Dec 28, 2007

Evangelists in Orissa: Converting against all odds

Orissa: VHP turns violent and burns Churches. Hmm! ok. There is a history to Orissa-Christianity-Tribals.
"The VHP launched its violent onslaught claiming it wants to stop conversions to Christianity, accusing Churches of proselytising." - AsiaNews.IT
(Fact file of conversions happening since 200 years among Tribals of Orissa is given below)

So they mean there were no conversion attempts? Is it a false claim by VHP? They DO NOT Convert Hindus and Tribals to Christianity? What other agenda do their missionaries have?

On Christmas Day it (VHP) celebrated for instance the “return” (barbaratan or ‘coming home’) to Hinduism of 82 families or 187 Christians, 103 men and 84 women, at a ceremony in the village of Chikita in Sundergarth District (Orissa) that included receiving images of Hindu divinities.
82 families or 187 Christians were Hindus earlier! They accept that fact don't they? Now the same converts are willingly coming back to Hindu fold. Why? Why couldn't they have them say NO to VHP for re-conversion? Even this very AsiaNews website has written a lot about conversion activities by their missionaries. Pope has only repeated his church's intention this year too just as he did last year. I had also said in my earlier blog that if these missionaries continue to convert tribal people in India they can expect retaliations by VHP. After all tribals are ignorant victims of this evangelist missionaries.

For the Church, Asia is the continent of the future, not only in terms of personnel, but also as a missionary field. There is a lot of Asia in the Church's future: Benedict XVI.
Quite naturally they want the VHP be banned. By playing it 'innocent' these missionaries cannot go too far. It is all over the internet to prove what they come into India for. They have no other aim in life than to convert entire world into Christianity whatever it takes.

Proof: Read this speech delivered by none other than the Pope at the Vatican City this year. If they are there converting, don't they anticipate much ahead, attacks by Sangh Parivar? How many times this has been happening to them? Why are they allowing it to happen if they claim themselves to be a "peaceful religion"? Their idea is to allow VHP to attack as much as they can and to take mileage out of it by painting a "Hindu Terrorist" image of Sangh Parivar / VHP. Their 'innocence' has its hidden agenda. Let the world know it.

“A disciple of Jesus Christ – he continues -must also be a missionary”, but “today is it still permissible to “evangelize”? Instead should not all of the world’s religions and concepts not simply seek to peacefully coexist and together try to do their best for humanity each in their own way?" This is a question the Pope asks and answers himself thus: "Well, it is beyond discussion that we must coexist and cooperate in tolerance and reciprocal respect. The Catholic Church is energetically committed to this”. But “this desire for dialogue and collaboration perhaps means at the time means that we can no longer transmit the message of Jesus Christ, no longer put forward to mankind and the world this call and the hope that is derived from it? Those who recognise a great truth, those who have found great joy, must transmit it; they cannot simply keep it to themselves”. And “in order for this to happen, history needs the announcement of the Good News to all peoples and all men”, because “through our encounter with Jesus Christ and his saints, through our encounter with God, the balance of humanity is replenished in the force of good, without which all of programmes of social order never become a reality, but – in the face of other powerful pressures from interests contrary to peace and justice – they remain simply abstract theories”. - AsiaNews.IT - Vatican Pope says the Church is open to dialogue but cannot renounce spreading the Gospel.

Innocents, illiterates are their target. If they are concerned about the tribal health and welfare, why don't they work 365/24/7 with the governments and corporations and get them justice, instead? Why do they fool others to believe that Jesus is their only way? In what way have they relieved the converts of their poverty? Maybe they keep paying them monthly allowances to remain Christians? Why cant they just pressurise the governments to implement healthy schemes for them and educate them to become enlightened citizens? Why should they do it ONLY with Jesus? Won't Jesus be happy if you don't have them convert to Christianity for the whole world should be his sons and daughters? Even Jesus doesn't know that there is a world class 'religion' called Hindu? Jesus would surely not be as foolish as the evangelists. He would rather accept all Gods as his God.

Explore the root cause of all these violences. Get to the bottom of this very issue which has been there for ever. If they stop converting non Christians then VHP and Sangh Parivar will have nothing to fight against them. Can they do it RIGHT NOW?

Lastly, I must say, that VHP and its fiery outfits must not resort to violence even as a retaliation. They must know that these evangelists are already well prepared to write to the whole world that they are being attacked "for no reason"!!!!! VHP can rather open up national dialogue with evangelists challenging them to prove they are not into conversions, like how it was initiated some years ago during Ayodhya aftermath. Taking it in their own hands and burning and arsons will not take them anywhere. The Christian world will easily brand VHP as Hindu Terrorists, as easy as that. Try calling evangelists as "Christian Psychological Terrorists" because they terrorise the minds of poor intellects by their own perverted interpretations of our Vedas to the illiterates. Work Easily Done.
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I finished the above writing sometime this afternoon, but my mind never stopped the quest for truth (not for the fear of being wrong in what I believed) and I am posting this TRUTH, reading nonstop the document of 236 pages (its nearly 2:30am now,) about the General Baptist of England who set their foot as missionaries nearly 200 years ago in Orissa. They learned the language of the tribals, they systematically shattered the beliefs of the tribals to convert them to Christianity. Every account of their entire psychological methods of conversion in its raw terms are very clearly narrated (even day to day events at times) by one Otis Robinson sometime in the year 1964. There could have been other Christian denominations who worked along with the General Baptists at that time, but even to this day their success rate must have been slow though they haven't lost their heart in their mission to convert the poor innocent tribals who will consider you as Lord if you are compassionate. The compassion is good but purpose is venomous by the Christians who have even today setup their organizations in Orissa. After all everything they do (as openly claimed in the book) to the tribals will only lead to converting them through brain-washing.

PDF: http://digilib.bu.edu/dspace/handle/2144/682
Download PDF here. If you are impatient to read 236 pages, you may read pages 145 to 176 to read in context of my blog post.

Or Read Online

Read this doc on Scribd: Hinduism and Christianity in Orissa


Title: Hinduism and Christianity in Orissa: containing a brief description of the country, religion, manners and customs, of the Hindus, and an account of the operations of the American Freewill Baptist Mission in northern Orissa ... By O.R. Bacheler ...
Authors: Bacheler, O. R. (Otis Robinson), 1817-1901.
Keywords: Hinduism.
Missions -- Baptist Church -- India.
Issue Date: 1856
Publisher: Boston, G.C. Rand & Avery, 1856.
Description: http://www.archive.org/details/hinduismandchris00bachuoft
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/682
http://hdl.handle.net/2144/682
Appears in Collections:Christian Mission

5 comments:

Rama said...

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/gentemplate_generic.aspx?template=orissaviolence

Take Vote on Religious Conversion on NDTV. 77% say it should be banned.

Very powerful writing.

Suchin Kerlapur said...

I found two very interesting comments on the same site, Rama. I am pasting them here without their permission because I don't know how I can link to that conversation directly from here.

"Conversion issue has been simmering in the tribal belt of M.P., Chhtisgarh, Jharkhand and Orrissa among other's. These eruptions are simply symptoms of a larger malady facing us. Indian law does not allow conversion by inducement. However anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of conversions knows that this law is flouted on a regular basis.Almost all conversions happen because of economic and material reasons, instead of spiritual. I am not condoning any violence but Missionary activities and the source of their funds have to be properly investigated.Since successive governments have abdicated their responsibilities and turned a blind eye towards it due to political reasons. Matters get out of hand sometimes. As long as we shy away from calling a spade a spade, we can not even begin to find a solution.
Posted by ashutosh at 1:27 on Dec 27, 2007


Some fundamentalist Hindus must be taught to behave properly. They need to know why people get converted. If conversion is done by force, then state has to stop that. But most of the time it’s not by force but for convenience. Everyone must have the right to have a better life. Many people give more importance to food, shelter, dignity, education etc than religion. If Christian missionaries can provide food, education and a decent life, free from social evils like castism, then I fully support such conversion. If any Hindus or organizations need to stop such conversions, they must wipe out heinous caste system, provide food, some meaningful education etc to the weaker section of Hindu community. It’s useless to use violence to defame a great, peaceful religion of Hinduism and vent our frustration for our own inability to reform our own religion on others (be it Christian or Islam).
Posted by jay at 0:7 on Dec 27, 2007


I totally agree with Jay.

Ashok said...

Hi Suchin:

Came across your blog accidentally. Interesting reading. Unlike others who simply slam anybody and everybody, you seem to care enough about this issue to go googling to find evidence to support your opinions. This is both creditable and unfortunate.

I perceive that in your heart you are a person who will not compromise with Truth. Years ago, I read something that was quoted from the Bible, that offended me as I am born in a Hindu family (but as most, not a devout one, just born in a Hindu family, could not care less about God). I decided to prove that I will read where it says so in the Bible, and disprove it. These Christians...civilised 2000 years ago, what would they know. Lot of pride. I read the Bible. Turned out that I was right, but the Bible was not wrong. The person had used a quote out of context. But the Bible was not to blame.

Since, I was sincerely searching for truth, as I read the book from cover to cover, I discovered God and His completely "fida" love for me. Reading the Bible introduced me to God and changed my life. Hmmm.. enough said.

So dear fellow Hindu, I urge you, look beyond the failings of institutions and human beings (the Bible says in Romans 3:23 that we are all sinners..including the Pope and the Shankaracharya), and read the Bible. Check the source yourself. Read it with a good and sincere spirit.

As a seeker, you owe this to yourself. My humble recommendation is that you begin with the Gospel of John (speaks to your heart) and then read the book of Romans (will answer your questions). After that, read whatever you will.

A fellow Hindu, Ashok Shetty (ashetty _AT_ pobox _dot_ com)

Suchin Kerlapur said...

Shetty, Thanks for your comment here.

I definitely agree with you on the point that we need to understand other religions with an open mind. But I believe from your way of writing you are a semi convert. Na idhar ka na udhar ka. Because you have said you were NOT devout Hindu, but went on to prove something right about Bible for whatever! Maybe you never understood Hinduism/Vedas in the first place or you found Bible to be understandable to your intellect. I dont blame you for that at all.

If you know from all my articles, I am against the Evangelism of Christians or even conversions by Muslims in India. I dont care what happens outside our country. I greatly admire Jesus for what He is. I do not believe in any of his Marketing Executives who slog in India in severe conditions to convert especially Hindus.

And how do they do it? By putting down a extraordinary truths Veda. Even from your writing I do not believe you have bothered to respect this. Look at all their sites where they demean Hinduism, they pick up the caste system and try their best to separate out Hindus in groups on the basis of what they term as "oppression." The caste system has been very carefully misinterpreted so that the socially weaker sections easily succumb to their (il)logic. Who are these evangelists who claim they are masters of Sanskrit and thereby the Vedas when even the great saints of Hindus themselves never completely claim authority over Vedas? Why don't they just leave the Hindus alone to their beliefs? Why should they be poking their noses in our affairs?

I am against Evangelists. I am NOT against Christianity. Its purely a PRODUCT being SOLD to the WEAK MINDS with best counter ADVERTISEMENTS against HINDUS.

What is the relationship between Roman Catholics and Protestants? Isn't Jesus God for both? Let them first come to terms between themselves and then start worrying about Indian state of affairs and specifically Hindus.

Anonymous said...

Hello Suchin,

Great blog. I come from a family of
EX-christians who are now PROUD HINDUS (we are glad to return to the religion of our ancestors).We are ardent Shree Krishna devotees (the Bhagvad Gita opened our eyes). Eternal Vedic truths are the highest truths and these truths are echoed in the Bhagvad Gita by Lord Krishna. (I know for a fact that the cunning missionaries TWIST and DISTORT the Vedas in an attempt to promote their own ideology. What a shame!)

The noble truths found in the Bhagvad Gita are incomparable.
Shree Krishna has clearly proclaimed the following in the Gita, "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender to Me. I will deliver you from all sins. Do not fear." (18.66) Krishna has also said in the Gita that one's caste is NOT determined by one's birth, but by one's deeds/actions! ALL HINDUS ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Do NOT ALLOW ANTI-HINDU ELEMENTS TO DIVIDE THE HINDUS ALONG CASTE LINES. MY FAMILY CONVERTED FROM CHRISTIANITY TO HINDUISM AND WE ARE PROUD HINDUS (JUST HINDUS THAT'S ALL).

We are proud to return to the glorious religion practiced by our ancestors. I strongly oppose Christian (and muslim) proselytization in India. Missionaries exact the worst form of cultural imperialism and they should be BANNED. Please watch "Oppose Christian missionaries" on youtube - a real eye opening video.
It's time for ALL the Hindus to unite and fight for Dharma. Oppose the vile, deceitful tactics of the missionaries! HINDUS, WAKE UP AND UNITE! ALL HINDUS ARE ONE! Fight the anti-hindu elements who are destroying HINDU culture and heritage (pseudo-secular UPA/Congress govt, anti-hindu media, Chrislamist Communist thugs, missionary pests to name a few).

Victory to noble Hinduism!