The Malaysia Hindu Sangam will soon be meeting the Buddhist and Sikh partners to explain his stand. The Taoists leaderswill also be meeting the MHS leaders soon on this issue."

A Congress Date with Dubious Evangelist

2005-02-01T09:11:00.000+05:30

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=62&page=2 - Organiser
http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106958581&type=articles

By R. Balashankar
Organiser
January 30, 2005

It is not clear why the government is supporting this dubious character at the cost of antagonising the majority community. The proactivity of the Dharam Singh government forced people to conclude that he had received orders from party president Sonia Gandhi that at an official press conference he issued a statement denying her involvement.

The Congress government under Dharam Singh in Karnataka made a spectacle of itself, going all out to make success of an evangelist’s three-day conversion programme in Bangalore. So blatant was the government’s interest in the programme that heads of 18 Hindu Mutts came together to condemn it and demand cancellation of the permission granted to Benny Hinn for his ‘MiracleCrusade.’

To expose the Benny jamboree, the entire Bangalore city observed bandh, protest march, and the police resorted to repression, lathi-charge and arrest. The shops in the city were closed, protesters pelted stones; the Chief Minister, however averred, “situation is under control”. What was the need for him to facilitate such a huge congregation at state expense to promote conversion in the country?

Coming right after the ban on the traditional Datta Jayanti celebrations and the tiranga case controversy, the blatant communalism of the government went beyond tolerable limits. Sri Vishvesha Thirtha Swamiji of the Pejawar Mutt said although Hinduism is the most tolerant religion, its leaders “cannot watch people with ulterior agenda (like Hinn) to entice gullible people into
Christianity.” The heads of the Mutt saw the whole event as an exercise in massconversions.

Benny Hinn is charged with much financial embezzlement. In fact, he is more known as an international fraud, trading in the name of religion, on the misery of illiterate poor. Several charges against him are being investigated and even his own former security director isfighting a court case against him; his own lawyers say that if the director reveals the financial secretshe knows, it could lead to Hinn’s organisation losing 90 per cent of its support.

It is not clear why the government is supporting this dubious character at the cost of antagonising the majority community. The proactivity of the Dharam Singh government forced people to conclude that he had received orders from party president Sonia Gandhi that at an official press conference he issued a statement denying her involvement.

The Karnataka government is giving him and his group VIP treatment. The spokesperson of the ‘Miracle Crusade’ Gul Kriplani has declared the event on January 21, 22, 23 will cover 230 acres of land that was levelled and graded for over 2.5 lakh chairs, with standing space provided for another 30 lakh people. The preparations, which have been on for almost six months now include building a huge dais to accommodate a choir of 1500 with 45 sets of platformed speakers and 45 screens that are 25-feet wide. 15000 ushers are being trained. All this would not have been possible without the government permission and collusion.

Some of Hinn’s stunts which were uncomfortable for the church to accept were his claim that God had given him spiritual knowledge, which was not there in the book - Bible, placing curses on people who opposed him and his pronouncements on the Holy Trinity of the Christians.

Hinn collected millions of dollars in name of building a 24-hour healing centre. Till 2002, not one brick had been laid and he claimed that the delay was because Jesus had asked him to do so. In one of his shows in 1999, he claimed that Jesus was going to appear in several places simultaneously and raised money for preparing for the visit.

Heads of 17 Hindu mutts in Karnataka appealed to the government to cancel permission given to Hinn for his Miracle Crusade. The Karnataka government had banned the Datta Jayanti celebrations and the Shobha Yatra on the ground that it would fan communal violence. Here again the dispute is between Hindus and Muslims, who have laid claim to a Sufi saint’s Samadhi in the vicinity. While several public figures, calling themselves secularists took out protest marches and street campaigns against the Shobha Yatra, and supporting the government, on Benny Hinn these people have had nothing to say.

The issue here is not Benny Hinn or his crusade. The issue is the attitude and actions of the government, taking religious sides. Hinn has already set up a permanent office ofhis church in Bangalore. And obviously intends to expand his territory. The centre as usual isplaying the mum-game.

Benny Hinn is best known for his TV shows aired mainly in America. His book Good Morning, Holy Spirit was a run-away success. A preacher by profession, the Orthodox Churchdisowned him after he made several statements, which went against the policies and beliefs of the church. Hinn established his own group called Orlando Christian Church in 1983. He believes in aggressive campaigning in favour of Christianity and has declared himself the chosen one. This is Hinn’s second visit to India. His visit last year was to Mumbai.

Benny Hinn is a preacher, who has started his own Christian faith group. What has raised the hackles about his visit is the fact that the event has been advertised as a miracle cure session and a meet-Jesus opportunity. The organizers in India had even printed pamphlets condemning idol worship and other Hindu practices. The pamphlets were withdrawn much later under publicpressure.

Born in 1953 in Israel to a Greek father and an Armenian mother, Hinn was brought up as a Greek orthodox. He claims that God appeared first when he was 11 and has been appearing to him ever since. He even claimed that god has cured him of a stuttering, however, his schoolmates do not recall him having had a stutter. He moved from Israel to Canada and then to America.

In 1999, Hinn made an announcement that the dead were going to come alive because of his prayers and urged people to cancel funeral services. In his TV and real shows Hinn says Jesus enters him and he does not remember what he had said.

Fiji Temple Robbed Five years in a Row: Christians Suspected

2005-01-28T15:49:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106889147&type=news

NEWTOWN, FIJI, January 27, 2005
fijilive.com

A Hindu temple located at Salato Circle in Newtown, Nasinu, was broken into for the fifth time in as many years early Thursday morning. The trustee of Shree Ram Krishna Mandir, Ramen Singh, said the break-in occurred at around midnight with thieves getting away with $2000 worth of musical instruments and other valuable items.
He said the thieves ran away when the neighbors raised the alarm after hearing noises in the temple.

"This particular break-in has really hit us hard. In 2003, around $1300 worth of equipment and instruments were stolen and we worked hard to get them replaced. I don't know how we'll replace them this time," said Singh.

"The fact that the instruments and other valuables were taken doesn't hurt us as much as the desecration of our temple."

Singh said his temple was continuous targeted by thieves because the police were unable to make arrests. "Not a single person has been caught by the police in relation to the break-ins at our temple. We don't even have police patrols in our area," he said.

Arunachal Buddhists allege Christian Militants' Harassment

2005-01-28T15:37:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106844419&type=news

indpride.com

The Buddhist community of the north-east region has expressed deep concern over the rising incidents of harassment and persecution of Buddhist tribals by militants and security forces alike in the remote locations of Arunachal Pradesh. The twin militant outfits, NSCN(IM) and NSCN(K) have demanded annexation of land from the Buddhist and other indigenous faith followers of Rima Putak, Thikhak Putak, Motongsa and Longchong villages in Tirap – Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh and issued a decree for their conversion to Christianity.

The militant outfits have left the villagers with two options – embrace Christianity or face capital punishment. With death staring at their face, most of the adult members have fled the villages to escape torture from both sides, resulting in disruption of agricultural activities.

The outlawed organisations have persecuted several villagers for their alleged role in passing vital information to the Assam Rifles. On the other hand, the Army too allegedly harasses the villagers on the pretext of providing food and shelter, but not reporting and keeping tabs on the militants' activities. In a recently held joint Buddhist session of the Purvanchal Buddhist Bhikkhu Sangha and Purvanchal Buddhist Association at Namphakey near Naharkatia in Dibrugarh district of Assam, frontline Buddhist leaders of both the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have strongly condemned the heinous atrocities committed by the militants on the peace-loving Buddhists and tribal cult followers and sought the immediate intervention of the Centre and the state to ensure the security of lives and properties of the affected people.

They opined that India being a secular nation with composite culture, every citizen or individual has the inherent right to profess and practice his religion. The leaders said that what is happening in Arunachal Pradesh is a glaring example of violation of human rights. This was stated in a press release.

Indian Irony: Evangelist Dayal is on National Integration Council

2005-01-28T15:34:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106805454&type=news

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 24

The Indian government has nominated Evangelist Dr John Dayal as member of the National Integration Council (NIC).

Mr Dayal is President of the All-India Catholic Union and Secretary-General of the All-India Christian Council.

Another Christian member of the council is Rev Valson Thampu.

The NIC was institutionalised as a forum for deliberating on key policy issues and to discuss effective strategies to combat the evils of communalism, casteism, regionalism and separatism.

VIDEO CLIP: Christian Missionary Revels In Conversion Opportunity

2005-01-28T15:25:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106841029&type=news

KERALA, INDIA, January 18, 2005
Hindu Press International

"Amazing Report from K. P. Yohannan in India. K.P reports from India that Tsunami survivors who lost everything are finding hope in God's Good News of Jesus Christ."
SEE THE VIDEO CLIP:http://www.gfa.org/gfa/tsunamivideo011805

Our thanks to HPI reader Niraj Thakar for letting us know about the video report at "source." It is described as, "Amazing Report from K. P. Yohannan in India. K.P reports from India that Tsunami survivors who lost everything are finding hope in God's Good News of Jesus Christ."Yohannan explains how his missionary organization is preaching Christianity to the survivors as they are given help, and reports enthusiastically on one conversion of one distraught women by his missionaries.

SEE THE VIDEO CLIP: http://www.gfa.org/gfa/tsunamivideo011805

Counting Sheep?

2005-01-28T15:12:00.000+05:30

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20050131&fname=Missionaries+(F)&sid=1 Outlookindia.com
http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106707868&type=articlesZ

SEEMA SIROHI
OutlookIndia.com

The proselytising zeal of American missionaries knows no slack even in tsunami aid

Are American Christian evangelists using the devastation wreaked by the tsunami to spread the word of God—their God? Disturbing stories from the region and fund-raising appeals from religious leaders in the US who want to "plant Christian principles as early as possible" in the orphans of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India have raised profound questions about proselytisation of vulnerable people in times of tragedy. Some groups send help along with Bibles—in Bhojpuri—to increase the fold in affected countries, making it harder for others to provide relief. By lacing help with questions of faith, however delicately, evangelical groups can deepen religious faultlines at a time when talk of civilisational wars rages in e-chat rooms.

The controversy surfaced earlier this month when Vernon Brewer, president of the Virginia-based missionary group World Help, told journalists he wanted to airlift 300 'tsunami orphans' from Banda Aceh to raise them in a Christian children's home. He quickly
retracted when the Indonesian government banned adoptions by non-Muslim groups. From India surfaced a story about Samanthapettai, a fishing village in Tamil Nadu hit by the tsunami, where some Christian missionaries reportedly refused to distribute biscuits and water unless the Hindu recipients agreed to change their faith. When TV reporters approached the nuns, they refused to comment and left.

Local missionaries in India and other non-Christian countries are funded to a large extent by resource-rich American groups—powerful multi-million dollar corporations complete with TV channels and private planes. The websites, updated with fervent appeals for funds and tearful photos of tsunami survivors, are a window to their incredible organisation and explicit agendas for touching the "unreached people" or non-Christians with the hand of God. They look at India and Indonesia as "opportunities" for spreading the gospel. India is often described as a land of darkness, of idol worshippers and an area ripe for redemption.

World Help has printed 1,00,000 Bibles in Bhojpuri, a language it glibly assumes was hidden from evangelists. "Imagine a group of 90 million people who have never been able to read God's Word in their own language until just recently. What an incredible opportunity God is giving us to provide Bibles for the Bhojpuri for the very first time!" declares its mission statement. (Not quite an accurate claim: Bible work in Bhojpuri is nearly a century old in India, even older if you count work targeted at the diaspora.) Yet, the statement goes on: "Our strategy for the next seven years is to plant 1,00,000 organised churches and 1 million house churches in the least-reached area of the world...specifically in the North India(n) state of Uttar Pradesh." This January, World Help is sending a mission to India "where God is overcoming hundreds of years of falsereligions and idol worship. In...Allahabad alone, 40,000 new believers now meet weekly to worship theone true God."

Another group, Samaritan's Purse, has also energised around the tsunami tragedy. Headed by Franklin Graham, son of presidential godman Billy Graham, this North Carolina-based group's helicopter is helping ferry victims from inaccessible areas. Graham, who appears on his website in a leather jacket more suited to Mick Jagger, called Islam an "evil and wicked" religion after the 9/11 attacks. While organising relief for the tsunami victims, Graham told The Baltimore Sun, "If we are going to depend on Muslims to go in and help Muslims, well, they aren't coming." He publicly hoped the victims and their kin "would come to know the God I know", which to some was an admission of the larger purpose. He has left for Indonesia with a planeload of relief supplies.

Graham sees India as a "vast subcontinent" where Samaritan's Purse projects are "helping bring the gospel to thousands living in spiritual darkness".

However, Don Norrington, a spokesman for Graham, told Outlook that proselytisation, which he called an "inflammatory word", was not the group's policy. Currently, it is working in partnership with local Indian affiliates to rebuild a fishing village. The strategy allows US groups to maintain a safe distance from "conversions" while local groups do the work. But the 2003 annual report of Samaritan's Purse announces that in India it "completed 10 church buildings, with another four under construction, and provided support for pastors, Bible schools, Christian schools and a daycare centre".

Mission statements are generally explicit about their goals. Samaritan's Purse says it "serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ". The World Help website, which opens with a heart-wrenching photo of a crying Indian woman, lists its missionas "effective evangelism, discipleship, church planting, humanitarian aid, child sponsorship, leadership training and literature distribution". A specific appeal, scrubbed clean last week from the site, sought help to place Indonesian orphans so "their faith in Christ could become the foothold to reach the Aceh people".

"This kind of proselytisation demeans the idea of religious conversion, for it uses helplessness to spread a religion," says Ashutosh Varshney, political science professor at Michigan University. "A genuine change in conviction remains the best basis for religious conversion and should not be stopped. Few people in abysmal distress can exercise sound judgement."

John Hare, a professor at the Yale University's school of divinity, says in general Christian groups regard providing relief as part of Christian service. "They don't make a distinction between relief and spreading the gospel. But if they're using aid as leverage in acceptance of the gospel, it is inconsistent with what Christians believe," he said. Sid Balman, a spokesman for InterAction, a coalition of 160 US relief organisations which raised nearly $200 million for tsunami aid, said its charter doesn't prohibit proselytisation but does ask members to respect local norms and abide by laws. Asked how they monitored member groups, Balman said the "only way it would work is if someone complained", an unlikely prospect unless another organised religion gets into the act. At least 30 per cent of the groups in InterAction are faith-based, some Jewish andMuslim.

When religious passions are high, it's important to analyse the role of all religious fundamentalists. While Muslim extremists are commonly denounced in the US media, Christian hardliners are rarely challenged. Leading evangelists routinely smear other religions, specially Islam, on mainstream networks and still receive grants from President George Bush. Jerry Falwell, founder of Moral Majority, called Prophet Mohammad "a terrorist" on CBS on October 6, 2002. The insult sparked a riot all the way out in Solapur, India, killing eight people and injuring 90 others.

At a time when America is increasingly viewed as waging a war against the Muslim world, hateful speech and charity with an ambiguous agenda from zealous Christians can only add tothe tension.

Conversion attempts in the time of grief - Shobha Warrier

2005-01-25T09:03:00.000+05:30

http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/24shoba.htm- Rediff.Com
http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106617581&type=articles

Shobha Warrier in Nagapattinam
January 24, 2005
Rediff.Com

"Why do you enter our houses and pray?," they asked. "Your nuns do this when our women arealone at home. We know how to pray."

"The villagers' torrent of angry words continued. "We have lost everything to the sea. They said they would help us if we followed their religion. What logic is this? Are they here to help us or change our religion?" The police couldn't cool their tempers."

When I entered one of the rows of temporary shelters built for tsunami victims in Pattancherry village in Nagapattinam, I witnessed a minor scuffle in a corner.

Some inmates had surrounded a Christian priest and two nuns, and a war of words was going on.

"We are Hindus and we want to live as Hindus. Why do you want to convert us?" some young men shouted at the missionaries.

The priest said, "We are not here to convert people. We were only offering prayers for your peace of mind."

But flashing some pamphlets distributed among them by the three, the inmates snorted, "What does this mean?"

The priest had no answer.

"Why do you enter our houses and pray?," they asked. "Your nuns do this when our women arealone at home. We know how to pray."

The young men were extremely furious. The priest was unruffled. But the nuns were shaken by the sudden surge of animosity from the muscular men.

The scuffle went on till the three were forced to leave the place.

Day two:

As I was visiting the areas close to the sea that were badly affected by the tsunami waves, I saw another angry scene outside another temple in another village.

Police jeeps were seen parked outside the temple in Samandapettai. So was a van.

Villagers were complaining to the police about a missionary group to which the van belonged.

They said the group had taken away to another place their belongings and the relief they had got from nongovernmental organisations and the government, which they had kept inside the temple, because they refused to listen to its missionaries.

"They want to try their luck at some other place. Since we resisted, they took away our things. We won't allow this to happen," they said. "Why don't you arrest all of them?" the villagers asked the police.

The villagers' torrent of angry words continued. "We have lost everything to the sea. They said they would help us if we followed their religion. What logic is this? Are they here to help us or change our religion?" The police couldn't cool their tempers.

The group said it did not take away the belongings of the villagers and insisted that the contents inside the van belonged to it.

That evening, some villagers came with the news that the police had arrested the priest they had confronted the previous day. Apparently some angry villagers had gheraoed him, and forced the police to arrest him.

"He shouldn't be doing this when we are grieving, when we are suffering. Everything has its time and place," a villager said.

When I wanted to talk to the panchayat president and locals of the Karakkalmedu village at Karaikkal, they called me inside the village temple. That was where they met outsiders. The temple has become the centre of activity in the village.

Before we started talking, one of them opened the door to the sanctum sanctorum and pointed to a mark left by the strong tsunami waves. They told me that water stopped at the feet of their deity and then receded. "We might have suffered, but our Goddess saved us."

This belief had taken the villagers all the more closer to their deity.

"That is why it hurts us when others come and tell us that it was because of our God and our belief that we suffered. We won't let anyone exploit us when we are down," the panchayat members asserted.

Critics say some Christians spread aid and Gospel

2005-01-25T05:01:00.000+05:30

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0501220303jan22,1,4612744.story?ctrack=1&cset=true - The Chicago Tribune
http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106530131&type=articles

By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published January 22, 2005 - AKKARAIPETTAI, India

The Christian evangelists came in the morning, wearing fluorescent yellow T-shirts emblazoned with "Believers Church" on the back and "Gospel for Asia" on the front. They loaded up hundreds of villagers, mostly Hindus, in vans and trucks and drove them 6 miles away.

There, away from the eyes of village officials, each tsunami survivor received relief supplies--a sleeping mat, a plate, a sari, a 55-pound bag of rice and, in the bottom of a white plastic bag proclaiming "Believers Church Tsunami Relief," a book containing biblical verses warning against the dangers of alcohol.

"What do I do?" asked Muthammal, 35, who uses one name like many in southern India and wears the red bindi on her forehead showing she's Hindu. Like many here, she cannot read. "They are asking us to come all this way. It is so difficult."

Members of the Believers Church also have handed out Bibles to tsunami survivors on the streets and in relief camps. They set up an orphanage for 108 children, including many Hindus, and asked the children to recite Christian prayers six times a day. The Protestant church did not register the orphanage with the government, authorities said. K.P.Yohannan, the leader of Believers Church and Gospel for Asia, said the church had tried to get government permission.

Since the Dec. 26 tsunami killed more than 157,000 people and left millions homeless, relief groups have flooded into Asia, from Sri Lanka to Thailand. As in any crisis, many aid groups are religious, and they consider it their duty to minister to the needy. Most shun proselytizing and make little reference to what they believe.

But in parts of Asia, some religious groups have sparked controversy.
They are accused of spreading a message as they hand out rice and other supplies. They are accused of exploiting tsunami victims.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, Christian groups have been criticized for distributing Bibles in relief camps. A U.S. missionary group, World Help, planned to help raise 300 Muslim children in a Christian children's home in Jakarta, the capital. The project was abandoned after the government protested.

An Islamic militant group in the hard-hit Indonesian province of Aceh recruited members as it collected bodies; other Islamic groups handed out thousands of Korans in reliefcamps.

A U.S. group, the International Bible Society, has announced plans to send 100,000 Christian texts, including a book translated into Thai, "When Your Whole World Changes," to survivors, including those in Thailand.

Another group, Focus on the Family, prepared 300,000 survival packets including food, water, medicine and the evangelical text "When God Doesn't Make Sense." The group also has announced plans to rebuild destroyed villages in India's Andhra Pradesh as "Christian communities."

Gospel for Asia, a Texas-based evangelical group with native missionaries in 10 Asian countries and the phone number 1-800-WIN-ASIA, has dispatched about 1,000 workers to hand out relief aid. A feature on the group's Web site called "Tsunami prayer requests" asks people to pray for, among other things, many opportunities to share the Gospel and "pray that the Lord will bless this amazing
opportunity to touch thousands of children's lives with the Gospel."

Conversion efforts denied

Yohannan said members of the Believers Church and Gospel for Asia were not trying to convert anyone. But if people embraced Christianity after meeting the evangelists, Yohannanwould be happy.

"We wish everyone would believe in Jesus and love Jesus," he said.

In India, fewer people have protested religious relief activities than in Indonesia. Strife among religions is common in India, but such differences have been largely set aside since the disaster. Most Indians are Hindu, but the tsunami hit hardest in an area near holy spots for Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. People also are happy to get anything. They will take Christian texts from Believers Church if it means getting rice.

"They are giving it," said Govindaraj, 45, a Hindu from Akkaraipettai."So we are taking it."

The surrounding Nagapattinam area of Tamil Nadu, a coastal fishing district where more than 6,000 people died, now looks like an ad for multiculturalism. Nuns in habits ride around in a white Jeep. Refugees store clothing in cardboard boxes taped with signs from "Eternal Word Ministries Relief Aid." Muslims in T-shirts advertising their religion help pull out trawlers that the tsunami slammed into a bridge.

Scientologists try to heal people and help them move on from the tsunami. The children of the village call them "the white people in the yellow dresses," although they are not all white and they wear yellow T-shirts--different from those of the Believers Church--proclaiming "volunteer minister."

Most of these groups have had no problems. Many religious leaders say they are only helping people, not spreading religion.

"This is not the time to distribute Bibles or preach," said Rev.Franklin of the Church of South India, a Protestant church.

Men from the Tamil Nadu Muslim Progress Organization shook the hands of Scientologists, who had trained them in a procedure called a "contact assist," which tries to get people to move on from the time of the tsunami and face their fears.

The Believers Church has stirred up more controversy than any action by the Scientologists. Several church members denied handing out Bibles and insisted they were only cleaning up homes.

"We have not handed out Bibles," said Anandraj, 25.

Later, outside their new orphanage, church members acknowledged they had handed out Bibles and booklets against alcohol and abortion that include biblical verses. They said they had distributed relief materials at the orphanage, rather than in the village, because it was easier and because they did not have enough for everyone. They denied trying to convert anyone. They said they only wanted to help.

Local officials displeased

But Akkaraipettai officials were upset. They complained that the Christian group did not follow the village procedures for relief agencies and did not help everyone.

"We will not accept anyone trying to convert anyone to another religion," said Selvamnattar, the village president, adding that the village was entirely Hindu. "Anyone who wants to help, we welcome it.But we will not allow conversions."

The state of Tamil Nadu once banned religious conversions, but that law recently was repealed. Yohannan, the leader of Believers Church and Gospel for Asia, blamed any controversy on Hindu fundamentalists trying to stir up trouble.

Many children from Akkaraipettai ended up at the Believers Church orphanage, set up to care for children who lost one or both parents or for children whose parents could not handle their children after the tsunami. Biju, a Believers Church official, said church members recruited children by talking about the orphanage to people in relief camps and villages.

"We did not take the children," he said.

But the orphanage was set up without knowledge of the government, said Suriyakala, the district's social welfare officer.

Inside the orphanage, children seemed happy, playing volleyball, badminton and cricket. Several Hindu children said they were asked to recite Christian prayers six times a day.

"As soon as we get up, we pray," said Rajavalli, 13, a Hindu, adding that she had no problem with praying.

Members of the church also handed out Tamil-language Bibles, including refugees staying in a railway station. Several said they took the Bible only because it was offered.

But Mahalakshmi, 18, who had converted earlier from Hinduism to Christianity, said she was happy to get a Bible.

"I understand that to make people understand they have sinned, God has sent this tsunami," she said. "I get peace from reading the Bible and understanding this. Others who don't will continue to suffer."

Mix of Quake Aid and Preaching Stirs Concern

2005-01-25T05:00:00.000+05:30

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/22/international/worldspecial4/22preach.html - The New York Times

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106532279&type=articles

By DAVID ROHDE
Published: January 22, 2005
MORAKETIYA, Sri Lanka, Jan. 19 2005
New York Times

A Jan. 18 posting from the team in Indonesia says the country's devastated Aceh Province is "ripe for Jesus!!"

"What an opportunity," it adds. "It has been closed for five years, and the missionaries in Indonesia consider it the most militant and difficult place for ministry. The door is wide open and the people are hungry."

"They told me to always think about God and about Jesus and you will be healed," he said. "Whenever I ask for help they always mention God, but they do not give any money for treatment."

A dozen Americans walked into a relief camp here, showering bereft parents and traumatized children with gifts, attention and affection. They also quietly offered camp residents something else: Jesus.

The Americans, who all come from one church in Texas, have staged plays detailing the life of Jesus and had children draw pictures of him, camp residents said. They have told parents who lost children that they should still believe in God, and held group prayers where they tried to heal a partly paralyzed man and a deaf 12year-old girl.

The attempts at proselytizing are angering local Christian leaders, who worry that they could provoke a violent backlash against Christians in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country that is already a religious tinderbox.

Last year, Buddhist hard-liners attacked the offices of the World Vision Christian aid group and vandalized or threatened churches and pastors 75 times. They accuse Christians of using money and social programs to cajole and coerce conversions.

Most American groups, including those affiliated with religious organizations, strictly avoid mixing aid and missionary work. But scattered reports of proselytizing in Sri Lanka; Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim; and India, with large Hindu and Muslim populations, are arousing concerns that the good will spread by the American relief efforts may be undermined byresentment.

The Rev. Sarangika Fernando, a local Methodist minister, witnessed one of the prayer sessions in Sri Lanka and accused the Americans of acting unethically with traumatized people. "They said, 'In the name of Jesus, she must be cured!' " he said. "As a priest, I was really upset."

The Americans in Sri Lanka belong to the Antioch Community Church, an evangelical church based in Waco, Tex. Two members of the church were arrested, and accused of proselytizing, by the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2001. When the United States invaded the country several months later, pro-American Northern Alliance forces freed the women, who church officials say did speak with Afghans about their personal "relationship with Jesus."

The Antioch Community Church is one of a growing number of evangelical groups that believe in mixing aidgiving with discussing religion, an approach that older, more established Christian aid groups like Catholic Relief Services call unethical.

In Sri Lanka, alarmed local Christian leaders say proselytizing at such a sensitive time could reverse the grass-roots interfaith cooperation that has emerged since the tsunami and endanger Christians, who make up 7 percent of the population. The country also has sizable Hindu and Muslim minorities.

The Rev. Duleep Fernando, a Methodist minister based in Colombo, the capital, brought the Americans to the camp here. Mr. Fernando said they had described themselves as humanitarian aid workers. He and other Sri Lankan Christian leaders say raising religion with traumatized refugees is unethical.

"We have told them this is not right, but now we don't have any control over them," said Mr. Fernando, who called the group's Web site postings "unnecessarily explosive."

"This is a dangerous situation," he said.

In Indonesia last week, reports that a missionary group named WorldHelp planned to raise 300 Muslim tsunami orphans in a Christian children's home in Jakarta brought an outcry from Muslims. The group later said it had never had custody of the children.

Sri Lankan refugees, camp administrators and church officials said the Americans here had identified themselves only as a humanitarian aid group. In an interview here on Wednesday, Pat Murphy, 49, a leader of the team, said the group was a nongovernmental organization, and not a church group. "It's an NGO," Mr. Murphy said. "Just your plain vanilla NGO that does aid work."

But the church's Web site says the Americans are one of four teams - for a total of 75 people - dispatched to Sri Lanka and Indonesia who have persuaded dozens of people to "cometo Christ."

When the group's postings were read to Mr. Murphy, he confirmed that the Americans were from the Antioch Community Church, but said the group would never use relief goods and gifts to entice or pressure people into becoming Christians. He denied that the team, which sent about half its 24 members to work in the eastern town of Kalmunai, was trying to convert people. The church has 2,000 members.

"We simply provide people with information," he said, "and they do with that what they like."

A Jan. 18 posting from the team in Indonesia says the country's devastated Aceh Province is "ripe for Jesus!!"

"What an opportunity," it adds. "It has been closed for five years, and the missionaries in Indonesia consider it the most militant and difficult place for ministry. The door is wide open and the people are hungry."

The Rev. Jimmy Seibert, the senior pastor of the Waco church, said in a telephone interview that the church would evaluate whether the group's members should identify themselves as aid workers. But he said the church believes missionary work and aid work "is one thing, not two separate things."

"My hope is that as a follower of Jesus they would bring who they are into the workplace," he said, "whether they are in a workplace in America or a workplace in Sri Lanka."

Older Christian aid groups like Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran World Relief and others with religious affiliations say they do not proselytize, abiding by Red Cross guidelines that humanitarian aid not be used to further political or religious purposes. Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services, said that in the last 20 years there had been an increase of smaller Christian evangelical groups providing relief aid in the wake of disaster.

"I think there are new groups that are driven by missionary zeal," Mr. Hackett said. In the last several weeks, Mr. Hackett said, his group has received anecdotal reports of proselytizing in countries devastated by the tsunami.

"From our partners in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia we've heard that there have been instances when American and other Christian groups have been proselytizing and casting aspersions on the faith of people there," he said. "Some of these groups raise questions about other faiths, saying that people would be better off if they converted to Christianity immediately."

Several American evangelical aid groups have arrived in Sri Lanka, but no reports of proselytizing by those groups have emerged, according to Sri Lankan church officials. The Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of the evangelist Billy Graham, visited Sri Lanka this week to encourage the workers of his evangelical aid organization, Samaritan's Purse, who plan to work in Sri Lanka for the next five years.

Other American evangelical aid groups, including Gospel for Asia and World Relief, are active on the country's devastated east coast, according to Sri Lankan and American aidworkers.

Members of Mr. Graham's group said they did not engage in proselytizing, but said if local Christians wanted to build a church they would help them. Officials from WorldRelief, the aid wing of the National Association of Evangelicals, have said in interviews that they try to first build trust with local people and then look for opportunities for conversions, in some casesyears later.

More evangelical groups are apparently on their way. A message posted on the Web site of the Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell says the school he founded, Liberty University, is preparing to send a team to Sri Lanka, India and other countries battered by the tsunami.

"Distribution of food and medical supplies along with the dissemination of thousands of Gospel tracts in the language of the people will keep the L.U. team very busy," the Web site says. "Mission trips to the Asian region by many L.U. students will follow in the months, and perhaps years, to come."

Ron Godwin, president of Jerry Falwell Ministries, confirmed that the Liberty Foundation was organizing a shipment of rice, medication and Scriptural excerpts, but said the primary goal of the effort was relief, not proselytizing. "Everything we do is in the name of Christ," he said. "But we try to be sensitive in areas where it may be politically sensitive, and we have no litmus test for those we give rice to."

According to the Waco church group's Web site, its teams in Sri Lanka and Indonesia are performing "children's ministry," seeing "many people saved" and continuing to "minister to families and children through prayer and evangelism."

According to its Web site, the congregation uses small groups called "cell churches" to attract new members. The reports from Indonesia and Sri Lanka refer to "cells" and "lifegroups" in both countries.

Residents of the camp here reported no healings as a result of the group's prayers. But they said they appreciated the aid and activities for children that the group provided and did not want to see them end.

Organizers in a nearby camp have declared the Americans missionaries and barred them from entering. Camp organizers here said they believed that the group was trying to convert people, but did not want to further upset the tsunami victims by cutting off the aid.

W. L. P. Wilson, 38, a disabled fisherman with a sixth-grade education, said he allowed the Americans to pray three times for the healing of his paralyzed lower leg because he was desperate to provide for his wife and three children again. Mr. Wilson, a Buddhist, said that he believed that the Americans were trying to convert him to Christianity but that he was in "a helpless situation now" and needed aid.

"They told me to always think about God and about Jesus and you will be healed," he said. "Whenever I ask for help they always mention God, but they do not give any money for treatment."

Neela Banerjee contributed reporting from Washington for this article.

Cry O my beloved India

2005-01-24T19:22:00.000+05:30

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/07franc.htm - Rediff.Com
http://www.dailypioneer.com/searchit2.asp?main_variable=Oped&file_name=OPD4.TXT -The Pioneer

Francois Gautier
January 21, 2005

Hindus are always accused of all the ills and intolerance, but where in the world will you find a Christian supreme leader in a country where there are only 3 per cent Christians, a Sikh prime minister where there are only 2 per cent Sikhs and a Muslim President with only 10 per cent Muslims? Poor Hindus.

It would mean the loss of India's ancient culture, the loss of its unique identity, with India becoming just another nation cloning the West. Even the Muslims and Christians of India, who are like no other Christians and Muslims in the world, would lose something.
I am a Westerner and a born Christian, but even I am ashamed at what is happening in India since Sonia Gandhi, a Westerner and Christian, became the de facto ruler of this ancient and extraordinary country of 850 million Hindus and 125 million Muslims.

Something terrible is happening here. On the one hand, you have the shankaracharya, one of the most respected Hindu leaders, arrested like a criminal on one of Hinduism's most sacred days, even as politicians who have more corruption cases against them than anybody else and others who may even
have blood on their hands are made ministers and strut around with security guards in tow.

The tarnishing of the Kanchi mutt's image is nearly complete. Will it ever be able to recover its sanctity, even if the shankacharya is found not guilty?

On the other hand you see a quack like Benny Hinn, who has no standing even in the United States, come openly to India, a country with an overwhelming Hindu majority, to deride idol worship and paganism and convert the poor and the gullible. We see ministers, ex-prime ministers even -- many of them Hindus at that -- coming to the Benny Hinn show, with heads bowed and hands folded like beggars asking for the white man's grace. We see the entire state machinery of Karnataka put at the evangelist's service and laws subverted so he can conduct his fake show.

We see how when 36 innocent women and children were burnt alive in the most horrible manner in Godhra, for no reason other than being Hindus, there is no respect for their memory even, for the truth is now twisted for political purposes with the help of India's Marxists who want Hinduism's death. What a shame!

Hindus are always accused of all the ills and intolerance, but where in the world will you find a Christian supreme leader in a country where there are only 3 per cent Christians, a Sikh prime minister where there are only 2 per cent Sikhs and a Muslim President with only 10 per cent Muslims? Poor Hindus.

This is an insult to India's culture, greatness and intelligence What is even more saddening is the passivity of Indians in the face of what is happening. Only a few voices have been raised in these moments of insanity. India's curse is the disunity among Hindus, their infighting. One is surprised at the lack of reaction even from India's top Hindu spiritual leaders Satya Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayi and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Together they hold sway over at least 400 million Hindus. Why don't they form a Supreme Spiritual Conclave along with the shankaracharya? They only have to utter the word and it will be done. But there is disunity even among them.

We are not ashamed of the Christian culture in France; even the American president is sworn in on the Bible. Nor, certainly, is the Congress, which is incapable of finding a worthy Indian leader among its own members, many of whom are intelligent and sincere. By stooping to Sonia Gandhi, they repeated the same old story of India's princes and maharajas betraying each other and bowing before a foreign ruler, be it Aurangzeb or His Majesty's Viceroy. Who betrayed the mighty Vijayanagar empire, the last great Hindu kingdom, to the Muslims? Who betrayed India to the British? Who is betraying India today?

But at least the Congress is true to its ideals. The biggest culprit must be Mr A B Vajpayee who in five years of power did nothing but project a Gandhian image, rather than having India's interests at heart. He and his advisers should stand trial when history is written.

The beauty of it all is that Sonia Gandhi does not have to say or do anything. She does not have to instruct the Tamil Nadu police to arrest the shankaracharya or tell Chief Minister Dharam Singh of Karnataka to attend Benny Hinn's show. Just being where she is, at the top of India's political hierarchy, is enough to ensure that her silent wishes are fulfilled. Everybody is bending over backwards to please her, even anticipating her wishes!

The Benny Hinn show points to not only a renewed effort at Christianisation of India -- something which even the British and the Portuguese could not do -- and a targeting of Hindu spiritual leaders, but also the westernisation of the subcontinent.

It would mean the loss of India's ancient culture, the loss of its unique identity, with India becoming just another nation cloning the West. Even the Muslims and Christians of India, who are like no other Christians and Muslims in the world, would lose something.

Today I feel sad, sad for India, sad for the world. For India is in mortal danger, its eternal Sanatana Dharma is under threat. And if India dies spiritually, the world will also die.

Cry O my beloved India, look what thy children have done to thee.

Karnataka Police Concerned About Missionary-Provoked Violence

2005-01-24T11:13:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Police Concerned About Missionary-Provoked Violence

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106761949&type=news

Vijay Times
Bangalore
27 January 2005

While the Government has managed to ensure that the controversial American evangelist Benny Hinn's recent 'Pray for India' show did not lead to any communal flare-up in the State, alarming reports from the Intellegence Department have forced it to brace up for tackling such an eventuality.Sources in the Intelligence Wing of the Police Department have cautioned the Government against the moves of some over-enthusiastic Christian missionaries planning to play the cassettes of Hinn's 'miracles' in rural areas with the intention of propagating their religion.

This might create communal tensions in the villages where Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagrana Vedike had been active in spreading Hindu awareness, a senior intelligence official told Vijay Times. The officer, who compiled the report, spoke of his apprehensions by citing the instance of assault and arrest of a self-proclaimed pastor, who allegedly tried to propagate Christianity through a door-to-door campaign in Chennapatna. This was in retaliation against a religious congregation apparently with an intention of effecting conversions in Mysore. "The situation in Chikmagalur and Shimoga is even more sensitive," he added.

Some police officers have also expressed fears about these organisations misusing the cassettes showing the presence of the Chief Minister and other dignitaries at Hinn's show to lure gullible people of other religions. Interestingly, the organisers of the Hinn show claimed that around 22 lakh people attended the programme, while the police sources said that only around seven lakh participated in the three-day show. Lending credence to the reports, the pro-Hindu organisations have already warned that they would take action against those who came on a door-to-door campaign glorifying the 'abilities' of Hinn.

Hinduism: The Global Dharma for the new Millenium

2005-01-24T10:58:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106762706&type=articles

Parama Karuna Devi

Hinduism is destined to be the Global Dharma for the new Millennium. Why?
Because it is open, tolerant, incredibly deep in meaning and knowledge and capable of reconciling all theoretical differences. It offers a personalized access and progressive programmes to each individual, favoring cultural diversity. It addresses each degree of personaldevelopment and field of interest, and at the same time it presents a complete, consistent and logical wider picture. Its corpus of knowledge is immense, if compared to the tiny volumes of sacredscriptures of other
religions. Both as original scriptures and as commentaries and exegesis, the sacredlibrary of Hindus can easily outweigh any other tradition. And the complexity, completeness and depth of its philosophy and theology are unsurpassable.

Hinduism is the most suitable religion for today's world because it teaches a healthy wholistic approach to life, sustainable development, respect for women and children, respect for animals and nature, and true social cooperation.Furthermore, it can explain all the most mysterious phenomena of reality, usually dismissed as "not knowable" by Semitic religions or even still puzzling modern sciences.

Its modernity and the scientific value of its scriptures have been recognized with awe and admiration by the greatest scientists and researchers of this contemporary age and have made it extremely popular among the intellectual elites of Western countries.

Why then, Hinduism is so underestimated in India?
Because in India knowledge has not been made sufficiently accessible and presented with self confidence and seriousness. Indians do not take Hinduism seriously enough.

For the last 200 years the best families of India, the very intelligentsia of Indian finance, culture and public administration have sent their children to Christian Mission schools to get a good academic education, with the sad result of creating a deeply rooted inferiority complex and a strong negative attitude towards Hinduism in the best brains of society, generation after generation.Values and attitudes absorbed in the very early years of the character formation of a child, from those people one is expected to respect as teachers (gurus) and educators, do notdisappear later in life even if they are impossible to reconcile with one's own family tradition andvalues.

The teachings one receives in the family are certainly more limited in quantity, concentration and power than the teachings one receives at school, also because of the natural desire of emulation and competition among school mates.In a family mothers are usually less educated in philosophy and theology, fathers are too busy with their occupational duties, and generally Hindu traditions are absorbed by children only through ceremonies that remain unexplained philosophically and theologically: it becomes reduced to simple folklore.

Since these journalists, writers and scientists, government officers and professors, being educated in Christian schools, heavily influence society with their negative opinions and attitudes, it is inevitable that the general atmosphere continues to feed a sense of inferiorityamong Hindus.

In the last century, due to the efforts of qualified, sincere and selfless preachers, Vedic knowledge and Hinduism have become very famous all over the world and especially in developed countries like Europe, north America and Australia, where the number of people sincerely studying and practicing the principles of Sanatana Dharma in its various paths has grown immensely.However Sanatana Dharma, generally called Hinduism, has been facing serious problems in its homeland, India, and such problems must be addressed and solved for the benefit of the entire planet. Terrorist attacks against temples and pilgrims, public defamation of Vedic knowledge and traditions, and desecration of Hindu temples and images are now very frequent occurrences in India, although they are rarely reported by the media. Generally, no action is taken to protect the Hindus or to punish their persecutors, as the government is afraid of the vocal protests of Christian and Muslim fundamentalists and the so-called "secularists" who directly or indirectly support them against Hinduism.These Christian and Muslim fundamentalists claim a "freedom of religion" based on the vilification and destruction of Hinduism on the pretext of a supposed superiority of their own Semitic faith (considered "the only true religion") and their "duty to convert" people from other religions, whom they disparagingly call "pagans", "heathens" or "infidels". We have practically seen that any system is considered acceptable in their conversion campaigns, including unethical methods such as aggression and violence, blackmailing, bribing, defamation by spreading falsities, plain fraud, false promises, political pressure and lobbying, passing of laws that prohibit people to practice other religions etc.

Their claim for freedom of religion and the right to conduct conversion campaigns is basically aimed at trying to demonstrate to innocent people that Hinduism is "wrong" - a bunch of superstitions and backward practices they often ridicule and label as "idolatry" and "witchcraft". Their "holy war" against such "enemies of the only true God" is clearly stated: "You shall not tolerate a witch to live".

On the other hand, Hindus very rarely react to defamation and aggression against Hinduism, out of a mistaken sense of tolerance and sometimes due to a conscious or subconscious feeling of cultural inferiority. Many Hindus feel they should not oppose the exclusivist claims of Christianity or Islam, for fear of being branded "Hindu fundamentalists". This fear is unfounded. It is unjustified like the fear of a honest person who is afraid to be considered a "honesty fundamentalist" if he stands on his principles by refusing to steal, bribe, cheat or tell lies. Strict adherence to one's principles is not a bad thing, provided the principles are not contrary to ethics.

This is the crux of the problem.

Misinformed people not make any distinctions between ethical and unethical principles in religious behavior, considering all kinds of behaviors as acceptable if labeled as "religious". However, conscience and good discrimination (tattva-viveka) clearly tell us that such an attitude is extremely dangerous and destructive.

This is why the unethical and illegal activities committed in the name of religious fundamentalism are condemned in civilized countries: not because it is a bad thing to strictly follow one's own good principles, but because that particular brand of fundamentalism does not allow ethics, intelligence and discrimination, common sense, fairness, equity, compassion and truthfulness to interfere with what they consider the application of their "religious principles" of indisputable domination over everything and everyone else. These people believe that religion is about deceit, corruption and ruthlessness, material power, greed, entitlement, Empire building and world conquest. They are strongly convinced that higher philosophical and ethical concepts and ideals are not supported or operational in daily lives and are therefore irrelevant.

George Grant, Executive Director of the Coral Ridge Ministries in the US, expresses such beliefs in his book "The Changing of the Guard: Biblical Principles for Political Action": "Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ, to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness. But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice. It is dominion we are after. Not just influence. It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time. It is dominion we are after. World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less... Thus, Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land - of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts and governments, for the Kingdom of Christ." (p. 50-51)Christian coalition field director Bill Thompson echoes this attitude in speaking about opposition in the United States: "We are going to run over them. Get around them, run over the top of them, destroy them - whatever you need to do, so that God's word is the word that is being practiced in Congress, townhalls, and State legislatures. That's your job."

Not all Christians agree with this ideological position, but moderate Christians are largely unable to neutralize this irreligion going on in the name of Christianity. These fanatics take power by their determination and aggressiveness, by manipulating and exploiting the good sentiments of more lukewarm Christians who supply funds and votes in elections. They also very vocally claim freedom of religion for themselves and their organizations all over the world, although their freedom of religion is explicitly aimed at denying freedom and validity to all other religions and erasing them forever by any means.

Something is wrong with such a perception of religion: it is based on ignorance. Vedic scriptures explain that the influence of ignorance makes people mistake religion for irreligion, and irreligion for religion. Therefore we need to destroy misunderstandings, ignorance and prejudice, and allow truth to become established by its own merits by sufficient information and philosophical discussion.

Christian and Muslim propaganda in these past centuries has created the idea that Hinduism or Vedic knowledge is inferior to Christianity and Islam by definition. Thus Hindus have been made to feel they have no right to defend their own religious tradition, thinking it is not worthy. Furthermore, both Christians and Muslims resort to the accusation of "blasphemy" whenever their ideas or behaviors are reasonably questioned.

Our purpose is to establish the real facts by supplying substantial information about history, theology, philosophy, ethics, and all round solid evidence about the superiority of Vedic knowledge and religion over Semitic or Abrahamic religions (which include both Christianity and Islam). This will be done by illustrating the merits of Hinduism and the demerits of Semitic religions from different angles in the following chapters.

We also need to make a distinction between the original genuine teachings of Jesus and the institutionalized and politicized form of Christianity that fell back into the same precise mistakes and misbehaviors that Jesus was trying to correct. For this purpose we have added a section with a brief history of Semitic religions in the west and the changes in Christian philosophy and theology from the first disciples of Jesus to the present day Churches of different denominations.

It is important to acknowledge the existence, among those who consider themselves Christians, of good and sincere people who honestly try to improve their own character and life by developing love for their fellow human beings and for God as the creator of everything and everybody. Many of these people believe their duty is to help others out of selfless charity, and they painstakingly work to make a world a better place.

However, good intentions alone are not sufficient, without the proper knowledge.
It is useless to discuss with people who are not in good faith, but we have the duty to communicate and if possible cooperate with people who work in good faith by pointing out mistakes and misconceptions and offering good suggestions, for their own good and for the benefit of the general society. So in the course of this work we will point out many of the defects of the official policies and theology of the Christian Churches as the institutionalized and politicized form of Christianity as a Semitic or Abrahamic religion.

We, as Hindus and followers of Sanatana Dharma, don't want to persecute anyone. We simply want to help everyone by fighting ignorance and dangerous misconceptions.

The big difference between Hinduism and the institutionalized Semitic faiths is that Hinduism has always been very tolerant and open to accepting and including all genuine spiritual paths. Even when faced with dubious spiritual paths, Hinduism always tried to reconcile these forms of religion with the general principles of religion by considering them different paths to reach the same goal and offering a greater picture where all contradictions could be solved in a positive way. We must continue to be tolerant and open-minded, and accept that all paths ultimately leadto God.

However, we must make a distinction between the imperfect philosophical conclusions of uneducated people and the deliberate ill motivations of political manipulators. Many people who unwittingly follow faulty conclusions and bad leaders are actually sincere and motivated by the desire to live a righteous life and help others.

Hindus must continue to adhere to truthfulness, compassion and respect for others and foster cooperation and harmony among all, because this is Dharma, the law of the good functioning of the universe. At the same time we all need to clarify truth and establish justice, protecting good people and neutralizing evil doers.

Now, the genuine principles of religion are truthfulness, compassion, cleanliness and self discipline. Whoever follows these principles in precept and example is a religious or good, person, while whoever follows the opposite of these principles in precept and or example is an irreligious or bad person.Nobody can claim to be a religious person, no group can claim to be a religious group, if their teachings and behavior are based on deceit and lies, hypocrisy, double standards, manipulation or destruction of truth for selfish purposes, cruelty, aggression, violence, uncleanliness and lack of discrimination for self discipline.

At the same time we need to be very careful about our own behavior, correct our own mistakes and purify our own consciousness, to put ourselves beyond all criticism. It is not good to allow indignation and anger, even against evil doers, to obscure our compassion and balance, and to create unnecessary sufferings to innocent people.

We cannot allow provocation to drag us away from the strict adherence to Dharma. However, we have the precise duty to carry out public philosophical debates to shed light over the defects and dangers of false Dharma, or Adharma, irreligion, in order to re-establish the proper religious principles in society.

It is not our intention to incite to hatred, persecution or violence against Christians or Muslims or any other group. We want to help the people who follow Semitic religions to improve their own understanding of spirituality and religion, and become better people and better spiritualists. Although, obviously, such a choice depends on them.

It does not advocate the banning or oppression of other religious groups or communities. Hinduism is based on openness and respect for all genuine spiritual paths and is ready to include them into the general vision of Sanatana Dharma.Our work is meant to dissipate the false myths about the superiority of Christianity. It is aimed at creating dignity and self-esteem that is still largely absent in Hindus, to support trust and faith in Vedic knowledge, and to heal an inferiority complex that has been created during the very long period of political and cultural colonization in India first by the Muslims and then by the Christians.

India has been a free and independent country for more than 50 years now. Still, the bad effects of colonialism are being felt, and because they are not addressed properly they take pernicious directions, being channeled into xenophobia, narrow mindedness, a backward attitude in regard to progress and cultivation of general knowledge, and even hooliganism and communal clashes. All these factors aggravate the problem and present a distorted image of Hindus and Hinduism to the public opinion in the world. Hinduism needs a genuine Renaissance, a spiritual revolution that can bring it back to the glory of the Vedic times, when scholars of the entire world came to study in Hindu universities and learn philosophy, theology, ethics, medicine, architecture, metallurgy, chemistry, physics, astronomy and mathematics and all other sciences.

How to do that? We need action at a grassroot level. It cannot come from the government or the politicians, although they can surely help if they want to. We need to rally together and cooperate practically and actively, sacrificing our time, our energies, our money. We should not hesitate or let ourselves be discouraged by difficulties and differences.

Let us concentrate on our common goals and on the immediate danger that faces us all. Unity is the greatest power, and the greatest need in the hour of emergency.

Hindu Voodoo Land

2005-01-21T21:20:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106293245&type=articles

Trinidad Guardian
By Donna Pierre

AMERICAN televangelist Benny Hinn said he cast out more devils in Trinidad and Tobago during his recent visit than he has ever done "in a long time." Hinn made this statement in an interview yesterday morning on the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) on cable tv.

He led a two-day crusade last month which was held at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. He said: "I cast out more devils than I think I've done in a long time. I mean they were screaming everywhere."

The televangelist stated he converted mostly Hindus, which he said make up 30 percent of the population, during his crusade.

Asked by the interviewer if there was a lot of voodoo in this country, Hinn said, "Oh I think so." According to the televangalist, about 120,000 people attended the crusade. "They have many different groups and of course nationalities. But to see the hunger in that country and the miracles...." he stated.

He said he had never seen so many crippled people in his life, adding that a lot of them were blind and deaf. During the interview, the pastor showed a clip where he healed Hindu man who was said to have been unable to walk on his own before meeting Hinn.

Hinn said he will next be visiting Israel, Jordan and then on to Papa New Guinea. The upcoming visit to New Guinea was described by Hinn as "very interesting" to him since it was an invitation extended by the Prime Minister. He said it was the first Prime Minister to call a nation to a prayer meeting.

Meanwhile, Sat Maharaj, Secretary-General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, said Hinn was not qualified to pass judgment on the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Maharaj said: "Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most God-loving countries on the face of the earth. There are more prayers and pujas conducted in this land, and more goodness in this land than in the place which Benny Hinn himself comes from."

He further stated that Hinn was regarded by the Maha Sabha as a fake and a charlatan. "We are quick to recognise fakes and charlatans who come down here with false messages. The Maha Sabha regards Benny Hinn as one of those," Maharaj noted. According to Maharaj, some of Hinn's activities were under investigations by CNN. He is also being investigated in Australia, Miami and other parts of the United States.

Evangelist's Tsunami Efforts Stir U.S. Muslim Group

2005-01-21T21:17:00.000+05:30

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050121/us_nm/quake_usa_muslims_dc_1 - Yahoo! News

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106292832&type=news

NEW YORK (Reuters)
By Manuela Badawy
Thu, Jan 20, 2005
A U.S. Muslim group on Thursday accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of using money donated fortsunami relief to convert people in South Asia to Christianity and called on the Bush administration to denounce his actions.

In an e-mailed weekly newsletter called "Falwell Confidential," which was obtained by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the evangelist said: "Hundreds of thousands are in dire need ofmedical attention and personal counseling. And in this heavily Muslim part of the world, millionshave never even heard of Jesus Christ."

The newsletter, which is distributed by Jerry Falwell Ministries, said donations would be used to distribute food and Gospel tracts in the region.

A Muslim who received the e-mail passed it on to the Council on American-Islamic Relations,council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said.

According to a statement on www.falwell.com and Liberty University's Web site, the school ispreparing a team to travel to India, Sri Lanka and other countries in South Asia. Falwell foundedLiberty University.

"Distribution of food and medical supplies, along with the dissemination of thousands of Gospeltracts in the language of the people will be the primary tasks of the team," the Web sites said."Mission trips to the Asian region by many (Liberty University) students will follow in the months, and perhaps years, to come."

But Dr. Eddie Pate, professor and leader of Liberty's tsunami aid effort, said he did not plan totake "any materials or pass anything out." He said the team is going to South Asia to work withlocal Christian groups that are distributing food and medicine, and helping small businessesrestart.

Falwell's office declined comment. The evangelist sparked controversy in 2002 when he calledMuslims' prophet Muhammad a "terrorist" during a television interview.

"This is not the first time we hear about this kind of proselytism," Hooper said. "This has anegative impact, first, on interfaith relations, and second, on the trust and work of legitimateinstitutions working there."

Hooper said missionaries acting as relief groups could hurt rather than help these vulnerablesocieties.

"It would make work for legitimate institutions more difficult. It also harms America's image, which is already pretty tarnished in the rest of the world."

The White House had no immediate comment.

Earlier this week, reports that the missionary group WorldHelp planned to airlift 300 tsunamiorphans from the Muslim province of Banda Aceh to Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, to raise them in a Christian children's home, caused a stir among Muslims. The group has dropped its plans, according to media reports.

WorldHelp officials were not immediately available for comment.

The tsunami has killed about 226,000 across Asia.

I'm collecting money on behalf of Jesus: Benny Hinn

2005-01-21T21:11:00.000+05:30

http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/01/20/2001bennyhinn.html IndiaInfo.Com

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106293180&type=articles

by Kiran Konaki
Thursday, January 20 2005 18:42 Hrs (IST)
indiainfo.com

A so-called crusader led a two-day crusade a few years ago at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain in which he said, "I cast out more devils than I think I've done in a long time. I mean they were screaming everywhere."

He went on to state that he converted mostly Hindus, which make up 30 percent of the population (of an African country), during his crusade.

The alleged crusader says, that all idol worshippers - Hindus - are followers of prostitution, black magic and many more filthy expressions.

Discuss this topic

Now, who is this so-called crusader?

Benny Hinn is his name, who claims to be the mystic healer, with whom Jesus allegedly speaks and who collects money on BEHALF of Jesus!!!

Benny was born in Israel, but several times has made claims of being Greek, Arab and other nationalities, what ever he felt was necessary at the time.

He immigrated to Canada and went to school in Toronto. Benny (who has no formal theological training) has apparently based his style on another questionable "faith healer"Kathryn Kuhlman.

He first started his Christian ministry in Toronto in the 1980's, branched into the very lucrative television market in the 1990's and in the last couple of years has branched out to the world.

Benny has a collaborator, named Pastor Paul Crouch, who is the head of Trinity Broadcasting Corporation (the largest Christian broadcasting network), who has asked his viewers (followers) to donate money generously and he said that the network needs Eight million US dollars to spread the Gospel throughout India and SAVE One billion souls from damnation.

Several Christian churches have called him a con man, a cheat who fleeces money from gullible people and his promise to people is that he will show Jesus alive (physicalmanifestation) on the stage, that too, during his discourse.

Few Examples:

A few examples of his cheating tricks and their results;

Benny Hinn preys on the most vulnerable and desperate people of society, the ones that medical science can no longer help, and worst yet the gullible. In a CBC program 'Witness', out of the 78 or so miracles that Benny claimed, he only gave out five addresses for a follow up.

Three of them are:

# The gentleman who was hurt in an industrial accident and had limited painful mobility of his legs, Benny made the claim that he was one of the healings, but a follow up showed that he was worst off than before he went to Benny.

# A second and more tragic was a woman with lung cancer, again Benny made the claim that she was healed and paraded her around on stage, she died later.

# The most tragic and the most despicable was the tragedy of the Prakashs family, a family that converted from Hindu to Christianity for the sole purpose of getting God and Benny to heal their dying son from a brain tumour. Benny agreed to bring the wheel-chaired boy upon the stage to be prayed for, (in normal circumstances, you will never see obvious deformities or medical problems paraded in front of the flock, they are much harder to manipulate), he also told the parents to expect a miracle. After the show, Prakash, the boys father, stated that God spoke to him during the service, and that he was going to send Benny $ 2000, seven weeks later the boy wasdead.

Benny Hinn is conducting a three-day 'Prayer Meeting' at Jakkur Airfields, Bangalore beginning from Jan 21 to Jan 23, 2005. The event is being organised by "Festival of Blessings".

In spite of several representations, which opposed the discourse, Chief Minister Dharam Singh has categorically stated that the discourse will go on.

The first sings of protest actually was ignited by some pamphlets distributed and circulated by the organisers and Hinn's followers, which described idol worshipping is similar to prostitution and black magic.

The Hindu Jagran Manch supported by Bharatiya Janata Party protested against this blasphemous write-ups and filed cases against the organisers as wells as the State Government.

The BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have given an ultimatum to the Government of Karnataka to ban the event, failing which they have threatened to launch a massive protest in Bangalore on January 21. Interestingly, BJP MP and former DIG H T Sangliana has confirmed his participation in Benny Hinn's prayer meeting.

A few Hindu religious Mutts, namely Murugarajendra Mutt, Sringeri Shankara Mutt and Vokkaligara Mutt held a dharna (sit-in) to oppose this large-scale conversion attempt in the garb of spiritual discourse. Whether they will succeed in stopping this veiled misdemeanour or whether Benny will continue his conning stunts? wait and see!

Mass petition to President on proselytisation of Vanvasis

2005-01-21T20:58:00.000+05:30

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=61&page=16 - Organiser

Jyoti Lal Choudhary
Organiser
January 23, 2005

Alarmed at the unabated proselytisation by Christian missionaries, the north-east Indigenous Tribal Faith and Culture Protection Forum (NEITFCPF) has taken up a multipronged action plan to put a halt to the practice. A sustained campaign for generating awareness among the tribals to resist conversion and protect their traditional faith is part of the strategy.

Mass petitions will be sent to the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, urging him to modify the presidential orders under Article 342 (i) of the Constitution “to deschedule a Vanvasi as ST, who has given up his indigenous faith and has embraced Christianity or Islam,” said Dharnidhar Bordoloi, a spokesman of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, an affiliate of NEITFCPF.

The converted Vanvasis, according to him, enjoy dual benefits of STs as well as of minorities. The issue was raised by Kartik Oraon, the Congress MP and Vanvasi leader, along with other 235 members, way back in 1967 for amendment of the constitutional provision. A recent Supreme Court judgement has clarified that “if by the reason of conversion to a different religion, Vanvasi, not following the traditional customs, rituals and other traits, may not be accepted as a member of the tribe.”

Indiscriminate religious conversions of Vanvasis are not only alienating them from their faith but also changing their mindset with serious ramifications. Despite a constitutional and legal ban on conversion by fraud, force and allurement, the process continues. States like Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have framed laws proscribing conversion, but these have not been effective in curbing the conversion drive of the Christian missionaries.

Bordoloi revealed that 18 per cent of the Vanvasis have been converted. An unusual growth of the Christian population in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tripura and those of Muslims in Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh should not be overlooked.

“The campaign”, he said, “is to mobilise public opinion to ban illicit conversions. The Central Government should learn a lesson from Indonesia. The targeted areas in the north-east are at international borders which are abounding with active insurgent groups and facing alien cultural invasion”, reminded Bordoloi.

Most importantly, the rights of the Vanvasis on forestland have to be legalised with a suitable amendment in the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. NEITFCPF suggests the year 1993 as the cut-off date to ensure undisputed hold of the Vanvasis on jal, jungle and zamin. In this respect, Bordoloi referred to the move of the Inspector General of Forests, GOI, vide his missive to the Chief Secretaries of all the states and Union Territories, dated February 5, 2004, to settle the claims of the tribal population on forestland.

“The awareness campaign through group and mass meetings will cover all the Vanvasi villages of the north-east,” he pointed out.

Govt bends it for Benny: Festival of blessings for organisers

2005-01-21T20:50:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106266209&type=news

Thursday January 20 2005 10:54 IST
newindpress.com
Bangalore

The State Government seems to be bending over backwards to ensure that it’s smooth sailing for controversial pastor Benny Hinn’s ‘Festival of Blessings’ at Jakkur Airfield fromFriday.

Pulling out all stops, it has got official clearances expedited. Several charges have also been dropped.

Putting the already understaffed police force under additional strain, men and resources of the city police and special police forces are being diverted for the three-day event. What’s more as entry to the show is free, police are not charging the organisers for the bandobust provided.

Security arrangements for the mega meet, claim the organisers, cannot be faulted as they have roped in five former DGPs as advisors: A release issued by the organisers statesthat former DG and IGP T. Srinivasulu who has also served as Security Advisor to the State Government, is their general advisor. Added to this, the overall security arrangements are being looked after by former DG and IGP F.T.R. Colaso, while retired DGP A.J. Anandan is in charge of traffic and parking and will be assisted by former DCP traffic M.T. Naik.

In case problems crop up, those attending have been asked to contact senior officers. DCP, North, Syed Ulfath Hussain is the nodal officer in charge of the event and the traffic at the venue will be under DCP, Traffic, West, Basavaraj Malagatti.

IG Fire Services, M.N. Reddi and DIG Fire Services N. Sunil Kumar are also on the list of officers who can be contacted in case of emergencies. The mobile phone numbers of the City Police Commissioner and Additional Commissioners have been publicised by the organisers.

A fleet of BMTC buses have been hired by the organisers to ferry those wishing to attend the fest while the APMC Yard has been virtually converted into a temporary bus depot. Even traffic regulations across the city have been altered to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles to the festival -- all at the cost of other vehicles. The Bellary Road, which has been earmarked for the parking of VVIP vehicles, has become a restricted area, out of bounds to other commuters.

Even as other chief ministers are thinking of skipping the meet because of the mounting pressure from various quarters, it is learnt that Dharam Singh has blessed the ‘Festival of Blessings’. The direction to ground the aircraft at the Jakkur airfield to facilitate the meet, came from no other place than the CMO.

Hinn seems poised to change history here, quite literally, thanks to the charitable steps taken by the External Affairs Ministry and the Home Department, who have cleared all hurdles for his visit by issuing him a special visa.

Most controversial evangelical prayer meet kicks off in Bangalore amid threats

2005-01-20T21:06:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106266451&type=news

Friday January 21 2005 00:00 IST
newindpress.com
Bangalore

Pastor Benny Hinn's Festival of Blessings kicks off Friday evening in the face of stiff opposition from various quarters making it the most controversial prayer meet ever held inBangalore.

Christian prayer meetings are not new to this city. On the contrary, Indian and foreign evangelists have held hundreds of such meetings over the decades, but never has there been such an outcry. What makes this event different is the controversial pastor and his international reputation as a con-artist that precedes him wherever he goes.

Against this backdrop, the Festival venue has turned into a high-security zone following threats. Over 10000 policemen and 2500 private security guards will make a show off strength to discourage trouble makers. Frisking and seizure of cigarettes, match boxes, lighters and anything that the Festival's security committee considers as threatening is a distinct possibility.

Movement within the venue will also be highly restricted. And even a harmless interruption will be dealt with severely by a police force on tenterhooks. The threat of a stampede in case of any major disturbance is imminent as three lakh people are expected.

Meanwhile, the show will go on. As Hinn's routine is engineered for maximum impact and stage-managed down to the last minute, it is possible to construct the plot to some extent. The pastor will make a grand entrance after an impressive audio-visual presentation of him doing God's work around the world. This will however be preceded by his troupe members revving up the crowds with choir music and chanting taking the teeming faithful to ecstatic pitch. Sound and lighting will manipulate the mood.

Hinn the great entertainer, will blow hot and cold on sin and hell on stage evoking responses from the crowd every now and then. He will sound strangely rehearsed even to those who have not witnessed his earlier performances on television.

Normally, the healing sham is the grand finale. But here, due to the outcry he is expected only to lead in prayer. This however remains uncertain. The script will not change much for all three days.

OFF THE RECORD

No cameras allowed? What are you scared of Pastor? That your gimmicks will be exposed for the umpteenth time?

The Festival of Blessings publicity committee has sent a press note stating no still, video cameras and other recording instruments will be allowed inside the venue ``due to high-security reasons''. Pray tell, what security threat will a lensman's apparatus pose at a peaceful prayer meeting, unless it threatens to expose the truth about Benny Hinn.

Southern Baptists Pray for Destruction of Hindu Temples

2005-01-20T11:29:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106197970&type=news
Courtesy - Indians Against Christian Aggression

The website of the International Mission Board (IMB), a branch of the infamous Southern Baptist Convention, is calling for American Southern Baptist missionaries to visit a prominent Hindu temple in India and pray for its destruction.

The mission assignment entitled “Jericho Prayerwalk” calls for missionaries to visit the temple “one of the holiest temples “temple once a day (at differing times) to walk around the complex praying for the people group. Pray specifically that the walls to the Gospel message will collapse like the walls of Jericho in Joshua.” In other words, missionaries should pray that all the local Hindus convert to Christianity and that their temple will be destroyed.

In the past, the Southern Baptist Convention distributed 30,000 copies of a handbook just before the most important Hindu festival of 1999, Diwali, stating that ''Hindus seek power and blessing through the worship of gods and goddesses and the demonic powers that lay behind them."

The missionary assignment can be viewed online at: http://going.imb.org/vim/Step_1/Details.asp?JobID=74546

"Prayer walk for seven days at one of the holiest temples of a particular people group in India. Visit the temple once a day (at differing times) to walk around the complex praying for the people group. Pray specifically that the walls to the Gospel message will collapse like the walls of Jericho in Joshua 6. Optional opportunities to minister in local churches and/or do evangelistic meetings in the evenings. "

Read it here... http://going.imb.org/vim/Step_1/Details.asp?JobID=74546

Admin's COMMENTS:
From now on if you see foreigners in your place of worship, don't be like simple villagers, and admire and amaze at how the foreigners are accepting your religion. They are not. Most of them are proabbably praying for the destruction of your faith, temples. What arrogance. And all this comes from the simple assumption that the Bible IS the word of god and that they are right and we are worng. Our minds have been taken over by Satan and therefore they can use any means neccessary to convert us and reform us. GEEEZ. Secularlism cannot save India. A firm govt that does not favour one faith while ignoring the sentiments of the others.

"people group in India" - They don't even call our faiths as religions.

Warning to Christians on a Mission to Save Souls

2005-01-20T10:09:00.000+05:30

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Asia-Tsunami/Warning-to-Christians-on-a-mission-to-save-souls/2005/01/22/1106334263086.html?oneclick=true

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106587322&type=articles

By Sebastien Berger
January 23, 2005
The Sun-Herald

For the devout Muslims of Aceh the disaster that has befallen them is a warning from Allah. For some Christians it is a God-given opportunity to convert the heathen.

Mainstream aid groups, even the openly Christian ones, make clear that they have no proselytising mission. Any evangelism is likely to lead to expulsion by the Indonesian authorities, already nervous at the influx of foreigners following the tsunami.

Nevertheless, some foreigners are prepared to run the risk of being caught trying to convert Muslims. "I'm not here to do relief work," said John, a Malaysian Chinese lawyer who did not want his surname published. His calling was missionary work, he said. "They are looking for answers," he said of the disaster victims, whom he described as particularly good candidates for conversion. "Now we are befriending them, giving them food aid, clothes and stuff. We need to make friends with them first rather than telling them the concept of salvation.

"Long-term that's where we are heading towards, to save their souls."

About 300 aid workers, almost half of them foreigners, from various Christian groups have taken over a Banda Aceh hotel in an operation led by Indonesia's National Prayer Network.AdvertisementAdvertisement

Pastor Sukendra Saragih, 44, of the Church of the Tabernacle of David in Medan and the operation's co-ordinator, was aware of local sensitivities about conversion. He sent home 10 people who described evangelism as their motive for coming.

"We are not coming here to Christianise the people but to share our life with them," he insisted. "We don't tell them directly about Jesus but we show our love through our actionsand the people will ask us, 'Why are you so different, why are you being so kind to us?'

"I answer, 'That's the way we have been taught'. They ask, 'Who taught you?'. And I answer, 'It's Jesus'."

Such attitudes are especially unwelcome in a region where signs outside the airport inform visitors that they are entering territory governed by Islamic sharia law.

On Friday, near scenes of devastation, thousands filled Banda Aceh's Masjid (mosque) Raya Baiturrahman and its grounds for the festival of Eid al-Adha. Prayers were followed by sacrifices of cattle and sheep.

One slaughterer found comfort in his faith: "Actually I am one of the victims," said Daud Hanafia. "From my family 22 people are gone and 18 survive. It is the will of Allah. We are very sad but I am still patient."

One of the mosque's imams warned Christian aid groups not to cross the line between charity and proselytising. "If they give help but at the end of the help they have a special mission to make the Aceh people become Christian, then forget it. We won't take the help at all," hesaid.

"If there is preaching then we will be very angry with them. We have our own religion, we believe it. You have your own religion, so believe it. Don't try to persuade others."

Several radical Islamic groups have also arrived in Aceh, partly to carry out relief work and partly to spread their own message.

"We watch foreign volunteers' activities," said Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, the leader of the Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders' Front), which would like a globalIslamic state and says it has 5 million members.

"I have received many local guests and they tell me that if they get Christians taking Acehnese children and asking them to change religion, they will cut their throats," he said.

Controversies dog Benny Hinn's show

2005-01-20T10:05:00.002+05:30

Controversies dog Benny Hinn's show

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106587625&type=news
2005-01-24 Published by NDTV

A three-day faith show here by American evangelist Benny Hinn may have concluded without any major trouble, but it has left behind a trail of controversies. With the Karnataka government going all out to provide the logistics support for the Festival of Blessings that concluded here Sunday night, the high-tech show attracted nearly a million people from all over India and some from abroad. Though massive protests, a 12-hour shutdown and stray incidents of violence in the city overshadowed the inaugural day, the congregation passed off peacefully during the weekend much to the relief of the organisers and the state government. While prayers and high-decibel choir sessions under dazzling lights and special effects drew applause, the healing sessions at the end drew protests and questions by rationalists and rightwing Hindu activists on the "miracle powers" of the Israeli-born Hinn.

In fact, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Dharam Singh for permitting Hinn to conduct the festival and "mislead" the people with his healing powers to cure the sick and terminal patients. Challenging Hinn's claims that several people got cured of their diseases by participating in the prayer-cum-healing sessions with the blessings of Jesus Christ, Hindu activists said an equal number of sick went home disappointed with no change in their health condition. Refuting the charges, Hinn told the gathering that god alone was the healer and he simply prayed to invoke the lord's blessings to cure the sick and help the poor as Jesus Christ did over 2,000 years ago.

Why were only the "so-called cured" allowed on stage?

2005-01-20T10:05:00.001+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106618167&type=news

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/999304.cms

BANGALORE
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2005 11:04:03 PM ]
SMITHA RAO & HEMALI CHHAPIA

For three days now, the city has groaned under the weight of the Benny Hinn show. Many of the apparently "healed" have justified the need for the mega-scale event, despite the multitude of problems.

But the jury is still out on whether Hinn is a "religious fraud" or someone with higher connections to the 'Lord'.

Sample this: Why were only the "so called cured" allowed on stage? Col Samuel (Retd) apparently suffers from immobility of the right side of his body. Hoping for a "miracle,"he, braved the crowd and managed to shuffle up to the stage; to be rudely jostled away by an organiser who said, "Only if you are healed, you can go on the stage. If not, your time has not come."

Then the question, are they really cured forever? And why are there no doctors from the city hospitals, but mostly from Hinn’s ministry? The next query is, what actually isthe "miracle", what is the modus operandi on stage in this age of reason at IT City? Neither Hinn nor his stooges have any answer except a tepid "faith".

Africa's Christian soldiers

2005-01-20T10:05:00.000+05:30

Africa's Christian soldiers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4169273.stm

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106617741&type=news

By Robert Pigott
Religious affairs correspondent, Kenya
BBC

As Christianity fights to keep its place in an increasingly secular European society, it is flourishing in parts of the developing world, particularly in Africa.

The single-engined plane wobbled violently on its approach to the dirt strip at Marsabit, but the McGregor family maintained a cheerful calm.

Two hours earlier in Nairobi the diminutive woman pilot had strapped us in and then announced: "I'm going to pray now," in a way that suggested more than just a perfunctory formality.

But the McGregors - an improbably blond family of Anglican missionaries from Florida - were bouncing down safely enough amid a cloud of red dust, and about to be greeted by an impromptu committee of indigenous children posed around an ancient bicycle.

The McGregors had arrived with the Christian message for the nomadic camel herders on Kenya's northern borders. These are what are known as the "un-reached" - peoplewith traditional African religions never before approached by missionaries.

That task lay ahead, but today Todd and Patsy McGregor were to baptise people of the Samburu and Rendille tribes converted in previous months.

'Riot of colour'

Their distant village lay along an unpaved road, empty apart from a broken down bus and a group of baboons which watched us reproachfully as we passed.

The baptisms took place under an acacia tree, next to a scattering of stick and cloth huts.

Todd McGregor pulled a surplice over his tropical beach shirt and used water from a stainless steel bowl to splash on the foreheads of 37 women and three men. It was a riot of colour and celebration.

People dressed in orange and red, and weighed down with elaborate head-dresses and multiple necklaces of beads, swayed and chanted.

The McGregors jigged along, straw-haired daughters slapping hands with local girls.

This was not the stern Christianity of the early missionaries with their European disapproval of indigenous practices.

Instead, a new Africanised Christianity is being presented to susceptible people.

Local beliefs - including a single divine creator, a God who was once on earth, and a spiritual existence after death- bear an eerie similarity to the Bible.

Modern missionaries are primed to discover such traditions, and co-opt them in the service of Christianity.

It is a softly-softly approach.

Only later will the McGregors tackle the endemic wife-beating and female genital mutilation.

It is enough for now that women are telling us that Christianity is changing their lives, and that it is even easier to love their husbands.

Stage presence

As the McGregors baptise the Samburu one-at-a-time in Marsabit, in Nairobi the Maximum Miracle Centre is planning a mass evangelisation.

Tens of thousands turn up in Independence Park for the highly charged event. This is Pentecostalism in its modern African form, stressing hope and personal salvation, and providing an emotional release from a life of hardship.

The star act is Rose Muhando, who sings emotively of desertion by her husband and rejection by her family.

Her performance reaches catharsis as she collapses on the stage, twitching melodramatically and still moaning into the microphone.

There is a gratifying response.

Many in the congregation cry, some beat their chests. A few simply lie flat out on the ground.

People are asked if they want to be saved. Hundreds push forward, hands raised, to be led away, glassy-faced, for counselling.

Next there is instruction in the art of giving. A pastor describes how he gave so much to the church that people told him he was crazy. But he ended up with an expensive car, he explained, such was the grace of God.

As people crowd forward, he calls on them to give whatever Jesus is telling them to give, but then suggests 200 shillings, about a day's pay for the average Kenyan.

As hands come up clutching notes to be put on the stage, stewards adroitly scoop them back from the edge.

The whole thing has a practised air, but Pastor Pius Muiru, a podgy man in a tent-like robe, tells me later that he had not intended to ask for money that evening.

He says that he suddenly thought how appropriate it would be for people to have the chance to thank God for nurturing them through the year.

Religious rivalry

Meanwhile, the McGregors are pursuing their own conversion strategy.

Today it is among the un-reached people of the Gabbra tribe near the border withEthiopia.

Unusual rains have given the arid earth of the Chalbi Desert a superficial bloom of green that is already withering in the ceaseless wind.

The family gains entry to a stick and cloth hut. They sip tea, inspect children and smile winningly.

But at a nearby settlement - where people are gathered at a well filling plastic drums with water - the atmosphere is uneasy.

Muslim missionaries have been here already.

According to the McGregors, the Muslims are even more accepting of local practices, including the unequal position of women.

The men watering camels seem indifferent to our presence, but the women are restive.

One brandishes a stone menacingly. Our local guide is getting nervous. We retreat - sparkling Floridian smiles intact - towards the Land Rover.

None of this will daunt the McGregors though.

Converting the un-reached is their purpose, their whole function.

Hinn Finishes India Trip, Vows to Return to Hyderabad in 2006

2005-01-20T10:04:00.000+05:30

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106540580&type=news

Rediff
January 24, 2005 08:53 IST

Controversial American evangelist Benny Hinn wound up his India trip after thousands of people attended his prayer meeting just outside Bangalore on Sunday night.

Hinn claimed that he had cured several people of ailments with the blessings of Jesus Christ, but hundreds of disabled and sick people returned disappointed, without getting anyremedy.

"I love India and I will come back to India," Hinn said, adding that his ministry, based in Bangalore, would hold a similar congregation in February 2006 at Hyderabad.

A doctor, meanwhile, lodged a police complaint against Hinn and the organisers of the show, seeking action for what he said was the death of a man due to cardiac arrest after being pushed by Hinn on the stage on Saturday.

The Karnataka government, which was under attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party for allowing Hinn to hold the three-day event, had made elaborate security arrangements, deploying nearly 10,000 personnel.

Scores of buses were damaged on Friday in a bandh called by the Hindu Jagarana Vedike, alleging that the prayer meet was aimed at "conversion".

Fundamentalist Christians say Hindu temple in US raises ‘Third World’ horror

2005-01-20T10:02:00.001+05:30

Fundamentalist Christians say Hindu temple in US raises ‘Third World’ horror

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106532983&type=news

HUGO MARTI
The Telegraph, Calcutta India
LOS ANGELES TIMES-WASHINGTON POST NEWS SERVICE

It was proposed as the largest Hindu temple and cultural centre in southern California, an ornate structure with the kind of religious status held by the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.

But when a non-profit Hindu organisation selected Chino Hills farmland for the project, Christian residents in this wealthy bedroom community of San Bernardino County protested vehemently, saying it would generate too much traffic, ruin the city’s rural atmosphere and become an unwanted regional attraction.

Objections also surfaced from evangelist opponents who said the project would turn Chino Hills into a “Third World city” and a haven for terrorists. One Christian petition to stop the project said the temple would play a role in “changing the city's demographics forever”.

Now, three weeks after the Chino Hills City Council blocked the project by refusing to allow the temple’s spires to exceed the city’s height limit, local Hindu leaders are struggling to decide whether to fight the decision in court or continue their four-year search for a home base for southern California’s burgeoning Hindu population.

“Our issue was very clear: We would like to be an asset to the community,” said Govind Vaghashia, a spokesman for the project proponent, Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu branch commonly known as Baps.

Adam Eliason, the chairman of the city’s planning commission, supported the Hindu project, calling it an asset to the city. “It’s a beautiful building with wonderful landscaping and water features,” he said.

Hindu leaders say the project is significant not just for Chino Hills residents but for southern California’s growing Hindu population, which hopes for a grand, beautifully sculptured temple that would celebrate the history and culture of Hinduism. They said many Baps Hindus now worship at a converted union hall in Whittier.

“The Indian population is growing very big in southern California,” said Nadadur Vardhan, president of the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California, which operates a large temple in Calabasas that serves a different Hindu branch.

Statewide, the number of Indian residents nearly doubled over the last decade to 314,819, keeping California the national leader. Census figures show that of the Asian subgroups in the state, the Indian population shot up the fastest during the 1990s.

The Chino Hills temple “would be a matter of pride for most Hindus in southern California,” said Vinay Lal, an associate professor of South Asian history at UCLA.

The fight over the temple in Chino Hills is the latest in dozens of skirmishes around the country in recent years over plans to build bigger houses of worship, land use experts say. In August, a 20,000-square-foot gurdwara opened in San Jose after a 10-year battle withneighbours.

Chino Hills is home to about 500 Hindu families, according to Baps officials. The 2000 Census estimates that 1,320 of the county’s 7,368 residents of Indian descent live in Chino Hills. But the city has no temple. Hindu residents must drive to temples in Whittier or Riverside to attend weekly services.

As envisioned, the 164,372-square-foot Baps facility — including a temple, a cultural centre, two gymnasiums, classrooms and living quarters for swamis — would have served Hindus throughout the region.

The battle over the temple and cultural centre dates to 1989, when Baps representatives made plans to build the project on a 15-acre parcel near the commercial centre of the city. But city officials had plans to build a civic centre on the same property. Under a deal negotiated between city and Baps representatives, the sanstha let the city buy the land and city officials promised to help it find an alternative site in Chino Hills.

After investigating 20 locations over four years, Baps chose a 20-acre parcel of farmland east of the Chino Valley Freeway, near a sewage treatment facility, several industrial firms and a mobile home park.

As word spread about the project, Chino Hills residents began to inundate City Hall with letters and e-mails, most in opposition to it.

Christian Aid Flows to Tsunami Victims

2005-01-20T10:02:00.000+05:30

Christian Aid Flows to Tsunami Victims

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106532857&type=articles

BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press
LADONG, Indonesia
Fri, Jan. 21, 2005

The Americans in matching T-shirts were greeted as heroes when they arrived one afternoon with clean water and medical care. But how the help got here was something the tsunami survivors could scarcely comprehend.

The forces of faith, fund-raising and globe-trotting volunteerism have opened a stream of private Christian aid to one of the most religiously conservative corners of MuslimIndonesia.

From the volunteers in a Ladong palm grove to aid provided by Samaritan's Purse, a group run by the son of evangelist Billy Graham, the initiatives show the power of church congregations to gather donations when tragedy strikes.

It also highlights the rising aspirations among a new style of Christian relief leagues mostly linked to evangelists and activists in the United States.

For decades, most U.S. faith-based relief agencies have followed a pact: access to government funds in exchange for promises not to seek converts or upset local customs. Even groups that don't take U.S. financial help are on board. Nearly all agree to a code of conduct thatseparates aid from religious outreach.

The tsunami disaster, however, has given a high-profile stage for other Christian groups outside the established framework.

It's still very rare for any church group to openly combine overseas assistance with missionary work - especially in the Muslim world. But it remains highly sensitive. Some Islamic leaders in Indonesia have warned of a sharp response to any Christian visitor accused ofproselytizing.

Hasri Husan, a leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, a militant Muslim group that is operating a refugee camp in Banda Aceh, made his feelings clear.

"We will chase down any Christian group that does anything beyond offering aid," he said before making a slashing motion across his throat.

"We don't go around waving Bibles," said Ron Day, part of the 13-member team setting up water filtration and other provisions at a small refugee camp in Ladong, about 10 miles east of Banda Aceh, the hub of international relief efforts. "I know that is sometimes the perception. But it's wrong. As Christians, we are called to help others, but we don't insist that others believewhat we do."

Day's group, Strategic World Impact, has become a rising force among the Christian aid brigades. SWI - run by veteran Christian rights campaigner Kevin Turner - offers war zone and disaster area training near its Bartlesville, Okla., headquarters. When a crisis hits, it sends out the call to alumni in congregations around the country. Since the late 1990s, the teams have operated from Bosnia to Myanmar.

Day, a freelance video cameraman from Akron, Ohio, got the e-mail shortly after the tsunami struck Dec. 26. A business associate paid half his travel costs.

"We're here as aid workers, not missionaries," said Day, who attends a non-denominational church. "That being said, it's not impossible to think of someone we helped asking us to pray with them and we also saying, `Of course, and you can also pray with us.'"

One of SWI's mission statements is "the evangelization of the world." Their T-shirts show a small rendition of their logo, a man holding a cross and a handful of wheat in the air.

This is where it could get complicated in northwestern Indonesia, a region of deep religious significance as the first part of the archipelago to come in contact with Islamictraders nearly 1,000 years ago.

The country's most influential group of Muslim clerics has warned they would "not remain quiet" if Christian groups step beyond offering aid. It's a threat taken seriously in acountry where thousands have died in Christian-Muslim violence in recent years.

"This taxi driver asks me, `Are you a fanatical Christian?'" said Steve Dawson, an SWI team leader from Tacoma, Wash. "I tell him, `Well, maybe I am because Jesus says love yourenemies and I love my enemies.' And then I say to him, `I even pray for Osama bin Laden.'"

Terrorism has changed aid giving. Some of the conservative Christian leaders who have outraged Muslims also have mounted aid campaigns to Indonesia.

Evangelist Franklin Graham, the son of veteran preacher Billy Graham, called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion" following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. His Samaritan's Purse relief organization sent a 747 cargo jet with medical and humanitarian supplies as part of a $10 million aid effort. The younger Graham toured battered coastal towns in Sri Lanka and Indonesia thisweek.

A team from evangelist Jerry Falwell's Liberty University plans to travel to regions hit by the tsunami to bring supplies and "thousands of Gospel tracts in the language of the people," according to an announcement. In 2002, Falwell called the Prophet Mohammad a "terrorist" but later apologized.

Smaller Christian groups linked to evangelical churches also have joined the flow of tsunami help.

"Just when our nation's image in the Islamic world was improving as a result of the outpouring of American aid in the tsunami disaster area, we hear from those who would exploit the tragedy to advance their own extremist agenda," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.

Efforts such as Falwell's often have an uneasy rapport with more mainstream faith-based groups - nearly all agreeing to the U.S. funding rules blocking proselytization.

The American Council for Voluntary International Action, which represents more than 160 relief and development agencies, also has developed a set of standards for its members that indirectly discourages proselytizing.

"Nowadays, most people are thinking that Christian witness involves both word and deed so they are seeing this as a holistic ministry," Dudley Woodberry, an expert on Islam and Christian mission at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "In many cases, they are not allowed to proselytize so it basically has to be the ministry of deed."

But "certainly some people are using it as an entry strategy" for missionary work,he added.

Sri Lankan Buddhists Refuse Aid After Christian Conversion Attempt

2005-01-20T10:01:00.000+05:30

Sri Lankan Buddhists Refuse Aid After Christian Conversion Attempt

http://www.kentaxrecords.com/iaca/php/item_display.php?id=1106532668&type=news

Galle, Jan. 21 2005
The Telegraph, Calcutta, India
NISHA LAHIRI

Usawathun Hasana Maha Vidyalaya was supposed to start classes on Wednesday. But for now, all the activity is focused on cleaning up the school. Principal Hussain runs around trying to coordinate the work and counsel students.

“We lost 28 students and one teacher. Many students are still shocked. It will take long time,” he mumbles, before rushing away.

Lending helping hands are university students, scrubbing windows, doors, tables and chairs and taking soaked books out to dry in the sun.

Behind the school is the devastated village of Siyabalagahawatta, Dewata. One Muslim family of 14 lost 12 members. The survivors have left, probably never to return. The village has lost many and
the survivors are still having to remove the bodies. A few are still missing.

At the relief camp here in the local Buddhist temple, R. Sunil stands gazing into the distance.

The blank stare tells his story of loss. His wife and three daughters were washed away by the
waves; he has no home and belongings any longer. His son survived by clinging to a tree.

Sporting a uniform donated by a trading company, Sunil, a daily labourer at a nearby factory, sometimes plays with young girls at the makeshift day-care centre, which was set up so that parents can go back to cleaning their homes. Clothes are the only things most could salvage and they are still being hung out to dry.

Wellabada, Megalle, is like a ghost town. There is hardly a soul among the rubble. A water bottle hangs on a tree, a toy car sits on the road, stray dogs make their home in piles of debris that were once homes. Outside one house, a few soaked photographs have been laid out to dry. In another, a couple washes the floor, surrounded by two-and-a-half walls.

The harbour town, behind a Sri Lankan navy base, was ravaged by the killer waves. Beutin was cooking at home when she heard the sound of the waves. She thought it was a bomb targeting the navy and ran out. As the waves roared in, she clung to a tree and suffered only a head injury — and stomach problems from the water she swallowed.

Paraliya Jinarathana School has been reduced to a heavily damaged structure with no classrooms. A group of volunteers from across the world has set up base here, with medical, clean-up and counselling assistance. A group of children is kept busy painting chairs and tables or drawing.

Behind the school, a train stands forlorn, empty and bent out of shape in places.

The train was thrown off the tracks resulting in hundreds of deaths. It has been put back on the rails, but there are no passengers.

At another Buddhist temple-turned-relief camp near Hikkaduwa, 12-year-old Chandan approaches most visitors with a hello and a curious smile. Asked if he’s okay, the reply is a reluctant, confused shake of the head.

In IDH Place, Mahamodara, survivors huddle together in tents, looking at strangers with suspicion.

A few days ago, a Christian relief organisation came to them, offering aid. But theBuddhist Sri Lankans were asked to convert to Christianity. They refused the aid and are wary of accepting any more.