Need for RSS-Christian Dialoguehttp
(Talk by P.N.BENJAMIN, Co-coordinator, Bangalore Initiative for ReligiousDialogue (BIRD) at the Ecumenical Christian Centre, Whitefield, Bangalore, on 13May, 2002)
“LORD, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sowlove; where there is doubt, let me sow faith; where there is despair, let mebring hope; where there is sorrow, let me bring joy; where there is darkness,light. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as toconsole; not so much to be understood as to understand; not so much to be loved,as to love. For, it is in giving that we receive; in pardoning that we arepardoned; in dying that we are born to eternal life.” AMEN.
Nowadays, when I occasionally find myself standing before an audience – one of those bad habits after I have crossed the two score and ten year mark; andnever, by the way, in a more educated and enlightened group than this – I alwayshave the feeling as I look around, as I do now, at your faces; a deep,passionate longing to be able to say something memorable, to shed some light.But, forgive me, if I do not come up to that expectation.I have been billed to speak to you today on the Scope for RSS-ChristianDialogue. But before I go into it, here’s a word about my Christian commitmentand witness in this troubled times. I have always loved John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’sProgress, perhaps because its hero remains on the move up to the very end. Evenwhen he is crossing that last river, with Mount Sion actually in sight, he isstill assailed by doubts and troubled by the hazards of his journey. I, too,have found no finality in the quest for a sure faith, and do not expect, or evenhope to. At the same time, I dare to say as I have plodded on, the light hasshone a little more brightly and steadily for me. To make this light shinebefore men, as Christ exhorted us, has always seemed to me the highest that anycommunicator can hope to achieve – even if it amounts to more than, as it were,striking a match in a dark cavern, which flares up and flickers out. Such, atany rate, is the purpose of this message, undertakenwith no expert knowledge, no sudden Damascus Road illumination; representing nomore than the efforts of a typical twentieth century skeptical mind at thedawning years of the twenty-first – to grapple with the circumstances of hislife and time.A peep into the pastIndia is the homeland of four world religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism andSikhism. The ancient sages have from time to time formulated differentperceptions of the Almighty. Almost all the non-Indian religions set foot onIndian soil right from their very beginning. Even in their own lands of origin,Christianity and Islam faced stiff opposition in the battle for survival. Incontrast, in India, these two religions received hospitality. The mainsprings ofIndia’s emotional unity did not arise from its religions, but from its verycultural base. The cultural superstructure was supremely capable of containingall religious systems in all their genuine fullness and grandeur.The modern India is a land, not of one religion, but of diverse religions. Thestate does not sponsor or foster any one religion at the expense of the others.This is in keeping with the genius of India, which through the ages has followedthe path, not of mere tolerance, but of acceptance of diversities of creed andpractice. Of course, this process of assimilation has to go on continuously.There have been periods when Hinduism has been mainly on the defensive, buildingup walls, mostly caste regulations, to protect itself from the inroads of otherfaiths. But there have also been glorious periods when at least creativeindividuals have cast aside protective shells and entered into faithfulintercourse with other faiths, resulting in significant mutations and advancesin the nation’s culture and progress.AssimilationKabir, the inspired weaver of northern India, declared that there was neitherHindu nor Muslim, but only man as the embodiment of the Divine. The beautifullegend that his dead body, over which Hindus and Muslims were quarrelling fortheir respective rites of burial or cremation, was found, when the covering wasremoved, to have disappeared, leaving behind a bunch of flowers, testifies tothe reconciliation that he had urged between the warring creeds. There have beenother efforts at reconciliation or assimilation in modern times — like theBrahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Movement.But the effort at assimilation has to be continually made at fresh levels. Adecadent India under foreign rule failed to work out a creative synthesis undermodern conditions and has paid dearly for that failure. The vivisection of Indiaon the basis of religion has been a sad consequence of our failure to embody thepeculiar genius of our country in terms of modern thoughts and needs. But thepartition has not, as we know, removed the challenges of rival faithsco-existing in this country.Christians in India are uniqueDelivering the first Stanley Samartha memorial lecture last year, FrancoisGautier, the India-South Asia political correspondent of Le Figaro said:“Christians in India are unique: not only did the first Christian community inthe world establish itself in India but before the arrival of Jesuits with Vascode Gama in the 16th century, they developed an extraordinary religiouspluralism, adopting some of the local customs, while retaining their faith inChrist and accepting the existence of other religious practices. Even thoughthey constitute only less than 3% of the population, they wield an enormousinfluence in India through education mainly because many of India’s topeducational institutions are Christian and also because of the quality care inChristian hospitals and nursing homes. Finally, Indian Christians are oftengentle, soft-spoken, friendly and God-fearing.”Innate spiritualityMore than anything, Christians in India are alive. Not many of us realize thatChristianity in the West is on the ebb: church attendance is often dangerouslylow in European countries; there are very few boys and girls nowadays who wishto become priests and nuns and thus, many parishes have no ministers, whereastill the sixties, the smallest hamlets had its church priest. Compare this withIndia, which has such a small percentage of Christians: India has 14,000Catholic priests, 60,000 nuns, 6 million children being taught in Catholicschools, 126 seminaries and 44 seminarists for 100,000 habitants (against, sayin the Catholic France, 3 for 100,000). I do not have the statistics on theProtestant Christians. But do Christians in India realize, then, that they maybe holding high the flame of Christ in the world, because of the innatespirituality with which most Indians are gifted, be they Hindu, Christian,Muslim or Jains?It is true that there seems to have crept a certain rigidity in the thinking ofIndian Christians in the last few years. It may be due to the feeling of fearthey have experienced after many Christians have been attacked since 1998 byHindu groups. But these are isolated incidents and are bound to abate ( haven’tthey already abated ?) if Christians and Hindus sit down and iron out theirdifferences. After all, Christians should not forget that they were able to liveand prosper for centuries in a multi-religious India, as Stanley Samartha hadremarked: “the extreme tolerance of India, where Hindu gurus had Muslimdisciples and Sufi saints had Hindu disciples, where Jews and Zorastriansrefugees too came and lived among the Hindus without being disturbed, isunparalleled”.The Christian dilemmaToday the Indian Christian community is in the horns of a dilemma – to dialogueor not to dialogue with the RSS, the Hindu “extremist” organization. A debate iscurrently raging, and anxiety is spreading in the community on the dangers anddesirability of this dialogues. Critics say: “The RSS-Christian dialogues do notseem to be informed by a sense of purpose. One dialogue follows another withoutany idea as to what needs to be accomplished in the process. Christian groupsseem to be competing among themselves in appeasing the RSS. RSS is intolerant toother religions. They demolished Babri Masjid. It continues to propagatereligious fundamentalism, communalism and cultural nationalism. Its chief,Sudarshan has questioned the loyalty of churches and called forre-interpretation of Christian scriptures. The admiration of the RSS chief forthe Syrian Christians is intended to divide the churches. And above all, RSSdoes not represent the majority of Hindus”.Dialogue – core of Christian faithI believe Christians must encourage dialogue. Dialogue is at the core of theirfaith. The Bible is the story of a dialogue disrupted and restored: the dialoguebetween God and man. Dialogue is a necessary tool for overcoming alienation andhalting the march of misunderstanding. By his example, Jesus has insisted thatno one should be outside the pale of dialogue for Christians. It is childish toinsist that we should not dialogue with RSS because they are our tormenters andthey do not form the majority of Hindu community. Dialogue presupposesdifferences and disagreements. At the same time, dialogue must stand on thewillingness, on both sides, to see and accept the truth; something that cannotbe taken for granted in either parties at the present time.Common searchThe search for understanding among people of differing faiths is the need of thehour. The role of different religious communities in a common search for justiceand peace and in unfolding their theological and spiritual resources will enablefollowers of different religions to enter into dialogue with integrity and hope.It is not only intellectual understanding that is required of those whoencounter neighbours of other faiths but also a need for the courage to be freeand open in such meetings. It is a challenge to all of us who live in a countryof religious pluralism. It is a call to overcome “the fear of losing one’sidentity, of being shaken in one’s comfortable beliefs, of being confronted withand perhaps compelled to acknowledge the truth in another camp, of recognizingthat the stranger at the gate might turn out to be a fellow pilgrim”.To promote dialogues and to encourage reflection on the social, political andreligious issues that arise in such encounters we must first of all removedoubts, overcome reluctance and make clear each other’s motives. A single themeholds it together – the concern for inter-religious understanding andcooperation in the quest for larger community in a world of tensions andconflicts.Humility and loveGenuine dialogue demands humility and love. Dialogue is both an expression offaith and a sign of hope. Dialogue also demands a level of consciousness thatrefuses to take an easy course to the spiritual and so waits for answers,however tentative they may turn out to be. Dialogue does not accept the gulfbetween religions as permanent, and asks people of each tradition to re-treadthe path they have travelled in history.The alternative to dialogue is coercion. At a time when technology has sharpenedthe edges of aggression and the erosion of our sense of fellow-humanity hasremoved all inhibitions, it is imperative that we talk to each other – to ourenemies and friends alike. But we must dialogue not just because of thelikelihood, otherwise, of hurting or getting hurt. We must dialogue because ofour commitment to spread goodwill and to break the spell of misunderstanding.Dialogue is basic to the dynamics of peace. And Christians are mandated to be“peace-makers”, which includes the duty to accept the risks and costscomprehended in peace making.Christians need to practise dialogue. In the past they have done disservice totheir duty to proclaim the Gospel by excluding the discipline of dialogue fromthe dynamics of their proclamations. They have got used to a one-way traffic incommunication and have almost forgotten the art of being sensitive to others.The duty to listen has evaporated from the right to be heard. As a result, attimes the Good News proclaimed by them sounds like Bad News. So, they need todialogue, not as experts in dialogue but as novices who have a lot to learn. Weall need to dialogue, if only to learn to dialogue.Spiritual and ethical valuesInter-religious dialogues can eliminate religious conflicts and intolerances.Essentials as between the different religions are few and simple and it ispossible to conceive and state these in the broadest spirit so as to exclude noone. It will be easier for one to understand the best in another religion whenone understands the best in one's own religion. Thus true loyalty to the best inone’s religion is hardly ever in conflict with the best in other religions.Emphasis more on spiritual and ethical values, as distinct from rituals, dogmasor doctrines, will tend to bring devotees of different religions closertogether. True religion should be understood as a constant and continuous questfor the fuller and still fuller comprehension of God and Truth and thereforewithout any end. When such spiritual quest goes on actively, differences anddiscords will tend to disappear among all such seekers.Undoubtedly, within any religious community, the web of relationships betweenthe human and the divine, between individual freedom and social discipline,between a partial recognition of the meaning of life and a humbleacknowledgement of the mystery of existence, is complex, delicate, and fragile.“Religious commitments go much deeper than intellectual explanations. They touchthe total life of the individual and the collective personality of thecommunity. One must tread gently on hallowed ground and be careful not to offendthe sensitivities or hurt the emotions of people. The obstacle to dialogue isnot so much the absence of a theology of dialogue as a lack of courage to meetpartners of other faiths and ideological convictions freely and openly in aclimate of openness and freedom”. (Samartha).Unprecedented crisisChristianity in today’s India with a renascent Hinduism faces an unprecedentedcrisis. If it is alive to the situation and sensitive to the signs of time, ithas to rethink itself, reorient itself, and rediscover its basic substance andinterpret that in terms acceptable to the Indian mind and genius, wrote Prof.S.K.George, in the Niyogi Commission Report in early 1950s. His words arerelevant today more than ever before.Christians form just about 3% of the Indian population. “Very often they have todepend not so much on their rights as on the goodwill and generosity of powerfulmajority Hindu community. Christians in India are dependent in a double sense,on the goodwill of the Hindus and on the churches in the West whose fellowshipsustains them and whose affluence often supports them. Judging from numbersthere is hardly any equality in relationship. But Christians in India can play acreative and critical role in the life of our nation. What matters most is thequality of their life as Christians and the courage of their faith”. (Dr.Samartha, Courage for Dialogue). That’s exactly what the recent controversialBangalore resolution of the RSS said!Loyalty to India?The RSS and other Hindutva organizations have unfortunately questioned theloyalty of the Indian Christians to this country. But let us not blame them“because during the colonial era Indian Christians were not particularly notedfor their patriotism or participation in the struggle for Independence, bycontrast to the Christians in Indonesia. Indian Christians as a community arenot spiritually rooted in their own culture. As long as this continues – and aslong as Western churches promote this dependence – the burden of proving theirIndianness and their wholehearted commitment to the life of this nation is verymuch on the Indian Christians. Dialogue, properly understood and responsiblycarried out, might help both Christians and their Hindu neighbours to examinecritically the process of Westernization and its effects on their minds andhearts”. (Courage for Dialogue – Stanley Samartha).Reject past errorsThe attitudes Indian Christians have inherited towards neighbours of otherfaiths were very largely shaped in the colonial era, with Europe dominatedhistory, church-centred theology, and unexamined assumptions of Westernsuperiority in race, culture, and religion. The church in India should give upthis posture and should have the courage to reject past errors and seek new waysof relationships with their neighbours. The right to profess, practise andpropagate one’s faith should be used faithfully and responsibly, not in anaggressive and flamboyant style. Highly organized missionary activities,supported by vast sums of money from abroad, using expensive mass advertisingtechniques, loudly proclaiming the word to large crowds, quite often bypreachers from outside whose knowledge of the people’s religion and culture islimited – do these constitute the way of Christ? Our neighbours in the communityshould be regarded not as statistics but as persons, not as potential recruits to the kingdom but as partners in common enterprises in the community.”What’s genuine conversion?Now I turn to the question of conversion. No one can deny that genuineconversions do take place through the influence of one individual on another. Inthe mid 1970s, a lovely Canadian girl came to India on a government of Indiascholarship to learn Bharata Natyam. Like most of her generation in the West,she was an agnostic. She was U.S.Krishna Rao’s star pupil and made her debut insix months. One day she met Mother Teresa. She fell under her spell. Sheabandoned dance and donned the robes of a nun. “You are a born artist. How dareyou become a nun?” Krishna Rao raged in vain. She went to Calcutta and later toMexico where she was working in a slum when I last heard about her. Not even Mr.Sudarshan, the RSS chief, could quarrel with such a conversion. But when awell-organised body financed by foreign money begins to shift a whole herd ofpeople from one caste to another one begins to suspect their motives.‘Crusading’ spiritSome thirty five years ago, a brilliant Danish Professor in the UnitedTheological College, Bangalore, made history when he said: “Hindus, Muslims andBuddhists should never give up their religion to join the Christian Church”. Onthe other hand the Church should humble itself and find ways of identifyingitself with other groups, taking Christ with them. Christ, he said, was not thechairman of the Christian party. If God is the Lord of the universe he will workthrough every culture and religion. We must give up the crusading spirit of thecolonial era and stop singing weird hymns like “Onward Christian soldiersmarching as to war”. This will lead to Hindu Christianity or BuddhistChristianity.It may involve the disappearance of the Indian Christian community, but hereminded us “a grain of wheat remains a solitary grain unless it falls to theground and dies”. Needless to say, the Indian Christians were furious. He leftthe College, the Church and the mission and took refuge with the Danish ForeignService! He later returned to India as his country’s Ambassador and died inharness in 1988.Pomp and splendourAbout a hundred and fifty years ago England was sending out a very importantAnglican Church dignitary as Metropolitan of Calcutta. The Brahmin priests gotwind of it. They were perturbed. This foreign religion might become a threat totheir own traditions. They must investigate. So, they sent one of their men toassess the situation. He wandered around the city till he came to the Bishop’sresidence. It was a vast sprawling opulent mansion. As he stood at the gate, thegreat man walked down the steps, dressed in his magnificent robes. He steppedinto the waiting carriage drawn by two horses with a postillion sitting at therear. The Brahmin returned to his friends. “Have no fears”, he said, “This isnot a religion we need to fear.” The priests were relieved for the pomp andsplendour of organized Christianity holds no appeal for any genuine seeker aftertruth.The ‘onlyness’.The most precious freedom that Indian Christians enjoy is to hold Jesus Christas their saviour, as the Son of God, as the “only true divinity”. It is theirabsolute right to cherish that belief – and if any Hindu outfit or governmenttries to impeach upon that liberty, then definitely, Indian Christians shouldfight tooth and nail for their religious privileges. They would be justified tospeak about Hindu fundamentalism, saffron brigade or Hindutva. But the momentChristianity tries to impose this belief of only one true God- Jesus Christ- onthe world, then it is itself impeaching upon the freedom of others. For thisbelief of onlyness of our God as the real one and all others are false is at theroot of many misunderstandings, wars and terrorism.Attacks against ChristiansLike most of those who have regular columns to write to newspapers and needfactual information, I keep my personal file of clippings so I don’t slip up onaccuracy. The violent attacks against Christians have been going on for the pastseveral years. Sister Rani Maria was stabbed inside a bus and murdered inFebruary 1994 in Madhya Pradesh. A helpless Father Christudass was hit on thehead, punched and kicked, stripped naked, scissored up his hair, ashed his faceand garlanded with chapels and shoes, and paraded naked on the streets ofGuhiajori in Bihar in 1997.Three Catholic priests, Lawrence, Joseph and Anup were shot dead in 1994 inGumla, again in Bihar. The headless, tortured body of Father A. T. Thomas,Jesuit priest and liberation theologian, was discovered in the jungles ofHazaribagh in Bihar in 1997. All these and many more happened before the BJP-ledgovernment came to power. Why didn’t we unleash a nation-wide protest and sendinvestigation teams?Ghastly murderThere is no doubt that the ghastly murder of Australian missionary GrahamStaines and his two sons needed to be universally condemned and the culpritsseverely punished. But the massive outcry it had evoked raised a fundamentalquestion in my mind: Is the life of a white man more important and dear toIndian Christians than the lives of hundreds of innocent Indians – men, womenand children – killed by militants in various parts of the country? Have we, asChristians, ever condemned such killings? Or the unending massacres of innocentDalits all over the country at regular intervals? Does it mean that the value ofa life depends on the religion to which that person belongs? Are some livesexpendable and others accountable? This is a blatant discrimination. Shouldhuman suffering, loss of lives be barters in the hands of foreign-fundedorganisations to embarrass Hindus?As true followers of the Prince of Peace, the Christians in India should haveforgiven the criminals and forgotten the incident the moment the saintly widow,Gladys Staines said: “In the name of Jesus I forgive those who committed thiscrime and may they experience in their hearts God’s forgiving love”. She waswitnessing Christ in the darkest moment in her life. But, instead of followingher example, the Christians have been spreading hatred, like butter on hotbread, against the Hindus, especially the Sangh Parivar. Many Christians havemade millions of dollars in the name of Staines’ murder. They have cynicallyused the Staines’ murder for far too long. They must remember: “Kindle not thecoals of sinners by rebuking them, lest thou be burnt with the flame of the fireof their sins.” (Ecclesiastics, viii.13).Military enterprise?Terms such as “evangelistic campaign”, “missionary strategy”, “campus crusade”,“occupying non-Christian areas”, a “blitzkrieg” of missionaries, and sending“reinforcements” sound more appropriate to military enterprises than toChristian witness to God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ. The statisticalapproach implied in the words “the unreached millions” is derogatory toneighbours of other faiths.“Unreached” by whom? When Indian Christians themselves use these phrases, whichhave originated outside the country, to describe their neighbours living nextdoor to them in the community, Christians should not be surprised if thenehigbours are offended. (Dr. Samartha).The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handfulof Hindu extremists. Most of the violent incidents have been due to aggressiveevangelising. Other than this there have been few attacks on Christians. Finallythe sensitive and sensible Christians must realize that acts of certain“born-again” varieties of Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods andabuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christianand Hindu communities. Christian leaders known for their erudition, equipoiseand empathy should come out in the open to disown such acts of intolerance.A warningIn an interview published in Deccan Herald on 23 December 2001, Mr.M.G.Vaidya,spokesman of RSS told me: “The incidents of violence against Christians were areaction to the aggressive propaganda and mindless evangelism, abusing the HinduGods and indulging in similar activities. The incidents were bloated out ofproportion. We have decided not to tolerate intolerance of other faiths. Let theChurch declare that there can be salvation outside the Church also, and thewhole atmosphere will undergo a radical change…”Christians against ChristiansAs to violence, Christians don’t need to learn anything. We ( the IndianChristians) have in the past set fire Bishop Anantha Rao Samuel and his wife inthe early 1980s. Mrs. Samuel was roasted alive and Bishop Anantha Rao Samuelsurvived. He later became Moderator of the Church of South India (CSI). I askmyself, wasn’t there anything else they could burn, paper, cigarettes, andfireworks? A CSI member beat up a CSI pastor two years ago at the office of theKarnataka Central Diocese of Church of South India. A Lutheran bishop wasstabbed and killed last year over a property dispute in Andhra Pradesh by agroup of Christians. In Bangalore, a principal of a reputed Christian collegewas arrested recently for masterminding an attack on another Christianprincipal!Secularism, no one way streetMost Hindus stand for a secular, liberal India, keeping with their heritage,in-built catholicity of their religion and its basic outlook of live and letlive. This situation may not last indefinitely if certain unhealthy trendscontinue to gain ascendancy. It is very well for the vested interests to playcommunal card. But this will not pay. Communalism of the minority communitieswill only make some Hindus more fanatic. Undoubtedly, no quarter should be givento Hindu communalism. At the same time secularism cannot be regarded as aone-way street. Each community must respect the sentiments of others.By and large, a Hindu is today accepted as secular only if he is pro-Muslim andpro-Christian and pro other minority communities. He is lauded as ‘genuinelysecular’ if he is critical of Hinduism and enthusiastically condemns his fellowHindus with or without reason ignoring the doings of rabid fanatics in othercommunities. It is all very well for vested interests to play the communal card.But this will not pay. Communalism of the minorities will only make the majoritycommunity more fanatic. “Driven by the drumbeat of what it sees as a hostilepropaganda against their beliefs and values in the name of secularism, Hindusare beginning to gravitate towards extremism”.Peace initiativesThere was an urgent need to dispel the fears among the Christian community aboutthe perceived threat posed by the RSS and other Hindutva forces followingviolent attacks on Christians and their institutions throughout the countryafter the BJP-led government came to power. More than a year ago Mr. JohnJoseph, member, National Commission for Minorities, took the initiative forbringing Christian and RSS leaders together and sit across the table and sortout differences and dispel mutual fears and suspicions. Six rounds of nationallevel talks have already taken place, which helped to build confidence andstrengthen the bond of friendship between them. The result of these talks isthat these days we hardly hear of any attacks on Christians by the so-calledSangh Parivar.The Bangalore ‘experience’Now, here in Bangalore, a small group of Christians, known as the BangaloreInitiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) has been regularly in touch with ortalking to the RSS representatives since last October. To be precise, since 7thOctober – the day, the first Rev. Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial Lecture was heldat the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School. Among those listened to the lecture were alarge number of VHP-RSS-BJP activists ( They are the fundamentalist/fanaticfringe of the Hindus who have been accused of attacking Christians in India).They were surprised to learn that there ever lived a Christian thinker like Dr.Samartha – the Christian prophet of religious pluralism. (It is a fact that notmany of our Christian thinkers are known outside the four walls of Christianseminaries or institutions. May I hasten to ask: How many of you have heard ofDr. Samartha or how familiar are you with his writings?)Immediately after the function, the RSS-VHP-BJP members met me and wanted toknow more about Samartha. I distributed to them a few copies of Samartha’sbooks. The so-called Sangh Parivar ( the lunatic fringe/ fascistic fringe ofHindus) expressed their desire to enter into dialogue with the BangaloreInitiative for Religious Dialogue. Since then there has been no looking back.BIRD and RSS have met several times later. (It may interest you to know that Ihave, later on, personally handed over Dr. Samartha’s books to all the nationallevel leaders of RSS, including its supremeo, Mr. Sudarshan, when I met them,first at Aluva in Kerala in November last year and later twice in Bangalore, inJanuary and March this year).What BIRD has achieved is something marvelous. It extracted an unconditionalassurance, at the first round of talks itself, from the RSS that should there bean attack on Christians, their churches or institutions anywhere in Karnataka,representatives of BIRD and RSS would rush to the trouble-spot immediately andhelp bring peace and normalcy there! And they fulfilled that commitment on 19thMarch by sending a joint fact-finding team to Mysore as soon as the news aboutthe attack on the Holy Family Church was flashed in the newspapers and on TV.Meeting with national leaders of RSSThe Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) camp held in Bangalore in the last week ofJanuary in Bangalore provided representatives of the Bangalore Initiativeanother opportunity for dialogue and interaction with senior RSS leadersincluding K.S.Sudarshan, H.V.Seshadri and others. It gave representatives ofBIRD a new insight into the RSS ideology.Sudarshan assured BIRD representatives that “the RSS is not targetingChristians. RSS is not against genuine individual conversion. But it is against“harvesting of souls” or mass conversions. We are against manipulativeconversions.We are opposed to the alienation of people from their Indian cultural roots. Weare not against the preaching of the Christian faith”. The RSS leader alsounderlined the need to control both Hindu and Christian fundamentalists."We saw another side of the RSS during a 40 minute plain-talking session. Thereis a new image of the RSS emerging; they are very open to dialogue. Sudarshanassured us that the RSS has great respect for the Christian religion," said DrRichard Gnanakan from the ACTS academy of education."A lot of Christians look at the RSS agenda suspiciously. Now I have a greaterunderstanding of the group. I feel they are going through a period ofintrospection and are coming up with more balanced views," added Gnanakan.The BIRD delegation consisted of Bishop Paul Raj, a former deputy moderator ofthe Church of South India (CSI), Rev. Dr. Kiran Sebastian, professor at theUnited Theological College, and Mathew Chandrankunnel, professor at DharmaramCollege, Dr. Thomas George of Mount Carmel College, and P.N.Benjamin,coordinator, BIRD. The RSS leaders accepted BIRD’s invitation and agreed to holdthe sixth round of national level talks with Christian leaders in Bangalore.That was the origin of the talks held at UTC on March 22, 2002.Bangalore talksPress Trust of India reported on 22 March: “Seeking to build bridges, RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan and Christian leaders held another roundof talks centering around conversion and violence against members of theminority community. During the three-hour meeting, Christian leaders expressedtheir concern over issues that "threaten the security and safety of minoritycommunities", particularly in the context of an RSS resolution stating thatminorities should earn the goodwill of the majority for their safety."Sudarshan has made some bold statements. There is an emergence of openness tolisten to each other," Dr Ken Gnanakan, moderator of the dialogue, said inBangalore. He said: "we cannot solve problems in three hours. It is like afamily. But we will continue the dialogue. Our relations with the RSS are veryfine."Sudarshan said that the RSS had been depicted as "anti-Christian, anti-Muslimand an uncompromising militant group" by a section of the media. The RSS, hesaid, was a socio-cultural organisation wedded to the all-round development ofthe nation by consolidating the Hindu society and purging the society of evils.On the contentious issue of conversion, Sudarshan said they were not againstChristians propagating their faith but against conversion through coercion.Gujarat tragedyI will be failing in my Christian and moral duty if I do not touch upon thegreat human tragedy in Gujarat. Yes, the killings in Gujarat are a grim reminderthat India is a communal tinderbox. The relative communal peace after 1992-93lulled us into a false sense of security. Yet, remember that more people werekilled in the communal riots in Gujarat in 1969. The trouble continued formonths, yet Gujarat eventually returned to normalcy, and forged aheadeconomically.Will history repeat itself? Probably. The key feature of India in the last fivedecades has not been communal killing but the ability to bounce back after eachbout of slaughter. When the killers are on the rampage, all seems black andruinous. Yet, we have recovered again and again. So, caught up in the immediacyof the present we should not be agonizing too much over the carnage in Gujarat.“There is an ebb and tide in the affairs of man. Things will change”. This maybe the darkest hour before the nation before the radiant dawn. God has not gonebankrupt. He can make the blind see, the deaf hear and the lame cross themountain. If past is any pointer to the future, there is indeed hope. There isresilience in our people, which no combination of adversities can kill. Ourideals and principles might appear to be in eclipse. But, eclipses areshort-lived.Dialogue route to communal peaceI am intrigued that the so-called intellectuals and secularists do not talk ofthe dialogue route to communal peace. In a pluralist society like that of India,peace can be established only on the basis of dialogue, not on the basis ofaggressive assertion of sectarian rights. The path of confrontation will onlyresult in promoting separatism. The communal conflict is fundamentally apolitical conflict fought on the battlefield of religion. A dialogue wouldbenefit all. There is no point in insisting that the “Hindutva brigade” does not represent the majority ofHindu. But, are they not the perceived enemies of minorities?We must master the art of disarming our enemies with a smile and stop them intheir tracks. The on-going dialogue and peace initiatives between RSS andChristians in various parts of the country will help in ironing out differenceand reducing tensions between them. It is true that a dialogue will not endcommunal strife and conflict overnight. But such a dialogue can always help defusing an explosive situation. It may even turn out to be slow and tortuous,trying one’s patience to the utmost. We must be prepared for this. But theeffort would be worthwhile.Extinguish the fire of hatredOn November 17, 1946, at the 25th anniversary of Jamia Milia by Dr. ZakirHussein had made one of the most moving statements about our country. It wasabout the fire of hatred consuming the land then. Jawaharlal Nehru was there.So, were Rajaji, Jinnah, Abdul Kalam Azad and Liaquat Ali Khan.“For God’s sake”, Zakir Hussein said, “sit together and extinguish the fire ofhatred. The problem is not of this community’s or that community’s survival. Itis the choice between civilized human life and barbarism.”Eyes grew moist and among those seen wiping their eyes was Jawaharlal Nehru.
Fifty –six years later, with much punier men and women leading the politicalparties, the same tragedies have been repeating themselves.Millions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians live in peace and harmony andare friendly to one another. They recognize and respect the diversities amongthemselves and have an overwhelming commitment to brotherly co-existence. Then comes the ogre of communal hatred- bloody and hideous. It is mendacious to saythat common people hate each other. Pseudo secularists, intellectuals, NGOs andruthless politicians of different varieties cold-bloodedly spread the communalpoison. Communalism in our country is not just a social evil. It is a blatantlypolitical weapon, cynically used for political purposes by identifiableelements.It is time for every one of us to be seriously concerned about the flames ofhatred engulfing the nation. An India at peace with herself has to be our visionand striving. Will our ears be sensitive to the heartbeat of the ‘other’community or caste? Who will assist and permit a true healing? Blood, tears anda time to search our souls, here and now.
Blessed are the peacemakers
The on-going parleys between RSS and Christian leaders will help to rid theChristians of the fake they see around them, to separate the wheat from thechaff. The dialogue must go on regardless of protests from vested interests. .It is the harbinger of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will becalled sons of God.Paulinus, in the fourth century, about whom I have read recently, foreseeing thedarkness ahead, decided to light a lamp and keep it burning in a Christianshrine. We as Christians must do just this – a little lamp to signify thatwhatever the darkness, however profound the sense of lostness, the light ofJesus and the clarity of his enlightenment still shines, and will continue toshine, for those who have the eyes to see, a heart to love and a soul tobelieve.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIANS: A POSITIVE FACTOR
This article was posted in my blog in 2003
RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIANS......
Forming not more than 3% of the Indian population, the Christian community exercises an influence far more than what its miniscule numbers would suggest. Everyone in India will admit that the Christian Church -- here I speak of all the sects and denominational churches as one body of believers -- has made a unique contribution to the progress of our country. In the field of education, medicine and social service the Christian Church has done pioneering work. S. M. Krishna, Karnataka Chief Minister, remarked on April 16, 2001: "If it weren't for the contribution of Christian institutions in the field of education and health, it is difficult to wonder what the present status of these fields would have been.” Christians in India have therefore reason to be proud of. But, there is one sobering fact that we cannot overlook. Most of this work has been done through lavish financial support from the churches in the West.
Delivering the first Stanley Samartha memorial lecture in Bangalore last year, Francois Gautier, the well-known journalist said: "Christians in India are unique: not only did the first Christian community in the world establish itself in India but, before the arrival of Jesuits with Vasco de Gama in the 16th century, they developed an extraordinary religious pluralism, adopting some of the local customs, while retaining their faith in Christ and accepting the existence of other religious practices. Even though they constitute less than 3% of the population, they wield an enormous influence in India through education mainly because many of India's top educational institutions are Christian and also because of the quality care in Christian hospitals and nursing homes.”
However, the elitist Christian schools and hospitals tend to cater to the rich, whether Christian, Hindu or Muslim, and not to the Dalit Christians who form some 80% of the Christian population in India. Little seems to have been done for the socio-economic uplift of these people who need education the most. Yet, some committed Christians are now speaking in terms of the option for the poor. Several Christian social work projects in various parts of India run by Christian priests and nuns and socially conscious Christian groups, who are attracted to what is called the social gospel. Christianity for them is not something to be simply believed in or to be remembered only on Sundays. Rather, faith in the religion is meaningless if not expressed in actual commitment and involvement in efforts to bring about social change by actively working with the poor and the downtrodden.
It is unfortunate that several of these activist priests and nuns have been targets of attacks in recent years. This is mainly because they are easily identifiable as they wear their official dress when moving around in the countryside. It is worth quoting one of the findings of the fact-finding team consisting of RSS and Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) that probed into the alleged `violent attack' on the Holy Family Church in Mysore last year. "The Catholic priests who were present at the dialogue emphatically told RSS-BIRD team that the Catholic Church does not indulge in any conversion activities and wondered why they are being accused of these activities and why the Catholic priests and nuns and their institutions are always the targets of violent attacks and vandalism.”
The RSS-BIRD team shared the priests' concern. They agreed that "among the Christian community, only Catholic priests and nuns are murdered and raped mainly because they are easily identified as Christians by the dress they wear. They are the visible Christian missionaries in the eyes of ordinary people. They are always dressed in cassocks and robes. Most of the Hindus and other religionists, including the enlightened media persons, do not know that Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations whose priests, preachers and pastors rarely put on their cassocks. (It is said that there are about 37 Christian denominations operating in Mysore itself.) Although our analysis may sound too simplistic, we firmly believe that it is this mistaken identity that makes the Catholic priests and nuns always the victims of vicious attacks, brutal murder and rape, while the fanatic and fundamentalist fringe of Christian denominations who provoke, ridicule and belittle the Hindu way of life go scot free,” the team added.
It is absolutely true that the fundamentalists Christian evangelists cannot separate their charitable work from spreading their faith. "It's not a crafty attempt to proselytise. It's an earnest attempt to share what they hold most dear. That's true of all the proselytising religions. The evangelical Christians, carrying food in one hand and the Bible in the other, are generously funded by American churchgoers. To them, humanitarian relief is just a cover. Their basic motivation is conversion. These groups train workers to go in under the guise of relief to convert people away from their faith.
A well-known Hindu scholar has urged that Christians must criticise Hinduism out of knowledge. They must try to understand what Hinduism is. Make an honest attempt to agree as far as you can and state your honest difference in a decent way. This would improve the image of Christianity in India, as the greatest devotion for the personality of Christ. Hinduism has admitted prophets born elsewhere into its own grand galaxy of Avatars. There is no doubt whatever that Jesus Christ was a great avatar in the eyes of Hindus. Every Hindu will bow down before the image of Christ. There is no question of the purity of that great Sage. No Hindu will ever question this. But if the Mission of Jesus is to succeed, it is an obligation on the part of professing Christians not to do anything that will in anyway mar the luminous, beautiful and grand image of Jesus Christ.
It is true that there seems to have crept in certain rigidity in the thinking of Indian Christians in the last few years. It may be due to the feeling of fear they have experienced after many Christians have been attacked since 1998 by Hindu groups. Most of the violent incidents have been due to aggressive evangelising by "born-again" varieties of Christian fundamentalists and fanatics who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric, causing tension between Christian and Hindu communities. They have by and large gone scot-free. Christian leaders known for their erudition, equipoise and empathy should come out in the open to disown such acts of intolerance. Other than this, there have been a few attacks on Christians. But these are isolated incidents and are bound to abate (haven't they already abated?) if Christians and Hindus sit down and iron out their differences. After all, Christians should not forget that they were able to live and prosper for centuries in a multi-religious India, as Stanley Samartha had remarked: “The extreme tolerance of India, where Hindu gurus had Muslim disciples and Sufi saints had Hindu disciples, where Jew and Zorastrian refugees too came and lived among the Hindus without being disturbed, is unparalleled."
Here is an interesting story for the benefit of my Hindu friends. Almost 150 years ago, England was sending out a very important Anglican Church dignitary to the Metropolitan of Calcutta. The Brahmin priests got wind of it. This foreign religion might become a threat to their own traditions. They must investigate. So they sent one of their men to investigate. He wandered around the city till he came to the Bishop's residence. It was a vast, sprawling opulent mansion. As he stood at the gate, the great man walked down the steps, arrayed in his magnificent robes. He stepped into the waiting carriage drawn by two horses with a postillion sitting at the rear. The spy returned to his friends. "Have no fears,” he said. "This is not a religion we need fear.” The priests were relieved, and rightly relieved for the pomp and splendour of organized Christianity holds no appeal for any genuine seeker after truth. And what's the proof? The Christian population has decreased from 2.8% in 1981 to 2.3% in 1991 and to just 2% in 2001.
RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIANS......
Forming not more than 3% of the Indian population, the Christian community exercises an influence far more than what its miniscule numbers would suggest. Everyone in India will admit that the Christian Church -- here I speak of all the sects and denominational churches as one body of believers -- has made a unique contribution to the progress of our country. In the field of education, medicine and social service the Christian Church has done pioneering work. S. M. Krishna, Karnataka Chief Minister, remarked on April 16, 2001: "If it weren't for the contribution of Christian institutions in the field of education and health, it is difficult to wonder what the present status of these fields would have been.” Christians in India have therefore reason to be proud of. But, there is one sobering fact that we cannot overlook. Most of this work has been done through lavish financial support from the churches in the West.
Delivering the first Stanley Samartha memorial lecture in Bangalore last year, Francois Gautier, the well-known journalist said: "Christians in India are unique: not only did the first Christian community in the world establish itself in India but, before the arrival of Jesuits with Vasco de Gama in the 16th century, they developed an extraordinary religious pluralism, adopting some of the local customs, while retaining their faith in Christ and accepting the existence of other religious practices. Even though they constitute less than 3% of the population, they wield an enormous influence in India through education mainly because many of India's top educational institutions are Christian and also because of the quality care in Christian hospitals and nursing homes.”
However, the elitist Christian schools and hospitals tend to cater to the rich, whether Christian, Hindu or Muslim, and not to the Dalit Christians who form some 80% of the Christian population in India. Little seems to have been done for the socio-economic uplift of these people who need education the most. Yet, some committed Christians are now speaking in terms of the option for the poor. Several Christian social work projects in various parts of India run by Christian priests and nuns and socially conscious Christian groups, who are attracted to what is called the social gospel. Christianity for them is not something to be simply believed in or to be remembered only on Sundays. Rather, faith in the religion is meaningless if not expressed in actual commitment and involvement in efforts to bring about social change by actively working with the poor and the downtrodden.
It is unfortunate that several of these activist priests and nuns have been targets of attacks in recent years. This is mainly because they are easily identifiable as they wear their official dress when moving around in the countryside. It is worth quoting one of the findings of the fact-finding team consisting of RSS and Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) that probed into the alleged `violent attack' on the Holy Family Church in Mysore last year. "The Catholic priests who were present at the dialogue emphatically told RSS-BIRD team that the Catholic Church does not indulge in any conversion activities and wondered why they are being accused of these activities and why the Catholic priests and nuns and their institutions are always the targets of violent attacks and vandalism.”
The RSS-BIRD team shared the priests' concern. They agreed that "among the Christian community, only Catholic priests and nuns are murdered and raped mainly because they are easily identified as Christians by the dress they wear. They are the visible Christian missionaries in the eyes of ordinary people. They are always dressed in cassocks and robes. Most of the Hindus and other religionists, including the enlightened media persons, do not know that Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations whose priests, preachers and pastors rarely put on their cassocks. (It is said that there are about 37 Christian denominations operating in Mysore itself.) Although our analysis may sound too simplistic, we firmly believe that it is this mistaken identity that makes the Catholic priests and nuns always the victims of vicious attacks, brutal murder and rape, while the fanatic and fundamentalist fringe of Christian denominations who provoke, ridicule and belittle the Hindu way of life go scot free,” the team added.
It is absolutely true that the fundamentalists Christian evangelists cannot separate their charitable work from spreading their faith. "It's not a crafty attempt to proselytise. It's an earnest attempt to share what they hold most dear. That's true of all the proselytising religions. The evangelical Christians, carrying food in one hand and the Bible in the other, are generously funded by American churchgoers. To them, humanitarian relief is just a cover. Their basic motivation is conversion. These groups train workers to go in under the guise of relief to convert people away from their faith.
A well-known Hindu scholar has urged that Christians must criticise Hinduism out of knowledge. They must try to understand what Hinduism is. Make an honest attempt to agree as far as you can and state your honest difference in a decent way. This would improve the image of Christianity in India, as the greatest devotion for the personality of Christ. Hinduism has admitted prophets born elsewhere into its own grand galaxy of Avatars. There is no doubt whatever that Jesus Christ was a great avatar in the eyes of Hindus. Every Hindu will bow down before the image of Christ. There is no question of the purity of that great Sage. No Hindu will ever question this. But if the Mission of Jesus is to succeed, it is an obligation on the part of professing Christians not to do anything that will in anyway mar the luminous, beautiful and grand image of Jesus Christ.
It is true that there seems to have crept in certain rigidity in the thinking of Indian Christians in the last few years. It may be due to the feeling of fear they have experienced after many Christians have been attacked since 1998 by Hindu groups. Most of the violent incidents have been due to aggressive evangelising by "born-again" varieties of Christian fundamentalists and fanatics who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric, causing tension between Christian and Hindu communities. They have by and large gone scot-free. Christian leaders known for their erudition, equipoise and empathy should come out in the open to disown such acts of intolerance. Other than this, there have been a few attacks on Christians. But these are isolated incidents and are bound to abate (haven't they already abated?) if Christians and Hindus sit down and iron out their differences. After all, Christians should not forget that they were able to live and prosper for centuries in a multi-religious India, as Stanley Samartha had remarked: “The extreme tolerance of India, where Hindu gurus had Muslim disciples and Sufi saints had Hindu disciples, where Jew and Zorastrian refugees too came and lived among the Hindus without being disturbed, is unparalleled."
Here is an interesting story for the benefit of my Hindu friends. Almost 150 years ago, England was sending out a very important Anglican Church dignitary to the Metropolitan of Calcutta. The Brahmin priests got wind of it. This foreign religion might become a threat to their own traditions. They must investigate. So they sent one of their men to investigate. He wandered around the city till he came to the Bishop's residence. It was a vast, sprawling opulent mansion. As he stood at the gate, the great man walked down the steps, arrayed in his magnificent robes. He stepped into the waiting carriage drawn by two horses with a postillion sitting at the rear. The spy returned to his friends. "Have no fears,” he said. "This is not a religion we need fear.” The priests were relieved, and rightly relieved for the pomp and splendour of organized Christianity holds no appeal for any genuine seeker after truth. And what's the proof? The Christian population has decreased from 2.8% in 1981 to 2.3% in 1991 and to just 2% in 2001.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
CRIMES WITHOUT PUNISHMENT
CRIME WITHOUT PUNISHMENTBy P.N.BENJAMIN“There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.” (Mahatma Gandhi)It has been 20 full years since free India witnessed one of the most organized and macabre pogroms it has known. More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the violence that gripped Delhi for four days from the night of October 31, 1984, following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. What Delhi witnessed during those days was manslaughter, arson and loot. Incredible savagery wrought by man on man. Men, women and children – nobody was spared. Age and gender were immaterial. Think of the burning alive of people! The wives, who watched their husbands and sons beaten up to death and burnt alive, saw their daughters raped, their homes looted and burnt! That was the extent of brutality involved.Death and devastation came to many because of their physical profile. Every Sikh became a “terrorist” in the eyes of those who had decided that it was their beholden duty to avenge for one dastardly act by committing a thousand others of the same kind. What happened in 1984 was neither India’s first nor, regretfully, its last experience of communal violence, but in terms of sheer scale and intensity, it will find a place in a hall of shame anywhere. The crime itself was horrible. And the powers that be have added injustice to injury. The survivors have been nowhere people. Cruelly yanked out of quiet life in decent localities by mindless mobs, they have been dumped in filthy colonies, reeking of stagnant sewage. And they have nightmares for company – the frightening vivid images of their dear ones being lynched and burnt alive!What is more maddening is that not one person has been punished for the unspeakable horrors perpetrated on an entire community just because a handful of its members were responsible for the assassination. Most of the accused have been acquitted. Even the Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry that probed the killings has, according to news reports, only recommended “re-investigation of cases against some Congress leaders while not blaming the entire party or the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi,” for the incident! Talk of a dead conscience! It is a scene that the ringing tones of Shakespeare alone can describe: “O Justice, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason!”For 20 years, the victims of the anti-Sikh riots have been waiting for justice. Instead of providing much needed succour to those who survived the pogrom, successive governments have busied themselves with shielding the culprits. The victims remain where they were, as the administration refuses to administer, the prosecution refuses to prosecute, and the courts close their doors. The Constitution of India, the Parliament, and the judiciary and, in an extended sense, democracy itself have failed them.The charming ambiguities of justice have helped those who planned, organised and instigated the violence. Many of them were and still are top-flight leaders of the Congress. There are, of course, the seemingly interminable, wheels-within-wheels, processes of justice; the difficulty in obtaining direct evidence and a lack of political will which have all contributed towards a criminal judicial impasse.What is more worrying is the continued inability of the Indian state and its remarkably free judiciary to provide justice to even those who become such blatant and innocent victims of sponsored fury and manufactured hate. Commissions of inquiry, as per the norm duly established, are set up. They take a long time to wind up their act, and even when they do that, there is no guarantee that the culprits will finally be made to pay for their misdeeds. Every Indian knows what happened in 1984, or on several other occasions elsewhere; unfortunately, even the knowledge of unimaginable atrocities has not led to commensurate action. Why is that so? The secular brigade, who works itself up into just the right kind of outrage after every such carnage, could do with soul-searching on these allied issues.Indira Gandhi’s killing was the culmination of Delhi’s political blunders; foremost among them was the Blue Star Operation. The late Prime Minister’s advisers on Punjab were governed by a very narrow vested interest, and it has been subsequently established that many of them had directly or indirectly helped the rise of pro-Khalistani fundamentalism. The elections that followed the assassination and the mayhem saw the Congress return with the most handsome mandate ever given to a party in any election to the Lok Sabha. No wonder, therefore, the seeds of rabid communal polarization that subsequently determined the terms of political discourse, were sown in 1984. Time has no discriminatory qualities. It heals even those wounds, which should not be healed. The tears of victims may have dried up with time, even though the residual hurt must have remained. At any rate Sikhs are a phlegmatic enough community that, has taken several hurts and prejudices in its stride. But this particular hurt is too hard to live down.It is time for us to be ashamed of our silence. It is also time for us to be angry. Angry with the men who commit such heinous crimes. And also with those who stand by and watch them. Watch them maim, murder, loot, burn, destroy. Only our anger may scare them. Only our anger may one day force the authorities to act. To see that such terrible things are not allowed to happen again and again and again.P.N.BENJAMINE-mail: benjaminpn@hotmail.comVIJAY TIMES 6 Feb. 2005
posted by BIRD
posted by BIRD
CALVARY: A POLITICAL MURDER
CALVARY- A POLITICAL MURDER.By Benjamin 17/04/2003 At 13:43
Last Sunday (April 14) Deccan herald carried an article written by me entitled: CALVARY- A POLITICAL MURDER. A Hindu brother has responded to it in this morning's (April 17) Deccan Herald
Dear friends, Last Sunday (April 14) Deccan herald carried an article written by me entitled: CALVARY- A POLITICAL MURDER. A Hindu brother has responded to it in this morning's (April 17) Deccan Herald. I wish, my fellow pseudo-secular- Christians and their leaders, who waste no opportunity to bash Hindus,take some time off and try to understand how their Hindu neighbours and Hinduism itself look at Christ. P.N.BENJAMIN Calvary: A political murder P N BENJAMIN relives the sentiments associated with Good Friday and recalls the message of Christ that preaches true concern and care for fellow beings A FRIDAY noon, almost two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary, the hill outside the city of Jerusalem. (Calvary in its Latin origin means ‘the place of a skull’). Being nailed to two pieces of wood and abandoned to the torment of a lingering death was a particularly inhuman form of punishment reserved by the ancient Romans for the worst criminals. Christ’s real crime was simply that he spoke the truth, which is intolerable to all forms of authority – but especially ecclesiastical. By what he said and did, he exposed men who, in the name of institutional religion, wielded power without moral sanction. Christ had to be killed because the truth he said threatened the very foundation of their system of power, privilege and profit. Christ was a carpenter who at thirty had suddenly burst upon the national stage as the very embodiment of an oppressed people’s liberator. Like rain on parched ground, the poor soaked in all he said and did. The hungry saw in him who would share with them the last crust of bread. To the homeless he was the most homeless of all. Didn’t he say once referring to himself: “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”? He preached compassion but knew it was costly. He would touch a leper forced out of the village. He would disclose to a prostitute grieving over her fallen state the encompassing love of God which could raise her to a woman’s rightful place in the world. The New Testament shows that Christ’s life was a continuous struggle with the powers-that-be, whether religious or political. The challenges he posed before the authority came out clearly in his cleansing the Temple. He drove out the buyers and sellers and overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple. He accused the authorities of reducing what was meant to be a house of prayer into a den of thieves. In other words, using religion as a means of exploiting the people. In the Temple, Caiaphas was the high priest. Generations of plotting and the disappearance of Jewish monarchy had led to piling up of power in his hands, making him pre-eminent. Wasn’t it preposterous that Jesus should describe the Temple as a “cave of robbers”? Was he not ridiculing Caiaphas? Such a direct attack was bound to provoke a counter-attack from the guardians of the Temple. Hence, their question: “By what authority are you doing these things?” Power, when threatened, always ends in violence. In another way too, Jesus posed a threat to the political powers of the chief priest. Equally subversive was Christ’s radical criticism of the Jewish Law. And in a society in which religious and political power legitimised each other, any attack on the first was also an attack on the second. The priests formed the core of support to the Roman rule. Any threat therefore to the authority of the Jewish State would have acted against the interests of Rome. And we have seen that both the teachings and practices of Jesus condemned the Jewish authorities. Therefore all the political forces in Palestine had an interest in getting rid of the young prophet from Galilee. It was Passover, the greatest of the Jewish festivals and masses of Jews had gathered in the Holy City to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt well over a thousand years earlier. In Palestine, Pontius Pilate was governor, a weak ruler and therefore an arrogant and cruel representative of Rome who held the Jews in contempt. But, he was afraid of them too. Pilate was camping in Jerusalem ready to march his legions against any outbreak of violence by a people who refused to see the majesty of the Roman peace and hankered after freedom. When Pilate asked Christ whether he was King of Jews, he replied: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth”. Pilate, no fool, was impressed. “What is truth?” he muttered, and went out to the Chief Priest’s men to tell them that he found no fault in Christ, and to suggest that he should be released on the occasion of the Passover. No! they shouted, No! Give us Barabas! – a Jewish partisan who was also due to be crucified. Pilate shrugged and gave away; it didn’t matter much to him either way. How surprised he would have been to know that this obscure affair would keep his memory alive centuries after the Roman Empire he served had ceased to exist. What subsequently happened on Calvary was nothing but a cold-blooded political murder. Some of those who later wrote about Jesus Christ would absolve Rome of responsibility for this demonic display of human injustice. Christ did not know when he lived on earth that before he had been long dead and lip service continued to be paid to him, men would be killing other men in his name, casting themselves as Caiphas of every new generation. Institutional Christianity has brought to the world not peace but a sword. Christianity’s ostensible devotees remain divided. Hostilities and humiliating divisions prevail in Christian churches and institutions, which have become battlegrounds and areas of strife and fratricidal conflicts, in ways often hidden from public view. But, Christian simplicities persist among some. There are those who serve their fellow humans at much suffering and loss to themselves. Saintliness has not altogether been thrown overboard. It shows itself in some unheard of persons in unheard of places. Outwardly unrecognisable, inwardly they have been known to be remade in the image of Christ. The three Kerala Catholic nuns staying behind in Iraq to serve the child victims of the most inhuman war unleashed on that country by the US and UK is a case in point. Christ asks for no sentimental mourning from Christians on this Good Friday – no beating of breasts or strident wailing. “Weep not for me, you daughters of Jerusalem”, he had said then. He says it still: “Wash one another’s feet. Not with the waters of Ganga or Cauvery, but with true human concern and care”.
HERE'S THE HINDU RESPONSE....
Beyond religion (17 TH APRIL, Deccan Herald) Sir, This refers to ‘Calvary: The Political Murder’ (DH, April 13). The writer has elucidated the difference between the institution Christianity and the message and personification of Jesus Christ, who had nothing but love and compassion in abundance for the entire humanity transcending the borders of nations. That is why Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa went into ‘samadhi,’ the moment somebody uttered the name of Jesus. Paramahansa Yogananda, another Hindu monk, who composed many hymns on Jesus, had them sung in all his sat sangh gatherings, though most of his devotees were Hindus. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the great reformer and founder of Brahmo Samaj, was an ardent devotee of Jesus, yet he remained Hindu. All these show that there is no need for one to be baptised to belong to Jesus the Christ or to accept him as the saviour. As the author rightly reminds us, it is a historical fact that the institution Christianity was the creation of Roman imperialism and therefore, it is but natural for it to have the traits of expansionism, with the enthusiasm of a conqueror. There are millions who kneel down before Jesus, without any need for changing one’s faith to be accepted by Jesus, the Master. S K Aravindan, Bangalore
URL::
Last Sunday (April 14) Deccan herald carried an article written by me entitled: CALVARY- A POLITICAL MURDER. A Hindu brother has responded to it in this morning's (April 17) Deccan Herald
Dear friends, Last Sunday (April 14) Deccan herald carried an article written by me entitled: CALVARY- A POLITICAL MURDER. A Hindu brother has responded to it in this morning's (April 17) Deccan Herald. I wish, my fellow pseudo-secular- Christians and their leaders, who waste no opportunity to bash Hindus,take some time off and try to understand how their Hindu neighbours and Hinduism itself look at Christ. P.N.BENJAMIN Calvary: A political murder P N BENJAMIN relives the sentiments associated with Good Friday and recalls the message of Christ that preaches true concern and care for fellow beings A FRIDAY noon, almost two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary, the hill outside the city of Jerusalem. (Calvary in its Latin origin means ‘the place of a skull’). Being nailed to two pieces of wood and abandoned to the torment of a lingering death was a particularly inhuman form of punishment reserved by the ancient Romans for the worst criminals. Christ’s real crime was simply that he spoke the truth, which is intolerable to all forms of authority – but especially ecclesiastical. By what he said and did, he exposed men who, in the name of institutional religion, wielded power without moral sanction. Christ had to be killed because the truth he said threatened the very foundation of their system of power, privilege and profit. Christ was a carpenter who at thirty had suddenly burst upon the national stage as the very embodiment of an oppressed people’s liberator. Like rain on parched ground, the poor soaked in all he said and did. The hungry saw in him who would share with them the last crust of bread. To the homeless he was the most homeless of all. Didn’t he say once referring to himself: “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”? He preached compassion but knew it was costly. He would touch a leper forced out of the village. He would disclose to a prostitute grieving over her fallen state the encompassing love of God which could raise her to a woman’s rightful place in the world. The New Testament shows that Christ’s life was a continuous struggle with the powers-that-be, whether religious or political. The challenges he posed before the authority came out clearly in his cleansing the Temple. He drove out the buyers and sellers and overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple. He accused the authorities of reducing what was meant to be a house of prayer into a den of thieves. In other words, using religion as a means of exploiting the people. In the Temple, Caiaphas was the high priest. Generations of plotting and the disappearance of Jewish monarchy had led to piling up of power in his hands, making him pre-eminent. Wasn’t it preposterous that Jesus should describe the Temple as a “cave of robbers”? Was he not ridiculing Caiaphas? Such a direct attack was bound to provoke a counter-attack from the guardians of the Temple. Hence, their question: “By what authority are you doing these things?” Power, when threatened, always ends in violence. In another way too, Jesus posed a threat to the political powers of the chief priest. Equally subversive was Christ’s radical criticism of the Jewish Law. And in a society in which religious and political power legitimised each other, any attack on the first was also an attack on the second. The priests formed the core of support to the Roman rule. Any threat therefore to the authority of the Jewish State would have acted against the interests of Rome. And we have seen that both the teachings and practices of Jesus condemned the Jewish authorities. Therefore all the political forces in Palestine had an interest in getting rid of the young prophet from Galilee. It was Passover, the greatest of the Jewish festivals and masses of Jews had gathered in the Holy City to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt well over a thousand years earlier. In Palestine, Pontius Pilate was governor, a weak ruler and therefore an arrogant and cruel representative of Rome who held the Jews in contempt. But, he was afraid of them too. Pilate was camping in Jerusalem ready to march his legions against any outbreak of violence by a people who refused to see the majesty of the Roman peace and hankered after freedom. When Pilate asked Christ whether he was King of Jews, he replied: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth”. Pilate, no fool, was impressed. “What is truth?” he muttered, and went out to the Chief Priest’s men to tell them that he found no fault in Christ, and to suggest that he should be released on the occasion of the Passover. No! they shouted, No! Give us Barabas! – a Jewish partisan who was also due to be crucified. Pilate shrugged and gave away; it didn’t matter much to him either way. How surprised he would have been to know that this obscure affair would keep his memory alive centuries after the Roman Empire he served had ceased to exist. What subsequently happened on Calvary was nothing but a cold-blooded political murder. Some of those who later wrote about Jesus Christ would absolve Rome of responsibility for this demonic display of human injustice. Christ did not know when he lived on earth that before he had been long dead and lip service continued to be paid to him, men would be killing other men in his name, casting themselves as Caiphas of every new generation. Institutional Christianity has brought to the world not peace but a sword. Christianity’s ostensible devotees remain divided. Hostilities and humiliating divisions prevail in Christian churches and institutions, which have become battlegrounds and areas of strife and fratricidal conflicts, in ways often hidden from public view. But, Christian simplicities persist among some. There are those who serve their fellow humans at much suffering and loss to themselves. Saintliness has not altogether been thrown overboard. It shows itself in some unheard of persons in unheard of places. Outwardly unrecognisable, inwardly they have been known to be remade in the image of Christ. The three Kerala Catholic nuns staying behind in Iraq to serve the child victims of the most inhuman war unleashed on that country by the US and UK is a case in point. Christ asks for no sentimental mourning from Christians on this Good Friday – no beating of breasts or strident wailing. “Weep not for me, you daughters of Jerusalem”, he had said then. He says it still: “Wash one another’s feet. Not with the waters of Ganga or Cauvery, but with true human concern and care”.
HERE'S THE HINDU RESPONSE....
Beyond religion (17 TH APRIL, Deccan Herald) Sir, This refers to ‘Calvary: The Political Murder’ (DH, April 13). The writer has elucidated the difference between the institution Christianity and the message and personification of Jesus Christ, who had nothing but love and compassion in abundance for the entire humanity transcending the borders of nations. That is why Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa went into ‘samadhi,’ the moment somebody uttered the name of Jesus. Paramahansa Yogananda, another Hindu monk, who composed many hymns on Jesus, had them sung in all his sat sangh gatherings, though most of his devotees were Hindus. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the great reformer and founder of Brahmo Samaj, was an ardent devotee of Jesus, yet he remained Hindu. All these show that there is no need for one to be baptised to belong to Jesus the Christ or to accept him as the saviour. As the author rightly reminds us, it is a historical fact that the institution Christianity was the creation of Roman imperialism and therefore, it is but natural for it to have the traits of expansionism, with the enthusiasm of a conqueror. There are millions who kneel down before Jesus, without any need for changing one’s faith to be accepted by Jesus, the Master. S K Aravindan, Bangalore
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
National GeographicMagazine Forum
UntouchablesThe caste system has been part of Indian culture for 1,500 years. For the Hindu-born, it means spending a lifetime as a member of one of several social classes ranging from elevated to so low in rank as to be considered subhuman. Although the Indian constitution makes caste discrimination illegal, these "Untouchables" are regularly subjected to indignity and atrocity. They are relegated to the most menial—and undesirable—jobs. Some live downwind of upper caste citizens who believe they must not smell them. For daring to demand their rights or step out of their place, Untouchables have been beaten, doused with acid, and even killed. Despite pressure from activist groups, perpetrators are rarely punished. How can outsiders help Untouchables in their fight against oppression? How can their situation be changed?
PN BENJAMIN
PN BENJAMIN
USE THE MANDATE
Use the mandate
Sir, — Your Editorial was biased. The BJP has succeeded in establishing a wide social base and the most important indicator is its sweep of the tribal and adivasi areas in Gujarat. The combined onslaught of the Congress and the other parties, ably supported by the English press, the intellectuals and NGO activists who denounced it as a fascist outfit, did not inhibit its return to power. The BJP must not fritter away the opportunity to revive the growth process by chasing obscurantist or emotive objectives. It must get over its congenital obsession with religious issues and also tame its army of religious fanatics.
P.N. Benjamin, Bangalore
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Sir, — Your Editorial was biased. The BJP has succeeded in establishing a wide social base and the most important indicator is its sweep of the tribal and adivasi areas in Gujarat. The combined onslaught of the Congress and the other parties, ably supported by the English press, the intellectuals and NGO activists who denounced it as a fascist outfit, did not inhibit its return to power. The BJP must not fritter away the opportunity to revive the growth process by chasing obscurantist or emotive objectives. It must get over its congenital obsession with religious issues and also tame its army of religious fanatics.
P.N. Benjamin, Bangalore
Printer friendly
Plight of Dalit Christians
Plight of Dalit Christians
Posted March 6, 2005Living as Dalit ChristiansAuthor: P.N. BenjaminPublication: Deccan HeraldDate: 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 cemeteriesIt 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 an embarrassment 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.
Posted March 6, 2005Living as Dalit ChristiansAuthor: P.N. BenjaminPublication: Deccan HeraldDate: 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 cemeteriesIt 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 an embarrassment 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.
Gujarat Police & Christian NGOs
Gujarat police & X'an NGOsBy P.N.BENJAMIN 14/04/2003 At 13:52
Gujarat police & X'an NGOs We all know that Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities all over the country.
Gujarat police & X'an NGOs What's wrong in the Gujarat police probing into Christian NGOs' funding? (Asian Age 18 March) Why are you making a mountain out of molehill? Why should it be a lead story and front-paged? Law and order is a state subject. We all know that Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities all over the country. The state government must therefore ensure that the money Christian NGOs receive from abroad is not used for creating communal tension leading to law and order problems. The NGOs argument that they file their reports to the Home Ministry and that the state government is "simply not authorised" to enquire into the NGOs' funds is infantile and silly. It is not out of context to tell you that during 2001-02 the total amount received by religious organisations under FCRA regulations in KARNATAKA was Rs.534 crores. Out of this, Rs.471 crores were for Christian organisations. The Catholics got Rs.183 crores and the Protestants, especially the fundamentalist, and born-again and breast-beating organisations that spew venom at Hinduism got Rs.288 crores. Please do not forget that the rest of the organizations including the Hindu and the Muslim got only Rs.63 crores in total. Mind you, Christians constitute hardly 4 per cent of the Karnataka population. This situation is replicated all over the country. Can someone enlighten me with the details of foreign funds received by various Christian organisations in other states, including Gujarat? P.N.BENJAMIN, Coordinator, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue(BIRD) Flat No. 3, Rucela Apts., 43/2 Promenade Road Bangalore 560 005
Gujarat police & X'an NGOs We all know that Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities all over the country.
Gujarat police & X'an NGOs What's wrong in the Gujarat police probing into Christian NGOs' funding? (Asian Age 18 March) Why are you making a mountain out of molehill? Why should it be a lead story and front-paged? Law and order is a state subject. We all know that Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities all over the country. The state government must therefore ensure that the money Christian NGOs receive from abroad is not used for creating communal tension leading to law and order problems. The NGOs argument that they file their reports to the Home Ministry and that the state government is "simply not authorised" to enquire into the NGOs' funds is infantile and silly. It is not out of context to tell you that during 2001-02 the total amount received by religious organisations under FCRA regulations in KARNATAKA was Rs.534 crores. Out of this, Rs.471 crores were for Christian organisations. The Catholics got Rs.183 crores and the Protestants, especially the fundamentalist, and born-again and breast-beating organisations that spew venom at Hinduism got Rs.288 crores. Please do not forget that the rest of the organizations including the Hindu and the Muslim got only Rs.63 crores in total. Mind you, Christians constitute hardly 4 per cent of the Karnataka population. This situation is replicated all over the country. Can someone enlighten me with the details of foreign funds received by various Christian organisations in other states, including Gujarat? P.N.BENJAMIN, Coordinator, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue(BIRD) Flat No. 3, Rucela Apts., 43/2 Promenade Road Bangalore 560 005
AMID THE ENCIRCLING GLOOM....
Amid the encircling gloom....
WHEN THE HEARTHS WENT COLD*(Vijay Times, 30 Jan. 2006)P.N.BENJAMINPrecisely at six o’clock, on January 30, 1948, AllIndia Radio announced: “Mahatma Gandhi wasassassinated in New Delhi at twenty minutes past fivethis afternoon. His assassin was a Hindu.”The Mahatma was shot in the gardens of Birla Mandir,in the presence of about one thousand of his followerswhom he was leading to make his daily eveningdevotions. Dressed, as always, in his khadi dhoti andleaning heavily on a stout walking stick, MahatmaGandhi was only a few feet from the Mandir when theshots were fired. He crumbled instantly, putting hishands to his forehead in the Hindu gesture offorgiveness to his assassin. Three bullets penetratedhis body, one in the upper right thigh, one in theabdomen, and one in the chest.India was plunged into sorrow. All over India the newsspread like wildfire. Minutes later, in Bombay riotingbroke out. In Delhi, in the fast-gathering gloom ofthe night, the news set the people on the march. Theywalked slowly down the avenues and out of the squalidbazzars, converging on Birla House. Thereby thethousands they stood weeping silently, moaning andwailing.Above the vast plains, the fields, the clutteredslums, writhing jungles, the air was crystal clear.The mantle of India’s night, the fine haze of thecow-dung fires burning in a hundred millions hearths,had disappeared. To mourn the Mahatma, those hearthswere cold.From the beautiful mansion to the wretched slums, thepeople wept. Calcutta’s great maidan was almost empty.Through its streets a barefoot sadhu, his face smearedwith ashes walked crying: “The Mahatma is dead. Whencomes another such as he?”There were grave fears, heightened by the savageoutbreaks in Bombay, that without her saint to holdpassions in check, all India might be whirled intostrife.In New Delhi, a heartbroken man found in the depths ofhis sorrow the words that he had despaired of finding.Jawaharlal Nehru’s eyes were filled with tears as hestepped before the microphone of the All India Radio.The words he was about to utter were spontaneous, butthey glowed with unforgettable beauty.“The light has gone out of our lives and there isdarkness everywhere”, he said. (Perhaps, anunconscious imitation of Homer’s: “The sun hasperished out of the heavens”). “The light has goneout, I said, and yet I was wrong. For the light thatshone in this country was no ordinary light”.“In a thousand years”, Nehru predicted, “that lightwill still be seen…the world will see it and it willgive solace to innumerable hearts. For that lightrepresented something more than the immediate present;it represented the living, the eternal truths,reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error,taking this ancient country to freedom.”The light whose disappearance Nehru mourned belongedto the rest of the world, too. Messages of condolencepoured in from every corner of a shocked globe.Mahatma Gandhi’s first political rival, Field MarshalSmuts, sent a simple tribute: “A prince among us haspassed”. At Vatican, the Pope Pius XII paid tribute tothe Mahatma as “an apostle of peace”.It was the irony of fate that one whose life wasdirected against violence should be snuffed out by theforces of violence. “It shows how dangerous it is tobe good”, was George Bernard Shaw’s reaction to thenews of the assassination.“Just an old man in loin cloth in distant India”,commented Louis Fischer. “Yet, when he died, humanitywept”In a moving editorial the New York Times wrote: “…thesaint who will be remembered, not only on the plainsand in the hills of India but all over the world. Hestrove for perfection as other men strive for powerand professions. He pitied those to whom wrong wasdone: the East Indian labourers in South Africa, theuntouchable ‘children of God’ of the lowest caste inIndia, but he schooled himself not to hate thewrongdoer…Now he belongs to the ages”.Appropriately in the vast outpourings of tributes,Indian newspapers themselves produced the mostmemorable testimonial of all. For example, theeditorial page of the Hindustan Times was left blank,ringed by a black border. At its centre was a singleparagraph set in bold face type: “Gandhiji has beenkilled by his own people for whose redemption he live.This second crucifixion in the history of Friday – thesame day Jesus was done to death one thousand ninehundred and fifteen years ago. Father, forgive us”.Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948and he was tried and executed. But almost everyone,who holds authority now in India, speaks untruths, isa co-assassin with Godse, though not tried andconvicted. Everyone in power who misleads the countryaway from freedom – political, economic, cultural andsocial – for which Gandhiji stood all his life, is anuncovicted abettor of Godse. Every dishonest man,either in business or in government, is a co-assassinwith Godse. Everyone who utilises power for personalor party advantage is a Godse. Everyone who gives orreceives a bribe is an unconvicted Godse. Everyhypocrite in public life puts a knife into Gandhiji’sside.Let us not delude ourselves into self-satisfaction bythe cant of hypocrisy, which is the worst of allcants, as well as most tormenting. Gandhiji was great.Indeed, he was a miracle, but parties and powers thatrule prefer to do without him. We have strayed intothe wrong road and must get back from the slough wehave been led into.“Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, leadthou us on…”P.N.BENJAMINbenjaminpn@...
WHEN THE HEARTHS WENT COLD*(Vijay Times, 30 Jan. 2006)P.N.BENJAMINPrecisely at six o’clock, on January 30, 1948, AllIndia Radio announced: “Mahatma Gandhi wasassassinated in New Delhi at twenty minutes past fivethis afternoon. His assassin was a Hindu.”The Mahatma was shot in the gardens of Birla Mandir,in the presence of about one thousand of his followerswhom he was leading to make his daily eveningdevotions. Dressed, as always, in his khadi dhoti andleaning heavily on a stout walking stick, MahatmaGandhi was only a few feet from the Mandir when theshots were fired. He crumbled instantly, putting hishands to his forehead in the Hindu gesture offorgiveness to his assassin. Three bullets penetratedhis body, one in the upper right thigh, one in theabdomen, and one in the chest.India was plunged into sorrow. All over India the newsspread like wildfire. Minutes later, in Bombay riotingbroke out. In Delhi, in the fast-gathering gloom ofthe night, the news set the people on the march. Theywalked slowly down the avenues and out of the squalidbazzars, converging on Birla House. Thereby thethousands they stood weeping silently, moaning andwailing.Above the vast plains, the fields, the clutteredslums, writhing jungles, the air was crystal clear.The mantle of India’s night, the fine haze of thecow-dung fires burning in a hundred millions hearths,had disappeared. To mourn the Mahatma, those hearthswere cold.From the beautiful mansion to the wretched slums, thepeople wept. Calcutta’s great maidan was almost empty.Through its streets a barefoot sadhu, his face smearedwith ashes walked crying: “The Mahatma is dead. Whencomes another such as he?”There were grave fears, heightened by the savageoutbreaks in Bombay, that without her saint to holdpassions in check, all India might be whirled intostrife.In New Delhi, a heartbroken man found in the depths ofhis sorrow the words that he had despaired of finding.Jawaharlal Nehru’s eyes were filled with tears as hestepped before the microphone of the All India Radio.The words he was about to utter were spontaneous, butthey glowed with unforgettable beauty.“The light has gone out of our lives and there isdarkness everywhere”, he said. (Perhaps, anunconscious imitation of Homer’s: “The sun hasperished out of the heavens”). “The light has goneout, I said, and yet I was wrong. For the light thatshone in this country was no ordinary light”.“In a thousand years”, Nehru predicted, “that lightwill still be seen…the world will see it and it willgive solace to innumerable hearts. For that lightrepresented something more than the immediate present;it represented the living, the eternal truths,reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error,taking this ancient country to freedom.”The light whose disappearance Nehru mourned belongedto the rest of the world, too. Messages of condolencepoured in from every corner of a shocked globe.Mahatma Gandhi’s first political rival, Field MarshalSmuts, sent a simple tribute: “A prince among us haspassed”. At Vatican, the Pope Pius XII paid tribute tothe Mahatma as “an apostle of peace”.It was the irony of fate that one whose life wasdirected against violence should be snuffed out by theforces of violence. “It shows how dangerous it is tobe good”, was George Bernard Shaw’s reaction to thenews of the assassination.“Just an old man in loin cloth in distant India”,commented Louis Fischer. “Yet, when he died, humanitywept”In a moving editorial the New York Times wrote: “…thesaint who will be remembered, not only on the plainsand in the hills of India but all over the world. Hestrove for perfection as other men strive for powerand professions. He pitied those to whom wrong wasdone: the East Indian labourers in South Africa, theuntouchable ‘children of God’ of the lowest caste inIndia, but he schooled himself not to hate thewrongdoer…Now he belongs to the ages”.Appropriately in the vast outpourings of tributes,Indian newspapers themselves produced the mostmemorable testimonial of all. For example, theeditorial page of the Hindustan Times was left blank,ringed by a black border. At its centre was a singleparagraph set in bold face type: “Gandhiji has beenkilled by his own people for whose redemption he live.This second crucifixion in the history of Friday – thesame day Jesus was done to death one thousand ninehundred and fifteen years ago. Father, forgive us”.Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on 30 January 1948and he was tried and executed. But almost everyone,who holds authority now in India, speaks untruths, isa co-assassin with Godse, though not tried andconvicted. Everyone in power who misleads the countryaway from freedom – political, economic, cultural andsocial – for which Gandhiji stood all his life, is anuncovicted abettor of Godse. Every dishonest man,either in business or in government, is a co-assassinwith Godse. Everyone who utilises power for personalor party advantage is a Godse. Everyone who gives orreceives a bribe is an unconvicted Godse. Everyhypocrite in public life puts a knife into Gandhiji’sside.Let us not delude ourselves into self-satisfaction bythe cant of hypocrisy, which is the worst of allcants, as well as most tormenting. Gandhiji was great.Indeed, he was a miracle, but parties and powers thatrule prefer to do without him. We have strayed intothe wrong road and must get back from the slough wehave been led into.“Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, leadthou us on…”P.N.BENJAMINbenjaminpn@...
TOULOUSE CONSULTATION...
TOULOUSE CONSULTATION
I have nothing but compassion for fundamentalist Christians who rattle off verses from the Bible to preach hellfire and damnation to those who do not agree with their interpretations of the contents of the Bible
Conversions have neither offered 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. When a Dalit becomes a Chri-stian he should be given a minimum chance of escaping from the "outcast" status. If Christi-ans cannot treat Dalit converts as part of their fellowship it is better to leave them alone. Christ himself said: "You encompass sea and land to make one convert and then you make him twice the son of hell as you are"
Dalit Christians’ conversion to Christianity has meant nothing but substitution of social discrimination within the Churches for discrimination within the Hindu society. The churches offered charity equally to all castes who came into its fold, and charity became a powerful weapon of persuasion. It was another matter that feudal prejudices underwent mere reincarnation: Separate pews exist for lower-caste Christians in many churches of the country. In death they are allotted their own cemeteries or a corner of the main cemetery, with a wall separating the section in some.
A section of the Christian Church has always wrongly emphasised conversion as the primary aim of the Christian mission, totally misunderstanding Christ’s Commission to preach the gospel. They ignore the fact that there are other very important elements in his teachings. "Love your enemy as yourself. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt but lay up treasures in heaven. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Forgive your brother not seven times but seventy times seven. Love one another as I have loved you." Unless Christians share the sufferings of the people they have no word of the gospel to them, whatever true things they might say. If Christians as a community took to the teachings of Christ seriously then they would be justified in preaching. Let their light so shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify the Father in heaven!
The church leaders have miserably failed to take care of the 16 million Dalits converted to Christianity. Christianity is a path of life paved with suffering and service. Christ said: ‘if any one wants to follow me, let him take up the cross and follow me." But the Indian Christian leaders want the Government to carry the Cross of Dalit Christians. Many well-meaning Christians believe that attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Mr Jon Stock, New Delhi correspondent of the The Daily Telegraph wrote in October 1999: "put simply, the Indian subcontinent has become the principal target for a wide range of western Christian missions which are determined to spread the gospel to India’s "unreached" people. There is little doubt that the current communal tension in India would not be serious if foreign-funded missionaries had been content with giving Indians the choice of Christianity and left it at that".
The recent surge of animosity towards Christianity in India is the result of the actions of Christian missionaries and fundamentalists who are being bank-rolled and supported by the Churches in the USA and in Europe. Like the rats scurrying out the sinking ship, the New Missionaries will leave the business of "reaching the unreached at any cost", the moment fundamentalist Christians in the US stop sending dollars to the conversion brigade in India.
About a hundred and fifty years ago England was sending out a very important Anglican Church dignitary as Metropolitan of Calcutta. The Brahmin priests got wind of it. They were perturbed. This foreign religion might become a threat to their own traditions. They must investigate. So, they sent one of their men to assess the situation. He wandered around the city till he came to the Bishop’s residence. It was a vast, sprawling, opulent mansion. As he stood at the gate, the great man walked down the steps, dressed in his magnificent robes. He stepped into the waiting carriage drawn by two horses with a postillion sitting at the rear. The Brahmin returned to his friends. "Have no fears", he said, "This is not a religion we need to fear." The priests were relieved, for the pomp and splendour of organized Christianity holds no appeal for any genuine seeker after truth.
I was born in a Christian community in India whose origins predate the spread of Christianity in Europe. I grew up amidst a predominantly Hindu community with Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and Muslims all living amicably in India.
It is true that in recent years, there have been sporadic incidents of violence between Hindus, Muslims and Christians. In my view, they have all had their origins mostly as reactions to the Christian and Muslim fundamentalists' obsession to spread their faiths in a country which is predominantly Hindu. The recent surge of animosity towards Christianity in India is also the result of the actions of Christian missionaries and fundamentalists who are being bank-rolled and supported by the Churches here and in Europe.
Based on my life-long experience with Hindus I can affirm without any hesitation that the tolerance of the overwhelming majority of Hindus in India towards their Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish and Zoroastrian neighbors far exceeds the tolerance of the fundamentalist Christians and Muslims in the US towards their neighbors who follow non-Abrahamic faiths. Hinduism not only concedes that "ultimate truth" can be found in all other religions but also accepts that all faiths are equally valid in seeking God. But, none of the avid practitioners of the Abrahamic faiths will accept either of the above statements. That is because the latter believe that theirs is the only reliable path to paradise."
ALEX ALEXANDER
Dear Vijai and Benjamin: IMHO, it is a sheer waste of time and energy to respond to the inane responses of proponents of the proselytizing brands of Christianity. I am blocking all responses from Chezhiyan. The tragedy in India is that most of the Christian churches in India (Roman Catholic and Protestant Denominations) believe and act as though the tenets of Jesus can only be interpreted by their European "masters". They do not understand that Jesus was not a white man and that he was an Afro-Asiatic. In fact, most will be sorely disappointed to know that he was not a white man. These proselytizing Christians are unable to stomach the fact that Christianity originated as an eastern faith and that it was hijacked by the European colonial powers, principally to establish their hegemony over the "heathens". The only redeeming feature of Christianity in India is that there is at least one church, namely the Syrian Orthodox Church which has never promoted proselytization since its very inception. That community has remained in perfect symbiosis with their Hindu, Muslim and Jewish neighbors despite the machinations of the Portuguese and later the Danes, French and the British in India. None of the Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian etc) engage in proselytization. Have you ever seen or heard of priests or "evangelists" from any of these churches engaging in proselytization or preaching hellfire and damnation to those who do not agree with their interpretations of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth? No, because they understand the offensiveness of "in your face Christianity" and have learnt to interpret and live by their faith without having the proselytizing millstones around their necks. I hope that the Indian government gets its act together and bans all religious proselytization, regardless of whether it is by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus. If they do not do that, India will be Balkanized as per the wishes and dreams of western powers. Peace and regards, Alex BORN AGAINS
Traditional Churches Say Growth of New Sects is "a dangerous trend"
http://www.sarvesamachar.com/click_frameset.php?ref_url=%2Findex.php%3F&url=http%3A%2F%2Fus.rediff.com%2Fnews%2F2005%2Fmar%2F11spec1.htm
George Iype
March 10, 2005
Rediff
Thaliath Abraham, a jeweller from a traditional Christian family in
Kerala, recently decided to break away from the Catholic Church to
establish a church of his own called City of Faith.
Abraham is among the many who are breaking away from the traditional
church to start independent churches. These believers do not consider the
Pope or the Vatican a living reality.
"I am answerable only to Jesus Christ. I live and lead by the gospel,
not by the church. I am born again," says Abraham.
The City of Faith Church is among the large number of new faith groups
that have cut their roots with the traditional church and call
themselves 'born again'.
These new church sects are christened Exodus, Joshua, New Life, Master
Ministry, Covenant, Hiel Gospel, City of Faith and High Land Trinity.
These independent churches abhor rituals, episcopal hierarchy and all
kinds of mediators, including saints. Their members consider Christ as a
friend, guide and the only saviour.
They believe their new churches -- most having few hundred middle-class
members -- are better spiritual places than the traditional church.
* One of the biggest independent churches with a large following is
the Indian Pentecostal Church. "We have over 500,000 members in India
and we are growing every day," says IPC Coordinator Pastor Sam Kuzhikala
* The Council of Baptist Churches in northeast India has over
875,000 members in nearly 6,000 local congregations and members belonging to
over 50 different tribes. CBCNEI has a strong and historic relationship
with the American Baptist Church.
* The Central India Christian Mission has now established 162 New
Testament Churches across the country. Six of these churches are in New
Delhi. There are over 300 prayer groups and over 160 preaching points.
A spokesman for the church says city churches are growing very rapidly
towards becoming self-supporting congregations.
The proliferation of new sects have upset traditional churches, with
some chalking up plans to counter them.
Bishops belonging to the official Catholic church hierarchy have
written to parishes across the country, asking people neither to join nor
support any independent church group and urged people to be vigilant
against 'false' charismatic groups in dioceses across India.
The Kerala-based Syro Malabar Church's Major Archbishop Cardinal Varkey
Vithayathil has issued a set of guidelines, which charismatic groups,
evangelists and parish priests should obey in conducting spiritual
retreats and renewal programmes.
Cardinal Vithayathil says the charismatic movement is slipping out of
the church's control as many groups are propagating spiritual missions
like 'healing the sick' and 'driving out demons' in their own way.
Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson for the Syro Malabar Church, calls
it "a dangerous trend."
"They discard the church authority and the teachings in the Bible. They
do not interpret theology correctly. They are misleading followers of
the church," the priest told rediff.com
Father Thelakat claims most groups disallow many of the well-laid
church ceremonies like baptism and even burial.
Mainstream church leaders allege that the independent churches are
funded mainly by the United States.
"Many of these groups are getting a lot of money and that is why they
came into existence. It is basically a money-making business and nothing
spiritual," alleges an official at the Catholic Bishops Conference of
India.
Despite the criticism and warnings from the Catholic Church, these
independent church groups continue to grow.
Samuel Jacob, a member of the City of Faith Church, says the
traditional church could not quench his spiritual thirst. "All these years,
church-going was just a social custom. It was a mechanical affair," he says.
"At the City of Faith, prayer is very lively, unlike in traditional
churches," adds Jacob.
Every Sunday, members of this church meet in the home of one of its
members. Tranced prayer sessions, Bible readings and loud, inspirational hymns continue for hours. "When God speaks to us through the Holy Book, our prayers become deafening," adds Jacob.
CHRISTIANS AGAINST PROSELYTISM
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator,
BIRD.
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is a little lamp, lit and kept burning, by a group of kindred souls and fellow pilgrims who by their conviction, uphold the values of democracy and religious pluralism. Theirs is an inter-faith voyage of discovery, sailing on the winds of near identical views on people and events signifying that whatever the darkness, however profound the sense of lostness, the light of God’s love – be it Ram, Allah or Jesus - will continue to shine, for those who have the eyes to see, a heart to love and a soul to believe. BIRD’s premise is simplicity itself -striking a match in a dark immense cavern, to dispel the surrounding gloom.We are convinced that only through inter- religious dialogue can we diffuse the recurring tension between religious groups and communities in this country. We believe in strengthening of inter-faith dialogue in order to elevate communal and religious harmony to the level of a practicing doctrine. In any such dialogues there is need for a full and free exchange of our differing religious experiences, in a spirit of mutual respect, appreciation and sympathy. An exchange of individual or collective experiences will lead to enrichment of each others religious life, purifying and strengthening the religious attitude of mind against irreligious and materialistic attitudes from which stem our personal, social and national problems
BIRD came into being in 2001 as a response to the growing communal and inter-religious tensions that prevailed in the country at that time. In the beginning we heard a voice - a voice of sanity. That was Mahatma Gandhi telling us: "Show a little humility and a little diffidence about the correctness of your conduct and a little receptiveness. He reminded us "not to seek to satisfy our thirst for ego by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred and jealousy. We should cease to be merchants of hate. We have to teach ourselves that consideration for others is nobler than muscling our way to the front".
Since its inception BIRD has been providing a platform for addressing those issues, which are the causes for religious tension and resentment. Realizing that the causes for tension between Christians and Hindus in different parts India are the aggressive evangelisation campaigns and religious conversions conducted by fundamentalist Christian sects and preachers, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) has recently made a campaign Declaration called "Christians Against Proselytism".
The Declaration, signed by almost 700 Christians, is addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Secretary General of the UN, The US Commission on International Religious Freedom and The President, European Union.
THE DECLARATION:
"As Indian Christians, we believe that the best and perhaps the only way we can bear witness to our faith, is by extending our unconditional love to our neighbours and expecting nothing in return as Jesus Christ showed us. As such, we are against aggressive faith marketing by any religious group because such efforts discredit India's tradition of respecting all religious thought and also runs counter to the true spirit in which the Constitution grants people the right to profess, practice and propagate their faith.
We are Christians. Some of us were born into Christianity others freely chose to embrace it. We also believe that the Great Commission in the Gospel according to Matthew unequivocally calls us to witness Christ in a pluralistic setting without violating the right of the others to preach, practice and profess his/her faith. Witnessing Jesus cannot in any case be done by questionable means, whether by exploiting people's socio-psychological vulnerabilities or by running down other religions.
Furthermore, we believe the Christian injunction to make disciples of all nations in today’s context is best honoured by the bearers of the Good News living exemplary Christian lives and showing respect for the nation’s commitment to pluralism, for the larger public good in a civil society. Conversion of faith, given its life-changing nature, stems from a considered personal experience and is less likely in this day and age to be the stuff of dramatic immediacy.
When India’s Supreme Court ruled, in 1977, that a citizen’s right to "profess, practice and propagate" one’s religion does not include the right to convert another it was merely reaffirming both tradition and the Constitution. We believe that every nation should give primacy to maintenance of public order by ensuring safety and security to the life and property of its citizens.
India’s all-encompassing culture and secular Constitution allows not only its citizens but also visitors the freedom of religious practice. But, Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees that right also subjects it to the maintenance of "public order, morality and health" of the citizenry.
We therefore call on the Government of India and all secular countries to seek an amendment to Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights by expanding it through the addition of a second sentence (capitalised): "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. HOWEVER, NO INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANISATION MAY SEEK TO CONVERT AN INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING MINORS OR INDIVIDUALS OF LIMITED COGNITIVE ABILITIES, FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY, FROM ONE RELIGION TO ANOTHER BY OFFERING FINANCIAL OR OTHER MATERIAL INCENTIVES; THROUGH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, OR EMOTIONAL COERCION; OR THROUGH THREATS OR INTIMIDATION OF ANY KIND."
While we decry the attempts of religious leaders and fundamentalists of all varieties to convert and re-convert, we pledge to work diligently for inter-faith amity in the best traditions of Indian culture. We hereby call on all Indians to join in our efforts to preserve a pluralist India founded on secularism and religious inclusion and governed by a Constitution that guarantees all its citizens all freedoms vital to the functioning of a modern democracy."
The Declaration is posted on: www.PetitionOnline.com/panaveli/petition
Christians who support the declaration may please visit the link and sign it on-line.
PLEASE VISIT www.PetitionOnline.com/panaveli/petition
P.N.BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
7A, 3rd Cross
Da Costa Square
Bangalore 560 084
INDIATHE HOO-HA ABOUT CONVERSIONKhushwant Singh naively asks: "What is this hoo-ha about conversion now?"(DH. June 24). The reason is not far to seek. Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities. But, the mainline churches in India – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox - have never distanced themselves from the breast-beating, bible-thumping "born-again" fanatic fringe of Christians, spewing venom against Hindus and their gods in their campaigns and crusades to "harvest the Hindu souls". Why?
Look at what happened in Sri Lanka. An anti-Christian backlash in that country in January 2004 had led to attacks on Catholic churches, and fuelled demands for a law to ban what some Buddhist monks called "unethical conversions". The Sri Lankan Catholic Bishops’ Conference boldly distanced itself from the evangelical Christian groups for bribing poor people to convert to Christianity and issued a statement.
"We, the bishops of the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka, are deeply conscious of the social unrest alleged to be caused by certain activities of the fundamentalist Christian sects, particularly by the more radical elements "It must be stated that the Catholic Church is not associated in any way with any of these sects," the statement says. "We do not support any of the measures, such as material enticements or undue pressures that are alleged to be made by these groups in order to carry out so-called unethical conversions."
Will the Indian Christian leaders come out openly and condemn the activities of the fanatic fringe of the born-again Christians?
Why the total silence of western countries for the state-sponsored banning of religious conversions in "Christian" countries such as Russia, Greece and in many Muslim countries whereas when some Indian states legislate against proselytisation by any religion, the west cries foul. The recent example of the Malaysian court denying the right of a Malyasian Muslim to convert to Christianity or Pakistani Court's prohibition against Islamic conversions to Christianity (a la many Islamic theocracies) hardly raises the ire of western nations. But, when India raises questions about unbridled desire of western evangelists convert the whole of Indian into a Christian subcontinent, all hell breaks loose.
PS: The tendency in the western countries to always exclude representatives from the non-Abrahmic faiths in their so-called "inter-faith" dialogues ought to be highlighted. Here in the US, I seldom see any invitation extended by "interfaith dialog" convenors to Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh religious representatives. These Billions of people on our planet are taken for granted by the Abrahamic groups when they come together to talk about "inter-faith" amity! Hope that is brought out in your discussions.
the gist of your UN petition gets reflected in the conference proceedings
Church Distances Itself From "Unethical" Conversions
But Defends Religious Liberties in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, JAN. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic Church is
trying to distance itself from some Christian groups that have come
under criticism in this Buddhist-majority nation for bribing poor people
to convert.An anti-Christian backlash has led to attacks on Catholic churches, and fueled demands for a law to ban what some Buddhist monks call "unethical conversions."
Against this backdrop the Catholic bishops' conference issued a
statement.
"We, the bishops of the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka," the statement
says, "are deeply conscious of the social unrest alleged to be caused by
certain activities of the fundamentalist Christian sects, particularly
by the more radical elements."
"It must be stated that the Catholic Church is not associated in any way
with any of these sects," the statement says. "We do not support any of
the measures, such as material enticements or undue pressures that are
alleged to be made by these groups in order to carry out so-called
unethical conversions."
We express our grave concern over the recent increase in religious
tension in our country. At this time we wish to reiterate our resolve in
a united Sri Lanka in which people of all faiths and beliefs would live
together in harmony with dignity and mutual respect.
We are aware that the present climate is due to the concern that
"unethical" conversions from one religion to another are taking place.
We too express our unequivocal disapproval on the use of material
enticements to gain converts. It is indeed important to find effective
ways to deal with this issue if we are to create an atmosphere of
religious amity devoid of suspicion. We need to come up with a method
that is fair and dignified and one that will actually diffuse tensions
and promote religious harmony.
Thanks Dr.Benjamin, for sending this letter of these Srilankan Bishops. I wish that the CBCI and NCCI jointly came out with a similar note that would make the stand clear to those of other traditions! Are we making any effort to understand the inability of others to understand our language. Fr.Albert
ATTACKS AGAINST CHRISTIANS
"The incidents of violence against Christians were a reaction to the aggressive propaganda and mindless evangelism, abusing the Hindu Gods and indulging in similar activities. The incidents were bloated out of proportion. We have decided not to tolerate intolerance of other faiths. Let the Church declare that there can be salvation outside the Church also, and the whole atmosphere will undergo a radical change…"
The statistical approach implied in the words "the unreached millions" is derogatory to neighbours of other faiths. "Unreached" by whom? When Indian Christians themselves use these phrases, which have originated outside the country, to describe their neighbours living next door to them in the community, Christians should not be surprised if the
nehigbours are offended. (Dr. Samartha).
The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handful of Hindu extremists. Most of the violent incidents have been due to aggressive evangelising. Other than this there have been few attacks on Christians. Finally the sensitive and sensible Christians must realize that acts of certain "born-again" varieties of Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities. Christian leaders known for their erudition, equipoise and empathy should come out in the open to disown such acts of intolerance
'Religious disarmament\' on conversions.
Religious conversion is a complex and emotionally charged issue but fundamentalists of all hues exploit it, liberals confuse it and many do not comprehend what the fuss is about, says a new book. Written by an unlikely author, the Catholic Jesuit priest-sociologist Rudolf C. Heredia, \"Changing Gods: Rethinking Conversion in India\" highlights how mass conversions have alienated people from their past traditions and \"lived beliefs\".
Heredia is editor of the journal \"Social Action\" at the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi and has long worked with marginalised communities. Heredia told IANS: \"I am reluctant to sum up three years\' work in a sound bite. Perhaps the original title I had chosen \'religious disarmament\' says more than just the two words.\"
This book challenges the \"traditional orthodoxies\" which promote or oppose religious conversions. Heredia argues that there is \"no religious merit in political posturing or conversion for socio-economic gain\". His book portrays how forced conversions have weakened Indian society by dissociating people from their traditions and beliefs. Heredia traces the history of conversion in India and the changes that it wrought in the lives of people, especially tribals and Dalits. In most cases, he says, conversions fail to alter people\'s devotion to so-called pagan gods and goddesses but involves them instead in the \"politics of hate\". \"While religious commitment is essentially a matter of personal conscience and choice, it inevitably impacts other levels of individual and social life,\" argues the 400-page book. Published by Penguin India, the 400-page paperback book is priced at Rs.350. To defuse tensions over an issue that has raked up a lot of passion in contemporary India, the author advocates rethinking religious conversions in India with \"determined religious disarmament and discarding aggression\". In today\'s multi-religious society, change of faith can precipitate religious antagonism, or it can facilitate social diversity and tolerance, Heredia argues. He says that while he remains anchored firmly to his Catholic faith, he is seeking common ground for tolerance and dialogue, premised on a \"constructive interaction with other faith traditions.\" Yahoo! Groups Links
RESPONSES TO THE LETTER
Violence against Christians
Dear Friends,
I do agree with Benjamin's and Ken's thoughts. I think time has come when we need to realise that religious fundamentalism is a fact of relgion and it is there to stay ! All what we can do is to express our concern in strong terms as Benjamin and Ken have done from time to time and hope for the best.
With Warm Regards,
Mani.
Rev.Dr.M.Mani Chacko, Ph.D ( Lond.)
Director
Ecumenical Christian Centre
Post Bag 11, Whitefield
Bangalore- 560 066
India
13/05/07
Dear Mr. Benjamin,
I greatly appreciate your frank and bold voice of sanity and reason. I hope it will contribute to a greater introspection on the part of all concerned, and to communal amity. Unless the truth exposed by you is seen and acted upon by all those committed to proselytization, secularism in our country will be difficult to preserve and promote.
I wish you all success in your endeavours.
Yours sincerely,
M V Nadkarni
13/05/07
Dear PN,
I liked your letter on the provocative role of missionaries. Good work!Thanks
Siddhartha.
11/05/07
Dear Mr.Benjamin,
Your courage in exposing the Christian evangelists and their objectionable activities deserves commendation. As one who has fought them in every avenue possible over the years I appreciate what you state. After shifting to Madras I can personally vouchsafe the extent to which they have penetrated the slums of the city. They are intent only in converting the lowliest of the low and increase their numbers but do precious little to ameliorate their conditions of living or raise their educational and cultural standards. More than this I do not find words to express my anguish.
I did not get to read your latest column in the Vijay Times. Please forward if you have written one.
With regards.
A.R.S.Iyer
10/05/07
Inbox
Excellent! I hope The Hindu will publish it without much editing.Regards,G. ANIL KUMAR
Dear Mr. Benjamin, I must congratulate you on a balanced and objective perception of the unfortunate goings on in the country vis-a-vis the postures of fundamentalists on both sides of the religious "fence". While the extremist Hindu organisations such as the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are doing more harm than good by their actions, it is also true that some of the short-sided "fundamentalists" among the ill-advised zealous Christian proselytizers are provided the provocation. We can only hope that reason will prevail on both sides so that we do not waste our energies on such fruitless but dangerous attitudes. K.V.Rajagopal 11/05/07
PN Thanks for writing on the issue of violence against Christians. You have done well. My own feeling is no one has all the facts on these cases, (not even the media) nevertheless, someone needs to be courageous enough to write and arouse our otherwise dormant sentiments. The way our politicians are influencing the masses in our country there will be no end to such incidents and we need to do our best to strive for peace and harmony. I ask the question - is it religion or something deeper (or more shallow) that is the real issue. Is fundamentalism in our country here to stay? Democracy appears to be defined as the state where anyone attacks anyone else for the smallest offense with little room for intelligent responses. Freedom seems to have no boundaries! Values such as tolerance, love, respect, concern for fellow humans, in fact basic ethics of living in community have been pushed to the back while selfish agendas and mindless aggression come to the front. Power seems to be synonymous with brutality today! I am in fact a bit afraid as I read and see what has happened even this past month. Am I being pessimistic? I could be, but let me ask a few questions: Does an artist have freedom of art in our country? Is a writer or a musician able to express himself or herself without being threatened by those who claim to be the guardians of morality? Our clothes need to have the right colors and designs as even these offend some. I even see the way our legal system has been manipulated for one's own ends by those clever enough to see its loopholes. I perceive something deeper than fundamentalism but cannot nail it down. There is a cult of violence that seeks any excuse for demonstration of itself. Who are these people who indulge in such blatant acts of terror and threaten normal life in our society? Are they the really religious? Are they the truly educated? Are they those who are in any way familiar with the teachings propagated by the Father of our Nation? I can go on and on. but the heart of my sentiments at this time is that whatever is happening is not Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh or whatever. It is a few, in fact a very small section of our society who need to be contained. I am not sure how we do this. But my concern is that unless the majority rise and do something fast, we will be seeing more and more of baseless belligerence that will pull our great nation backwards, when there are a few noble ones doing everything they can to take us forward. Lets stand up together. Ken Gnanakan
11/05/07
It is heart wrenching for me to see fundamentalist Christians assert that they alone are the holders of valid visas to heaven and paradise! Many preachers of the Gospel lay
enticing traps for people whom they think must be "saved" at all costs. It
is worse still that their attitudes, though Christians are a tiny
minority in India, often create counter-reaction from among militant Hindus
who sometimes incite violence against Christians. The Hindu fundamentalism
is a reaction to the provocations of Christian proselytizers. I hope that
the fanatics among the Christian faith will soon realize that theirs is a
losing battle even if they derive their financial and other means of support
from the wealthy nations overseas.
Militant Islam and evangelical Christianity are the two remaining
Neanderthals who are still committed to proselytization and religious
conversions. India will continue to remain hospitable to all religions only
if the Muslim fanatics and the Christian fundamentalists will accept the
pluralistic tradition of Hindus which is to consider all religions as equal.
Pluralistic Christians and liberated Muslims of India have done that. The
overwhelming majority of Hindus practice it.
Needed: A pluralistic ethics of conversionAuthor: Madhuri Santanam SondhiPublication: Deccan ChronicleDate: June 22, 2006Introduction: Freedom of conscience and freedom to propagate do not exhaust all the nuances of religious rights and tolerance. We need an ethics of diversity and pluralism.All right-thinking people subscribe to the doctrine of freedom of conscience: a person should be free to change, adopt, enlarge or abandon any belief according to his or her conscience, and this freedom is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). But thanks to deep differences of belief and custom between the various faiths lumped together under the English term "religion," the historical conflict between converting and non-converting faiths persists. In the modern world, in which the great debates about religion and ideology seem a thing of the past, if questions are raised about the subtle or not so subtle ruses whereby conversions are effected, they rouse little indignation. What if the poor are enticed not by truths but by promises of this-worldly comforts: when even the rich and powerful sell their souls for filthy lucre or power, why should the poor be barred from doing the same? The core values are economic: rich or poor and not moral like right or wrong, or metaphysical, true or false, or cultural, authentic or mimetic. Even Swami Vivekananda remarked that one cannot preach religion (the higher dharma) to people with empty stomachs, i.e., first establish the human security which enables genuine free choice. Combining community religion with food, healthcare and education is another ballgame. In 1977 the Supreme Court upheld the constitution of conversion-prohibiting laws enacted by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, clarifying that "organised conversion, whether by force or fraud, or by providing allurement to people taking advantage of their poverty and ignorance is anti-secular." The Court further said that respect for all religions was the basis of Indian secularism, whereas conversion was grounded in religious intolerance. And the Indian Constitution quite specifically frowns on conversions which disturb the peace.Recently a contretemps arose in Rajasthan between the BJP government, the Congress governor and Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the introduction of a Bill barring conversions (which already obtains, at least notionally, in five states). The Pope, breaking the decorum of a credentials presentation ceremony, chastised India (read Hindus) through its envoy, for lack of religious tolerance. Virtually, Hindus were commanded in the name of freedom, to submit to proselytisation. Since conversion is an integral function of the Christian clergy, it is perhaps claimed as a religious right. But for the targeted community it could be provocative.How to reconcile proselytisation and tolerance? These are problematic as group and not individual rights. Tolerance is an essentially contested concept, linked to a particular religious point of view, and the alleged universality of the UDHR at least in this area is controversial. The Latin religio suggests being bound or obligated: certainly Abrahamic religions have strong community bonding, and Islam in particular, fierce punishments for apostasy. Dharma covers, apart from religious particularisms, relationships within and between social groups, moral and customary duties: in the past there were severe punishments for breaking caste taboos (under reform Hinduism and the Indian secular state, these are to some extent in retreat). But there was acceptance of diverse ways of life and belief, and this plural co-existence is what constitutes India's (not only Hindu) tolerance. Vivekananda gave it a modern gloss through describing different faiths as rivers emptying into the same sea.
It has been said that early Christianity and Islam functioned almost as varnas in the Indian social system after their initial proselytising advent: thereafter they played almost according to Indian social rules. But aggressive proselytising in the 19th and 20th centuries upset the old balances, causing concern to nationalists seeking a cultural definition of India.
A new straw in the wind apparently quivered in the aftermath of a recent interfaith meeting jointly organised by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches whose resolutions stressed, among other things, the need for all faiths to heal themselves from the obsession of converting others. However this occurred in the same week as the Pope's bombshell, undermining the credibility of the message.Under attack, the non-converting faiths have partly awoken to the need for self-protection. Since the defensive techniques are foreign to their basic structure, they generate much criticism, especially from their own adherents. The Hindus evolved shuddhi in the last century, reconverting converted Hindus or tribals, and defensive (sometimes veering on the destructively offensive) organisations to rally their members across castes and sects. The energy of a missionary faith may be deplored but not condemned, whereas counter measures arouse righteous indignation.The Khasis in Meghalaya faced a comparable crisis when the British conquered northeastern India in the 19th century, encouraging missionary activity to help pacify the areas. Their Niam Khasi religion had no recorded beliefs, no centrally administered social organisation, but there was a coherent fabric of interwoven socio-cultural practices and beliefs. By 1899, certain Khasi leaders made an effort to both organise themselves and encode their values in writing to resist the onslaught of the well-funded, well-organised government patronised missions. The result was the Seng Khasi movement, protective, revivalist and reversionist. It has won recognition as a distinct religion from the International Association for Religious Freedom. As structured today the Niam Khasi has an Indic character with belief in one God, U Blei, common to and in communication with, all of humanity. It retains its particular cosmic and nature deities, and magical elements perdure as in Tibetan Buddhism. The Oneness and universal accessibility of God obviate the need for conversions, but reverting Khasis are welcome.Post-Independence conversions continued, with the plethora of Protestant churches finally upstaged by the Roman Catholic, today even more gung-ho under the new Pope. The traditional Khasis feel culturally threatened, lacking the means to match the excellent Christian educational and healthcare institutions with their employment potential. If earlier a convert had to abandon traditional customs, nowadays Christians more pragmatically seek to blend into local cultures.
Gandhi had remarked that the advent of a missionary means the disruption of a family, and even when outward conditions of dress, manners, language and drink are unaffected, "vilification of the Hindu religion, though subdued, remains." Hindu families may squabble like any other, but religio-cultural fissures cut at the heart of the Indian group society engendering great anguish. It is anybody's guess as to who will be the ultimate winner, the foreign religion or local culture, or whether India will pull another syncretic rabbit out of its proverbial hat. Today with Central government ineptitude over northeastern problems combined with regional near-sightedness, there is much local talk of being "different from India." The Chinese have always encouraged this sense of difference along the Himalayan border.Freedom of conscience and freedom to propagate do not exhaust all the nuances of religious rights and tolerance. We need an ethics of diversity and pluralism. Human rights discourse could consider new formulations for accommodating the needs, expectations and practices of a wide spectrum of faiths to move towards the more truly "universal." Human rights form the essential foundations of our own society and Constitution, but we might like to modify certain clauses so that all groups, big and small, can be confidently assured of their religious freedoms.
Conversions threaten a way of lifehttp://in.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/30franc.htmDecember 30, 2005Francois Gautier writes to Dr John Dayal, member, National Integration Council, in response to the letter he wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:Dear John Dayal,I am a Westerner and a born Christian. I was mainly brought up in Catholic schools, my uncle Father Guy Gautier a gem of a man, was the parish head of the beautiful Saint Jean de Montmartre church in Paris. My father Jacques Gautier, a famous artist in France, and a truly good person if there ever was one, was a fervent Catholic all his life, went to church nearly every day and lived by his Christian values.There are certain concepts in Christianity I am proud of: Charity for others, the equality of social systems in many Western countries, Christ's message of love and compassion.Yet, when I read your letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, apropos the inaugural meeting of the National Integration Council, I was a little uneasy.First, you seem to assume that you are speaking for the entire Christian community in India. But I know many Christians in this country, and they never voice the grievances you so loudly proclaim. In fact, I have found that most Christians in India are not only happy to live in this country of traditional tolerance, but that they are also different from many Christians in the world: More multicultural and ecumenist in spirit, maybe.Then, you speak of the marginalised Dalits. I agree that there are still unforgivable atrocities committed against Dalits, although very often they are done by backward castes themselves. I remember during the tsunami in Pondichery, how the Vanniars, an OBC caste, stopped the Dalits from a coastal hamlet from crossing the Vanniars' part of the village to bury their dead, as the Dalits' cremation ground had been submerged.At the same time, my 30 years in India have taught me that nowhere in the world has there been so much effort to rectify a wrong -- from 1947 onwards. This resulted in a Dalit, the late K R Narayanan, born in a poor village of Kerala, to be elected President of India, one of the highest posts in this nation.Has a black man ever been President of the United States?Reservations for Dalits have made it possible for them to access education and jobs regardless of their merits -- and this is a unique feature of India today.Francois Gautier who are the real Dalits of India?You continue by saying that 'the agenda draftsmen of papers for NIC seem to believe that forcible and fraudulent conversions (to Christianity) are the main cause of civil unrest in tribal and other rural areas'. And you retort that 'this is a malicious myth propagated by obscurantist and fundamentalist -- and often violent -- political groups'. Meaning Hindu groups, of course.I have to disagree with you on two points.
One, I have seen with my own eyes how conversions in India are not only highly unethical -- that is, using unethical means of conversion -- but also that they threaten a whole way of life, erasing centuries of tradition, customs, wisdom, teaching people to despise their own religion and look Westwards to a culture which is alien to them, with disastrous results.Look at what happened to countries like Hawaii, or to the extraordinary Aztec culture in South America, after Portuguese and Spanish missionaries took over.Look how the biggest drug problems in India are found in the Northeast, or how Third World countries which have been totally Christianised have lost all moorings and bearing and are drifting away without nationalism and self-pride.Second, I think people like you show very little gratitude to that Hindu ethos which has seeped into Indian Christian consciousness. It is because of that Hindu ethos, which accepts that god may manifest himself at different times in different names, that Christians were welcomed in India in the first century. Indeed, the Syrian Christians of Kerala constituted the first Christian community in the world.It is because of this inbred tolerance in Hinduism that Christianity and many other persecuted minorities in the world flourished and practiced their religion in peace in India throughout the centuries.But how do Christians thank the Hindus? When the Jesuits arrived in India with Vasco de Gama, they committed terrible persecutions, particularly in Goa, crucifying Brahmins, marrying local girls forcibly to Portuguese soldiers, razing temples to build churches and splitting the Kerala Christian community in two.'Goa Inquisition was most merciless and cruel'And today, people like you continue ranting against Hindus and promoting unethical conversions, using the massive power of the dollars donated by ignorant Westerners, who do not know that their money is used to lure innocent tribals and Dalits, who still possess that all encompassing acceptance of all gods, towards another religion.Furthermore, you use false statistics, saying for instance that nuns have been raped. You no doubt allude to the Jhabua rape case, when courts have shown that these nuns were not raped by Hindus, but by Christian tribals.I know, I went there and interviewed these innocent souls.And who has been hijacking of the educational system in India? Not the Hindus, as you accuse, but the Christians, who control much of the higher education in India and by subtle and not so subtle means, poison the minds of the students, teaching them to look down on their own culture and look up to whatever is Western -- even if it has already failed in the West.In how many schools and hospitals in India today, the Bible is read at the beginning of each day, each session? Would you approve of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of 850 million Hindus being read in Christian schools in the West to Christian students and nurses?Finally, when you say: 'God bless you, you Government, and God bless India', which god are you talking about? Is it Jesus Christ? But the message of Christ was one of love, of respecting others' cultures and creed -- not of utilising unethical means for converting people.It is false to say that Jesus is the only 'true' god. As Hindus rightly believe, the Divine has manifested himself throughout the ages under different names and identities, whether it is Christ, Buddha, Krishna or Mohammad.Let this be the motto of the National Integration Council of India.Francois Gautier
Dr. Kaj Baago, the Danish Theologian, quit teaching theology and left the church, not because of disappointment or disillusion, agnosticism or mere anthropology, but because of his understanding of Christ and his commitment to Christianity............. ......... ......... ......... ........What follow are excerpts from Jonas Jorgensen's study of Baago. Click here for the full article http://www.religion -online.org/ showarticle. asp?title= 1634............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .......This issue addressed most clearly in his article "Must Hindus be Baptized to become Christians?" (Baago 1966a) and in the article "The Place of Baptism in the Christian Mission in India" (Baago 1967h; see also 1966e:438; 1967e: 148). The nucleus of the problem is that baptism, according to Baago, has come to mean something different in the Indian context than what was intended in the New Testament. As the Christians got recognized in India as a political body the claim for political rights followed (Baago 1967h:49), as seen for e.g. in the so-called `politics of numbers' under the British rule. Baptism thus became a baptism to the Church and not to Christ, it became a political act rather than a sacrament.4Baago makes it clear that the church as an organization cannot be directly identified with the Body of Christ (Baago 1966a:18) as the Spirit of Christ is working outside the church (Baago 1966d: 14). Baago does not find anything essentially better or worse in the Christian church than in the Hindu society, but there can, according to Baago, be no doubt that Christ is working inside as well as outside the Christian Church, and the Christians can therefore not claim to have a monopoly on Christ In one of his first articles from India, written in 1962, he writes that the task of the missionaries is today `. . . not to introduce a new God in India, the Jewish God, but to proclaim to Hindus and Muslims that the God whom they know, and yet not know, has revealed Himself in Christ"
__._,_.___
Christians are thoroughly muddled over this business of conversion. It is intriguing that Christian missionary efforts at conversions under the guise of social work do not take place in localities, say, like the Brahmin-dominated ward of Mylapore in Chennai or Malleswaram in Bangalore. They are conducted in poor and illiterate dalit colonies and slums and remote villages far from the prying eyes of authority.
Will mere conversion alone help the Church fulfilling the Christian duty in a society? Many will answer in the negative. As long as economic and social conditions remain unchanged in the Church, its mission also will fail. For instance, Christians have sinned more than others in perpetuating social injustice. Caste-consciousness is still prevalent in the Christian community. It only shows that they are not yet sufficiently redeemed as they profess to be. When the higher ideals and aspirations of the Christian path are understood and when their mentors, both clergy and the laity, inculcate true Christian spirit among its members, the community can get rid of all negative phases of casteism and transform it as an ideal and casteless community.
Conversions have neither offered 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. When a Dalit becomes a Christian he should be given a minimum chance of escaping from the "outcast" status. He should merge with the rest of the Christian community and the Church must make it possible for him to start afresh. If Christians cannot treat Dalit converts as part of their fellowship it is better to leave them alone. Christ himself said: "You encompass sea and land to make one convert and then you make him twice the son of hell as you are". Dalit Christians’ conversion to Christianity has meant nothing but substitution of social discrimination within the Churches for discrimination within the Hindu society.
The churches offered charity equally to all castes who came into its fold, and charity became a powerful weapon of persuasion. It was, however, another matter that feudal prejudices underwent mere reincarnation: separate pews exist for lower-caste Christians in many churches of the country. In death they are allotted their own cemeteries or a corner of the main cemetery, with a wall separating the section in some.
A section of the Christian Church has always wrongly emphasized conversion as the primary aim of the Christian mission, totally misunderstanding Christ’s Commission. The Commission to preach the gospel is usually quoted by all Christian groups. But they conveniently ignore the fact that there are other very important elements in the teachings of Christ. " Love your enemy as yourself. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt but lay up treasures in heaven. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Forgive your brother not seven times but seventy times seven. Love one another as I have loved you."
Unless Christians share the sufferings of the people they have no word of the gospel to them, whatever true things they might say. If Christians as a community took to the teachings of Christ seriously then they would be justified in preaching. To preach what they do not practise is to put the cart before the horse. Let their light so shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify the Father in heaven!
If all religions are ultimately for the welfare and salvation of humankind then conversion is absurd. The church leaders have miserably failed to take care of the 16 million Dalits converted to Christianity. Christianity is a path of life paved with suffering and service. Christ said: ‘if any one wants to follow me, let him take up the cross and follow me." Unfortunately, the Indian Christian leaders want the Government to carry the Cross of Dalit Christians.
Many well-meaning Christians believe that attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Mr. Jon Stock, New Delhi correspondent of the The Daily Telegraph wrote in October 1999: " put simply, the Indian subcontinent has become the principal target for a wide range of western Christian missions which are determined to spread the gospel to India’s "unreached" people. There is little doubt that the current communal tension in India would not be serious if foreign-funded missionaries had been content with giving Indians the choice of Christianity and left it at that".
The Tamil Nadu Ordinance may only help to rid the Christians of the fake they see around them, to separate the wheat from the chaff.
P.N.BENJAMIN
I have nothing but compassion for fundamentalist Christians who rattle off verses from the Bible to preach hellfire and damnation to those who do not agree with their interpretations of the contents of the Bible
Conversions have neither offered 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. When a Dalit becomes a Chri-stian he should be given a minimum chance of escaping from the "outcast" status. If Christi-ans cannot treat Dalit converts as part of their fellowship it is better to leave them alone. Christ himself said: "You encompass sea and land to make one convert and then you make him twice the son of hell as you are"
Dalit Christians’ conversion to Christianity has meant nothing but substitution of social discrimination within the Churches for discrimination within the Hindu society. The churches offered charity equally to all castes who came into its fold, and charity became a powerful weapon of persuasion. It was another matter that feudal prejudices underwent mere reincarnation: Separate pews exist for lower-caste Christians in many churches of the country. In death they are allotted their own cemeteries or a corner of the main cemetery, with a wall separating the section in some.
A section of the Christian Church has always wrongly emphasised conversion as the primary aim of the Christian mission, totally misunderstanding Christ’s Commission to preach the gospel. They ignore the fact that there are other very important elements in his teachings. "Love your enemy as yourself. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt but lay up treasures in heaven. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Forgive your brother not seven times but seventy times seven. Love one another as I have loved you." Unless Christians share the sufferings of the people they have no word of the gospel to them, whatever true things they might say. If Christians as a community took to the teachings of Christ seriously then they would be justified in preaching. Let their light so shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify the Father in heaven!
The church leaders have miserably failed to take care of the 16 million Dalits converted to Christianity. Christianity is a path of life paved with suffering and service. Christ said: ‘if any one wants to follow me, let him take up the cross and follow me." But the Indian Christian leaders want the Government to carry the Cross of Dalit Christians. Many well-meaning Christians believe that attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Mr Jon Stock, New Delhi correspondent of the The Daily Telegraph wrote in October 1999: "put simply, the Indian subcontinent has become the principal target for a wide range of western Christian missions which are determined to spread the gospel to India’s "unreached" people. There is little doubt that the current communal tension in India would not be serious if foreign-funded missionaries had been content with giving Indians the choice of Christianity and left it at that".
The recent surge of animosity towards Christianity in India is the result of the actions of Christian missionaries and fundamentalists who are being bank-rolled and supported by the Churches in the USA and in Europe. Like the rats scurrying out the sinking ship, the New Missionaries will leave the business of "reaching the unreached at any cost", the moment fundamentalist Christians in the US stop sending dollars to the conversion brigade in India.
About a hundred and fifty years ago England was sending out a very important Anglican Church dignitary as Metropolitan of Calcutta. The Brahmin priests got wind of it. They were perturbed. This foreign religion might become a threat to their own traditions. They must investigate. So, they sent one of their men to assess the situation. He wandered around the city till he came to the Bishop’s residence. It was a vast, sprawling, opulent mansion. As he stood at the gate, the great man walked down the steps, dressed in his magnificent robes. He stepped into the waiting carriage drawn by two horses with a postillion sitting at the rear. The Brahmin returned to his friends. "Have no fears", he said, "This is not a religion we need to fear." The priests were relieved, for the pomp and splendour of organized Christianity holds no appeal for any genuine seeker after truth.
I was born in a Christian community in India whose origins predate the spread of Christianity in Europe. I grew up amidst a predominantly Hindu community with Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and Muslims all living amicably in India.
It is true that in recent years, there have been sporadic incidents of violence between Hindus, Muslims and Christians. In my view, they have all had their origins mostly as reactions to the Christian and Muslim fundamentalists' obsession to spread their faiths in a country which is predominantly Hindu. The recent surge of animosity towards Christianity in India is also the result of the actions of Christian missionaries and fundamentalists who are being bank-rolled and supported by the Churches here and in Europe.
Based on my life-long experience with Hindus I can affirm without any hesitation that the tolerance of the overwhelming majority of Hindus in India towards their Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish and Zoroastrian neighbors far exceeds the tolerance of the fundamentalist Christians and Muslims in the US towards their neighbors who follow non-Abrahamic faiths. Hinduism not only concedes that "ultimate truth" can be found in all other religions but also accepts that all faiths are equally valid in seeking God. But, none of the avid practitioners of the Abrahamic faiths will accept either of the above statements. That is because the latter believe that theirs is the only reliable path to paradise."
ALEX ALEXANDER
Dear Vijai and Benjamin: IMHO, it is a sheer waste of time and energy to respond to the inane responses of proponents of the proselytizing brands of Christianity. I am blocking all responses from Chezhiyan. The tragedy in India is that most of the Christian churches in India (Roman Catholic and Protestant Denominations) believe and act as though the tenets of Jesus can only be interpreted by their European "masters". They do not understand that Jesus was not a white man and that he was an Afro-Asiatic. In fact, most will be sorely disappointed to know that he was not a white man. These proselytizing Christians are unable to stomach the fact that Christianity originated as an eastern faith and that it was hijacked by the European colonial powers, principally to establish their hegemony over the "heathens". The only redeeming feature of Christianity in India is that there is at least one church, namely the Syrian Orthodox Church which has never promoted proselytization since its very inception. That community has remained in perfect symbiosis with their Hindu, Muslim and Jewish neighbors despite the machinations of the Portuguese and later the Danes, French and the British in India. None of the Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian etc) engage in proselytization. Have you ever seen or heard of priests or "evangelists" from any of these churches engaging in proselytization or preaching hellfire and damnation to those who do not agree with their interpretations of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth? No, because they understand the offensiveness of "in your face Christianity" and have learnt to interpret and live by their faith without having the proselytizing millstones around their necks. I hope that the Indian government gets its act together and bans all religious proselytization, regardless of whether it is by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus. If they do not do that, India will be Balkanized as per the wishes and dreams of western powers. Peace and regards, Alex BORN AGAINS
Traditional Churches Say Growth of New Sects is "a dangerous trend"
http://www.sarvesamachar.com/click_frameset.php?ref_url=%2Findex.php%3F&url=http%3A%2F%2Fus.rediff.com%2Fnews%2F2005%2Fmar%2F11spec1.htm
George Iype
March 10, 2005
Rediff
Thaliath Abraham, a jeweller from a traditional Christian family in
Kerala, recently decided to break away from the Catholic Church to
establish a church of his own called City of Faith.
Abraham is among the many who are breaking away from the traditional
church to start independent churches. These believers do not consider the
Pope or the Vatican a living reality.
"I am answerable only to Jesus Christ. I live and lead by the gospel,
not by the church. I am born again," says Abraham.
The City of Faith Church is among the large number of new faith groups
that have cut their roots with the traditional church and call
themselves 'born again'.
These new church sects are christened Exodus, Joshua, New Life, Master
Ministry, Covenant, Hiel Gospel, City of Faith and High Land Trinity.
These independent churches abhor rituals, episcopal hierarchy and all
kinds of mediators, including saints. Their members consider Christ as a
friend, guide and the only saviour.
They believe their new churches -- most having few hundred middle-class
members -- are better spiritual places than the traditional church.
* One of the biggest independent churches with a large following is
the Indian Pentecostal Church. "We have over 500,000 members in India
and we are growing every day," says IPC Coordinator Pastor Sam Kuzhikala
* The Council of Baptist Churches in northeast India has over
875,000 members in nearly 6,000 local congregations and members belonging to
over 50 different tribes. CBCNEI has a strong and historic relationship
with the American Baptist Church.
* The Central India Christian Mission has now established 162 New
Testament Churches across the country. Six of these churches are in New
Delhi. There are over 300 prayer groups and over 160 preaching points.
A spokesman for the church says city churches are growing very rapidly
towards becoming self-supporting congregations.
The proliferation of new sects have upset traditional churches, with
some chalking up plans to counter them.
Bishops belonging to the official Catholic church hierarchy have
written to parishes across the country, asking people neither to join nor
support any independent church group and urged people to be vigilant
against 'false' charismatic groups in dioceses across India.
The Kerala-based Syro Malabar Church's Major Archbishop Cardinal Varkey
Vithayathil has issued a set of guidelines, which charismatic groups,
evangelists and parish priests should obey in conducting spiritual
retreats and renewal programmes.
Cardinal Vithayathil says the charismatic movement is slipping out of
the church's control as many groups are propagating spiritual missions
like 'healing the sick' and 'driving out demons' in their own way.
Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson for the Syro Malabar Church, calls
it "a dangerous trend."
"They discard the church authority and the teachings in the Bible. They
do not interpret theology correctly. They are misleading followers of
the church," the priest told rediff.com
Father Thelakat claims most groups disallow many of the well-laid
church ceremonies like baptism and even burial.
Mainstream church leaders allege that the independent churches are
funded mainly by the United States.
"Many of these groups are getting a lot of money and that is why they
came into existence. It is basically a money-making business and nothing
spiritual," alleges an official at the Catholic Bishops Conference of
India.
Despite the criticism and warnings from the Catholic Church, these
independent church groups continue to grow.
Samuel Jacob, a member of the City of Faith Church, says the
traditional church could not quench his spiritual thirst. "All these years,
church-going was just a social custom. It was a mechanical affair," he says.
"At the City of Faith, prayer is very lively, unlike in traditional
churches," adds Jacob.
Every Sunday, members of this church meet in the home of one of its
members. Tranced prayer sessions, Bible readings and loud, inspirational hymns continue for hours. "When God speaks to us through the Holy Book, our prayers become deafening," adds Jacob.
CHRISTIANS AGAINST PROSELYTISM
P.N. BENJAMIN
Coordinator,
BIRD.
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) is a little lamp, lit and kept burning, by a group of kindred souls and fellow pilgrims who by their conviction, uphold the values of democracy and religious pluralism. Theirs is an inter-faith voyage of discovery, sailing on the winds of near identical views on people and events signifying that whatever the darkness, however profound the sense of lostness, the light of God’s love – be it Ram, Allah or Jesus - will continue to shine, for those who have the eyes to see, a heart to love and a soul to believe. BIRD’s premise is simplicity itself -striking a match in a dark immense cavern, to dispel the surrounding gloom.We are convinced that only through inter- religious dialogue can we diffuse the recurring tension between religious groups and communities in this country. We believe in strengthening of inter-faith dialogue in order to elevate communal and religious harmony to the level of a practicing doctrine. In any such dialogues there is need for a full and free exchange of our differing religious experiences, in a spirit of mutual respect, appreciation and sympathy. An exchange of individual or collective experiences will lead to enrichment of each others religious life, purifying and strengthening the religious attitude of mind against irreligious and materialistic attitudes from which stem our personal, social and national problems
BIRD came into being in 2001 as a response to the growing communal and inter-religious tensions that prevailed in the country at that time. In the beginning we heard a voice - a voice of sanity. That was Mahatma Gandhi telling us: "Show a little humility and a little diffidence about the correctness of your conduct and a little receptiveness. He reminded us "not to seek to satisfy our thirst for ego by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred and jealousy. We should cease to be merchants of hate. We have to teach ourselves that consideration for others is nobler than muscling our way to the front".
Since its inception BIRD has been providing a platform for addressing those issues, which are the causes for religious tension and resentment. Realizing that the causes for tension between Christians and Hindus in different parts India are the aggressive evangelisation campaigns and religious conversions conducted by fundamentalist Christian sects and preachers, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD) has recently made a campaign Declaration called "Christians Against Proselytism".
The Declaration, signed by almost 700 Christians, is addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Secretary General of the UN, The US Commission on International Religious Freedom and The President, European Union.
THE DECLARATION:
"As Indian Christians, we believe that the best and perhaps the only way we can bear witness to our faith, is by extending our unconditional love to our neighbours and expecting nothing in return as Jesus Christ showed us. As such, we are against aggressive faith marketing by any religious group because such efforts discredit India's tradition of respecting all religious thought and also runs counter to the true spirit in which the Constitution grants people the right to profess, practice and propagate their faith.
We are Christians. Some of us were born into Christianity others freely chose to embrace it. We also believe that the Great Commission in the Gospel according to Matthew unequivocally calls us to witness Christ in a pluralistic setting without violating the right of the others to preach, practice and profess his/her faith. Witnessing Jesus cannot in any case be done by questionable means, whether by exploiting people's socio-psychological vulnerabilities or by running down other religions.
Furthermore, we believe the Christian injunction to make disciples of all nations in today’s context is best honoured by the bearers of the Good News living exemplary Christian lives and showing respect for the nation’s commitment to pluralism, for the larger public good in a civil society. Conversion of faith, given its life-changing nature, stems from a considered personal experience and is less likely in this day and age to be the stuff of dramatic immediacy.
When India’s Supreme Court ruled, in 1977, that a citizen’s right to "profess, practice and propagate" one’s religion does not include the right to convert another it was merely reaffirming both tradition and the Constitution. We believe that every nation should give primacy to maintenance of public order by ensuring safety and security to the life and property of its citizens.
India’s all-encompassing culture and secular Constitution allows not only its citizens but also visitors the freedom of religious practice. But, Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees that right also subjects it to the maintenance of "public order, morality and health" of the citizenry.
We therefore call on the Government of India and all secular countries to seek an amendment to Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights by expanding it through the addition of a second sentence (capitalised): "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. HOWEVER, NO INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANISATION MAY SEEK TO CONVERT AN INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING MINORS OR INDIVIDUALS OF LIMITED COGNITIVE ABILITIES, FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY, FROM ONE RELIGION TO ANOTHER BY OFFERING FINANCIAL OR OTHER MATERIAL INCENTIVES; THROUGH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, OR EMOTIONAL COERCION; OR THROUGH THREATS OR INTIMIDATION OF ANY KIND."
While we decry the attempts of religious leaders and fundamentalists of all varieties to convert and re-convert, we pledge to work diligently for inter-faith amity in the best traditions of Indian culture. We hereby call on all Indians to join in our efforts to preserve a pluralist India founded on secularism and religious inclusion and governed by a Constitution that guarantees all its citizens all freedoms vital to the functioning of a modern democracy."
The Declaration is posted on: www.PetitionOnline.com/panaveli/petition
Christians who support the declaration may please visit the link and sign it on-line.
PLEASE VISIT www.PetitionOnline.com/panaveli/petition
P.N.BENJAMIN
Coordinator
Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
7A, 3rd Cross
Da Costa Square
Bangalore 560 084
INDIATHE HOO-HA ABOUT CONVERSIONKhushwant Singh naively asks: "What is this hoo-ha about conversion now?"(DH. June 24). The reason is not far to seek. Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities. But, the mainline churches in India – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox - have never distanced themselves from the breast-beating, bible-thumping "born-again" fanatic fringe of Christians, spewing venom against Hindus and their gods in their campaigns and crusades to "harvest the Hindu souls". Why?
Look at what happened in Sri Lanka. An anti-Christian backlash in that country in January 2004 had led to attacks on Catholic churches, and fuelled demands for a law to ban what some Buddhist monks called "unethical conversions". The Sri Lankan Catholic Bishops’ Conference boldly distanced itself from the evangelical Christian groups for bribing poor people to convert to Christianity and issued a statement.
"We, the bishops of the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka, are deeply conscious of the social unrest alleged to be caused by certain activities of the fundamentalist Christian sects, particularly by the more radical elements "It must be stated that the Catholic Church is not associated in any way with any of these sects," the statement says. "We do not support any of the measures, such as material enticements or undue pressures that are alleged to be made by these groups in order to carry out so-called unethical conversions."
Will the Indian Christian leaders come out openly and condemn the activities of the fanatic fringe of the born-again Christians?
Why the total silence of western countries for the state-sponsored banning of religious conversions in "Christian" countries such as Russia, Greece and in many Muslim countries whereas when some Indian states legislate against proselytisation by any religion, the west cries foul. The recent example of the Malaysian court denying the right of a Malyasian Muslim to convert to Christianity or Pakistani Court's prohibition against Islamic conversions to Christianity (a la many Islamic theocracies) hardly raises the ire of western nations. But, when India raises questions about unbridled desire of western evangelists convert the whole of Indian into a Christian subcontinent, all hell breaks loose.
PS: The tendency in the western countries to always exclude representatives from the non-Abrahmic faiths in their so-called "inter-faith" dialogues ought to be highlighted. Here in the US, I seldom see any invitation extended by "interfaith dialog" convenors to Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh religious representatives. These Billions of people on our planet are taken for granted by the Abrahamic groups when they come together to talk about "inter-faith" amity! Hope that is brought out in your discussions.
the gist of your UN petition gets reflected in the conference proceedings
Church Distances Itself From "Unethical" Conversions
But Defends Religious Liberties in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, JAN. 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic Church is
trying to distance itself from some Christian groups that have come
under criticism in this Buddhist-majority nation for bribing poor people
to convert.An anti-Christian backlash has led to attacks on Catholic churches, and fueled demands for a law to ban what some Buddhist monks call "unethical conversions."
Against this backdrop the Catholic bishops' conference issued a
statement.
"We, the bishops of the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka," the statement
says, "are deeply conscious of the social unrest alleged to be caused by
certain activities of the fundamentalist Christian sects, particularly
by the more radical elements."
"It must be stated that the Catholic Church is not associated in any way
with any of these sects," the statement says. "We do not support any of
the measures, such as material enticements or undue pressures that are
alleged to be made by these groups in order to carry out so-called
unethical conversions."
We express our grave concern over the recent increase in religious
tension in our country. At this time we wish to reiterate our resolve in
a united Sri Lanka in which people of all faiths and beliefs would live
together in harmony with dignity and mutual respect.
We are aware that the present climate is due to the concern that
"unethical" conversions from one religion to another are taking place.
We too express our unequivocal disapproval on the use of material
enticements to gain converts. It is indeed important to find effective
ways to deal with this issue if we are to create an atmosphere of
religious amity devoid of suspicion. We need to come up with a method
that is fair and dignified and one that will actually diffuse tensions
and promote religious harmony.
Thanks Dr.Benjamin, for sending this letter of these Srilankan Bishops. I wish that the CBCI and NCCI jointly came out with a similar note that would make the stand clear to those of other traditions! Are we making any effort to understand the inability of others to understand our language. Fr.Albert
ATTACKS AGAINST CHRISTIANS
"The incidents of violence against Christians were a reaction to the aggressive propaganda and mindless evangelism, abusing the Hindu Gods and indulging in similar activities. The incidents were bloated out of proportion. We have decided not to tolerate intolerance of other faiths. Let the Church declare that there can be salvation outside the Church also, and the whole atmosphere will undergo a radical change…"
The statistical approach implied in the words "the unreached millions" is derogatory to neighbours of other faiths. "Unreached" by whom? When Indian Christians themselves use these phrases, which have originated outside the country, to describe their neighbours living next door to them in the community, Christians should not be surprised if the
nehigbours are offended. (Dr. Samartha).
The real source of danger to the Indian Christian community is not the handful of Hindu extremists. Most of the violent incidents have been due to aggressive evangelising. Other than this there have been few attacks on Christians. Finally the sensitive and sensible Christians must realize that acts of certain "born-again" varieties of Christian evangelists who denigrate Hindu gods and abuse Hindu rituals as barbaric are the root cause of tension between Christian and Hindu communities. Christian leaders known for their erudition, equipoise and empathy should come out in the open to disown such acts of intolerance
'Religious disarmament\' on conversions.
Religious conversion is a complex and emotionally charged issue but fundamentalists of all hues exploit it, liberals confuse it and many do not comprehend what the fuss is about, says a new book. Written by an unlikely author, the Catholic Jesuit priest-sociologist Rudolf C. Heredia, \"Changing Gods: Rethinking Conversion in India\" highlights how mass conversions have alienated people from their past traditions and \"lived beliefs\".
Heredia is editor of the journal \"Social Action\" at the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi and has long worked with marginalised communities. Heredia told IANS: \"I am reluctant to sum up three years\' work in a sound bite. Perhaps the original title I had chosen \'religious disarmament\' says more than just the two words.\"
This book challenges the \"traditional orthodoxies\" which promote or oppose religious conversions. Heredia argues that there is \"no religious merit in political posturing or conversion for socio-economic gain\". His book portrays how forced conversions have weakened Indian society by dissociating people from their traditions and beliefs. Heredia traces the history of conversion in India and the changes that it wrought in the lives of people, especially tribals and Dalits. In most cases, he says, conversions fail to alter people\'s devotion to so-called pagan gods and goddesses but involves them instead in the \"politics of hate\". \"While religious commitment is essentially a matter of personal conscience and choice, it inevitably impacts other levels of individual and social life,\" argues the 400-page book. Published by Penguin India, the 400-page paperback book is priced at Rs.350. To defuse tensions over an issue that has raked up a lot of passion in contemporary India, the author advocates rethinking religious conversions in India with \"determined religious disarmament and discarding aggression\". In today\'s multi-religious society, change of faith can precipitate religious antagonism, or it can facilitate social diversity and tolerance, Heredia argues. He says that while he remains anchored firmly to his Catholic faith, he is seeking common ground for tolerance and dialogue, premised on a \"constructive interaction with other faith traditions.\" Yahoo! Groups Links
RESPONSES TO THE LETTER
Violence against Christians
Dear Friends,
I do agree with Benjamin's and Ken's thoughts. I think time has come when we need to realise that religious fundamentalism is a fact of relgion and it is there to stay ! All what we can do is to express our concern in strong terms as Benjamin and Ken have done from time to time and hope for the best.
With Warm Regards,
Mani.
Rev.Dr.M.Mani Chacko, Ph.D ( Lond.)
Director
Ecumenical Christian Centre
Post Bag 11, Whitefield
Bangalore- 560 066
India
13/05/07
Dear Mr. Benjamin,
I greatly appreciate your frank and bold voice of sanity and reason. I hope it will contribute to a greater introspection on the part of all concerned, and to communal amity. Unless the truth exposed by you is seen and acted upon by all those committed to proselytization, secularism in our country will be difficult to preserve and promote.
I wish you all success in your endeavours.
Yours sincerely,
M V Nadkarni
13/05/07
Dear PN,
I liked your letter on the provocative role of missionaries. Good work!Thanks
Siddhartha.
11/05/07
Dear Mr.Benjamin,
Your courage in exposing the Christian evangelists and their objectionable activities deserves commendation. As one who has fought them in every avenue possible over the years I appreciate what you state. After shifting to Madras I can personally vouchsafe the extent to which they have penetrated the slums of the city. They are intent only in converting the lowliest of the low and increase their numbers but do precious little to ameliorate their conditions of living or raise their educational and cultural standards. More than this I do not find words to express my anguish.
I did not get to read your latest column in the Vijay Times. Please forward if you have written one.
With regards.
A.R.S.Iyer
10/05/07
Inbox
Excellent! I hope The Hindu will publish it without much editing.Regards,G. ANIL KUMAR
Dear Mr. Benjamin, I must congratulate you on a balanced and objective perception of the unfortunate goings on in the country vis-a-vis the postures of fundamentalists on both sides of the religious "fence". While the extremist Hindu organisations such as the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are doing more harm than good by their actions, it is also true that some of the short-sided "fundamentalists" among the ill-advised zealous Christian proselytizers are provided the provocation. We can only hope that reason will prevail on both sides so that we do not waste our energies on such fruitless but dangerous attitudes. K.V.Rajagopal 11/05/07
PN Thanks for writing on the issue of violence against Christians. You have done well. My own feeling is no one has all the facts on these cases, (not even the media) nevertheless, someone needs to be courageous enough to write and arouse our otherwise dormant sentiments. The way our politicians are influencing the masses in our country there will be no end to such incidents and we need to do our best to strive for peace and harmony. I ask the question - is it religion or something deeper (or more shallow) that is the real issue. Is fundamentalism in our country here to stay? Democracy appears to be defined as the state where anyone attacks anyone else for the smallest offense with little room for intelligent responses. Freedom seems to have no boundaries! Values such as tolerance, love, respect, concern for fellow humans, in fact basic ethics of living in community have been pushed to the back while selfish agendas and mindless aggression come to the front. Power seems to be synonymous with brutality today! I am in fact a bit afraid as I read and see what has happened even this past month. Am I being pessimistic? I could be, but let me ask a few questions: Does an artist have freedom of art in our country? Is a writer or a musician able to express himself or herself without being threatened by those who claim to be the guardians of morality? Our clothes need to have the right colors and designs as even these offend some. I even see the way our legal system has been manipulated for one's own ends by those clever enough to see its loopholes. I perceive something deeper than fundamentalism but cannot nail it down. There is a cult of violence that seeks any excuse for demonstration of itself. Who are these people who indulge in such blatant acts of terror and threaten normal life in our society? Are they the really religious? Are they the truly educated? Are they those who are in any way familiar with the teachings propagated by the Father of our Nation? I can go on and on. but the heart of my sentiments at this time is that whatever is happening is not Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh or whatever. It is a few, in fact a very small section of our society who need to be contained. I am not sure how we do this. But my concern is that unless the majority rise and do something fast, we will be seeing more and more of baseless belligerence that will pull our great nation backwards, when there are a few noble ones doing everything they can to take us forward. Lets stand up together. Ken Gnanakan
11/05/07
It is heart wrenching for me to see fundamentalist Christians assert that they alone are the holders of valid visas to heaven and paradise! Many preachers of the Gospel lay
enticing traps for people whom they think must be "saved" at all costs. It
is worse still that their attitudes, though Christians are a tiny
minority in India, often create counter-reaction from among militant Hindus
who sometimes incite violence against Christians. The Hindu fundamentalism
is a reaction to the provocations of Christian proselytizers. I hope that
the fanatics among the Christian faith will soon realize that theirs is a
losing battle even if they derive their financial and other means of support
from the wealthy nations overseas.
Militant Islam and evangelical Christianity are the two remaining
Neanderthals who are still committed to proselytization and religious
conversions. India will continue to remain hospitable to all religions only
if the Muslim fanatics and the Christian fundamentalists will accept the
pluralistic tradition of Hindus which is to consider all religions as equal.
Pluralistic Christians and liberated Muslims of India have done that. The
overwhelming majority of Hindus practice it.
Needed: A pluralistic ethics of conversionAuthor: Madhuri Santanam SondhiPublication: Deccan ChronicleDate: June 22, 2006Introduction: Freedom of conscience and freedom to propagate do not exhaust all the nuances of religious rights and tolerance. We need an ethics of diversity and pluralism.All right-thinking people subscribe to the doctrine of freedom of conscience: a person should be free to change, adopt, enlarge or abandon any belief according to his or her conscience, and this freedom is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). But thanks to deep differences of belief and custom between the various faiths lumped together under the English term "religion," the historical conflict between converting and non-converting faiths persists. In the modern world, in which the great debates about religion and ideology seem a thing of the past, if questions are raised about the subtle or not so subtle ruses whereby conversions are effected, they rouse little indignation. What if the poor are enticed not by truths but by promises of this-worldly comforts: when even the rich and powerful sell their souls for filthy lucre or power, why should the poor be barred from doing the same? The core values are economic: rich or poor and not moral like right or wrong, or metaphysical, true or false, or cultural, authentic or mimetic. Even Swami Vivekananda remarked that one cannot preach religion (the higher dharma) to people with empty stomachs, i.e., first establish the human security which enables genuine free choice. Combining community religion with food, healthcare and education is another ballgame. In 1977 the Supreme Court upheld the constitution of conversion-prohibiting laws enacted by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, clarifying that "organised conversion, whether by force or fraud, or by providing allurement to people taking advantage of their poverty and ignorance is anti-secular." The Court further said that respect for all religions was the basis of Indian secularism, whereas conversion was grounded in religious intolerance. And the Indian Constitution quite specifically frowns on conversions which disturb the peace.Recently a contretemps arose in Rajasthan between the BJP government, the Congress governor and Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the introduction of a Bill barring conversions (which already obtains, at least notionally, in five states). The Pope, breaking the decorum of a credentials presentation ceremony, chastised India (read Hindus) through its envoy, for lack of religious tolerance. Virtually, Hindus were commanded in the name of freedom, to submit to proselytisation. Since conversion is an integral function of the Christian clergy, it is perhaps claimed as a religious right. But for the targeted community it could be provocative.How to reconcile proselytisation and tolerance? These are problematic as group and not individual rights. Tolerance is an essentially contested concept, linked to a particular religious point of view, and the alleged universality of the UDHR at least in this area is controversial. The Latin religio suggests being bound or obligated: certainly Abrahamic religions have strong community bonding, and Islam in particular, fierce punishments for apostasy. Dharma covers, apart from religious particularisms, relationships within and between social groups, moral and customary duties: in the past there were severe punishments for breaking caste taboos (under reform Hinduism and the Indian secular state, these are to some extent in retreat). But there was acceptance of diverse ways of life and belief, and this plural co-existence is what constitutes India's (not only Hindu) tolerance. Vivekananda gave it a modern gloss through describing different faiths as rivers emptying into the same sea.
It has been said that early Christianity and Islam functioned almost as varnas in the Indian social system after their initial proselytising advent: thereafter they played almost according to Indian social rules. But aggressive proselytising in the 19th and 20th centuries upset the old balances, causing concern to nationalists seeking a cultural definition of India.
A new straw in the wind apparently quivered in the aftermath of a recent interfaith meeting jointly organised by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches whose resolutions stressed, among other things, the need for all faiths to heal themselves from the obsession of converting others. However this occurred in the same week as the Pope's bombshell, undermining the credibility of the message.Under attack, the non-converting faiths have partly awoken to the need for self-protection. Since the defensive techniques are foreign to their basic structure, they generate much criticism, especially from their own adherents. The Hindus evolved shuddhi in the last century, reconverting converted Hindus or tribals, and defensive (sometimes veering on the destructively offensive) organisations to rally their members across castes and sects. The energy of a missionary faith may be deplored but not condemned, whereas counter measures arouse righteous indignation.The Khasis in Meghalaya faced a comparable crisis when the British conquered northeastern India in the 19th century, encouraging missionary activity to help pacify the areas. Their Niam Khasi religion had no recorded beliefs, no centrally administered social organisation, but there was a coherent fabric of interwoven socio-cultural practices and beliefs. By 1899, certain Khasi leaders made an effort to both organise themselves and encode their values in writing to resist the onslaught of the well-funded, well-organised government patronised missions. The result was the Seng Khasi movement, protective, revivalist and reversionist. It has won recognition as a distinct religion from the International Association for Religious Freedom. As structured today the Niam Khasi has an Indic character with belief in one God, U Blei, common to and in communication with, all of humanity. It retains its particular cosmic and nature deities, and magical elements perdure as in Tibetan Buddhism. The Oneness and universal accessibility of God obviate the need for conversions, but reverting Khasis are welcome.Post-Independence conversions continued, with the plethora of Protestant churches finally upstaged by the Roman Catholic, today even more gung-ho under the new Pope. The traditional Khasis feel culturally threatened, lacking the means to match the excellent Christian educational and healthcare institutions with their employment potential. If earlier a convert had to abandon traditional customs, nowadays Christians more pragmatically seek to blend into local cultures.
Gandhi had remarked that the advent of a missionary means the disruption of a family, and even when outward conditions of dress, manners, language and drink are unaffected, "vilification of the Hindu religion, though subdued, remains." Hindu families may squabble like any other, but religio-cultural fissures cut at the heart of the Indian group society engendering great anguish. It is anybody's guess as to who will be the ultimate winner, the foreign religion or local culture, or whether India will pull another syncretic rabbit out of its proverbial hat. Today with Central government ineptitude over northeastern problems combined with regional near-sightedness, there is much local talk of being "different from India." The Chinese have always encouraged this sense of difference along the Himalayan border.Freedom of conscience and freedom to propagate do not exhaust all the nuances of religious rights and tolerance. We need an ethics of diversity and pluralism. Human rights discourse could consider new formulations for accommodating the needs, expectations and practices of a wide spectrum of faiths to move towards the more truly "universal." Human rights form the essential foundations of our own society and Constitution, but we might like to modify certain clauses so that all groups, big and small, can be confidently assured of their religious freedoms.
Conversions threaten a way of lifehttp://in.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/30franc.htmDecember 30, 2005Francois Gautier writes to Dr John Dayal, member, National Integration Council, in response to the letter he wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:Dear John Dayal,I am a Westerner and a born Christian. I was mainly brought up in Catholic schools, my uncle Father Guy Gautier a gem of a man, was the parish head of the beautiful Saint Jean de Montmartre church in Paris. My father Jacques Gautier, a famous artist in France, and a truly good person if there ever was one, was a fervent Catholic all his life, went to church nearly every day and lived by his Christian values.There are certain concepts in Christianity I am proud of: Charity for others, the equality of social systems in many Western countries, Christ's message of love and compassion.Yet, when I read your letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, apropos the inaugural meeting of the National Integration Council, I was a little uneasy.First, you seem to assume that you are speaking for the entire Christian community in India. But I know many Christians in this country, and they never voice the grievances you so loudly proclaim. In fact, I have found that most Christians in India are not only happy to live in this country of traditional tolerance, but that they are also different from many Christians in the world: More multicultural and ecumenist in spirit, maybe.Then, you speak of the marginalised Dalits. I agree that there are still unforgivable atrocities committed against Dalits, although very often they are done by backward castes themselves. I remember during the tsunami in Pondichery, how the Vanniars, an OBC caste, stopped the Dalits from a coastal hamlet from crossing the Vanniars' part of the village to bury their dead, as the Dalits' cremation ground had been submerged.At the same time, my 30 years in India have taught me that nowhere in the world has there been so much effort to rectify a wrong -- from 1947 onwards. This resulted in a Dalit, the late K R Narayanan, born in a poor village of Kerala, to be elected President of India, one of the highest posts in this nation.Has a black man ever been President of the United States?Reservations for Dalits have made it possible for them to access education and jobs regardless of their merits -- and this is a unique feature of India today.Francois Gautier who are the real Dalits of India?You continue by saying that 'the agenda draftsmen of papers for NIC seem to believe that forcible and fraudulent conversions (to Christianity) are the main cause of civil unrest in tribal and other rural areas'. And you retort that 'this is a malicious myth propagated by obscurantist and fundamentalist -- and often violent -- political groups'. Meaning Hindu groups, of course.I have to disagree with you on two points.
One, I have seen with my own eyes how conversions in India are not only highly unethical -- that is, using unethical means of conversion -- but also that they threaten a whole way of life, erasing centuries of tradition, customs, wisdom, teaching people to despise their own religion and look Westwards to a culture which is alien to them, with disastrous results.Look at what happened to countries like Hawaii, or to the extraordinary Aztec culture in South America, after Portuguese and Spanish missionaries took over.Look how the biggest drug problems in India are found in the Northeast, or how Third World countries which have been totally Christianised have lost all moorings and bearing and are drifting away without nationalism and self-pride.Second, I think people like you show very little gratitude to that Hindu ethos which has seeped into Indian Christian consciousness. It is because of that Hindu ethos, which accepts that god may manifest himself at different times in different names, that Christians were welcomed in India in the first century. Indeed, the Syrian Christians of Kerala constituted the first Christian community in the world.It is because of this inbred tolerance in Hinduism that Christianity and many other persecuted minorities in the world flourished and practiced their religion in peace in India throughout the centuries.But how do Christians thank the Hindus? When the Jesuits arrived in India with Vasco de Gama, they committed terrible persecutions, particularly in Goa, crucifying Brahmins, marrying local girls forcibly to Portuguese soldiers, razing temples to build churches and splitting the Kerala Christian community in two.'Goa Inquisition was most merciless and cruel'And today, people like you continue ranting against Hindus and promoting unethical conversions, using the massive power of the dollars donated by ignorant Westerners, who do not know that their money is used to lure innocent tribals and Dalits, who still possess that all encompassing acceptance of all gods, towards another religion.Furthermore, you use false statistics, saying for instance that nuns have been raped. You no doubt allude to the Jhabua rape case, when courts have shown that these nuns were not raped by Hindus, but by Christian tribals.I know, I went there and interviewed these innocent souls.And who has been hijacking of the educational system in India? Not the Hindus, as you accuse, but the Christians, who control much of the higher education in India and by subtle and not so subtle means, poison the minds of the students, teaching them to look down on their own culture and look up to whatever is Western -- even if it has already failed in the West.In how many schools and hospitals in India today, the Bible is read at the beginning of each day, each session? Would you approve of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of 850 million Hindus being read in Christian schools in the West to Christian students and nurses?Finally, when you say: 'God bless you, you Government, and God bless India', which god are you talking about? Is it Jesus Christ? But the message of Christ was one of love, of respecting others' cultures and creed -- not of utilising unethical means for converting people.It is false to say that Jesus is the only 'true' god. As Hindus rightly believe, the Divine has manifested himself throughout the ages under different names and identities, whether it is Christ, Buddha, Krishna or Mohammad.Let this be the motto of the National Integration Council of India.Francois Gautier
Dr. Kaj Baago, the Danish Theologian, quit teaching theology and left the church, not because of disappointment or disillusion, agnosticism or mere anthropology, but because of his understanding of Christ and his commitment to Christianity............. ......... ......... ......... ........What follow are excerpts from Jonas Jorgensen's study of Baago. Click here for the full article http://www.religion -online.org/ showarticle. asp?title= 1634............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .......This issue addressed most clearly in his article "Must Hindus be Baptized to become Christians?" (Baago 1966a) and in the article "The Place of Baptism in the Christian Mission in India" (Baago 1967h; see also 1966e:438; 1967e: 148). The nucleus of the problem is that baptism, according to Baago, has come to mean something different in the Indian context than what was intended in the New Testament. As the Christians got recognized in India as a political body the claim for political rights followed (Baago 1967h:49), as seen for e.g. in the so-called `politics of numbers' under the British rule. Baptism thus became a baptism to the Church and not to Christ, it became a political act rather than a sacrament.4Baago makes it clear that the church as an organization cannot be directly identified with the Body of Christ (Baago 1966a:18) as the Spirit of Christ is working outside the church (Baago 1966d: 14). Baago does not find anything essentially better or worse in the Christian church than in the Hindu society, but there can, according to Baago, be no doubt that Christ is working inside as well as outside the Christian Church, and the Christians can therefore not claim to have a monopoly on Christ In one of his first articles from India, written in 1962, he writes that the task of the missionaries is today `. . . not to introduce a new God in India, the Jewish God, but to proclaim to Hindus and Muslims that the God whom they know, and yet not know, has revealed Himself in Christ"
__._,_.___
Christians are thoroughly muddled over this business of conversion. It is intriguing that Christian missionary efforts at conversions under the guise of social work do not take place in localities, say, like the Brahmin-dominated ward of Mylapore in Chennai or Malleswaram in Bangalore. They are conducted in poor and illiterate dalit colonies and slums and remote villages far from the prying eyes of authority.
Will mere conversion alone help the Church fulfilling the Christian duty in a society? Many will answer in the negative. As long as economic and social conditions remain unchanged in the Church, its mission also will fail. For instance, Christians have sinned more than others in perpetuating social injustice. Caste-consciousness is still prevalent in the Christian community. It only shows that they are not yet sufficiently redeemed as they profess to be. When the higher ideals and aspirations of the Christian path are understood and when their mentors, both clergy and the laity, inculcate true Christian spirit among its members, the community can get rid of all negative phases of casteism and transform it as an ideal and casteless community.
Conversions have neither offered 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. When a Dalit becomes a Christian he should be given a minimum chance of escaping from the "outcast" status. He should merge with the rest of the Christian community and the Church must make it possible for him to start afresh. If Christians cannot treat Dalit converts as part of their fellowship it is better to leave them alone. Christ himself said: "You encompass sea and land to make one convert and then you make him twice the son of hell as you are". Dalit Christians’ conversion to Christianity has meant nothing but substitution of social discrimination within the Churches for discrimination within the Hindu society.
The churches offered charity equally to all castes who came into its fold, and charity became a powerful weapon of persuasion. It was, however, another matter that feudal prejudices underwent mere reincarnation: separate pews exist for lower-caste Christians in many churches of the country. In death they are allotted their own cemeteries or a corner of the main cemetery, with a wall separating the section in some.
A section of the Christian Church has always wrongly emphasized conversion as the primary aim of the Christian mission, totally misunderstanding Christ’s Commission. The Commission to preach the gospel is usually quoted by all Christian groups. But they conveniently ignore the fact that there are other very important elements in the teachings of Christ. " Love your enemy as yourself. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt but lay up treasures in heaven. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Forgive your brother not seven times but seventy times seven. Love one another as I have loved you."
Unless Christians share the sufferings of the people they have no word of the gospel to them, whatever true things they might say. If Christians as a community took to the teachings of Christ seriously then they would be justified in preaching. To preach what they do not practise is to put the cart before the horse. Let their light so shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify the Father in heaven!
If all religions are ultimately for the welfare and salvation of humankind then conversion is absurd. The church leaders have miserably failed to take care of the 16 million Dalits converted to Christianity. Christianity is a path of life paved with suffering and service. Christ said: ‘if any one wants to follow me, let him take up the cross and follow me." Unfortunately, the Indian Christian leaders want the Government to carry the Cross of Dalit Christians.
Many well-meaning Christians believe that attempts at conversion should be considered a mortal assault on local cultures and should be totally banned. Mr. Jon Stock, New Delhi correspondent of the The Daily Telegraph wrote in October 1999: " put simply, the Indian subcontinent has become the principal target for a wide range of western Christian missions which are determined to spread the gospel to India’s "unreached" people. There is little doubt that the current communal tension in India would not be serious if foreign-funded missionaries had been content with giving Indians the choice of Christianity and left it at that".
The Tamil Nadu Ordinance may only help to rid the Christians of the fake they see around them, to separate the wheat from the chaff.
P.N.BENJAMIN
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