Guest guest Posted January 22, 2000 Report Share Posted January 22, 2000 Dear friends , I thought all of you may enjoy this e- mail Deen B. Chandora. >arajpal >gurukul, achadee, >singhrr, girish, deenbc, > prajpal >info >Fri, 21 Jan 2000 16:36:07 -0500 > > > >Interesting article from Guyana. > >---------------------- Forwarded by Asne Rajpal/CA-Canada/3M/US on >01/21/2000 04:34 PM --------------------------- > > >Faizul Rahim <FRahim on 01/21/2000 09:15:38 AM > > > Asne Rajpal/CA-Canada/3M/US > "'asawh'" <asawh > "'Dabee, Derek (ITT)'" <DeDabee > "'fbacchus'" <fbacchus > "'Ganesh Kenneth'" <ganesh > "'Luke Misir'" <lmisir > "'Rajpal, Surendra D'" <Surendra.Rajpal > "'ranjitd'" <ranjitd > "'ray.ramrattan'" <ray.ramrattan > "'rghani'" <rghani > "'roy jabar'" <rjabar > "'snarine'" <snarine > "'Umadat, Jit (HWY)'" <JUmadat >cc: >Subject: > > > > > >Letter in Stabroeknews from one of ROAR leaders: > >Evangelism became a right when Christianity >became powerful enough to enforce that claim >Dear Sir, >Carlton Campbell's letter captioned `Hindu leaders must not panic' (SN >10-1-00) deserves a close examination, contradictory thought it is . In his >initial paragraph he accuses Hindu leaders of panicking at `peripheral >conversions' and toward the end of his letter concedes that Hindus are >switching to Christianity in such numbers as to panic Dharmacharyas, Gurus >and Swamis. >What is peripheral conversion? Let us take the case of Guyana. At the end >of >indentureship in 1917 Indian Christians were less than 1% of the Indian >population. Today, the Christian population among Indians is more than 12%. >Certainly a cause for concern among Hindus, especially when the state in >Guyana functions to perpetuate Christian dominance. Whatever is the problem >of conversion it is Hindus who must decide what constitutes a threat to our >existence and the appropriateness of any response. >Campbell also affirms the `right' of making converts demanded by Pope John >Paul II on his recent visit to India. But where and how did Christianity >get >the `right' it so often invokes to propagate its teachings and make >converts >in other countries. Jesus himself never claimed such a right. His immediate >disciples never claimed such a right. Even early Christians never saw >evangelism as a right. Furthermore the concept is alien to what is believed >to be the teachings of Jesus. The answer to this claim of right can be >found >in history. >Evangelism and making converts became a right when Christianity became >powerful enough to enforce that claim of right, that is, when it became the >official religion of the Roman empire, the world's most militarily powerful >empire at the time. As Christianity spread across Europe with the help of >the sword, musket and cannon new Christian empires eventually arose in the >west: Portugal, Spain, France and Britain, and finally across the Atlantic, >the United States. And as their frigates and gunboats went around the world >demanding landing rights and trading rights, they also demanded the right >to >make converts for Christianity. >In due course, there developed a clear commensurate relationship between >right and power. So when Christian leaders speak of the right to propagate >their religion and make converts they are actually participating in the >arrogance of western imperialism. Of the religions of the world >Christianity >best epitomises the old adage `might is right'. >Let's come back to the Pope's demand for the freedom to make converts in >India. What does Catholicism have to offer to the Hindus, freedom and >democracy? In fact freedom and Catholicism can hardly be said to go hand in >hand. Catholicism gave the world that barbarous system known as the >inquisition that trampled on the freedom of people for centuries, Catholics >invented the Index Librorium Prohibitorium (Index of Forbidden Books) a >practice discontinued only in 1966, that also has for centuries suffocated >the intellectual freedom of untold numbers. > >Now, Pope John Paul II goes to India to lecture the Hindus on the need for >religious freedom. Yet, it was this same Pope who had no qualms silencing >and then excommunicating Catholic priests such as Matthew Fox, Leonordo >Boff, and that fine Catholic intellectual Swiss Catholic Hans Kung. What an >irony that John Paul II, the infallible representative of the Catholic >church, arguably the most dictatorial and undemocratic institution in the >world, goes to India demanding freedom and right. >As countries won their independence and freedom from centuries of slavery >and domination from the middle part of the last century onward they began >to >challenge the ideology of colonialism and imperialism which also meant >challenging the ideology of Christianity itself. In this India took the >lead >and many Hindu intellectuals openly challenged the Christian claim of the >right to make converts under the guise of religious freedom. The challenge >is still a weak one, because India is still weak. Yet, twice in the past >decade the Supreme Court of India, one of the most respected judiciaries in >the world, declared that the right to propagate Christianity does not mean >the right to make converts. >The day is soon coming when every Hindu will begin to understand that >whenever a Christian missionary comes to a Hindu home he or she does so >with >the sole intention of destroying Hinduism. This is an act of aggression >against the Hindu religion and Hindu people. And the time is also coming >when Hindus will deal with it in the appropriate manner. >Yours faithfully, >Swami Aksharananda > > > > ____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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