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1.#Opinion : Saturday, January 08, 2022. 7:00.AM. 2596.

1.#Church's Priority over Last 400 Years: Social Justice or Conversion? : Jan 06, 2022 : Organiser : Media Report.

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#Priority over Last 400 Years: Social Justice or Conversion?

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Christians across the world decry evils of the Hindu caste system and lose no opportunity to blame the Hindu religion for the same, ignoring that caste, segregation and untouchability were given sanction by the Pope

On December 3, 2020, protests erupted in front of the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore at Puducherry as Dalit Christians demanded justice in the appointment of Dalit priests and total exclusion of Dalit Christians from the management of church affairs. The very word “Dalit Christian” is an oxymoron as Christianity boasts profusely about its egalitarian nature with no scope whatsoever for any discrimination.

“We have come here to dialogue with the diocesan administration to eradicate caste discrimination and the untouchable practices in the archdiocese especially in the appointment of the Dalit priests,” —Mary John, Tamil Nadu State Leader for Dalit Christian Liberation Movement

Protests like these expose the naked discrimination these converts from Hinduism endure after embracing Christianity. This brings to the question of whether the focus of the Church in India is social justice (as professed) or conversions? Has Christianity ever tried to ensure social justice even as it went about converting Hindus in India?

Was Christianity ever egalitarian? :

The earliest Christian clergymen to arrive in India were from Europe. 16th Century Europe was not a society well known for its egalitarianism. On the contrary, several sections of the society were ostracised, treated as outcasts. The treatment of Roma gipsies, who had migrated from India to various parts of Europe around 600-800 years ago is a case in point. Their discrimination continues to this day with massive pogroms and attacks. Under Nazi Hitler, at least 15 lakh Roma were put to death.

The Cagots of Europe were treated as outcasts and forced to live on the edge of the villages. The Cagots were subjected to hate-filled discrimination for nearly 700 years. Shunned as lepers, pagans, and even cannibals, they were forced to live in ghettos called cagoteries where they were only permitted the occupations of carpenter, butcher, or executioner. When they were permitted entrance to a Church (in many cases they were refused admittance), they were segregated from the rest of the congregation, and the Eucharist was handed to them at the end of a long stick. They were compelled to wear the sign of a duck or goosefoot in red.

Church’s cruel history in India :

European clergymen arriving in India were part of a society, which openly practised discrimination against certain sections of the society, where hanging to death of non-Christians was officially sanctioned and where women routinely executed for practising witchcraft (last witch execution took place in Scotland 1727). Execution of those practising non-Christian beliefs continued till 1826. Intolerance of non-Christian faiths, social discrimination were an integral part of European society at the time of arrival of the earliest Christian missionaries were landing in India. It is no wonder that they never tried to create an egalitarian Christian society in India. On the contrary, they used caste divisions in Hindu society for furthering their objective of conversions into Christianity. One such Christian missionary was Robert de Nobili.

Deception as method to convert gullible Hindus :

The methods adopted by Robert Di Nobili to convert Hindus and expand Christianity in India are a case in point. Born in 1577 in Italy, he came to India as a priest of the Society of Jesus. He arrived in India in 1605 and moved to Madurai in 1606. He found that existing methods of converting Hindus were not effective. He adopted new ways which bordered on deception to convince Hindus to convert. He donned saffron robes, shaved his head, leaving a tuft of hair, wore wooden sandals and called himself ‘Tattva Bodhagar’ – Teacher of Wisdom. He called himself a Roman Brahmin and wore the sacred thread. The Bible became Vedam, Church became ‘Koil’ (Tamil word for Hindu temple). The pastor became ‘Guru’. He mastered Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu languages. This attracted a large number of Hindus who genuinely believed that what Robert De Nobili was teaching was yet another branch of Hinduism. He appeared as the Teacher of the fourth Veda, a Veda revealed indeed by God not to the Rishis of India, but to the messengers of God’s only son. He insisted that he was a Sannyasi from Rome. He called Christianity as ‘parangui kulam’ (Parangui = Firangi or Foreign).

Robert di Nobili practised blatant caste discrimination to further his objective- convert Hindus into Christianity. Since he was pretending to be a Roman Brahmin, if a Paria got sick, de Nobili would not see him in his wretched hut, but he insisted that he should be brought out of the house. He used to meet fellow Jesuit priests only at night, in total darkness.

Inquisition of de Nobili and approval of Pope :

The methods adopted by De Nobili viz., creating caste wise missionaries, churches and allowing Hindu caste marks to be used even after conversion to Christianity attracted the attention of church authorities and an Inquisition was held against him. Archbishop Menezes declared himself in favour of the new methods and said ‘he would be ready to allow wearing 100 Brahmin chords for the salvation of one soul’.

One hundred and eight learned Brahmins added their testimony to de Nobili’s testimony and fully confirmed his interpretation of their marks and customs.

In January 1623, the methods and tactics of de Nobili were approved by Pope, Christianity’s highest office…! Caste and caste marks were officially allowed in Christianity. A more amusing aspect of the Papal sanction was the creation of Christian yagnopaveetam (janeu) and “Christian Upanayanam” or sacred thread ceremony which will be performed in the Church…!

The approval letter reads: “The chord should not be received in the temple, or from one of their priests, but from a Catholic priest, who upon conferring it, should recite the prescribed prayers”. The pagan prayers and mantras which used to be learnt upon receiving the chord, should not be learnt, but rather should be confined to perpetual oblivion… The chord, made up of three strands, should not be made so in honour of their idols, but rather in honour of the Blessed Trinity. The converts, who have already received the chord, should burn the old one, and receive a new one from the Catholic priest. Thus untouchability which finds neither mention nor sanction in Hindu religious scriptures just got the seal of approval from Christianity’s highest office – The Pope! This clearly demonstrates that social justice and social reform were of little importance to the Church when the goal is to harvest souls. The Inquisition against him concluded “We judge it altogether expedient, in order that our holy religion may be propagated in those lands, that the Brahmins and others, who are being initiated, be allowed to wear those marks, which more than religious signs, may be deemed to be signs of caste, nobility or wisdom. If something superstitious has been added, let it be dropped, and let the intention be purified.”

All the while, the Hindu religion was going through a phase of internal renewal and renaissance with the rise of a number of great social reformers like Basavanna, Ramanujacharya and the rise of the Bhakti cult. These reformers and saints strived to eliminate undesirable customs and social practices that had crept into the Hindu society. No such efforts on the part of Christian missionaries in this direction are found. Even the temple entry movements, the abolition of untouchability movements were led by Hindu social reformers themselves.

The invention of ‘Brahmin’ and ‘Pariah’ :

Robert de Nobili created two distinct classes of native missionaries- Brahmins and Pandaraswamis. The latter were drawn predominantly from what is described as ‘Pariah’ castes and used to proselytize amongst them and prepare catechumens from amongst them. The first of these Pandaraswamis were Father Balthazar da Costa and Emmanuel Alvarez. The Brahmin missionaries sporting Brahmanical attire with sikha and sacred thread used to proselytise amongst upper-caste Hindus. The first Brahmin missionary was Father S. Maya. He always accompanied di Nobili whenever the latter went to meet royals, nobles and Brahmins. Di Nobili was always attired in saffron robes, sacred thread, carried Kamandala, while his disciple carried the deerskin and the umbrella of honour.

A ground plan of the Church constructed by di Nobili shows how caste and untouchability were made part of church architecture. The plan shows that the main church entrance was reserved for high castes, while the pariah castes had to use a different entrance. Every aspect of worship – altar, communion, confession room, common space, kitchen and even courtyard were strictly segregated for high castes and pariahs. The pariahs had to listen to the mass through an opening in the wall which segregated them from high caste converts. This is extremely shocking even by standards of the day and reveals the complete indifference of the Church towards social inequalities. On the contrary, such inequalities were skilfully exploited to further the cause of conversions.

Thus for more than 400 years, the Church has given priority to conversions rather than social justice. Caste inequalities were exploited for furthering soul harvesting. The result is there for all to see. In 2008, violent clashes broke out in Eraiyur in Tamil Nadu between Christians from OBC and SC castes. The clashes were a fallout of Dalit Christians starting their own Church in protest against discrimination and practice of untouchability in churches and seeking recognition from the Diocese. In the police firing that followed, two people were killed. Several churches in the area were locked up by Dalit Christians. There are many instances of walls inside churches and cemeteries. In 2011, clashes erupted in Thachur village, 80 km from Chennai on the issue of burial of Dalit Christians to which the Reddy Christians objected. According to an article published in The Frontline magazine, the Church is constructed with a star shape. The central portion is reserved for Reddy Christians who manage the Church while the sides are earmarked for converts from SC castes like Adi Dravidars and Arundathiyars who have no role in the management of the Church. In another cemetery in Trichy, the deceased Christians are buried on either side of the wall depending upon their caste.

A ground plan of the Church constructed by Di Nobili shows how caste and untouchability were made part of church architecture. The plan shows that the main church entrance was reserved for high castes, while the pariah castes had to use a different entrance

Christians across the world bad mouth evils of the Hindu caste system and lose no opportunity to blame the Hindu religion for the same, completely ignoring that caste, segregation and untouchability were given sanction by the Pope as seen earlier. The Church does not object to the continuation of the use of Hindu caste suffixes as part of the name, several generations after conversion to Christianity. In Andhra Pradesh, one can find third or fourth generation Christian converts using suffixes like ‘Reddy’ ‘Chowdary’ etc.

In the 21st century, if people like Mary John are forced to launch agitations through like Dalit Christian Liberation Movements, it is because the Church did not work towards social justice but exploited social inequalities to further its cause of conversions.

(The writer is a Sr. Associate at Centre for South Indian Studies, Hyderabad)

Courtesy: CSISINDIA

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2.##Religious Conversions: An Ex-Christian’s Confession : Dec 29, 2021 : Esther Dhanraj : Organiser : Media Report.

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Religious Conversions: An Ex-Christian’s Confession

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“The very fact that one human being has to convince another that a certain religion is true or a certain god is the true god, itself indicates that something is not right about that god or his religion”

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I was about 12-13 years when I first heard someone utter the name, Jesus. This person was a Christian from Tamil Nadu and was our neighbour when my family was residing in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He was from Tamil Nadu and lived away from his family for his work at Telco. My parents, being very friendly people, opened their home to this person and would sometimes send him food. Those were very rough times for my family, with my mother’s ill-health and my father’s professional upheavals. This neighbour who saw our family closely observed our difficult situation started talking to my parents about Christianity and Jesus. He told them that Jesus would solve all our problems and we needed Jesus in our lives. My mother needed minor surgery. She and my father needed to travel to Hyderabad to her sister’s home, who arranged for the surgery. While they were gone, my maternal grandmother looked after my four siblings and me. In the absence of my parents, the neighbour continued to preach and read the Bible to us and invited us every night before bedtime to pray with him. In Hyderabad, my aunt’s family friend, who was a Christian, introduced my parents to a pastor of a nearby church. Being in a very vulnerable state, my mother succumbed to the sweet talk the pastor engaged in. Eventually, my parents got baptised in the faith. Later, my siblings and I got baptised one after another. My baptism was in the year 1992.

Usually, the way conversions are designed, there is no scope for the converting family or individual looking back in regret. The pastor is closely monitoring the transition of the family. He is with the family every week, giving them hope (which I now know is a false one) he partakes in their happy times and sad occasions.

Visit to US :

I went to the United States on an immigrant visa by virtue of marriage. I am someone who likes to keep on studying, taking exams and getting degrees. All that changed now. But back then, the first thing that came to my mind when I knew that I was going to be spending the next few years of my life in the United States was to go for another master’s degree from a US university. I had two options—a Master’s degree in Education Management (I was running a prep school and was a freelance education consultant before I left for the States) and a Master of Divinity (the highest non-doctoral research degree in Christian studies). On the one hand, was my opportunity to fulfil my lifelong desire of conducting a deeper study of the Bible and study Christian history as an academic in order to know the place of my own ethnicity in the Bible and on the other hand, was my chance to make my dream career in the US school system in a senior management position. I was in two minds. The devoted Christian that I was, I prayed. And “god directed” me to take up Christian studies. I imagined God calling me to serve him in India because God was “disheartened” to see India reeling in idol worship and needed gifted preachers like me. I thought I had the divine duty to “save India from darkness”. I had no doubt I could change the demography of India once I became a trained evangelist. Aided with such confidence, I enrolled in the degree in the last quarter of 2010. I have to tell you here that there are two kinds of master degrees offered in the US. One takes a shorter duration to complete and the other longer, with more hours of study and more courses to complete. M. Div is the longer master’s degree. It is a non-Ph D degree but is a research-oriented degree. M Div usually offers two tracks of study—Apologetics and Ministry.

Ministry has got to do with pastoring a church, and apologetics is the defence of the Christian faith against criticism. I opted for apologetics. The first course that I took was a course called the Introduction to Old Testament. The text that was prescribed for this course is titled Survey of the Old Testament Introduction. It is a book that justifies the Old Testament, defends its theology, and rebuts criticism of it. It took me just that very first course of the very first semester of my 5-year degree for my 25-year faith to come crashing down. A textbook that was supposed to reinforce my faith and affirm my decision to become a Christian propelled me in exactly the opposite direction. The textbook spoke of things that I was hearing for the very first time in 25 years. For example, I have never heard either from a critic or from an apologist that “the Bible had discrepancies.” And here was America’s acclaimed apologist (the author of the textbook I mentioned) who was saying that exact thing. Of course, that statement of his was followed by a “but” and dozens of chapters to explain the discrepancies away. But that acceptance by him was enough for me to know that the Bible indeed had errors. Imagine the shock of knowing that the book around which I had built my entire adulthood, on the basis of which I had taken life-changing decisions, had errors in it. Errors to me meant that it was not a divine work. From there, my faith went south.

Pastors approach human needs with an attractive solution. Sometimes they offer money on the spot. A lot of times, they pay from their pockets. Of course, they do so with an agenda, knowing that if they are able to win this needy person, which they do, they will get so much more in the form of weekly donations and monthly tithes.

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"Imagine the shock of knowing that the book around which I had built my entire adulthood, on the basis of which I had taken life changing decisions, had errors in it. Errors to me meant that it was not a divine work. From there, my faith went south."

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I always wonder, why would the god of the universe want an ordinary (sometimes illiterate) pastor to propagandise him? Isn’t god himself capable of showing his might to people that he wants to follow him? If he was able to reveal himself to a desert tribe once, why can’t he do it again? Especially if it can prevent nasty and sometimes bloody fights? And if he so a mighty and wonder-working being, why can’t isn’t the whole world Christian, even after 2000 years of Christianity’s invention? Why is converting ¼ of a small planet taking so long when he was able to create millions of such planets, much larger in size, in just seven days? The very fact that one human being has to convince another that a certain religion is true or a certain god is the true god indicates that something is not right about that god or his religion.

(As told to Pradeep Krishnan)

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###OPINION OF PEOPLE OF BHARATHAM : POSITIVE

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1. SANATANA DHARMA, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS HINDUISM IS ETERNAL, WHOLE UNIVERSE IS EXISTING IN THIS TRUTH.

2. EVER EXISTING

3. THERE IS NO SPACE FOR ADHARMA

4. ALL DEMONIC ELEMENTS DEMOLISHED BY DHARMA

5. SO NO QUESTION EVIL ASURIC DEMONIC FRAGMENT'S BARKING, THEY WILL BE ULTIMATELY BURNED AND DESTROYED BY NATURE.

6. PURE CONSCIOUSNESS IS DIVINE AND SUPREME, ALL OTHERS MEANINGLESS

7. NATURE IS ABOVE ALL, EVER EXISTING, ALL OTHERS MEANINGLESS.

8. THE CONTENT OF SO CALLED HOLY BOOK IS NO HOLY AT ALL, AS IT PREACHES HATRED AND DESTRUCTION OF OTHER MANKIND, RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS AND LIES OF UNCIVILIZED MATERIALS

9. CHRISTIANITY IS EQUALLY DEMONSTRATED CRUELTY, THE SO CALLED HOLY BOOK FULL OF LIES

10. BOTH ARE NOT RELIGIONS BUT SAMPRADAYA (ILLITERATE MAN MADE, NOT BASED ON DHARMA

11. THE CULTURE OF BHARATHAM BASED ON UPANISHADS AND FULL OF REALISATION TEXTS ARE PRODUCED BY GREAT RISHIS OF BHARATHAM

12. IN THIS MATERIALISTIC DESTRUCTIVE MINDED UNIVERSE, NO RELIGIONS COMPARABLE OR ABOVE SANATANA DHARMA OF BHARATHAM.

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###The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the 2nd Campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in Kolkata, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on January 07, 2022.

JAI HIND

JAI BHARATHAM

VANDHE MADHARAM

BHARAT MATHA KI JAI.

###The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the 2nd Campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in Kolkata, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on January 07, 2022.

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