Christianity in India has been inextricably mixed up for the last one hundred and fifty years with British rule. It appears to us as synonymous with materialistic civilization and imperialistic exploitation by the stronger white races of the weaker races of the world. Its contribution to India has been, therefore, largely negative. (Young India: March 21, 1929)
No Room For Them
In the manner in which they are working there would seem to be no room for them. Quite unconsciously they do harm to themselves and also to us. It is perhaps impertinent to say that they do harm to themselves, but quite pertinent to say that they do harm to us. They do harm to those amongst whom they work and those amongst whom they do not work, i.e., the harm is done to the whole of India. The more I study their activities the more sorry I become. It is a tragedy that such a thing should happen to the human family. (Harijan: December 12, 1936)
Outrage!
Only the other day a missionary descended on a famine area with money in his pocket, distributed it among the famine stricken, converted them to his fold, took charge of their temple, and demolished it. This is outrageous. (Harijan: November 5, 1937)
Religion is not the product of civilized man. Man inherits his god just as he inherits his physical qualities. The idea of a supernatural being creating and governing this earth is a phantom born in the mind of the savage. If it had not been born in the early stages of man's mental development, it surely would not come into existence now. History proves that as the mind of man expands, it does not discover new gods, but that it discards them. It is not strange, therefore, that there has not been advanced a new major religious belief in the last 1400 years. All modern religious conceptions, no matter how disguised, find their origin in the fear-stricken ignorance of the primitive savage.
RE:Religions
by ganesh ramanathan on Feb 20, 2008 05:01 PM Permalink
JGN, The divine is something above the human mind and any attempt to portary it thro the mind will end in failure , religion was one such attempt , man has to dive inward to know more about gods who exist above the human mind , Until now gods were created by the human mind which ended in failure as mentioned by you
RE:Religions
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 05:08 PM Permalink
Not only until now, but always god will remain a creation of human-beings. I para-phrase the Bible saying as: Man created god in his own image!!!!!!
RE:Religions
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 06:13 PM Permalink
Not only hindu texts, but all the so-called holy books are creations of surrealistic visionaries and are no more serious than Gulliver's Travels or Aesop's Fables.
Btw "para-phrase" means change a famous saying to convey our own message. It is something like the parady to the songs! Nothing abusive about it.
If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytizing. In Hindu households the advent of a missionary has meant the disruption of the family coming in the wake of change of dress, manners, language, food and drink . (November 5, 1935)
The Only Begotten Son of God?
I regard Jesus as a great teacher of humanity, but I do not regard him as the only begotten son of God. That epithet in its material interpretation is quite unacceptable. Metaphorically we are all sons of God, but for each of us there may be different sons of God in a special sense. Thus for me Chaitanya may be the only begotten son of God. God cannot be the exclusive Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. (Harijan: June 3, 1937)
Western Christianity Today
It is my firm opinion that Europe (and the United States) does not represent the spirit of God or Christianity but the spirit of Satan. And Satan's successes are the greatest when appears with the name of God on his lips. (Young India: September 8, 1920)
I consider western Christianity in its practical working a negation of Christ's Christianity. I cannot conceive Jesus, if he was living in flesh in our midst, approving of modern Christian organizations, public worship, or ministry. (Young India: September 22, 1921)
We believe in god only due to the influence of our parents and the environment in which we are brought up. My father was not a religious person and was an agnostic. Since I was brought up in an environment devoid of religious dogmas, I am an atheist!
Catch them young is the motto of the religious teachers (especially the Madrassas and the Sunday Schools and the likes of them of other religions). Leave the children out of religious stuydies/beliefs till they are 25 years of age and then see whether he believes in any god. 99.99% will not believe in any god then.
RE:WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN GOD?
by ebby on Feb 20, 2008 04:46 PM Permalink
For a self proclaimed non believer you quote the scriptures whether right or wrong. I think you are a priest who has been thrown out of the church for malpractices and misappropriation. Thats why the venom !
RE:WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN GOD?
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 04:59 PM Permalink
Is there any rule that a non-believer cannot read the Bible? I have read The Bible, The Koran, The Mahabharata, The Ramayana and parts of scriptures of many other religions also.
We read them for critical analysis and not to believe them blindly. And of course we mainly note the negative points in such books!
Atleast happy to note that you are aware of the "good work" of the Christian priests!!!!!!!
RE:WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN GOD?
by Nanchil on Feb 20, 2008 05:09 PM Permalink
You note things which can help you in abusing christianity. Your ego never allow you to accept the good work of missionaries in India. Still you are thinking that culture existed in India was great.
RE:WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN GOD?
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 05:19 PM Permalink
Nanchl, the Indian sub-continent had a civilized life even when the other continents were still in the stone age. Read the Buddhist philosophy and understand the difference between that and the beliefs of Semitic religions (swearing by one god and one book).
RE:RE:WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN GOD?
by Nanchil on Feb 20, 2008 05:21 PM Permalink
Have you heard of 'sambandham', 'mulakkaram'? I wonder how you could tell these lies.
My fear is that though Christian friends nowadays do not say or admit it that Hindu religion is untrue, they must harbour in their breast that Hinduism is an error and that Christianity, as they believe it, is the only true religion. So far as one can understand the present (Christian) effort, it is to uproot Hinduism from her very foundation and replace it by another faith. (Harijan: March 13,1937)
Undermining People's Faith
The first distinction I would like to make between your missionary work and mine is that while I am strengthening the faith of people, you (missionaries) are undermining it. (Young India: November 8, 1927)
Physician Heal Yourself
Conversion nowadays has become a matter of business, like any other. India (Hindus) is in no need of conversion of this kind. Conversion in the sense of self-purification, self-realization is the crying need of the times. That however is never what is meant by proselytization. To those who would convert India (Hindus), might it not be said, "Physician, heal yourself." (Young India: April 23, 1931)
Missionaries: Vendors of Goods
When the missionary of another religion goes to them, he goes like a vendor of goods. He has no special spiritual merit that will distinguish him from those to whom he goes. He does however possess material goods which he promises to those who will come to his fold. (Harijan: April 3, 1937)
I am not interested in weaning you from Christianity and making you Hindu, and I do not relish your designs upon me, if you had any, to convert me to Christianity. I would also dispute your claim that Christianity is the only true religion. (Harijan: June 3, 1937)
Aping of Europeans and Americans
As I wander about through the length and breath of India I see many Christian Indians almost ashamed of their birth, certainly of their ancestral religion, and of their ancestral dress. The aping of Europeans by Anglo-Indians is bad enough, but the aping of them by Indian converts is a violence done to their country and, shall I say, even to their new religion. (Young India: August 8, 1925)
Why Should I Change My Religion
I hold that proselytisation under the cloak of humanitarian work is unhealthy to say the least. It is most resented by people here. Religion after all is a deeply personal thing. It touches the heart.
Why should I change my religion because the doctor who professes Christianity as his religion has cured me of some disease, or why should the doctor expect me to change whilst I am under his influence? (Young India: April 23, 1931)
Missionary Aim: Uprooting Hinduism
My fear is that though Christian friends nowadays do not say or admit it that Hindu religion is untrue, they must harbour in their breast that Hinduism is an error and that Christianity, as they believe it, is the only true religion. So far as one can
Britain's geologists are about to celebrate the fact that the universe is exactly 6,000 years old.
At 6pm tonight at the Geological Society of London, scientists will raise their glasses to James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, who in 1650 used the chronology of the Bible to calculate the precise date and moment of creation.
Working from the book of Genesis, and risking some speculation on the Hebrew calendar, he calculated that it began at 6pm on Saturday October 22, 4004 BC.
Actually, he put the date at October 23, and then pedantically realised that time must have begun the night before, because the Bible said that "the evening and the morning were the first day."
The geologists selected the anniversary for a day-long conference on some of the fakes, frauds and hoaxes that have plagued geological and palaeontological research for centuries. "It's not that we think Archbishop Ussher's date was a fraud," said Ted Nield, the society's communications officer. "It's just that it was spectacularly wrong."
Dr Nield conceded, too, that in toasting the archbishop's calculations the geologists were committing another error. More than 6,000 years have passed since 4004 BC. The symmetry is only apparent. The date is a mere numerological reflection. The real anniversary passed unnoticed, in 1997.
Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being. When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. (Young India: June 8, 1925)
I Disbelieve in Conversion
I disbelieve in the conversion of one person by another. My effort should never to be to undermine another's faith. This implies belief in the truth of all religions and, therefore, respect for them. It implies true humility. (Young India: April 23, 1931)
Conversion: Impediment to Peace
It is impossible for me to reconcile myself to the idea of conversion after the style that goes on in India and elsewhere today. It is an error which is perhaps the greatest impediment to the world's progress toward peace. Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should he not be satisfied if the Hindu is a good or godly man? (Harijan: January 30, 1937)
Swami Vivekananda had said: "We not only tolerate, but we Hindus accept every religion, praying in the mosque of the Mohammedans, worshipping before the fire of the Zoroastrians, and kneeling before the cross of the Christians, knowing that all the religions, from the lowest fetishism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realize the infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of them making a stage of progress. We gather all these flowers and bind them with the twine of love, making a wonderful bouquet of worship"
Now compare this with the beliefs of Semitic religions and draw your own conclusion! Is this not good ideology for those who want to believe in some God????
RE:Swami Vivekananda had said
by onelifetogo on Feb 20, 2008 04:47 PM Permalink
Swami Vivek said, and you believed!! Jesus says, and you wont believe! To believe Jesus, you neednt listen somebody preaching to you ok! You need to read only & ONLY what Jesus preached.
Your very idea of Christ Jesus is wrong!
You might have heard that Christian preachers have preached that Jesus is alive even today, have you even once thought anything about that?. If you have started thinking about it, then you need to disprove the Christian preachers that Jesus is dead! Simple, Call Jesus & test whether he is really alive or not! And to call Jesus, You: - you neednt go to a church. - You neednt read a bible. - you neednt have any christians friend/relatives/neighbours. - you neednt even read anything about christians - you neednt have any good/bad thought about christians. - You neednt even close your eyes. - You neednt kneel down.
All you have to do is: - Just ignore what someone else(yes, even a christian) knows about Jesus. - Accept the challenge to disprove Christian claims like 'Jesus is alive'.
I challenge you, you will be answered the very day YOU SPEAK TO JESUS.
RE:Swami Vivekananda had said
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 04:27 PM Permalink
The belief that some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree. Makes perfect sense.
RE:RE:Swami Vivekananda had said
by onelifetogo on Feb 20, 2008 04:53 PM Permalink
"White men" Are you mad?? Jesus was an Asian!!! It was the west for first accepted Him, and then it is coming back to us! Do you manage the times or seasons?? Have you gone mad, trying to speak more than you can live?? As asians, we need to be proud, Jesus was accepted by the west! I think Swami Vivekananda, taught only you - hwo to identify white men
hw gifted person george bush after killing 2 million muslims in iraq and afgan all he has to do is go to confession box and ask fr the forgivenenss and god will forgive he will go to heven
RE:hw
by jyothi lobo on Feb 20, 2008 04:23 PM Permalink
the best remedy for conversion problems is to convert all the dalits, sc st to brahmins. thats it. no more conversions after that.
RE:hw
by JGN on Feb 20, 2008 04:24 PM Permalink
jyothi lobo, have you heard of the Syrian Christians of Kerala who claims to be converted Brahmins? The look at other sects of Christianity with contempt. And ofcourse we all know the caste system among the Goan Christians!!!!!
There is another sect called "Yacobites" again spit into two viz. Methran and Bawa who are fighting even today. Recently the police had to interfere to allow one section to even enter the Chruch! So much for the benevolence of the Christians!!!!!
RE:hw
by ebby on Feb 20, 2008 04:41 PM Permalink
After all they have converted from you brahmins! can they be any better, you moron, as you still have not given up your caste!
RE:RE:RE:hw
by SAM JOHN on Feb 21, 2008 10:40 AM Permalink
Hi Dheeraj...Get a Holy Bible and read New Testament and check it foryourself what it says...don't see people around...talk to Biblical Scholars for good advise.
