Ecumenism: Diplomacy or Sincere Exchange?

[melvin]

" Almost all religions pursue some sort of exchange with other religious sects. They may do it to further aim of their own sect to quell violence among fanatics, to cooperate in efforts for humane work, or for any other reasons. Perhaps the purest and most worthy purpose for persons of different religions to come together is to help one another in the individual attempt at attaining love of God." ( Satsvarupa dasa Goswami)

 

http://www.prabhupada.org/rama/?p=4282

[melvin]

My first baptism into Hindu religion was when I defended Srila Prabhupad`s ISKCON here in my place in 1987 although they knew my religion is Catholicism. There was even those times after being engrossed in reading Srimad Bhagavatam that my co-workers in the hospital questioned why I no longer go to bed with my wife. That stopped when my wife placed all of Srila Prabhupad`s books inside a jute sack and returned them to my childhood friend, Gaurasundara das, who lent me the books. That was how rabid I was in advocating Krsna consciousness in my home town.

Now, I can`t help but defend my religion( Christ consciousness ) from Hindus and non-Hindus who attack Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. But then again, if I see that Srila Prabhupad`s Krsna Consciousness and his teachings are attacked by Mayavadism, I go an extra mile to defend the former. And when I see that the followers of Dvaita philosophy attack Sankaracarya for advocating Advaita, I defend the latter.

Why is this so? And when somebody attacks Islam a religion whose God is Allah I defend the latter because I felt Allah is no other than the Child God( Bathala ) whom we worship here in my place.( www.sinulog.ph). I`m not trying to confuse you. This is not a joke. In fact, it`s a confession I had to make.

[smaranam]

You do this because you love God and His children.

[sant]

Im with you sir melvin on this.What is the need to deny the greatness of christ.

[melvin]

 

Im with you sir melvin on this.What is the need to deny the greatness of christ.

 

Sant, you are a self-realized soul...

[Amlesh]

Great thinking, Melvin...

[melvin]

Everyone is invited to the banquet in Ecumenism so to speak. If I were the Pope, I`d prepare a sumptous meal for the guests. There`ll be dining rooms allocated for vegetarians, a carnivorus meal for Christians and Non-Christians, and a porkless meal for Muslims. After this very important engagement, all who have partaken what Divine Providence has provided go inside a large conference room to discuss among themselves the controversial spiritual issues that had been plaguing the unity of the world`s major religions since time immemorial. This is the only way to PEACE. That it should not be negotiated on the battlefield but on the dining tables.

[raghu]

 

Everyone is invited to the banquet in Ecumenism so to speak. If I were the Pope, I`d prepare a sumptous meal for the guests. There`ll be dining rooms allocated for vegetarians, a carnivorus meal for Christians and Non-Christians, and a porkless meal for Muslims.

 

Good news for advocates of religious political correctness.

 

Bad news for the animal who is going to end up on the silver platter served to the Christians and Muslims.

[smaranam]

 

Everyone is invited to the banquet in Ecumenism so to speak. If I were the Pope, I`d prepare a sumptous meal for the guests. There`ll be dining rooms allocated for vegetarians, a carnivorus meal for Christians and Non-Christians, and a porkless meal for Muslims. ....

 

Dear Pope Melvin,

 

 

That's a great noble idea - about having the banquet and peace discussions.

 

I would not encourage the Christians and Muslims with animal food, unless there is some mandatory dish as religious (which would have to be a man-made idea).

 

Instead , the Pope should take this opportunity to introduce how good vegetarian food can be - a New Menu for the times, which considers the spiritual , mental, emotional and physical well being of all.

 

Do you know about Christian Vegetarian Association ?

 

In any case, my best wishes for the banquet, and here you may find something about spreading vegetarianism :

http://www.geocities.com/ekbhakt8

 

 

Jai Sri Krshna

And since Ashadhi Ekadashi is coming up ,

Vitthal Vitthal Jai Hari Vitthal

[melvin]

 

Good news for advocates of religious political correctness.

 

Bad news for the animal who is going to end up on the silver platter served to the Christians and Muslims.

 

 

It`s the rich Catholic Chruch who pays for every living entity ( vegetable, fish, and animal) killed, cooked and eaten at the dining tables of delegates attending the Ecumenist forum.

[melvin]

 

Dear Pope Melvin,

 

 

That's a great noble idea - about having the banquet and peace discussions.

 

I would not encourage the Christians and Muslims with animal food, unless there is some mandatory dish as religious (which would have to be a man-made idea).

 

Instead , the Pope should take this opportunity to introduce how good vegetarian food can be - a New Menu for the times, which considers the spiritual , mental, emotional and physical well being of all.

 

Do you know about Christian Vegetarian Association ?

 

In any case, my best wishes for the banquet, and here you may find something about spreading vegetarianism :

http://www.geocities.com/ekbhakt8

 

 

 

 

Jai Sri Krshna

And since Ashadhi Ekadashi is coming up ,

Vitthal Vitthal Jai Hari Vitthal

 

 

 

Dear Smaranam,

 

That`s a good idea. That animal meat shouldn`t be served on Muslims and Christians.

But what if these Christian and Muslim delegates insist they be served their favorite dish? To avoid conflict. The dining rooms are marked for Muslim`s only, Vegetarians only, so on so forth. What you don`t see won`t hurt, anyway.

 

 

Melvin

[smaranam]

Point noted. You are compassionate about the guests' feelings of being 'at home' and welcomed. Something i had not thought about.

 

Then, in the post-dinner discussions , will vegetarianism get some priority ? Arguments could be health, environmental issues, global warming , completeness of veg nutrition ....

 

I wonder how Christians react to this :

"Are we being good stewards of God's creation ? (CVA) " : http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/honoring.htm

 

I would really like to know their views. As for the Pope himself - he says he would rather not kill even an ant. I read that on CVA.

 

I have heard from a minister that it is very hard to talk to people about animal rights.

 

Hope i am not bugging you. Just some thoughts

[raghu]

So we will be compassionate about the meat-eating guests who want hamburgers. But the poor animals who get killed to become their dinners - no compassion for them?

[Smiley]

 

I`m not trying to confuse you. This is not a joke.

Even you imply that what you are saying sounds confusing. You are either completely confused or pretending to be so. Sanatana Dharma has nothing to do with faith systems which developed outside of Bharat Varsh (except in some cases they have borrowed from the Dharma). Sri Adi Shankara, who as a small child left home to singlehandedly revive the Dharma from the morass it had fallen into had to make very clear-cut distinctions in order to wake Indians up as to what was Sanatana Dharma ... and what was not. Discrimination is wisdom.

 

from EncyclopediaOfAuthenticHinduism.org:

 

Q. What is a myth, and why so many myths of different cultures have similar stories?

A. We should now understand what a myth is. Myth is the imaginative fiction of the minds of the ancient natives of a country who believed that there were some kind of nature gods who were involved in the creation, maintenance and destruction of the world, and in some way they also influenced the social life of the people... (Article 6)

 

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/recommended-websites/452867-http-www-encyclopediaofauthentichinduism-org-index-html-post1137838.html?highlight=21+Intriguing+Questions#post1137838

 

 

 

My first baptism into Hindu religion was when I defended Srila Prabhupad`s ISKCON here in my place in 1987 although they knew my religion is Catholicism. There was even those times after being engrossed in reading Srimad Bhagavatam that my co-workers in the hospital questioned why I no longer go to bed with my wife. That stopped when my wife placed all of Srila Prabhupad`s books inside a jute sack and returned them to my childhood friend, Gaurasundara das, who lent me the books. That was how rabid I was in advocating Krsna consciousness in my home town.

Now, I can`t help but defend my religion( Christ consciousness ) from Hindus and non-Hindus who attack Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. But then again, if I see that Srila Prabhupad`s Krsna Consciousness and his teachings are attacked by Mayavadism, I go an extra mile to defend the former. And when I see that the followers of Dvaita philosophy attack Sankaracarya for advocating Advaita, I defend the latter.

Why is this so? And when somebody attacks Islam a religion whose God is Allah I defend the latter because I felt Allah is no other than the Child God( Bathala ) whom we worship here in my place.( www.sinulog.ph). I`m not trying to confuse you. This is not a joke. In fact, it`s a confession I had to make.

[chandu_69]

 

And when somebody attacks Islam a religion whose God is Allah I defend the latter because I felt Allah is no other than the Child God( Bathala ) whom we worship here in my place.( www.sinulog.ph). I`m not trying to confuse you. This is not a joke. In fact, it`s a confession I had to make.

In that case you should also defend Allah's word i.e. quran.

 

Allah says in quran that worshiping jesus as "son of god" invites his curse.

 

Quran 09.030 : The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

 

37.152 : "Allah has begotten children"? but they are liars!

 

and then Allah Promises grievous penalty for those(catholics, obviously) who believes in trinity

 

005.073 : They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One Allah. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers

among them.

[melvin]

The controversial issues like meat eating have to be resolved yet in the ecumenist discussions. If a consensus is reached. Then that`s the time changes have to be implemented. If vegetarianism wins then that`s a breakthrough. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, War and Dialogue, I rather choose the latter.

[Amlesh]

Feel lucky to be a vegan, I hope others too be part of that.

But for the Karmic Wheel to work, the Lord devised a mind-boggling way.

I feel i can only be the witness, I hope, He sees in me, that someone who can serve Him,

[Smiley]

 

Im with you sir melvin on this.What is the need to deny the greatness of christ.

 

I reject it as irrelevant - as do billions of other people all over the world.

The Indian subcontinent has not been well served by this myth.

[melvin]

 

I reject it as irrelevant - as do billions of other people all over the world.

The Indian subcontinent has not been well served by this myth.

 

 

An attitude like yours makes you automatically a delegate of the World Congress on Ecumenism. While those who advocate vegetarianism but don`t believe in God are, without exception, disqualified as member simply because of their atheistic views. A full conversion, however, is required if they insist in participating in the discussions say, a forum on climate change, homosexual marriage, abortion, AIDS, polygamy, poverty, terrorism, drug addiction, or pornography. No deadlines, however, are set in resolving these global issues until an incarnation of God comes and says, " That`s enough! I`ll settle them all by Myself."

[chandu_69]

 

I reject it as irrelevant - as do billions of other people all over the world.

The Indian subcontinent has not been well served by this myth.

 

And it has created further divisions and hatred in the indian society.

[melvin]

 

And it has created further divisions and hatred in the indian society.

 

That`s why there`s this need to hold a World Congress on Ecumenism. Further divisions and hatred in the Indian society will only worsen if you(Hindus) and the others( Non-Hindus) are not heard in one big forum. Communist China and North Korea will only make a laughing stock out of everyone who believes in God. If Communist China invades India what nations would come to help and rescue her? When there were treats that the Philippines, a Catholic country in the early 70s, would someday become a Communist country. What nation came to rescue and get rid of her Red Chinese and USSR trained Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People`s Army? Why, it was no other than Uncle Sam, the United States of America, a Christian (Non-Catholic) country. Similarly, if Communist China invades India, it would be no other than her neighbor, Pakistan, an Islamic country, who`d come and defend her from the invading army of billions of Chinese atheists.

Edited July 3, 2009 by melvin

[chandu_69]

 

That`s why there`s this need to hold a World Congress on Ecumenism. Further divisions and hatred in the Indian society will only worsen if you(Hindus) and the others( Non-Hindus) are not heard in one big forum.

 

Will the christians agree when they were told to stop peddling their Savior theory?.The hatred christianity creates has basis in it's central tenet that non-christians are going to burn in hell for eternity for refusing to accept christ as saviour.

 

 

Communist China and North Korea will only make a laughing stock out of everyone who believes in God.

 

That should be no concern.Let them laugh to their heart's content.

 

 

If Communist China invades India what nations would come to help and rescue her?

 

No body is going to RESCUE INDIA.Countries will act to preserve their self interest.

 

At present India has a continuing problem with Islamic terrorists spilling blood for over 2 decades.

 

 

When there were treats(sic) that the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country in the early 70s, would someday become a Communist country. What nation came to rescue and get rid of her Red Chinese and USSR trained Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People`s Army? Why, it was no other than Uncle Sam, the United States of America, a predominatly Protestant(Non-Catholic) country. .....

 

Uncle sam acts as per American interests .The heads of state talk about Christianity when they feel the need to take their traditional voters on board.

Christians are getting killed on a regular basis in muslim countries like iraq, pakistan etc and America didnt do anything.

 

Btw, American christians in "bible belt" say the present president is an antichrist.

[chandu_69]

 

If Communist China invades India what nations would come to help and rescue her?

 

Communist china is not going to Invade India for the sake of religion.China is dictator ship regime.

 

Chinese have no zeal to convert the world to atheism unlike the bible thumping Christians who have set a goal of converting Indians to christianity.

[melvin]

 

Communist china is not going to Invade India for the sake of religion.China is dictator ship regime.

 

Chinese have no zeal to convert the world to atheism unlike the bible thumping Christians who have set a goal of converting Indians to christianity.

 

Dear Chandu_69,

 

Why single out Christianity as the cause that would further divide sub continent India and cause hatred among hindus? Why not single out also atheists, religious hindu and non-hindu sects. Can you not understand? Ecumenism was re-initiated ( Srila Prahupad even went to Vatican and offered Pope John Paul VI the Srimad Bhagavatam) by God himself to quell violence among hindu and non-hindu fanatics. Besides, it`s not Christians in India converting hindus to christians whom you should worry. It`s the muslims in Pakistan converting hindus to Islam. Look what Islam did to sub continent India. It was before only one India. Now, she`s only 1/2 of India. In other words, Ecumenism, is here to prevent this ancient nation from becoming 1/4 of India. Until there is none. Can you beat that?

 

Melvin

[sant]

 

Will the christians agree when they were told to stop peddling their Savior theory?.The hatred christianity creates has basis in it's central tenet that non-christians are going to burn in hell for eternity for refusing to accept christ as saviour.

 

All these saviour theopries though irritating but are only seen by few indians.Youre just worried that people will get converted after listening to them.But it doesnt mean you start hating them.

...........

Edited July 4, 2009 by sant