From: Marshall Mendonza <[email protected]>
2. I went through the article in question. Nowhere does it point out any flaw in the Hindu religion. I quote from the article- "A devadasis who discovers a relationship with Christ becomes a powerful witness in her community, according to one Christian worker. These new lives in Christ become witnesses against the practice that enslaved them and for the Savior who set them free. --------------- The above statement implies that this prostitution/enslavement is part of the Hindu "practice" while the path through christianity offers them "salvation". Conclusion: hinduism is inferior, christianity is superior. If Nasci had a little more finesse in his writing ability, he would make a perfect reporter for the CSF. From: Marshall Mendonza <[email protected]> 3. Further, Sandesh's response was against the Church and conversion and not against the CSF as Santosh would like to mislead us. I quote Sandesh 'in the end the motive of the Church is always to convert (as always)...'. Unfortunately, the false propaganda unleashed by the hindutva forces has taken root in the minds of ordinary people like Sandesh. The word conversion has been somehow given a negative meaning. Proselytising is done by all religions and even atheists. Has anyone seen the Hare Rama, Hare Krishna worshippers. I have seen them in Bombay, Poona, Delhi and even in Russia where they dance and pray in public and distribute their literature. change. ------------------ I would agree with this. Bans on proselytizing as are currently in place in India, are just another intrusion by the government into the lives of its citizens. The right of constituents of one religion to propagate their favored religion, and their right to demonize competitor religions (as this article subtly does) should be sacrosanct. Religions, can often be equated to commercial enterprises that are out to capture market share using various marketing tools/propaganda at their disposal. If Tata can be allowed to compete with Maruti, why should not christianty not be allowed to compete with hinduism? So long as violence is not used to espouse one's point of view, I see no problem with it. Alternatively, there are many (the majority?) within their respective religious communities that do not seek to impose their belief system on their "competitors" and primarily undertake actions to benefit society as a whole. It seems like the CSF is part of the former category, but it is wrong for Sandesh to assume that the church as a whole and presumably christians in general share that attitude. Marlon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
