06-01-2006, 09:22 PM
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Christian Missionary Role In India - 5
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06-02-2006, 06:49 PM
06-03-2006, 10:20 PM
June 3, 2006, 2:32AM
Churches blend the discipline of yoga with biblical theology http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3923593.html Churches blend the discipline of yoga with biblical theology By BARBARA KARKABI Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Christian music plays in the background as the women take their places on cross-shaped mats. For the next hour, Laura Gates gently leads them through exercises that may look like yoga but are known as "PraiseMoves: The Christian Alternative to Yoga." Instead of referring to the "downward-facing dog," a yoga posture that encourages flexibility and helps the flow of blood to the head, Gates calls the move the "tent" and recites a portion of Isaiah 54:2 ("Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings"). During the class at Second Baptist Church's North campus in Kingwood, Gates' students may do as many as 23 different moves. Each posture has an accompanying Bible verse to put the focus on God. Classes begin and end with prayer. The practice of yoga, which means "union" or "discipline," began in India 5,000 years ago and has evolved through the centuries. It became part of Hinduism as sages and priests used the postures during meditation to seek a union of body, mind and spirit. In the West, hatha yoga, with its emphasis on fitness and health, has become very popular and is considered more secular. Though an estimated 15 million to 20 million people practice yoga in the United States, it has been controversial in some Christian churches for years. But with the rise of "Christian alternatives," some mind-sets are changing. "Yoga is very closely identified with the Hindu religion," said the Rev. Gary Moore, senior associate pastor of Second Baptist Church. "There are many wonderful physical benefits, but you need to be careful how you play the spiritual aspect of it. There are parts of it that are not accept- able to a Christian community. We take the best parts and apply it to an exercise regime." Second Baptist's fitness center at Woodway offers "flexible strength" classes as an alternative. Teachers make sure that it's understood the class is purely physical, he said. Bible passages and prayers are generally used. The Roman Catholic Church issued a warning about yoga and other Eastern practices in a 1989 document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. In 2003, the church reaffirmed its position and warned against mixing Catholicism and Eastern practices in a kind of cafeteria of world religions, said Lawrence Cunningham, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. "The Christian approach is fairly new," said Gates, to date the only certified PraiseMoves instructor in the Houston area. "But as Christians, we believe that we can present it and God will open the door." Gates, 62, took yoga classes for several years and enjoyed them, until one day she heard something troubling. "It was like the lights went on," she recalled. "We were being asked to bow down to something, I don't even remember what it was, but it was like water thrown in my face. Under my breath I said, 'I bow down to no one except my God, the Lord my God,' and I started praying. I decided it was not comfortable for me anymore." Gates, who lives in Humble, began searching the Internet for a Christian alternative. She found what she was looking for with Laurette Willis and her PraiseMoves program. Willis, who lives in Oklahoma, had taught yoga for 20-plus years before becoming a Christian in 1987 and leaving her New Age past behind. She came to think of yoga as "the missionary arm of Hinduism and the New Age movement." But she was also aware of the physical benefits of stretching, and after prayerful thought came up with what she calls "a Christ-centered alternative." Susan Bordenkircher takes a slightly different approach in her yoga ministry, described in Yoga for Christians (W Publishing Group, $20). Though she, too, has a "Christ-centered approach," she uses the traditional names for yoga positions. "I totally respect the way yoga has developed over the centuries," she said from her home in Alabama. "The difference between the two is the intention of the class. Instead of quieting yourself to find the divinity within yourself, we are looking for a closer relationship with God." Bordenkircher, a Methodist who taught traditional yoga and other exercise classes for 11 years, incorporates Scripture verses as mantras, uses affirmations of Christianity with different movements and always ends with prayer. "I feel strongly that God is using yoga in a way that is beneficial to Christians," she said. "Using the term is important to our ministry, because it shows yoga can be embraced by Christianity." Though no one in Houston is certified in Bordenkircher's Yoga for Christians yet, there are variations on the theme. Judith Carman, a voice teacher, sees yoga as an extension of her voice lessons. She teaches yoga to her students and is offering a five-week series on "Yoga as a Spiritual Practice" at Trinity Episcopal Church. While Carman teaches yoga from her background as a Christian, she emphasizes that yoga is not a religion but a spiritual practice that originated in India. "People and churches need to lose their fear of yoga," she said. "Yoga is nonsectarian in itself; it's how you choose to think about it. In the '60s, it did have the trappings of Hinduism. When I go to a yoga class, if there is a Hindu chant, it's not my tradition, but it's OK with me. But that puts a lot of people off." Carman teaches traditional yoga positions, but when focusing on breathing or doing mantras, she repeats maranatha, an Aramaic word that means "come, lord." That's the approach used by the World Community for Christian Meditation, she said. During class, she may use a Bible verse or a favorite quote, such as Mother Teresa's "In silence we are filled with the energy of God that makes us do all things in joy." Traditional yoga teacher Joy Winkler has heard of Christian yoga but doesn't understand the need for it. "I don't want to say anything negative, because if that works for people, I think it's amazing," Winkler said. "For me, yoga is so inclusive that I don't see the need; it meets people where they are." Winkler has a studio in the Heights and has taught yoga at a Christian school. Her philosophy is that the benefits of yoga are universal, whether done at a gym, studio or church. But Willis and Gates point to a recent Orlando Sentinel article quoting Sannyasin Arumugaswami, managing editor of Hinduism Today. Hinduism, he said, is the soul of yoga, "based as it is on Hindu scripture and developed by Hindu sages. Yoga opens up new and more refined states of mind, and to understand them one needs to believe and understand the Hindu way of looking at God. ... A Christian trying to adapt these practices will likely disrupt their own Christian beliefs." Ramesh Bhutada, a Houston businessman and Hindu who studied yoga for 15 years, disagrees with Arumugaswami, saying yoga is open to everyone. "They will get the benefits, regardless of faith or religion," said Bhutada, a member of the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Institute in Houston. "If one goes into deeper, very advanced aspects of yoga, or if they go into an ashram or become a sannyasin (someone who renounces the material world) â then a Christian might have to resolve that." Suzy Shapiro, president of the Yoga Association of Houston, said that while there are fundamentalists and liberals in Christianity and Hinduism, yoga is ultimately what you make of it. barbara.karkabi@chron.com
06-04-2006, 07:50 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pastor beaten up over conversion campaign
Visakhapatnam, June 3: Vaishnava Archaka Par-ishad, VHP, BJP and other Hindu religious organisations on Saturday demanded action against a pastor for propagating Christianity at the temple town of Simhachalam. They held a dharna at the temple town and urged Simhachalam Devasthanamâs executive officer V. Sankar Reddy to prevent the entry of non-Hindus on the hills. They also demanded the arrest of Pastor Devaraj for allegedly luring innocent tribals residing on the Simhachalam hills and abutting villages to convert into Christianity. While, the dharna was on, some of the devotees had reportedly assaulted the pastor, who was passing nearby. The devotees brought him to the executive officerâs chamber and dem-anded Mr Sankar Reddy to take action against him. However, the EO had reportedly expressed his helplessness angering the devotees, who beat up Devaraj. North ACP Y. Prem Babu rushed to the spot along with Gopalapatnam CI Prasad Rao and took Devaraj into custody. He was released later as no complaint was received against the preacher. The preacher, belonging to Universal Christ Ministries, Bible Gospel Society was reportedly propagating his religion for the past two months on the sacred hills. He was reportedly distributing 4 kgs of pulses and 10 kgs of rice per household on the hills. http://www.deccan.com/Region/RegionNews.as...sion%20campaign<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-04-2006, 11:41 AM
A tale of evangalical Andhra
(Samachara Bharati, Andhra Pradesh.) Andhra Bhumi Daily, Vishakapatnam-16-05-2006) The declining of Hindus in Vishaka agency area is becoming very serious. The main reason is that Hindus are converting into Christiansâ fold in this region. We can find Sri Rama temple in most of the villages but in the agency area we cannot find Rama temple in every village but can see churches. Due to the efforts of Christian missionaries, 60 per cent of the Girijan population is converted into Christianity. The Christian missionaries have developed a script for Vanvasi language, which can be understood by Vanvasis. In the same language they have published Bible and distributed them among all converted Christians. By this we can understand that at what level the conversions are going on. The representatives of different Christian missionaries are living together with the Girijans for a long time. Jackob and Susen George from Kerala came to Ananthagiri Mandal, Laxmipur village at about 20 years back and lived with the Girijans. Understanding the Girijan language, they prepared a new script to be easily readable by the Girijan people. They prepared hill language books under Tribal Literacy Project and supplied these books to Girijans and made them to read and write the same. With this background Christian missionaries published the Bible in the tribal language and distributed them among all the Girijans. Jacob and Susain George are claiming that they sincerely tried to educate the Girijans but not to convert them into Christianity. Anyhow, the constructions of churches are in progress in every village of Vishaka agency. In the olden days, only one church was in Paderu but now at least 5 to 6 new churches could be seen there. Simultaneously the construction of churches is going on in Hukumpeta, Araku, Laxmipuram and some more villages of Ananthagiri Mandal and at some places they are converting the huts into churches and propagating Christianity. The converted Girijans are able to get free education, free medical facilities. <b> The missionaries are propagating with their full flow that adopting Christianity their sins are washed away. By this a large number of Girijans are embracing Christianity and the unemployed youths are getting employment of Pastors. Though the old Girijans are denying the conversions the next generation is not listening to them. The local missionaries are getting plenty of funds from foreign countries to conduct prayer meetings and conversions. The Girijans did not have any idea of religion and god, but they are converting into Christianity for the sake of benefits, which missionaries are providing to them.</b> At the time of conversions they insult the Hindu gods and goddesses by burning and kicking their photos and idols. In the Agency area, Valmiki, Vanvasi, Nookadora and Konda Dora tribes are converting into Christianity. Only the Bagata tribes are away from converting. Missionary people are distributing handouts to tourists, who came there to visit the Agency. Our Constitution has provided so many benefits to tribes. Converted tribals are not eligible for the same. In Vishaka agency region the converted Christians fell under SC quota. Anyhow the converted tribes didnât get the benefits of original tribes. But already 80 per cent of the tribal population of every village has been converted into Christianity. In the town Sinhachalam conversions are going on, the missionaries tried to convert the tribes who are residing near the Sinhachalam temple. The temple employees and public are protesting the conversions. If the same situation continues like this within a short period no Hindu could be found in the Agency region. âWhere as the Hindu organisations are limited to the towns. They have to walk into the villages and tribal areas and they have to provide minimum facilities to the tribesâ said Sri Swarupanandendra Swamy of Sharada Peetam. '
06-05-2006, 03:08 AM
From Hindu Unity
National Movement to Save Tirumala Namaste For those who did not attend the Samarop of the Prathama Varsha, Sri Deshpande in his baudhik pointed out a number of issues, primary among them being the situtation at Tirupati. As all of us are aware, Lord Sri Venkateswara's temple at Tirumala is also known to be the Temple of Seven Hills ( Edukondalavada); The total area of the 7 hills is approx 243 sqkms. As per the practise for many centuries, conversion or religious propaganda in this area was forbidden. The Government through a GO has changed this and relegated the overall area of Tirumala to 27.5 sqkm, meaning that in the balance area, all sorts of propaganda can be done; Moroever, it has been discovered that over 50 Xtian families are staying in Tirumala as part of the temple administration. To add to this there is an attempt to change the name of the Padmavati Mahila Viswavidyalaya which is under the aegis of the TTD. The Dean and VC of the Univs are now Xtians and so are many of the staff where they are openly indulging in conversion. Dharma Jagaran Vibhag and Devalaya Parirakshana Samiti have launched an agitation under the aegis of " Tirumala Samrakshana Samiti" Pujya Pejawar Swami has sent a letter to many leading illumiaries and bhakts in the country. We would also be launching an movement across the country to spread this message and put pressure on the government to revoke its stand. Meanwhile, we could begin getting in touch with our near and dear and inform them of the happenings. All of you would be happy to know that some of our group members, Sri Vishnu, Sri Arvind and other swayamsevaks from the Dilsukhnagar Bhag were instrumental in bringing to notice to the TTD and police officials regarding the practise of conversion in Tirumala. They caught some people red handed which was later reported in all leading newspapers and TV. Dhanyavaad Ayush
What's this nonsense about Christian Yoga ? Yoga is a product of the great people of Hindusthan and the Vedic mind, let's honor our great ancestors for their Hindu reason and wisdom in discovering this interstellar portal.
It is interesting how anyone who even remotely states they are Hindu are automatically labelled a fundamentalist. Once again, the Abrahamic tyrannical machine strikes again. Hinduism's rise will be like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes. It's only civilized goal to uplift the ancient race and encourage global religious diversity, and not create a one world religion like the Xtian and Islamic fundamentalists.
06-05-2006, 07:44 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-agnivayu+Jun 5 2006, 07:38 AM-->QUOTE(agnivayu @ Jun 5 2006, 07:38 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->What's this nonsense about Christian Yoga ?Â
[snip] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ecumenical Missiology: <b>Contemporary Trends, Issues, and Themes</b>. International Bulletin of Missionary Research 7/1/2003 Thomas, Norman E. Edited by Lalsangkima Pachuau. Bangalore: United Theological College, 2002. Pp. ix, 328. Paperback Rs 150 (outside India, $10). This volume is like a prism that disperses sunlightinto a brilliant spectrum of colors. The prism is ecumenical missiology, defined as the "variety of theological responses. to the "changing order of world economies. and politics," as well as "challenges emerging from the ecumenical movement" (p. vii). <b>The major part of this book came from the International Consultation on Mission and Ecumenics, held at United Theological College, Bangalore, in 1998. Jointly sponsored by the WCC and the college, it inaugurated UTC's Department of Mission and Ecumenics. </b> Twelve substantive essays cover the emergence, development, and challenges, as well as major issues and themes, of ecumenical missiology (seven by Asian Christian scholars, three by Western theologians teaching in India, and two by ecumenical mission leaders). Impressive synthesis of scholarship appears in chapters on the encounter between faith and science (S. Henry), mission in the ecumenical movement (L. Pachuau), mission in Asian ecumenical thought (K. Miyamoto), and missiology in theological education (L. Ramambason). More vibrant colors emerge in three creative essays pushing the frontiers of Asian missiology. <b>In one, Professor Mundadan, the doyen of Indian church historians, both summarizes Western and Indian Christian historiography and calls for a more critical analysis of the encounter "between the heart of Christianity and the authentic and multifaceted soul of India" </b>(p.22). <b>In another, Antony Kalliath, after tracing milestones in the inculturation of Christianity in India, presents creative developments from Christian yoga and ashrams, to pilgrimages and poetry. He finds the greatest future promise in the struggles of the oppressed, in their mass culture, and a religiosity centered in a Dalit Christ. </b> In a third, Wesley Ariarajah argues that "the Christian mission in the context of Asian religions and cultures has been a dismal failure" (p. 191). He describes a mission that threatens, breaks up community, and does not connect with Asian religious life. He calls for affirmation that the riches of Asian spiritual heritage can become the locus and bearer of an incarnate Gospel. Finally, a bonus in this volume is Jacques Matthey's analysis of the WCC's most recent statement on mission (1999), with the full text as an appendix. Norman E. Thomas, Vera B. Blinn Professor Emeritus of World Christianity at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, served for fifteen years in ecumenical mission appointments in Zimbabwe and Zambia. COPYRIGHT 2003 Overseas Ministries Study Center This material is published under license from the publisher <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-05-2006, 08:22 AM
Read between the lines.. there is fear amonst Christians..
http://www.praisemoves.com/ChristianAlternative.htm Praise Moves Why A Christian ALTERNATIVE to Yoga? Yoga. Itâs everywhere. In ads for everything from I.T. to ice cream, meditative supermodels sit cross-legged in the Hindu Lotus position, contemplating ânirvana.â There are yoga videos for pregnant mothers, senior citizens, toddlers and babies â even yoga for you and your dog! You can work out with yoga straps, blocks, bolsters and balls. The well-dressed yoga practitioner can wear her loose-fitting yoga togs, carry her yoga mat in her matching yoga tote and dress her daughter in Sesame Street yoga pants (featuring Elmo!). Since yoga is everywhere, it must be okay. Or is it? Those who think yoga is little more than a series of stress-relieving stretching exercises may be surprised to learn about true foundation of the multi-billion dollar yoga craze in North America. There are an estimated 15-20 million people practicing yoga in the U.S., and estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 yoga instructors offering classes at 20,000+ locations. According to Websterâs New World Dictionary, yoga (coming from an east Indian Sanskrit word which means âunion with godâ or âto yokeâ) is âa mystic and ascetic Hindu discipline for achieving union with the supreme spirit through meditation, prescribed postures, controlled breathing, etc.â Over the last several decades yoga has been embraced by the mainstream of society â and even the church. We find yoga classes offered at YWCAs, church fellowship halls, and even elementary schools. As a child growing up on Long Island, I became involved with yoga at the age of seven when my mother and I began watching a daily yoga exercise program on television. For the next 22 years I was heavily involved with yoga, metaphysics and the New Age movement until I came to the end of myself and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ in 1987. I call yoga âthe missionary arm of Hinduism and the New Age movement.â We donât often think of other religions having missionaries, but the philosophy and practice of yoga have been primary tools of Hindu âmissionariesâ to America since âIndian priest and mysticâ Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga to the West at the 1893 Worldâs Fair in Chicago.[i] Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda is attributed with the idea of combining the theory of âevolution of the soulâ with his teachings of Hinduism. Instead of working out oneâs âkarmaâ by becoming a grasshopper, ant or human in progressive lives, he taught an âevolution of the soulâ whereby the individual continues in an evolutionary process to âmanifest the god within.â Apparently he understood that Americans wouldnât buy into the traditional Hindu theory of reincarnation. Not many westerners could imagine they would ever come back as a lower form of life. A higher form of life perhaps, but certainly not a lower one. Have you noticed how many people â even Christians â believe in reincarnation? One can just keep coming back until they get it right. Sadly, this false teaching leads people away from the necessity for a Savior. And if we progressively get better with each life, why arenât we all living in Blissville now? One manâs definition of a theory is âa supposition based on ignorance of the subject under discussion.â While you may not find that in Websterâs, itâs fitting. Actually, Websterâs definitions include, âa speculative plan, conjecture or guess.â Do you remember when evolution used to be called the âtheory of evolution?â Itâs seldom called a âtheoryâ any longer outside of Christian circles. Interesting. But I digress⦠Another Hindu missionary welcomed into elite circles was Paramahansa Yogananda who started the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles. He cleverly chose to demonstrate that yoga was completely compatible with Christianity. Wearing a cross, he came to America in the 1920s with the Hindu religious text, the Bhagavad Gita, in one hand and the Bible in the other. He reasoned that yoga was the binding force that could connect all religions. From experience I can say that yoga is a dangerous practice for the Christian and leads seekers away from God rather than to Him. You may say, âWell, Iâm not doing any of the meditation stuff. Iâm just following the exercises.â It is impossible, however, to separate the subtleties of yoga the technique from yoga the religion. I know because I taught and practiced hatha yoga for years. Hatha yoga is the most popular yoga style available on store-bought videos and in most gyms. For an eye-opening account of the background and meaning of âhatha yoga,â please see my notes at the bottom of this page. Perhaps you have sensed uneasiness while doing yoga (what some call a âcheck in your spiritâ), but you ignored that quiet nudge. I urge you to pay attention to it. Jesus Himself said, ââ¦the sheep follow Him, for they know His voiceâ (John 10:4). Your yoga teacher may bow to her class saying, âNamasteâ (âI bow to the divine in you.â). Postures have names such as Savasana (the Corpse Pose) and Bhujangasana (the Cobra or Snake Pose). References are made to chakras or âpower centersâ in the body, such as the âthird eye.â The relaxation and visualization session at the end of yoga classes is skillfully designed to âempty the mindâ and can open one up to harmful spiritual influences. As Christians, you are instructed to âbe transformed by the renewing of your mindâ (Romans 12:2), not the emptying of your mind. Many believe that transformation process occurs as we meditate and feed on the Word of God â renewing our minds by filling them with Godâs thoughts, not emptying them or filling them with the prideful thoughts of man. Yogaâs breathing techniques (pranayama) may seem stress-relieving, yet they can be an open door to the psychic realm â inhaling and exhaling certain âenergiesâ for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing (Paul refers to satan as âthe prince of the power of the airâ in Ephesians 2:2 â this psychic arena is not a playground). Whenever you see the words prana, ki or chi, these refer to âlife forceâ energies (see the notes on hatha yoga at the end of this article). Both chanting and the customary relaxation period at the end of a yoga session also have an agenda that may surprise the weekend yogi. Before becoming a Christian, I remember numerous instances of âtraveling outside my bodyâ during yoga relaxation periods. I wonder who â or what â checked in when I checked out? Whether you believe such phenomena can happen or not, some medical professionals claim such experiences have led to psychosis. (Note: While Christians cannot be âpossessedâ since the Holy Spirit resides in your re-created human spirit, one may be âoppressedâ by demonic influences.) Nine out of Ten Hindus agree: âYoga is Hinduismâ Again and again we hear or read, âYoga is science. It is not religion.â But what do Hindus and true yogis say? TIME magazine featured a quote from Subhas Tiwari, a professor of yoga philosophy and meditation at the Hindu University of America in Orlando, Fla.: "Yoga is Hinduism." You may read the full article from the Sept. 5, 2005 issue at: http://www.praisemoves.com/timearticle.htm, which included a quote from yours truly that âChristian yogaâ is an oxymoron (contradiction in terms â like a âChristian Buddhistâ â no such thing!). A staff member of an east coast Classical Yoga Academy wrote to me, âYes, all of yoga is Hinduism. Everyone should be aware of this fact.â This staff member went on to say she didnât appreciate my ârunning down of the great Hindu/Yogic religion.â In an article dated May 14, 2006, Darryl E. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel quoted Sannyasin Arumugaswami, managing editor of Hinduism Today. Arumugaswami said Hinduism is the soul of yoga âbased as it is on Hindu Scripture and developed by Hindu sages. Yoga opens up new and more refined states of mind, and to understand them one needs to believe in and understand the Hindu way of looking at God. ... A Christian trying to adapt these practices will likely disrupt their own Christian beliefs.â In an article entitled âAn Open Letter to Evangelicalsâ from the January 1991 issue of Hinduism Today, Swami Sivasiva Palani writes, âA small army of yoga missionaries â hatha, raja, siddha and kundalini â beautifully trained in the last 10 years, is about to set upon the western world. They may not call themselves Hindu, but Hindus know where yoga came from and where it goes.â Swami Palani goes on to write, âWe hope this proves useful to you. I close with a quote from Swami Vivekananda, Hinduismâs greatest modern missionary, spoken in January of 1895, âWhat I now want is a band of fiery missionaries.â Itâs a hundred years late. But it appears heâs going to get his wish.â In the West, the term âyogiâ is used to refer to anyone who practices yoga. However, in the Bhagavad-Gita, the god Krishna says that the true yogi is one who has surrendered himself âfully unto me.â Besides these historical evidences, I can clearly state from my own experiences and those of many I knew while in the New Age movement, yoga class was the door that led us into the New Age Movement. ***** According to Swami Vishnudevananda, one of yogaâs most influential leaders, hatha yoga âprescribes physical methods to begin ⦠so that the student can manipulate the mind more easily as he advances, attaining communication with one's higher self.â[ii] It seems the student is being manipulated as well. Yogaâs âleast religiousâ form, hatha yoga, influences oneâs spiritual life as unmistakably as any one of the dozens of other yoga techniques. Hatha yoga is actually seen as the stepping stone to raja yoga (the form said to involve âpsycho-physical meditation techniques to attain an experience of the truth and ultimate liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth, or mokshaâ). Anyone want to join me in a collective, âYikes!â? Yoga claims physical and mental disciplines bring about union with God. According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (once associated with the Beatles), meditation âbrings us more ability for achieving something through right means, and very easily a sinner comes out of the field of sin and becomes a virtuous man.â[iii] Oh, really? Sounds like salvation by works (instead of by grace), doesnât it? The Bible tells us: âFor all have sinned; all fall short of Godâs glorious standard. Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins⦠We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for usâ Romans 3:23-25 NLT. âYou make me SICK!â While most of the emails I receive are positive, there are a few which disagree with my viewpoints about yoga - some strongly (I was even credited with the remarkable ability of making someone âsickâ once or twice!). You may study or teach yoga (or âChristian yogaâ) and believe it is completely compatible with your Christian faith. Perhaps you feel your relationship with the Lord is unshakeable, but I ask you to consider for a moment the young Christians and non-believers in your life. We all have people we influence by how we live our lives. In light of the facts â the religious philosophy and history of yoga â take a look at Paulâs warning to believers in the Corinthian church about meat offered to idols, âAll things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the otherâs well-being⦠If anyone says to you, âThis was offered to idols,â do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscienceâ sakeâ¦not your own, but that of the other⦠not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be savedâ (1 Corinthians 10:23-24; 28-29, 33). To strong Christians (strong in their relationship with the Lord as well as the strong-willed, strong-minded ones) I say - certainly, you may not be adversely affected by the subtle seeds of doubt and New Age thought planted in yoga classes. You may even be going to a yoga class that is devoid of much of the New Age lingo and Hinduisms. And if not, perhaps you are able to see there is nothing inherently right or wrong with the "meat" or postures offered to idols (1 Cor. 8: 4-8). You are oblivious to the visualizations and suggestions during the "meditation and relaxation" at the end of yoga class, the talk of chakras, auras, breathing in prana (the "life force" connecting us to the "Universal Life Force") and getting in touch with our higher self to unite with âUniversal Mindâ (remember, I was a student and teacher of this stuff for 22 years). However, would you agree there are people in your life you influence? Do you think there may be some unbelievers and new believers watching you? Might someone young in the faith be watching you and saying to herself, "You know, sheâs a strong Christian and loves Jesus. She does yoga and says there's nothing wrong with it. I think I'll take that yoga class being offered down the street." This young follower may not have your discernment. She may be like my mother and I were - weak and unskilled in the Word of God and open to the deceptions of the enemy. Do you think she could perhaps wind up in the New Age movement as I did? Are we responsible for living our lives in such a way as to be a help or a hindrance to the cause of Christ? Thatâs a pretty tall order, isnât it? Quoting from 1 Corinthians 8:1, 9-13 - be forewarned this is hard to read: "Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up (makes arrogant), but love edifies (builds up). But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." So it is not out of a spirit of fear we avoid yoga, but could it be out of wisdom and love for others - perhaps those who are not as spiritually mature as we are? Can we do such things out of love for others? That's too hard, isn't it? What if I LIKE IT???!!! Again, looking at the âouchâ from 1 Corinthians 10: 28-29 and 33 - "But if anyone says to you, 'This was offered to idols,' do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience' sake...'Conscience,' I say, not your own, but that of the other... not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." So - it's not all about ME after all. I win when I make the decision to come in third place: 1st - âLove the Lord your God with your heart and with all your soul and with all your mindâ 2nd â âand love your neighborâ 3rd â âas you love yourselfâ (Matthew 22: 37-39). While practicing yoga may not seem to have an adverse effect on your Christian walk, it may be effecting your Christian witness. Of course not everyone who knows and trusts you will jump into yoga and find themselves engulfed in a New Age lifestyle for 22 years as I was, but some weak ones might â and be hopelessly lost as others have been. Would you agree that we are responsible for planting seeds of faith or doubt that can lead people to Christ or away from Him? I remember planting numerous seeds of New Age philosophy when I taught yoga classes â enough to make anyone without a firm foundation of Biblical knowledge doubt the veracity of Godâs Word and fall prey to satanâs question to Eve, âHas God indeed saidâ¦?â (Genesis 3:1). For example, I was convinced that there was no such thing as âsin.â All we had to do was âget in touch with god within and connect to Universal Mind.â One of my favorite New Age parrot-isms was, âNothing is either good nor bad, but thinking makes it soâ (quoting Shakespeare like it was Bible!). Another favorite: âAll is good. All is God.â And the real kicker whenever something bad happened to someone, âWell, they obviously drew this to themselves on some level to learn something.â What insensitive nonsense! âSinâ I reasoned âis an acronym for self-inflicted nonsense.â How clever. How humorous. How deadly â for if there is no such thing as sin, then thereâs no need for a Savior. And if thereâs no need for a Savior, then why did Jesus come? Oh, He was âjust a good Teacher.â Then why didnât I follow His teachings? In John 3:3 Jesus said, âMost assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.â But Yoga is NOT Meat! For those who would argue with the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and say, âBut yoga postures arenât MEAT!â Okay. Hereâs a scripture thatâs even clearer. The Lord drew me to this scripture recently â Acts 15:29. The apostles were gathered together considering what rules should be placed on the Gentiles who were coming to Christ. Should they be circumcised, follow the dietary laws, etc.? Led by James, they wrote a letter that has since become known as the Jerusalem Decree. In it they wrote: âFor it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: That you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, From things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell (Shalom)â â Acts 15: 28-29. One of our CPIs (Certified PraiseMoves Instructors) in Washington spent three months on a missionary trip to India several years ago. She said her group often saw people performing yoga postures in front of statues of the gods in the streets! In other words, these yoga postures were âthings offered to idols.â Called the worldâs third largest religion, Hinduism lists 330 million gods. Food for thought â and prayer if still unconvinced. PraiseMoves certainly isnât for everyone, but stretching exercises are! Find a good book on stretching and flexibility. Look for videos that are purely about stretching the body â not the mind and spirit. âBut I have a lot invested in being a yoga instructor (or student)â you may say. Sometimes the measure of our growth in the Lord equals the size of the sacrifices we make to follow Him. If youâve been feeling âstuckâ spiritually, this may be the next step the Lordâs asking you to take. No, you donât have to do PraiseMoves â but why not consider a stretching and flexibility class instead of yoga? If still unsure, please pray and ask the Lord about it. âBeloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward Godâ 1 John 3:21. PraiseMoves is Born In February 2001 I began praying about an idea I believe the Lord gave me for a Christian alternative to yoga, PraiseMoves. Iâm careful to tell people itâs not âChristian yoga,â which I believe is an oxymoron (a contradiction of terms). What would you say about the woman who says sheâs a âChristian Buddhist?â Wouldnât you think sheâs bit confused? Actually, PraiseMoves is a Christ-centered alternative to the practice of yoga. When I told my husband Paul (also a former New Ager) about the idea, I asked him what he thought of the name PraiseMoves. His first words were, âWell, praise moves God.â Thatâs it! I thought. Hereâs exercise we can do which is good for the âtemple of the Holy Spiritâ (our body), which also renews our mind on the Word of God, refreshes us spiritually, and moves us to praise and draw nearer to our precious Lord. Over the next two years, I prayed, studied and developed the PraiseMoves⢠technique. Our foundation scripture is 1 Corinthians 6:20, âFor you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Godâs.â People who have been looking for a safe alternative to yoga have told me PraiseMoves is answered prayer. I also believe it can be a âwitty inventionâ to win the lost. The physical benefits of PraiseMoves are similar to those of stretching and yoga exercises: increases flexibility, assists in weight loss, helps injuries to heal, strengthens muscles, improves circulation, coordination and balance, alleviates stress; and new research shows stretching exercises can help stabilize the hormonal system and prevent or even reverse osteoporosis. PraiseMoves postures are integrated with corresponding Bible scriptures. For example, during a posture named âThe Altarâ (at left), we consider the scripture from Romans 12:1: âI beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.â Dr. Steven J. Scafidi, a chiropractor in New Jersey writes, âI have been experiencing terrific results using PraiseMoves and have been recommending it to my patients. I am thankful to Laurette for a program that combines Christ-centered worship with the physical benefits often attributed to yoga.â (To read more Testimonies, click here.) There is a PraiseMoves video and book, and we are now certifying people interested in becoming PraiseMoves Instructors to bring this Christian alternative to churches, gyms, health clubs and recreation centers across North America. More Information? Check out the March/April 2005 issue of Todayâs Christian Woman magazine. An article called âThe Truth About Yogaâ features the background of yoga and the PraiseMoves difference. See: http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/200...14.40.html to read the article online. Other links available with good info about yoga: http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/ar...x-y_1.html - has MANY fascinating articles http://www.watchman.org A ministry of Christian discernment - powerful information http://www.macgregorministries.org/cult_.../yoga.html âBut wait a second, these postures sure look a lot like yoga.â Iâve discovered thereâs not an infinite number of ways the human body can move. Some of the PraiseMoves postures resemble yoga postures while others do not. For example, the 22 PraiseMoves Alphabetics postures are based on the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and do not resemble yoga at all. If I may be so bold, I consider PraiseMoves to be a redemptive work. Realizing that âredeemâ means to âbuy backâ or to ârestoreâ something to the way it had once been, I like to think that moving our bodies to glorify God may not be such a new idea. Two thousand years ago Paul wrote that âyour body is the temple of the Holy Spiritâ and that we are to âglorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are Godâsâ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). King David âdanced before the Lord with all his mightâ (2 Samuel 6:14) around 2800 years ago. After the Exodus from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea on dry ground Mosesâ sister Miriam and the women danced and sang a song of victory to celebrate Godâs triumph over their enemies about 3500 years ago (Exodus 15:20). Critics tell me yoga is a âscienceâ that goes back at least 5,000 years. If that is true, then I KNOW glorifying the God of the Bible in body, soul and spirit must go back further than that. How can I possibly know that in light of the fact there doesnât appear to be any references earlier than Exodus 15:20? Because I know that satan is not a creator. He is not capable of creating anything. God is the Creator (John 1:3 says of Jesus, âthe Word made fleshâ that âAll things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was madeâ and âFor by Him all things were createdâ¦visible and invisible⦠All things were created through Him and for Himâ Colossians 1:16). The enemy can only twist what God has already created to serve his own wicked purposes. In fact, the word wicked means âtwisted,â like the wick on a candle or wicker furniture. Are we to throw all music out the window because of the ungodly music in the world? Or can we redeem the notes on the musical scale, the instruments, and the singers to offer worshipful praises to God? Of course we can! Considering this, I like to think of PraiseMoves as a way to âuntwistâ these beneficial postures back to glorify God. âBut yoga postures are beneficial! You just said it yourself!â I hear some say. âMy doctor told me to start doing yoga and now my shoulder/arthritis/fibromyalgia is better.â Well, certainly. There is evidence that yoga postures are quite helpful for physical ailments. They can even be stress-relieving. One could hardly imagine something entirely unfruitful to be much of a trap for anyone. Without physical benefits no one would even be practicing yoga. I donât argue with its physical benefits. May I throw a wild analogy at you? If one wanted to poison an animal, they wouldnât plop a glob of poison on a plate and yell, âHere, boy!â A more likely scenario would be to put the poison in the middle of a nice hunk of juicy meat or some other food theyâd enjoy. âHmmm. Looks good,â thinks the animal. âSmells good. Sure gonna taste good.â Yep, it sure tastes good, doesnât it? But, oh, the consequences. Did you know that 98% of rat poison is corn? Only 2% is the arsenic that poisons the rat. Hold on to your Helmet (see Ephesians 6:10-17)!!! The true meaning of hatha yoga (the style available on most videos and at most gyms today): âThe term Hatha Yoga has been commonly used to describe the practice of asana (postures). The syllable 'ha' denotes the pranic (vital) force governing the physical body and 'tha' denotes the chitta (mental) force thus making Hatha Yoga a catalyst to an awakening of the two energies that govern our lives. More correctly the techniques described in Hatha Yoga harmonize and purify the body systems and focus the mind in preparation for more advanced chakra and kundalini practices. âLet us see the meaning of word Hatha, it is made up of Ha + Tha. "Ha" means Ida nadi, (moon principle) or left nostril and "tha" means Pingala Nadi (sun principle) or right nostril. Nadi means psychic passage of energy which can be compared with nerves in physical body. Hatha means balance of Ida and Pingala Nadis, or balancing of mental energy of Ida and Vital energy of Pingala Nadi. Ida Nadi can be compared with Parasympathetic Nervous system and Pingala nadi can be compared with Sympathetic Nervous System. So Hatha Yoga practices results in balancing the entire nervous system. The basic purpose of Hatha Yoga is to purify the Ida and Pingala Nadis and then uniting these 2 forces with the third Psychic Nadi Sushumna, which carries Kundalini at Ajna Chakra (eyebrow center).â - Yogacharya Vishwas Mandlik, Vice Chancellor of Yoga at Vidya Gurukul (Yoga University). âItâs just exerciseâ¦right?â Or is it? Report: Yoga stirs tempers in Norway prison Associated Press Wed, Aug. 03, 2005 OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian prison has stopped giving yoga sessions to inmates after finding that some of the prisoners became more aggressive and agitated, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The yoga classes were introduced on at trial basis earlier this year at Ringerike prison, which holds some of Norway's most dangerous criminals. Prison officials had hoped mediation and breathing exercises would help inmates contain their anger, but it appeared to have the opposite effect. Some inmates became more agitated and aggressive, while others developed sleeping problems as a result of the yoga sessions, prison warden Sigbjoern Hagen told newspaper Ringerikes Blad. Hagen said that deep breathing exercises could make the inmates more dangerous, by unblocking their psychological barriers.
Glad to see the narrow mindset of the bible thumpers is working. That's right Yoga is all about Hinduism, created by Non-European people, and therefore is a 100% Indian technological acheivement.
My suggestion to Indian Christians is to start talking more respectfully to Hindus. Hindu tolerance and reason has allowed you to florish in Hindusthan, so atleast have the common decency and courtesy to talk respectfully to Hindus. Xtian power is waning, and Xtian money won't be as big and powerful as it is today. Hindus will dwarf you in economic power in the future, and that means the way you treat us today is the way you will be remembered in the future. Remember even a fanatic like Pat Roberston expects only a max of 5% of India becoming Christian in 50 years.
06-06-2006, 04:14 PM
Another Jhabua type rape case? Wonder when this allegation will be proved as false.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bajrang Dal activists accused of raping Christian tribal women Tuesday June 6 2006 14:17 IST ANI BHOPAL: Bhopal city was on Monday agog with news of the rape of two tribal Christian women by some Bajrang Dal activists. Briefing newspersons about the incident, Indira Iyengar, a member of the Madhya Pradesh State Minority Commission, said that the rape had taken place in remote district of Khargaon. "They (Bajrang Dal activists) have raped these women as punishment for changing their religion. This makes no sense. This is an encroachment on one's fundamental right. It is also a punishable act. But nobody here listens to us, neither the police nor the collector. They all are least bothered. The Christians are especially the victims, police take them away, beat them, file an FIR against them and put them behind bars. We want the Chief Minister to know all this is happening here. We want this inequality to be stopped. We just want our safety," said Iyengar. The tribals, who have changed their religion to Christianity, complained that they are not being given proper and due justice. The police and administration also turn a deaf ear to them, they say. According to Rekha Bai, one of the victims, "Police says that our complaint is fake. They don't listen to us. We have nowhere to go". Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal denied the allegation and created a ruckus over the issue at the venue of the press conference. "Christian community is changing everyone's religion here. We will not tolerate this with our religion. Bajrang Dal is exposing the negative aspect of this whole operation. "We caught even the Bishop while changing one of the Hindu woman's religion. We respect all the women, be they of any religion. They are defaming our organisation which we will not tolerate", said Devendra Singh Rawat, the District President of the Bajrang Dal. Although the Bajrang Dal has warned the Minority Commission to stop defaming their organisation over this episode, the Commission has said that it will take it up with the higher authorities.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-06-2006, 04:30 PM
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<b>A tale of evangalical Andhra</b> (Samachara Bharati, Andhra Pradesh.) Andhra Bhumi Daily, Vishakapatnam-16-05-2006) The declining of Hindus in Vishaka agency area is becoming very serious. The main reason is that Hindus are converting into Christians' fold in this region. We can find Sri Rama temple in most of the villages but in the agency area we cannot find Rama temple in every village but can see churches. <b>Due to the efforts of Christian missionaries, 60 per cent of the Girijan population is converted into Christianity. </b> The Christian missionaries have developed a script for Vanvasi language, which can be understood by Vanvasis. In the same language they have published Bible and distributed them among all converted Christians. By this we can understand that at what level the conversions are going on. The representatives of different Christian missionaries are living together with the Girijans for a long time. Jackob and Susen George from Kerala came to Ananthagiri Mandal, Laxmipur village at about 20 years back and lived with the Girijans. Understanding the Girijan language, they prepared a new script to be easily readable by the Girijan people. <b>They prepared hill language books under Tribal Literacy Project and supplied these books to Girijans and made them to read and write the same. With this background Christian missionaries published the Bible in the tribal language and distributed them among all the Girijans. Jacob and Susain George are claiming that they sincerely tried to educate the Girijans but not to convert them into Christianity. </b> Anyhow, the constructions of churches are in progress in every village of Vishaka agency. In the olden days, only one church was in Paderu but now at least 5 to 6 new churches could be seen there. Simultaneously the construction of churches is going on in Hukumpeta, Araku, Laxmipuram and some more villages of Ananthagiri Mandal and at some places they are converting the huts into churches and propagating Christianity. The converted Girijans are able to get free education, free medical facilities. The missionaries are propagating with their full flow that adopting Christianity their sins are washed away. By this a large number of Girijans are embracing Christianity and the unemployed youths are getting employment of Pastors. Though the old Girijans are denying the conversions the next generation is not listening to them. The local missionaries are getting plenty of funds from foreign countries to conduct prayer meetings and conversions. The Girijans did not have any idea of religion and god, but they are converting into Christianity for the sake of benefits, which missionaries are providing to them. At the time of conversions they insult the Hindu gods and goddesses by burning and kicking their photos and idols. In the Agency area, Valmiki, Vanvasi, Nookadora and Konda Dora tribes are converting into Christianity. Only the Bagata tribes are away from converting. Missionary people are distributing handouts to tourists, who came there to visit the Agency. Our Constitution has provided so many benefits to tribes. Converted tribals are not eligible for the same. In Vishaka agency region the converted Christians fell under SC quota. Anyhow the converted tribes didn't get the benefits of original tribes. <b>But already 80 per cent of the tribal population of every village has been converted into Christianity. </b> In the town Sinhachalam conversions are going on, the missionaries tried to convert the tribes who are residing near the Sinhachalam temple. The temple employees and public are protesting the conversions. <b>If the same situation continues like this within a short period no Hindu could be found in the Agency region. </b> <b>"Where as the Hindu organisations are limited to the towns. They have to walk into the villages and tribal areas and they have to provide minimum facilities to the tribes" said Sri Swarupanandendra Swamy of Sharada Peetam. </b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-09-2006, 09:23 PM
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www.hindujagruti.org 03 June, 2006 by pravakta Members of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) ask for explanation from Christians who were misguiding Hindus in a âPrayer Meetingâ at New Panvel. <b>A âPrayer Meeting for Healthâ was recently organized at the grounds of Changu Kana Thakur College at New Panvel on behalf of the âHindustan Fellowship Sevakaiâ organization of Christians. In the Prayer meeting attended by a large no. of Hindus, it was announced that even serious ailments like AIDS would be cured. </b> <b>It was also mentioned in the said meeting that there is a reference of Jesus even in the holy scriptures of Hindus like âRigvedaâ. </b> On hearing such misguiding statement of the Christian speaker, Shri Girish Pujari, a member of HJS attending the meeting, went to the dais, took the microphone from that speaker and asked him to prove on what basis, he was making such statement. .) At the same time, Shri Bapu Raokar, the Convener of HJS for Raigad district admonished the organizers for misguiding Hindus. Mrs. Mangala Gore (age â 60 years), a member of HJS demanded that the Christians should tender an apology for misguiding Hindus. The Christian Speaker stated before the audience that they had no intention of converting Hindus to Christianity The only living God in Heaven is Jesus Christ. Christ liberates all souls. Christ absolves everyone of sins. <b>People were also told that those suffering and ill, would be touched by Christ and they (Christians) would pray for them and treat them.</b> ( <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-09-2006, 11:21 PM
i suppose all the damage that sonia gandhi is doing to india, also qualifies as christian missionary role in india. and since saint sonia has reached a chair which no other missionary has been able to reach, the damage she will dish out is most likely going to be a lot more than those baptists and catlicks.
06-14-2006, 08:47 PM
06-15-2006, 04:33 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>'CHRISTIANS UNDER SIEGE': A MISSIONARY PLOY</b>
Missionaries in India are using their age-old tactic of posing as victims to camouflage their aggression Dr. David Frawley Background: Christianity and intolerance Christianity does not have a notable reputation for tolerance and respect for other religions. The Christian need to convert the entire world has been an historical obsession that continues in major Christian groups today, both Protestant and Catholic. The Christian failure to honor other religions, particularly non-biblical traditions, is well known, with Christians still denigrating the sophisticated yogic traditions of Asia as mere superstition, idolatry and polytheism. Christian missionaries have had a reputation for using methods to promote conversion that are not always honest, including employing military and political force during the colonial era. Their targeting of the poor and illiterate for conversion, shows that they don't like open debates in the light of day. Yet Christians like to ignore such inconvenient facts while posing as peaceful people concerned with human welfare, not with conversion. They are surprised if members of other religions are suspicious of them, even if they look at these religions and condemn them as works of the Devil. They feel easily hurt and insulted should anyone question their motives or their actions that they would certainly not allow other religious groups to practice in their own Christian communities. In the modern secular world Christians now demand conversion as a democratic right, even though their religion is authoritarian, not democratic, accepting only one way, and not honoring pluralism in approaching the Divine. Christianity and its Churches have always been despotic institutions. They offer no freedom of choice about the savior, the book or the creed that can bring salvation and there is little tolerance for those who chose another way outside their faith. Europe had to reject the church and Christian dogma in order to become democratic over the past several centuries. So Christian churches are the last people on earth who should be talking about 'democratic rights'. It is merely a smokescreen for promoting their own agendas, spreading their authoritarian and exclusivist beliefs, recklessly eliminating other cultures and religions along the way. <b>Posing as 'victims'</b> The Christians of India continue to harbor attitudes hostile to the other religions of their country. They want a freedom to convert others but they are not willing to accept the other religions of the land as valid. They have abused Hindu tolerance and respect. for all religions, which allows Hindus to honor Christ and Christian mystics, and used it as a pretext to promote Christian superiority, not to reciprocate with honoring Hinduism and its great sages and yogis. They say Christ must be great because Hindus honor him. They don't honor Hindu teachers in return. Today Christians in India are highlighting minor attacks on Christians done by unidentified groups as a concerted Hindu campaign against them, while they themselves are actively working to change Hindu India into a Christian nation by all available means. While Christians have a long history of aggression against other faiths that certainly has not come to an end, they are quite offended if their religion faces minor obstructions or even criticism from the groups they have long maligned and, not long ago, actively oppressed. In all this they assume an aggrieved posture and claim to be victims of the very type of persecution that they themselves have historically practiced. This came to the fore soon after the arrest of the members of a Muslim organization showing it to be responsible for serial church bombings in South India. It proved that the charges made by Christian leaders against Hindu organizations for the bombings were unfounded, if not malicious. However, instead of admitting their mistake Christian leaders and organizations started a propaganda campaign, again blaming the Hindu organizations for 'creating an atmosphere' that led to these crimes! Recent arrests in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have shown that, Deendal Anjuman, a Muslim organization led by a Pakistani national was behind most of the bomb blasts and attacks on Christian groups in South India. The Christian response has been to ignore or deny the report, though it is quite well documented and occurred in states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, not ruled by the so-called Hindu BJP party. (See 'Church Blasts: Truth and Propaganda' by S.Y. Seshagiri Rao, in this volume.) In fact many Christians in India - especially its so-called 'leaders' - are defending the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency that has long tried to destabilize India, by absolving it of responsibility in the affair even without any investigation. This would be like an American religious minority defending the KGB during the Cold War. Whether the ISI is directly involved in such efforts to cause communal conflicts in India, we must recognize that it is a project it would certainly support and would be likely to promote. To dismiss their involvement out of hand, as Christian leaders in India are doing, is highly suspicious. Christians are publicly blaming Hindu organizations for attacks for which they have no evidence, let alone proof, and which no court has found them guilty of. (The latest evidence does suggest official Pakistani involvement, possibly of the ISI.) Christians in India exaggerate such minor incidents into a national and even an international anti-Hindu propaganda campaign. More churches have been burnt in America in recent years than in India. Several dozen black American churches were burnt to the ground, not merely slightly damaged like the few Indian churches that have been attacked. Christian priests and ministers are also robbed, assaulted and sometimes killed in all Western countries in numbers not unlike what occurs in India. We should also note that many more priests in America have been arrested for sexual molestation of children than have priests been assaulted in India. Should we use that to make conclusions about the nature of Christianity? That a few priests or ministers have been harmed in a country of one billion over a period of several years is not surprising even if we only consider ordinary crimes like robbery. Such things are law and order problems not an attack on one religion in particular. Many more Hindu religious workers are killed in India each year than Christians are in many years. That Christian missionaries have run into difficulties in sensitive tribal areas where there is not much government or police control is also not surprising, particularly given their hostility to tribal culture and tribal religions. The main purpose in all this drama is to whip up a propaganda campaign in order to bring international pressure on India to give Christians more freedom in their conversion efforts. Many Christians seem to prefer this to dealing with the Hindus in a spirit of give and take. What makes this affair is especially distasteful is that even when there is a systematic cleansing of Christians in Pakistan, Indian Christian leaders are prepared to ignore their plight for their propaganda purposes against the Hindus. Even the Pope, while condemning Indonesia and India, refused to mention the atrocities against Christians in Pakistan. His equating of Indonesia where hundreds of Christians have been killed in recent months to India, where only a few have died over several years, also highlights the propaganda urge behind his statements. It was as though Christians wanted the situation in India to be worse and are trying to promote communal disharmony to highlight their presence in the country. Christians almost seem desperate to make a scene in India to highlight to the world media. All this is enough to make one wonder if Christians are staging some of these attacks to pose as victims of persecution. Whether or not this proves to be the case, certainly they are exaggerating such incidents out of all proportion. Christianity has had a long history of using victimization in order to promote conversion. We know of the stories of Christians being fed to the lions in Rome. We are not told that many more pagans were killed by Christians, and thousands of pagan temples were destroyed throughout Europe. The great Greek (Neo-Platonic) Academy in Alexandria was destroyed and its scholars like Hypatia killed by 'Saint' Cyril and his followers. The number of native Americans killed or forcibly converted by Catholics was also in the many millions, and yet the Catholics emphasize a few priests martyred by the native Americans as being the real victims. Such stories of Christian oppression are good ploys to gain donations in Western countries. India as a pagan country, where image worship is common, is an easy target for such conversion sentiments. <b>The Indian scene</b> Mother Teresa's successor, Sister Nirmala, claims that Hindu fears that conversion is being done by force, deception or propaganda are not true and are ridiculous. But she should well know that 'such devices have long been used in Christianity' We can find native peoples all over the world whose cultures have been destroyed and even whose populations have been decimated by the missionaries and by the colonial armies that they supported. The Indian public is by and large unaware of the magnitude of destruction caused by Christianity, which may. exceed the destruction due to Islam and its Jihads. Until recently, any discussion of even the Goa Inquisition was taboo, and it is still barely mentioned in Indian history books. This is due to the fact that Christian (colonial) institutions practically control the education agenda in India, especially in history and other humanities. In fact Christianity in India is much more conservative than that in the West where most Catholics violate the main tenets of the church about contraception and divorce and fail to attend church and take its rituals in any regular way. Christianity in India is still projecting a medieval view of the church triumphant that has long been discarded in the West. Even if the Hindu fear of missionary mischief is exaggerated, it is entirely understandable. We should remember that the Pope in his recent visit to India himself threw down the gauntlet, stating a renewed church policy to convert Asia to Christianity in the coming years. To dismiss the Hindu fear as baseless only shows that it is not. If Christians were really sincere they would acknowledge that missionary activity has used such questionable methods in the past and work to insure that it does not do so in the future, and not simply ignore the issue. In the circumstances, it is prudent and proper for Hindus to view Christian. activities and statements with suspicion. The missionaries have altered their tactics to what is possible in the post-colonial era, but that is not a change of heart. They have not opened to Hindus, dialogued with them sincerely, or sought a common ground with them for social harmony or for seeking true knowledge of God. They have aimed at the poor and displaced of Hindu society to promote a conversion effort that has failed with the educated and affluent of the country. They are striking below the belt and then complain of unfairness if their efforts are exposed. <b>Politics, not spirituality</b> What is most surprising is that Christian missionaries have more freedom of operation in India than in the rest of Asia. They are banned in Islamic countries, including Pakistan, and strictly monitored in China, which has its own nationalist Catholic Church apart from Rome. Even Russia under Putin has recently come out against Christian missionaries as causing mischief in the country and often being agents of the American government. Christians are under direct attack in Indonesia where thousands of Christians have been killed in recent years. Neighboring Pakistan does not allow the missionaries the freedom they have in India and routinely oppresses its Christians. A few years ago a Catholic Bishop committed suicide in a Pakistan court to protest the issue. But it is India that being called to task in the world forum for its oppression of Christians! Mexico, which used to be part of the 'Catholic Empire of Spain', does not allow missionaries the kind of freedom they enjoy in India. Only in some so-called 'Banana Republics' of Latin America do we find missionaries being so powerful. Even this, as has been revealed by recent hearings in the US Congress, was often financed by the CIA, with priests serving as CIA agents. Such information suggests that Christian leaders have given up most countries of the world as beyond their reach but concentrated on India as the US did on the Banana Republics. . Missionaries and Christian organizations are very much on the defensive in most of the world today, where they are simply trying to hold their ground. The West continues to discard Christianity. The Islamic world will not let it in and China is keeping it at a safe distance. In America such missionary groups, which would still like to ban the teaching of evolution in the schools, complain how the country has all but abandoned real Christianity. But in India the missionaries remain aggressive. The reason is simple. India allows missionary activity and so is a soft target. Islamic countries and China are hard targets. The missionaries are targeting India because they feel they can make headway in India, not because India is a place where they are particularly under siege! The hypocrisy of the whole thing is easy to see. It shows the condescending attitude that missionaries have towards Hindus, thinking that they can bully them or appeal to their tolerance by a feigned persecution. It ollly proves that Christians are still promoting a medieval religion that will not honor other religions and is still seeking world domination by any means, fair or foul. If we count the victims of Christian aggression on one side and the Christians themselves who have been victimized we will find that the victims of Christianity are overwhelmingly in the majority. While some Christians have apologized to African and Native American groups for such missionary misdeeds, the Hindus have so far not received any such apology, though they have suffered from the same methods. The reason is that the missionaries have not yet triumphed in India. The apology, like crocodile tears, comes only after the victim is dead. In the nineteenth and the early twentieth century, Christian colonial governments used their influence to promote conversion in the countries they ruled. Now Christians want to use freedom and democracy, which they didn't allow under their rulership, to continue the conversion process. And all without an apology or explanation for this about face! If Christians want to be honored and respected let them first proclaim that Christianity is not the only true religion and Jesus is not the Only Son of God. Let them say that Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, J ainism, Zoroastrianism and other Indian religions are as good as Christianity. Let Christians say clearly that members of other religions will not go to hell but will gain immortality in the presence of God by following what is good in their own teachings. Major Christian groups, however, will certainly not make such statements, though they may cover over their exclusivism with platitudes about human peace, brotherhood and Divine love. Their,failure to honor other religions shows an intolerance that naturally breeds conflict and inevitably leads to communal tension. Christians wouldn't even accept a Mahatma Gandhi and worked to convert him, while the Mahatma described missionary activity as a great danger and as spiritually and ethically flawed. As a former Catholic I know in what little esteem the Church holds Hinduism and Buddhism with all their great sages and yogis. Christianity, like Islam, sees tolerance not as a virtue to be emulated but as a weakness to be exploited. Were Christians to really honor Hinduism as a valid religion all Hindu-Christian hostility could easily come to an end. As long as Christians hold that theirs alone is the True Faith and are working to convert the members of other religions in one way or another, they should not be surprised if members of other religions do not welcome their presence. It is only a matter of time before missionary Christianity is seen for what it is-imperialism in the name of God and Christ, the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing. It is a political, worldly movement with little spirituality in it. Unfortunately such Christians confuse the real Divine work, which is improving ourselves through introspection, with the institutional work of imposing a single belief upon all humanity. This political view of religion has no place in the global age of consciousness that is dawning in enlightened minds all over the world today. The quicker it comes to an end, the better it will be for all humanity. <b>FOOTNOTES</b> 1 Koenraad Elst. 1993. Psychology of Prophetism New Delhi: Voice of India 2 David Yallop. 1984. In God's Name. London: Jonathan Cape 3 Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ. 1988. London: Corgi Press. p 23. The report he cited was later leaked to the press. 4 This is obvious to anyone visiting a Catholic hospital in America. <b>ADDITIONAL READING</b> De Rosa, Peter. 1988. Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy. London: Corgi Books. Goel, Sita Ram (editor). 1998. Niyogi Committee Report on Christian Missionary Activities. New Delhi: Voice of India. Hutchison, Robert. 1997. Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei. London: Corgi Books. Rajaram, N.S. 1995. Secularism, the New Mask of Fundamentalism: Religious Subversion of Secular Affairs. New Delhi: Voice of India. Rajaram, N.S. 1997. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Crisis of Christianity: An Eastern View of A Western Crisis. Loudon: Minerva Press. . Rajaram, N.S. 1998. A Hindu View of the World: Essays in the Intellectual Kshatriya Tradition. New Delhi: Voice of India. Rajaram, N.S. 2000. Profiles in Deception: Ayodhya and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New Delhi: Voice of India. Swarup, Ram. 1992. Hindu View of Christianity and Islam. New Delhi: Voice of India. <b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b> <i>Dr. Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri) is one of the few Westerners ever recognized In India as a Vedacharya or teacher of Vedic wisdom. His field of sfudy includes Ayurveda. Vedic and Vedantlc philosophy. Tantra and Yoga. His influential book. Gods. Sages and Kings is recognized as a pioneenng effort that set the stage for a revolution in the study of ancient history. His several books on the Vedas including his poetic translation of the Vedic hymns, Wisdom of the Ancient Seers have been published both in India and the west. He is the author of numerous books on Veda. Indian spirituality and current affairs including Arise Arjuna. Awaken Bharata, Hinduism. The Eternal Tradition and many more. He lives in Santa Fe in the United States where he is the Director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies.</i> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-17-2006, 07:25 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Project Thessalonica
Can Hinduism face the onslaught of Project Thessalonica?</b> Alex Pomero in a Croatian Newspaper Some months back I watched a documentary which aired an interview with a young Palestinian terrorist. Most people would be appalled simply at the fact that someone who had killed innocent people is being treated like a celebrity and given an opportunity to "explain" himself. But what was more shocking was that he showed absolutely no remorse for having killed innocent people on the streets of Israel, including women and children. Worse still was the fact that even the parents of those youngsters supported the violent activities of their children. The reason: they were simply doing their religious duty as true Muslims. For them killing an innocent bystander is Jihad, the God-ordained religious duty of every Muslim. I was born to Catholic parents and raised by a missionary Catholic mother and an abusive, born-again Christian, who I will refer to only as "my mother's husband". I was raised in an "ideal" Christian environment, and would have followed my parents' footsteps and would have spread hate against other religions, if it weren't for a fortuitous meeting I had with a Chinese friend of my dorm roommate. Little did I realize then that the chance encounter would end up being a turning point in my life. The Chinese student was Buddhist who talked about meditation and its advantages. Finding it curious I checked with my University library for some books on meditation. After some searching, I found a book on Transcendental Meditation â¢, a meditation technique founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. That book sparked a profound spiritual and emotional transformation in me and I have never looked back. My thirst for knowledge led me to read more about TM and its roots in Hinduism. I started reading every book on Hinduism I could lay my hands on. In the Ramayana, I came across the life of Lord Rama and his only wife Sita. Hindus consider Rama and Sita to be the ideal couple and the path shown by them as the perfect man-woman relationship. It was a refreshing change from the abusive relationship I had witnessed and experienced in my own Christian family. The wisdom and spirituality that I found in Hinduism has no parallels. There is practically no aspect of life that is not dealt with in detail by the innumerable texts that are a part of Hinduism. There are texts which deal with the mundane aspects of day-to-day living and those which deal with more profound questions such as those about life and death. To me, the most fascinating aspect of Hinduism was that it was inclusive, respectful and tolerant of all people and their various beliefs, in stark contrast to the exclusivity that pervaded my native religion. Unfortunately the adherents of the latter seem to be on a mission to destroy Hinduism. Josh, my childhood friend with whom I communicate frequently was trained in a seminary is currently a Baptist missionary. I met Josh during my recent trip to USA. He had just returned from India and was going back again in November. Much of our conversation centered on his current assignment as part of something called Project Thessalonica. Josh was very passionate when he spoke of Project Thessalonica - passionate in a scary kind of way. In his eyes I could see the same resolve that was visible in the Palestinian terrorist in the interview. Project Thessalonica is a sub-project of Joshua Project II. Joshua Project II set the scope and strategy for converting the "heathen" of the world in 10-40 window (regions that lie between the latitudes of 10 and 40 degrees north) whereas project Thessalonica (called PT) prioritizes the tasks to be taken. Joshua Project II strategized the methodology called 'Adopt-a-peoples' wherein every mission agency or church adopted a 'people group'. Tribals were the first and easy missionary targets. Unfortunately the missionary activity didn't weaken Hinduism as the church strategists had anticipated - many of the converts still celebrated and attended Hindu festivals and continued to follow Hindu traditions. As a counter measure Project Thessalonica was started in 2004. Before getting into the details of Project Thessalonica it will be useful to look at the origins of the name of the project. Thessalonica was a major port city strategically located at the junction of the main land route from Italy to the east and the main route from the Danube down to the Aegean Sea. It was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, a free city ruled by a popular assembly and magistrates. The people of this city were rich, technologically advanced and culturally distinct. Paul and Silas, during the Apostle's second missionary journey, visited Thessalonica to preach the Gospel and propagate Christianity. However, Paul's teachings received a lukewarm response from the people. Some locals irritated by Paul's teachings got a hold of Jason and his brothers, who were hosting Paul, and took them to city officials. They were charged with harboring traitors, but faced no physical harm. They were eventually made to post a bond and set free. In 390 AD, the Christian ruler Theodosius the Great, punished a revolt by the inhabitants of the city by massacring more than 7000 people. Much of the city was eventually converted to Christianity. A few observations about the city of Thessalonica at the time of Paul will make its relevance to today's world clear. First the city was strategically located in terms of access to other cities by both land and sea. Before their forced conversion to Christianity, its inhabitants were economically and culturally prosperous. Perhaps more importantly they were tolerant, which explains why, inspire of provocation, the lives of Paul, Jason and his brothers were spared. The government was also indifferent to the missionaries and the adverse impact of their activities on the people. Hindus in India today are in the same situation as the people of Thessalonica found themselves in at the time of Paul. They are prosperous economically and culturally and extremely tolerant of other people and faiths. The government is completely indifferent to the activities of the missionaries in India, in spite of the tremendous damage that missionary activity has wrought on the local population all over India. Seen in this context, the choice of "Thessalonica" as a name for a project focused on converting Hindus of India to Christianity seems particularly apt. Project Thessalonica aims to stop or limit Hindu activity by converting people who form the pillars of Hindu culture, festivals, traditions and activity. Traditionally missionaries hate any public expression or display of heathen religions in the form of festivals and temples. Missions want to ensure that no new temple construction activity starts. With this objective they are converting masons, craftsmen and others involved in temple construction activity. The First Baptist Church of Nashville, Tennessee adopted towns where the annual Kumbh Mela takes place and has been actively converting the locals so that visitors face extreme hardship during their next visit trying to find services and supplies. Another mission group is adopting boatmen of Kasi where Hindus drop rice balls in river Ganges as an offering to their forefathers. The boatsmen are being trained in other fields so that they abandon this profession. They are making environmental groups raise the voice so that Ganesh processions, Kumbh Melas and Jagannath Rath Yatras are limited. One big worry seems to the extremely popular Hindu television programs. Christian agencies have decided on buying these prime slots at a premium and are actively working with programming sources. Over the past 20 years, missionaries also appear to have invested a lot in handling the political leadership, so much so that their activities appear to be almost immune to the ruling political party. It seems that a good section of media is also on their side to such an extent that any group opposing their activity finds itself identified as a militant or extremist group in the news media. My friend Josh doesn't have any sense of remorse, guilt or reasoning when he speaks about converting the "heathens" of India through any means. Instead he shows a sense of pride and achievement as he believes that he is simply implementing God's word as written in the Bible. Just like the Islamic terrorist in the interview. With Christian Jihadis like Josh at the forefront of missionary activities in India, one can only hope that Hindus don't face the same fate as the people of Thessalonica. Additional reading 1. http://www.neglectedfields.net/ 2. http://in.christiantoday.com/news/mis_166.htm A sample of the missionary mischief " A year back, when First Baptist volunteers first set foot in India, the nation appeared overrun with idolatry and spiritual darkness. However, the mission team sees signs of hope". To learn more about Project Thessalonica, e-mail project.thessalonica@neglectedfields.net or call the International Mission Board at 1-800-999-3113. 3. http://www.scbaptist.org/-1999999487/-1999941961.htm <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-17-2006, 08:46 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.saxakali .com/southasia/ PCLM.htm
<b>POOR CHRISTIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT (PCLM)</b> Evangelism programme should be suspended for 100 years and funds thus saved be utilised for development and welfare of Dalits PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF MR. R.L. FRANCIS ON THE OCCASION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF DALIT CHRISTIANS ONÂ AT THE SPEAKER HALL, CONSTITUTION CLUB, VITTHALBHAI PATEL HOUSE, RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI Church leadership has been running more than 40,000 health, educational and other social organisations in the country. After Government of India, Church has the largest proportion of land in the country. The Church has some of the best educational institutions in its control, which cater to the needs of affluent and elite sections at the cost of Dalit Christians and poorer sections. Even in Delhi the Capital of India, the number of Dalit Christian children in Church-run schools is negligible. Till today, Church has not been able to establish or form any Educational Council for Dalit Christians in the country. In other words, the entire wealth of the Church is being controlled and only by high class Christians. Christian money, their real estate and all other means are being utilised for the benefit of others by neglecting Dalit Christians or poorer sections. Church leadership opposes the policy of reservations for Dalit Christians in missionary schools and organisations while they have been demanding the same from the Government at the Centre. Bishops monopolising the Church estates are treating it as their own property and are indulging in its sale-purchase as per their own sweet will even without the consent of the community. Church leadership does not give Dalit Christians equal treatment. The amount of funds received by the Church for the development of Dalit Christians is never disclosed to the community nor do they give any indication as to how this amount has been utilised. Church Diocese or the local priests never disclose the actual number or socio-economic condition of Dalit Christians in their respective areas. However, the Church leadership has spent a lot on Evangelism and continues to do so even now. Church leadership ignores the welfare of Converted Christians and adopts new measures and experiments for wooing Dalit sections for their vested interests. At the Durban Conference of the United Nations in 2001, the Church of India shed crocodile tears for crores and crores of Dalits in India. But in reality, Church was indulging in grave injustice to their own Dalit Christian brethren numbering over two crores. Christian missionaries are vying with each other to promote blind faith among Dalit Christians. Huge gatherings of people are arranged in the name of Evangelism and religious congregations, in which claims are openly made that blind will see, dumb will speak and disabled will run, just to promote blind faith among the poor Christians. Even if one person gets cured of his illness caused by his own mental pressure, the incident is publicised to such an extent that Dalit Christians fall in the deep well of blind faith and get trapped in the vicious cycle of exploitation of the priests. In these Evangelical gatherings, the priest referring to the name of Christ orders the ghost of sickness to leave the person. In these circumstances, it becomes difficult for anyone to distinguish between a priest and a tantrik. RESOLUTIONS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY AT THE 4TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF DALIT CHRISTIANS ORGANISED BY POOR CHRISTIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT ON 6 AUGUST 2003 IN THE SPEAKERS HALL, CONSTITUTION CLUB, V.P. HOUSE, RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI: I Resolution: Demands of Dalit Christians as contained in the New Delhi Declaration released by the Movement on 19 June 2002 should be adopted and conceded by the Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), the National Council for Churches in India (NCCI) and other Church bodies immediately. II Resolution: This Assembly unanimously believes that Evangelism cannot be a measurement of a societys socio-economic development. Therefore, Evangelism programme should be suspended for 100 years and funds thus saved be utilised for development and welfare of Dalits and deprived sections and creating awareness amongst them. III Resolution: In Church-run schools, colleges, technical institutions and other vocational organisations, Reservation of seats for Dalit Christians as well as other Dalits should be provided immediately. A time-bound programme of action should be chalked out to implement a meaningful education plan. IV Resolution: Both Protestant and Catholic Church leadership should issue a White Paper on i) Participation of Dalit Christians in the present Church structure; and ii) Socio-economic condition of Dalit Chrisitans in respective Dioceses of the country. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
06-17-2006, 09:25 PM
Why Christian Dalits are abused by Christian leadership? Is there any law to protect Christian untouchables?
Why FOSA and others are silent on plight of Christian untouchables in India and Pakistan?
06-19-2006, 08:59 PM
There will not be any rollback of Sunni Islam in pakistan as these people will literally die first. There can only be a regeneration of an enlightened culture from within.
The Islamist ideals of a universal theology, one church, one creed and a populace bent on piety to the exclusion of secular thought, reason, science, plurality along with song, sex and joi de vivre is the obverse of the history of Christian Europe. <span style='color:red'>Except that Christianity was more efficient at killing-- Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Cathars, Hugenots, Australian Aboriginals, Native North- Meso- and South Americans ,Acadians, Africans, Indians, Chinese, Moors, atheists, heretics, homosexuals, witches...you get the idea. Thus, the world has seen this before. The history of Christian Europe is frightening and heart-rending-that, in the name of God, millions of poor, illiterate, intimidated people were burned alive, mutilated, savaged, coerced into tithing their meagre earnings and kept in ignorance. But Europe took 2,000 years to produce a Descartes and a Thomas Jefferson. Not, I believe, because of reason's divine spark, but because of profit and a literal broadening of horizons as they too learnt how to navigate the seas (almost certainly partly from Indian navigators) and the age of commerce. It seems to be a genetic code of religions that are revealed-the inevitable combat of the jealous gods to the last human. Much better to propitiate the dung beetle in my opinion. The Christian church expected the world to be evil and ugly so it made the world evil and ugly- Nietzsche. Does the West have any right to demand a rollback of the Islamist agenda? </span> |
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