Note: The response is given first followed by the article. From: Ashok Chowgule President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Maharashtra) 36, Piroja Mansion, Opp Grant Road Stn (E) Mumbai 400 007, India Tel: +91 22 309 3743 +91 22 309 4306 Fax: +91 22 307 7551 To: The Editor, Outlook, February 16, 1999. Pranam, Reference “The zealots who would inherit” in your Feb 22 issue. It is nice to read in your magazine, known for its Hindu-baiting, that there is a cause for the Hindu samaj to be provoked due to the proselytising activities of some of the Christian churches. We do realise that this is not the main objective of your article, which is that there is something called fringe churches who create problem and there is something called mainline churches who are the epitomes of angels. But, we are sure you will admit that there has been provocation from those who sell Christianity to the people of this country. During his frequent visits to South America, the Pope (the head of the Roman Catholic Church, which you would consider to be a so-called mainline church) has often complained about the these so-called fringe churches poaching on his flock. During one such visit, he called them ‘wolves’. The concern of what is called sheep-stealing (in Biblical lexicon) is uppermost in his mind, since the number of Catholics is going down significantly. While this concern may be quite touching, the Hindus find this to be quite incongruous. The ex-Catholic still believes in Christ as the only son of god, but offers his prayers in a different church and under a different priest. Christian theology would say that such a person has an automatic entry into heaven. Perhaps it is the Catholic theology that it is not only an exclusive belief in the divinity of Christ that is a sufficient criteria, but also that this belief should be practised in a Catholic church as a requirement for a passport to heaven. If so, then it is obvious that the Pope is playing a numbers game, and not really trying to save souls. Within the context of India, we hope that the Pope will join the Hindus in ensuring that the plans of these so-called fringe churches does not succeed. After all, if they are ‘wolves’ in South America, surely one would use an even stronger adjective when they are operating amongst the Hindus. Given the larger objective of the so-called mainline churches, this would probably be too much to expect. This phenomenon of a so-called fringe church is nothing new. So far we have not seen the so-called mainline churches distancing themselves from the activities of the so-called fringe churches. Whenever there has been a Hindu protest against the latter, the former have ganged up with their fellow-believers-in-Christ, and tried to stifle the protest. The so-called secular media has gone along with the game plan of the so-called mainline churches. Unless one sees a conscious programme of the distancing away, the Hindus are not going to be fooled with the bleating that one hears today. The Hindus would also like to remind the so-called mainline churches that the so-called fringe churches are following the methods that they had used in the past. Since these methods are no longer politically correct, they are sought to be discarded. The reason for this happening has been stated by a Christian theologian, Raimundo Pannicker, who said, “The first lesson history makes us aware of is that all our disquisitions are dependent on a temporal factor – that is, on historical circumstances. Were it not for the fact of the political decolonisation of the world, we would not be speaking the way we are today. Dialogue has not sprung out of pure speculation. Praxis conditions theory. Yet it is also wisdom to make a virtue out of necessity.” The prime objective, that is saving the soul theology, has remained the same, but the methods employed have now to be different. After all, there is no scope of expecting that there will be state power behind them to coerce. The techniques have to be subtle. These techniques are not only the so-called social service activity, but to damn Hindu philosophy, sometimes in subtle terms, sometimes a little bit more brazenly. A Catholic priest in India said that Hindu philosophy is basically one that encourages withdrawal from the world to the detriment of social commitment and that as a result there is hardly any communitarian or social consciousness. It is hard to understand how someone, who apparently is of Indian origin and living in India, can write such a comment on Hinduism. One used to find such descriptions in missionary textbooks of yesteryears. The Roman Catholic community in India has full knowledge about Hinduism and the Hindu notions of salvation. But statements as above are a clear sign that the practice of calumnising continues. Others do not even pretend to be subtle. Cardinal Ratzinger has said that Hinduism offers false hope because it appeared to guarantee ‘the path of purification’ when in fact it focused on a ‘morally cruel’ concept of reincarnation resembling ‘a continuous circle of hell.’ This is not much different from what a member of a so-called fringe church, Rev Pat Robertson said. “Wherever you find this type of idolatry, you find a grinding poverty. (India) has been cursed.” A bit more crude, but it conveys the same message as that of Cardinal Ratzinger. So, it is not merely a statement saying that they distance away from the so-called fringe churches that is going to suffice, what the so-called mainline churches have to do is to rework their theology to suit a situation of pluralism that prevails not only in India but has begun to pervade amongst the thinking people of the Christian countries. Prince Charles in June 1994 said that if he ever becomes the King of England, he would like to alter the oath to say that he is defender of all faiths, and not merely that of the Church of England. At the time, the members of the Church hierarchy, who would club themselves as part of the so-called mainline churches in India, were up in arms against the Prince. One of them said, “If (the Prince is) saying Christianity is equal with other religions, we should differ profoundly with him. As men we’re all equal before God, but are you talking about religions and saying one is as good as another? I hope he is not saying that.” The same Church agitates that India should be a secular country, and Hindus here should place the Church on the same pedestal as Hinduism, if not higher. It is recognised that if Christians go about saying that all religions are equal, they will have to answer why do they involve themselves in conversions. After all the whole objective of conversions is supposed to save souls, and if souls are saved in Hinduism, then obviously it is a futile exercise to convert a Hindu. To avoid this major problem, the Catholic Church says that it “rejects nothing of what is true and holy” in other religions. Since rejecting nothing is qualitatively different from accepting everything, the Church goes on to say that is “duty bound to proclaim” that it is only in Christ that “men find the fullness of their religious life.” Thus, the other religions become a prepatory ground, and for true salvation it is best to be a Christian. It is not inappropriate to inform that the members of the so-called main line churches have no hesitation of taking the help of Islamists in their fight against Hinduism. Thus, we have an incongruous picture where a smiling Catholic Archbishop of Delhi walks arms-in-arms with a smiling Naib Imam of the Delhi Jamma Masjid. Birds of a feather, convert together! Hindus have no real problem if someone says that Christ is his personal saviour. Where they have a problem is when he goes on to say that if a Hindu does not believe in Christ, then the Hindu is bound to go that place where he/she will be eternally barbecued. Yours sincerely, The Editor, Outlook, AB-10, S.J.Enclave, New Delhi 110 029. =======================Title: The zealots who would inherit Author: Saira Menezes and Venu Menon Publication: Outlook Date: February 22, 1999 In 1972, missionary Rita saw a vision of the whole of India as a vast over-ripe harvest field. There was an urgent call to reap this harvest before it is too late.” This is the telling opening line of booklets put out by the East West Mission Bridge-run ‘Adopt Your Own Village In India’ project. The organisation has a list of villages “that are eagerly waiting for the Gospel”. “As soon as. you commit yourself to adopting one such village, we will inform our (Indian) partner who will engage and train a new worker in your adopted village-and eventually plant a church there”. This ‘vision’, though singular, is not unique. It’s the staple of Christian splinter groups who have broken from mainstream Churches and have established an insistent presence in India. While Christianity and its preachers have been in the country for almost 2,000 years, these fast-multiplying Christian sects or cults-most of whom have their financial and ideological roots in the US-are now attempting to become the prime proselytisers. In the process, the intolerant attitude betrayed in the language used by these groups is grist to the Hindu fundamentalist mill. Sample Ralph Winter, editor of the US-based Mission Frontiers magazine, which keeps track of splinter Christian sects worldwide. He writes: “The Hindu World is the most perverted, most monstrous, most implacable, demonic-invaded part of this planet…. The perversion of Satan in this part of the world is just absolutely legendary…..” Much of the ‘documentary evidence’ cited to justify the attacks on Christians by Hindu zealots emanate from these groups. And with players like Winter in the game, it is no surprise that passions are easily inflamed among believers of other faiths. A fact which has been worrying the mainstream Church for a while now. The Bishop’s Conference of India, for example, has been saying that “we have always distanced ourselves from these groups; their attitude to other religions, the language they use, their aims and methods”. Unlike the VHP or Bajrang Dal, however, the fanatic Christian fringe does not have the support of a mainstream political, religious or socio-cultural grouping. Nor do they indulge in violence. Yet, they seem to be growing-though these groups are prone to wild exaggerations to come up with magic figures that help bring in the funds. The East West Mission Bridge says that in predominantly tribal Bastar, Madhya Pradesh, they went up from a measly 10 workers in 1988 to 150 by 1995; that they’ve established 40 churches and baptised 3,000 people. Mission functionaries say the figures are similar among the Mangs of Maharashtra. The American umbrella organisation ‘AD 2000 and Beyond’, which is all over the Internet, claims the Evangelical Church of India has almost achieved its plan of establishing 1,000 local churches. Operation Mobilization (Om) India has launched an initiative called ‘Project Light’ to present the gospel through literature to 100 million people in India by AD 2000. The Association of Pentecostals is working towards a church for each of the 75,000 pin codes in the country by the 21st century. The Friends Missionary Prayer Band has developed ‘Hindi Heartland Penetration Strategies’ to mobilise 1,000 new missionaries and to research and evangelise 300 “unreached” groups within the next few years. India Reach has taken on the goal of reaching 500 million people with the gospel through direct mail, followed by personal visits within six weeks to the individuals who respond. Such fantastic aims and claims seem to be part of the game to bring in the lucre and spread the Word simultaneously. Interestingly, an organisation called the Divine Word, operating in MP and involved in printing and distribution of pamphlets and Bibles, receives an average of Rs 22 lakh every year in funds, as compared to the roughly Rs 32,000 which is the lot of some government schools in the same state. Team India of Emmanuel Ministries International lays out the ‘incentives’ for budding foreign missionaries: it pays $3,100 for a two-week mission to Delhi and Kota-like the ones proposed between February 22 and March 5 or November 8-18, 1999. “Debriefing time” includes a trip to the Taj. Year-long packages to Kota, like the one from August 1999 to April 2000, are pegged at an all-inclusive $8,900. The Kerala-based Indian Pentecostal Church (IPC) which recently emerged as the target of the Sangh parivar in the state, has married the concept of capitalism with carrying on for Christ. In its 75th convention held earlier this month, this is what was said: “In America, there are big supermarkets where you can buy anything you want. Our church is now a small wayside stall. We must make it grow into a big American supermarket.” The IPC, like the Friends Missionary Prayer Band, however, claims it does not take foreign funds. The Hindustan Bible Institute Global Partners is more explicit: It exists “to glorify God by enabling the North American Church to develop partnerships to reach the unreached of India and beyond”. With America just an “altar call” away, the mainstream Church in India has much to agonise over. In the Northeast, meanwhile, the break,]way factions from established Churches are raking it in. “In 95 per cent cases those who are ambitious float new groups, gather some illiterate people, photograph and videotape them and send them abroad seeking funds,” says a Khasi Journalist on condition of anonymity. Refuting allegations of spiritual seduction by way of finance, Rev. T.S. Abraham, general secretary, IPC, says: “We preach, we do not induce. We do help people financially. Some join us, many don’t. We don’t target any particular group. Both Brahmins and tribals join us. Muslims come to us. But most of our converts are Christians from other churches.” “It is a big problem for us,” says Father Leslie Ratus, a theologian at the Mumbai-based St Pius College, about the conversion-by-coercion-or-allurement phenomenon. “In the eyes of both militant and non-militant Hindus, all Christians are the same. They see no difference between Catholics, Protestants and the new sects. Amidst such confusion, what one church does and how it behaves with regard to conversion is applied to all churches.” Significantly, the Catholic Church has promoted dialogue with other religions, respecting that there are “seeds of truth” in all. And this line has been embraced by mainline Protestant groups as well. But the new sects remain beyond the pale and reject all calls to hammer out a common policy on missionary work. Tainted by the same brush, the Catholic and mainline Protestant Churches, which have a tangible presence all over the country through their institutions, are in a quandary. More so as they have become a target of the saffron brigade. “Their theology, outlook and understanding of salvation is different, their missionary methods are different and hence their acts provide a lever to those vested interests seeking to frustrate true missionary work,” says Fr Ratus. But most of the Christian fundamentalist sects have, Pilate-like, washed their hands of the mainline churches on the grounds that they are “apostate”, or have “defected from the true faith”. In fact, most sects launched city-centric crusades by first feeding off the flock of the mainline Church before making inroads to the rural hinterland. Says Father Paul Parathazham, a Pune-based theologian who conducted a survey on these sects’ appeal: “Their belief in exclusive God experience makes them feel that only they will be saved. Hence the call to conversion. Their proselytisation is born out of a conviction that the end is near. In fact, some shun jewellery and even medicine.” This is combined with a potent diatribe against karate, rock’n’roll, yoga, idol and animal worship. Says a British missionary, now in London after working for 30 years, in Nainital: “In all my years I had no difficulty in India; I’ve never known a missionary who did,” he told Outlook. “We didn’t go about making a nuisance of ourselves, but if new groups are getting aggressive, I won’t be surprised if there’s resistance.” India falls in what’s called the ‘Resistance Belt’, an area extending from West Africa to East Asia which is home to a majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. While an article in Global Prayer Digest (’93) asks for “praying down the spirit of Ganesha in Bombay”, a mission mouthpiece Lightsource displays its peculiar brand of Christianity: “Never before have we seen such blatant hardcore worship of worthless idols ……” The idol-worshipping mind is the pet pamphlet preoccupation of most sects. “In a nation of 33 million gods and goddesses-often portrayed as a cobra, elephant, monkey, cow or human-to follow only one God radically departs from the surrounding culture. Seeking to appease the idols with offerings-including the sprinkled blood from animal sacrifices-is a repeated ritual. So when a former Hindu talks of the blood of Jesus shed for her, this is no mere slogan learned in Sunday school,” reads the press release of the Jesus Film Project. In 1997, the film was shown in 47,111 locales and this supposedly helped plant 700 churches. The ‘harvest’ being so great, the neo-missions are bent on multiplying their fold. Documenting the land and preparing profiles of language groups, communities, tribes and castes are under way. Attacks on co-religionists notwithstanding, the “harvest force” does not believe in crop failure. “We believe in changing hearts, not religions. When people experience a change of heart, a fellowship forms between them. That’s what is happening,” claims Rev Abraham. The evidence doesn’t bear him out.