Latest articles from ChristianAggression.org http://www.christianaggression.org 2008-08-24T23:37:17+01:00 text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1219635437 In mid-July 2008 emails were circulating among Christian circles both local and international, through their Christian news networks about “Sri Lankan Church Under Attack………..very serious…………” Commencing from 10th July when Ted Rubesh & George Niranjan Vice President/Gen. Supervisor Four Square Gospel Church Sri Lanka sent out a message of the Talahena Calvary Church coming under attack “…..by a mob of Buddhist monks and supporters just last Sunday.” Stories such as this is not strange to be circulated among Christian news networks because their intention as always is to show the international world that Buddhists and Buddhist Monks here in Sri Lanka are intolerant morons who do not respect minority religions! By spreading distorted “half truths” the Christian Churches both orthodox and “Born Again” Charismatic Churches hide the real truth and spread the lies to gain sympathy from their supporters and fellow Christians to build up an anti-Sri Lankan /anti-Buddhist propaganda network. This is a very normal thing for the over zealous Christians who are attempting to make the entire Buddhist country of Sri Lanka into becoming Christian or Catholic with their so called “outreach programmes” through which they think and hope “they can save the heathen Buddhists and Hindus!” To them, except for Christians, all other followers of non-theistic religions (in reality Buddhism is not a religion but a philosophy) are “groping in a spiritual vacuum” which is far from the truth & that it the duty of such over zealous Christians to save us which is both hypocritical and ironic. Even though it is a waste of time, to spend on these speculations it is also absolutely necessary to explain how these lies came into being. There is always “ a cause” and an “ effect” of what transpired and will transpire even in the future with these Evangelists and Missionaries who intrude and attempt to invade predominantly Buddhist villages and residential areas with attempts to “ impose Christianity down our throats by force even when it is most unwelcome.” Sri Lankan Buddhists have been extremely tolerant and accommodating and our hospitality is all too well known. It is this hospitality and tolerance that has been abused and insulted by Christian invaders and the story of the Talahena Calvary Church coming under attack as is reported is one such example of how Pastor Roshan flaunted and abused Buddhist hospitality in the area in and around Araliya Pedesa, Talahena. Having transgressed, it is always easier to “cry foul” and relate a sob story to gain sympathy and the numerous Orthodox as well as “Born Again” Charismatic Churches operating in Sri Lanka have shown that they are extremely skilled in this art. Background Information on The Activities of Pastor S.Roshan Andriesen at 3D,Araliya Pedesa, Talahena: Residents of Araliya Pedesa, Talahena are 98% Buddhists with only 3 families all of whom are immediate family members of Pastor Roshan being Christians. Residents of the surrounding locality outside Araliya Pedesa are 100% Buddhists. 1. About 7-8 years ago, Timothy Montessori was started by Pastor Roshan & his family at Araliya Pedesa. All the children attending this Montessori are Buddhist children, total number of children being approximately 30. There are 2 teachers both being Christians. Parents who send their children to this Montessori do it in the hope that their children will be given a good foundation in the basics of education but not to become Christian converts. However, it has been reported that Pastor Roshan and the teachers have been surreptitiously attempting to indoctrinate these children into Christianity and Christian habits and attempting to convert the families of these children as well. 2. During 2005-2006 Pastor Roshan had purchased 4 perches of land next to his residence with the address as 3-C1, Araliya Pedesa, Talahena and adjoining the Timothy Montessori on one side, and another residence on the other side. Subsequently they had applied to the Urban Development Authority(UDA) in 2007 to obtain approval for a plan to construct a building on the 4 perches of land but the application had been rejected by the UDA. It is illegal to construct permanent residential buildings in land less than 6 perches. Even though their application had been rejected by the UDA, Pastor Roshan began to proceed with the construction work and made the neighbourhood learn that approval had been obtained to do such a construction. The building has a long hall and a stage/platform. Having completed the structure, the neighbourhood realized that the building was actually the so called Calvary Church with a huge Cross fixed to the back wall built to conduct prayer sessions. The prayer sessions conducted on week days and Sundays became a nuisance to the neighbours and residents of Araliya Pedesa and the locality around because of the loudspeakers that were used here through which shouting and singing were being belted disturbing the sick, the aged and the infants who were residents within Araliya Pedesa and the locality around. In addition so called “healing through prayer” sessions also commenced to which they began to bring people from outside Talahena from areas like Malabe, Hokandara, Thalawathugoda. Unable to bear this noise any longer, the residents made complaints to the nearby Police Station and the UDA on the noise pollution which disturbed the peace and quiet of the area. 3. Magistrate’s Court Determination Against an Illegal Structure done By Pastor Roshan at 3-C1, Araliya Pedesa, Talahena (the Calvary Church Building) The Urban Development Authority (UDA) which had originally rejected the application made by Pastor Roshan to construct a building at 3-C1 , Araliya Pedesa, Talahena sent inspectors to do an investigation in December 2007 during which it was revealed that the land in the said premises was owned by Pastor Roshan(not Calvary Church), that the application had been rejected by UDA originally, and that Pastor Roshan had illegally constructed the said building against the ruling given by the UDA. A case was filed by the UDA against Pastor Roshan in the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Courts with Case No. 10171/8 in which he was given a ruling under point 5 of the Magistrate’s Determination that the structure was illegal and that it must be demolished on or before 2nd April 2008 under Act No. 4 of 1982 and Act No. 44 of 1984 of the UDA Act which are Amendments to Clause No.28 (1) with special reference to sub-sections a, b, c of Act No.41 of 1978. The UDA by their letter reference 13/61/6774 (C) dated 18th March 2008 had also informed him of their decision. Under point 7 of the Magistrate’s Determination the Petitioner UDA also declared that Respondent Pastor Roshan had disregarded the Order given to him. 4. Time and time again, the residents of Araliya Pedesa have repeatedly requested Pastor Roshan to stop the noisy Prayer Sessions and Healing Sessions because it was a nuisance to the sick, the aged and infants in the vicinity but he had disregarded and shown absolute contempt to their appeals. Residents have also made official complaints to the nearest Police Station which is Talangama Police but no action was taken by them. 5. 6th July 2008- The Build Up to What is Termed “Attack on Calvary Church ,Talahena” On the evening of 5th July some hue and cry from Pastor Roshan’s house had been heard to the effect that someone had damaged a tiny part of the Cross inside their building. How on earth could anyone enter their premises without being detected except for the fact that they themselves got it done to enable them to make a complaint at the Police Station to get Police protection for their activities. Such instances are quite well known in this country where they themselves get the damage done to their so called Prayer Centres and then implicate Buddhists to be the suspects & culprits. On 6th July 2008 some Buddhist Monks accompanied by the Chief Priest of the Buddhist Temple in the area visited 3C1, Araliya Pedesa to request Pastor Roshan to stop his activities at which time Pastor Roshan and a relative of his together with some female followers had attempted to pull the Chief Priest by the robe and assault him. When the onlookers saw this, naturally it was unbearable and uncontrollable as about 2-300 residents had gathered outside and witnessed the rude manner in which Pastor Roshan and his female followers had treated the Buddhist Monks. During an “exchange of words” between the Buddhist Monks and Pastor Roshan and his followers they had even stated ‘if necessary, we will get down even LTTE terrorists from Jaffna to attack if necessary !” Talahena is a predominantly Sinhala Buddhist area and most of so called adherents that are brought to the Calvary Church of Pastor Roshan belong to the Tamil community whose true identities are not known by the residents. Given the security situation in the country, naturally the local residents are extremely apprehensive about total strangers entering their locality. Till the crowd was dispersed Pastor Roshan and his father were seen walking around amidst the crowd and there was no sign of them having been beaten as is reported in the email circulated by the Christian News around the universe. However, much later in the evening even though the nearest Hospital to take an “emergency patient” was the Talangama Koswatte Government Hospital, they had opted on the advise of a friend to go to Kalubowila Government Hospital which is located about 10-15km away! The pictures taken showing Pastor Roshan lying on the ground were not incidents which took place while the crowd was supposed to have been attacking Pastor Roshan which means it “was staged” to show a morbid picture to the outside world. Police Complaint Made by Pastor Roshan In the complaint made by him to the Talangama Koswatte Police Station he had mentioned that he and his relatives had been assaulted and that he had been hospitalized as a result. When asked to name any suspects, Pastor Roshan had listed out names of the residents of the entire Araliya Pedesa, Talahena as suspects which held no ground whatsoever. Some of the suspects named by him had not even been anywhere in the vicinity or even in Colombo for that matter! Most of the named “suspects” according to Pastor Roshan who had “apparently assaulted him” were retirees who were in the range of 56-75 years of age! So it is quite obvious that dishonesty is very much a part of Pastor Roshan’s life style. 6. “Healing Through Prayers”- The Irony Even though Pastor Roshan professes to be able to cure ailments through prayer and for which unsuspecting people are brought from outside the locality, it is highly ironic that his wife’s aunt who is a Buddhist married to a Christian and suffering from Cancer has so far not been cured by him. The patient is now in a late stage of the illness and had pleaded with the Chief Priest of the nearby Temple ( the Christian husband had actually gone to the temple to invite the Chief Priest) to visit their home and Chant Buddhist Suttras(Pirith) to her for her to get some consolation from the pains she was going through. Even though the family had attempted to assault the Chief Priest, he had very kindly consented to the request of a patient, visited the house and conducted Buddhist religious observances requested by the patient. It seems ironic that Pastor Roshan has not been able to exhibit his talents at curing one of his own family members before he attempts to cure outsiders! 7. Agenda of Charismatic Churches with “Church Planting” in Buddhist Areas Most of the disharmony between Christians and Buddhists/Hindus are initiated & created by the Christian Churches themselves-not by Buddhists living in those areas. The case in reference to Pastor Roshan and the Calvary Church at Talahena is one such example. When a locality had 100% Buddhists or Hindus living in the area, suddenly we find a Charismatic Church entering the locality and erecting what they call “a community centre” first for them to enter the area. Then they begin to transport “lured followers” from outside localities to show the residents of the area in and around where the new centre has come up, that they have a following! It is understandable if residents were a mixture of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims of equal proportions for a religious place of worship for each different religious denomination to have their own places of worship. However, when only 3-5 Christian families where there are 1700-1800 families which are all Buddhists one wonders the hidden agenda of the Church to “Plant Churches” except that they intend to create disharmony within the village and divide it! Having entered such villages/localities if they even attempt to live in harmony, residents will tolerate them but what people experience in Talahena is the arrogance of Pastor Roshan coupled together with thuggery when he casts rude comments on passers-by insulting them whether they be Buddhist laymen or Buddhist Clergy of the area. Insensitivity towards the feelings of residents in the area can and will create a backlash which cannot be avoided. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1219635282 Since April this year when an “advertisement” in the Sinhala Lankadeepa newspaper of 6th April 2008 with a photograph of the late Most Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero appeared to advertise the launching of a CD on 19th July 2008 by Apostolic Father Rev. Lalith Aponso of The Apostolic Media Office, Katunayake on “Life After Death and Karma” the late Venerable Monk has become a symbol & commercial tool of the Catholic Church. Rev.Father Lalith Aponso supposedly recorded a cassette in 1994 on “Life After Death and Karma” when Ven. Ananda Maithriya Thero was still living. According to the advertisement in the newspapers, at the time Ven. Ananda Maithriya Thero had listened to the cassette and commented (English translation): “I have listened to the first speech made by Apostolic Father Rev. Lalith Aponso on “ Rebirth and Karma” which irrespective of religious bias I think is useful”-Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero. Although the late Venerable Monk states “………… is useful…………..” he does not state whether he endorses or agrees with what the Apostolic Rev.Father Lalith Aponso has stated in that cassette recording. Except, that it is “useful…” The Crux and Core Difference Between Christianity and Buddhism: People who are well versed in the Christian Scriptures and The Buddha Dhamma are fully aware that Christianity and Buddhism are as far apart as the moon and the earth in the very essence and core doctrines of the two religions. According to the Bible it is said that God created everything and even pronounced that earth was flat. According to Christianity a human born to this human life did not have a life before this and will have no life after death in this life- except what God decides for him/her which can be either Heaven or Hell according to his conduct in this life-and that is it! Buddhism taught by Sakyamuni Gautama The Buddha, is completely different from what Christianity and The Bible tells us. Buddhism is a philosophy of life and how our lives are guided by “ cause and effect” and that there are many lives before this life and many lives after this life based on our own Karma we create for ourselves whether good or bad. Based on our own efforts (not dependent on a God) through self-purification of our defilements through meditation and insight we can, even in this life attain Nibbana and end our Samsaric sojourn. The Dhamma is very deep and intense and we do not hope to delve into the intricacies of The Dhamma in this article. There is no such doctrine in Christianity-everything including responsibility is placed on an Almighty God who decides for and on behalf of human beings in this life-man himself has no authority to do anything other than the will of God whereas The Buddha gave every authority to human beings to decide and do the right thing if he/she wished to attain Nibbana. The Buddhas teach and show the path to self-purification and human beings have to strive to attain it through one’s own efforts. They extol the virtues of Metta, Karuna, Muditha & Upekha towards all beings be they humans, super natural beings or animals. The Hidden Agenda of The Catholic Church & Insensitivity Towards Buddhists Sentiments: The Apostolic Media Centre at Katunayake under the instructions of Rev.Father Lalith Aponso has been vehemently advertising the late Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero in the newspapers, through posters which show both the Venerable Monk and Rev.Father Lalith Aponso with information about the CD launch scheduled to be held at the BMICH on 19th July 2008. The first batch of posters came out on the streets of Colombo 1 day before Wesak Full Moon Day, the 2nd batch came out before Poson Full Moon Day and subsequently until today. The poster gives a telephone number 077-1306556 for people to call in and book their seats. Callers have been told that a seat will be charged at Rs.1,000/=as the minimum on this day to listen to Rev.Father Lalith Aponso and also to receive a free CD to anyone present at the function on that day. It is quite obvious that the Catholic Church is hoping to get as many young Buddhists & Bhikkus to come because callers are constantly asked “how old are you?” –does this really matter? We can see how the Church is using the picture of the late Ven.Ananda Maithriya Thero for their commercial purposes to cover (atleast part of it) the costs of hiring BMICH plus the CDs by luring Buddhists because as far as we know, Christians will “not buy” the ideas that Rev.Father Lalith Aponso wants to sell about “Life After Death & Karma” which are both unacceptable to their beliefs and “the word of God!” In order to advertise this event more, Rev.Father Aponso had made a TV appearance on TNL 2 weeks ago together with a Buddhist Monk who is introduced as a pupil of the late Ven. Ananda Maithriya Thero by the name of Ven. Ambegoda Kusalagnana Thero of Kettaramaya Temple, Bandarawela who also happens to be lecturer at a Pirivena in Bandarawela. The Church is now keeping this Monk at Katunayake and treating him really well until they complete their agenda of cheating Buddhists with the CD launch. During this TV appearance, it has been stated that Rev.Father Aponso has developed his super natural powers to a level where he is able to recall so many thousands of births before this life! This again seems to be difficult to believe because the Christian belief is totally contrary to this stand. Let us presume that Rev.Father Aponso truly has these special powers- in which case as a Catholic Reverend Father, it will appear to be difficult for him to have remained as a Catholic Priest without being ex-communicated from the Church for blasphemy & heresy because his revelations completely over rules the Bible and the Gospel contained therein which in turn would make it out that he is even more supreme that Almighty God! It is on record that when someone asked a highly respected Catholic Reverend Father Earnest Poruthota about Rev.Father Lalith Aponso and what he claims, Father Poruthota has stated that had been sent out of the Catholic Church (we do not wish to insult Rev.Father Lalith Aponso by stating that “he was expelled from the Church”). We also respect Father Poruthota as a Catholic Priest who is held in high esteem in this country and do not doubt his statement if he stated so. However, if what Father Poruthota stated is correct, then we fail to understand why the Most Reverend Archbishop Oswild Gomis as Head of The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is turning a blind eye on the doings of Rev.Father Lalith Aponso? Or for that matter The Bishop’s Conference which is all powerful within the Catholic Church? By both these parties turning a blind eye it means, that they directly or indirectly endorse the actions of Rev.Father Aponso. Most Reverend Archbishop Oswild Gomis has gone on record as promoting “inter-religious committees” to resolve matters related to disputes among religious groups in this country especially due to the complicated issues arising from unethical conversion activities being conducted against Buddhists and Hindus in this country. Does he hope to bring about “Inter-religious harmony and amity” between Buddhists and Catholics in this country by permitting another Catholic Father Rev.Aponso to indiscriminately “sell and commercialize” a highly respected and venerated Buddhist Monk of the calibre of the late Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero to suit the hidden agendas of the Catholic Church? Another question that comes into our minds at this point is, why did Rev.Father Lalith Aponso wait 14 years after recording his first cassette in 1994 and nearly 7-8 years after the passing away of Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero to paint his picture on the posters publicising the launching of his CD? The most ethical, credible and decent thing to do if the Catholic Church truly respected Ven.Ananda Maithriya Thero would have been to get his participation in this business when the Venerable Monk was still among the living and during his lifetime instead of waiting till we have no sound proof of the authenticity of the statement supposedly made by the late Venerable Monk? With the modern technology available today, with amazingly “credible sounding dubbing being possible”- we place serious doubts as to the authenticity of sound recordings of the late Venerable Monk’s voice as claimed by Rev.Father Aponso! Do all these things sound as if there is a genuine and honest attempt to maintain “inter-religious amity” between Buddhists and Catholics in this country? The answer unfortunately is an emphatic “No.” We do not think Buddhists or Buddhist Clergy have abused the dignity of personalities/Clergy belonging to other religious groups for commercial purposes or to spread Buddhism amongst Catholics at any given time. This is the sincerity that Buddhists have shown towards other religious leaders and religions in the true sense of Metta, Karuna, Muditha and Upekha as taught by The Buddha. It is extremely sad that the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka and its Clergy do not reciprocate in the same vein to show their genuine intentions of maintaining “inter-religious harmony and amity” between Catholics and Buddhists in this country. To achieve the hidden agendas of the Catholic Church, it is not unusual for them to approach the highest levels of government officials to twist their arm into even getting publications made in government Buddhist publications in order to gain credibility for this particular issue. We will not be surprised if an article or advertisement on the CD launch scheduled for 19th July 2008 appears in the Lake House “Budhusarana” Weekly Buddhist Supplement which is issued to coincide with every Poya Day. To get such a publication done, there is no doubt whatsoever, that they would have approached Ministerial level connections as is true to their agendas. One wonders whether the Catholic Church and other Christian Churches (including Evangelicals) are so bankrupt in their search for methods to prove their credentials and credibility without having to misuse and insult revered Buddhist Monks in this country ? Their actions certainly seem to point a finger in that direction if we are not mistaken. Buddhist Aspirations: Many are the instances where Buddhist sentiments have been hurt by aggressive and subtle manipulations of the Christian Churches in this country and this particular instance of Rev.Father Lalith Aponso using the name of one of our most revered Buddhist Monks who is no longer among the living, is a blaring example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church and it’s Clergy. Buddhists and Buddhist Clergy in this country have always stretched out our arms in friendship towards all religions. This gesture of generosity by the Buddhists have often been abused, insulted and manipulated by the Christian Churches and in this instance, it is most unfortunate that the Catholic Church which is considered to be an Orthodox Christian Church in Sri Lanka should have acted in such an insensitive manner towards Buddhist sentiments and the high regard they have for the late Most Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero. We would like to see true and sincere gestures on the part of Christian Churches and their Clergy towards Buddhists and Buddhist Clergy if there is any intention whatsoever on their part to respect and develop “inter-religious harmony and amity” between these two religious groups. To win the confidence and trust of Buddhists in this country, there are many sincere ways that Christian Churches can use to extend a true hand of friendship and brotherhood. Our tolerance should not be mistaken and understood to be a weakness. True “inter-religious amity and harmony” can be achieved only if each religious group and their leaders learn to adopt an attitude of mutual respect and understanding, learn the essence of “ live and let live” and learn to act within their own boundaries without overstepping such boundaries. It will be only when this is evident and seen through example, that real and sincere amity can prevail in this country. We trust that the Christian & Catholic Church will strive to prove through their actions, that they wish to work in harmony with not only Buddhists in this country but also with the Hindus. The Actual CD Launch on 19th July 2008 & The Aftermath - “Chetanahan Bhikkave Kamman Vadami” According to The Buddha “Karma” is a result of our good or bad actions based on the inner thoughts and their intentions. If we do good with a good intention then the results achieved will bring a good result but if we do evil with evil intentions, similarly the results from it will bring evil/bad results. This was amply witnessed come 19th July 2008, when the much hyped and publicized CD launch of Rev.Father Lalith Aponso finally took place in the main BMICH Auditorium scheduled to commence at around 6.30p.m. but ultimately it was 7.00p.m. when the programme finally started. With a lot of pomp and pageantry Rev.Father Lalith Aponso was conducted into the hall to the rhythmic steps of Kandyan dancers, Magul Bera and Vannams to find that the hall was 75% empty! Only about 25 Buddhist Monks mostly small Samanera Monks and three senior Monks were present to grace this much hyped programme. As was expected, Ven. Ambegoda Kusalagnana Thero Chaired the proceedings. The Entrance Tickets printed on very colourful glossy paper were priced at Rs.1,000/=, Rs.1,500/= & Rs.2,000/=. Those who bought Rs.1,000/= tickets and seated upstairs were later called to come downstairs and were “upgraded” to the more prestigious seats right in the front block downstairs to fill the emptiness in the hall. All in all, only about 350 guests including the Buddhist Monks were there which goes to show that the vast amount of money spent on the publicity did not work and that Buddhists did not buy the “ploy to sell the prestige and high respect of the late Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya” for commercial purposes. Thank goodness there are still quite a lot of sensible Buddhists in this country. To lure young Sinhala Music enthusiasts, well known famous singers like Victor Rathnayake, Sanath Nandasiri and Malkanthi Nandasiri, Dr. Dayarathne Ranatunge, Prof.Amara Ranathunga, T.M.Jayaratne, Edward Jayakody and W.D.Ariyasinghe were scheduled to perform. Although publicized on posters throughout the city, none of the above mentioned appeared except Edward Jayakody and Ishak Beig ( Mohideen Beig’s son). It could be that these singers realized that they too were being dragged into a conspiracy to discredit Buddhists and the late Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero and backed out at the last minute? In the hope that the above mentioned singers would be able to keep the audience spell bound with their famous renditions and afraid that if the CDs were distributed on arrival people would have left the hall after taking the CD, the organisers decided to distribute the CDs only on departure at the end of “ The Show” & that is how it happened. “Chetanahan Bhikkave Kamman Vadami” (“Karma” is the result of our “intentions & actions” whether good or bad ) when we do something. Therefore, it is heartening to note that the intention of Rev.Father Lalith Aponso to insult and commercialize a highly revered Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka of the calibre of the late Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero to achieve his own hidden personal agenda as well as that of the Catholic Church backfired for it to end up “the failure” that it became, should certainly have proved to Father Lalith Aponso himself on 19th July 2008 what “Karma” was all about- certainly not what he hoped to sermonize through his CD on “Life After Death and Karma”. “Good intentions- good results; Bad intentions- bad results” Atleast from here on, let us hope that the Catholic Church and it’s Clergy will stop insulting Buddhists and Buddhist Monks in Sri Lanka. Christian Clergy should stick to their own Christian Scriptures without attempting to find similarities or compare it with Buddhist philosophy because there are absolutely no similarities and comparisons between Christian/Catholic religions and Buddhism whatsoever. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1219635187 In The Aftermath of Apostolic Father Lalith Aponso’s CD Launch at BMICH on 19th July 2008-- Is This The Way to Consolidate Religious Amity with Buddhists? ---- The Centre for Buddhist Action----- Ramani D.Wickramaratne The insensitive and hurtful nature of the Catholic Church against Buddhist sentiments was explained in an article by The Centre for Buddhist Action in July 2008 titled “Insensitive and Hurtful Agenda of The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka” when they explained the manner in which Apostolic Rev.Father Lalith Aponso insulted one of the most respected and revered Buddhist Monks in Sri Lanka the late Most Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Nayake Thero by distorting the truth through his much publicized advertising stunt to promote a CD launch titled “Life After Death and Karma” at the BMICH on 19th July 2008. The previous day 18th July happened to be the death anniversary of the late Venerable Monk. From April this year, this Apostolic Father placed advertisements, got journalists to write articles to the paper and held a TV interview on TNL about his much publicized CD launch on “Life After Death and Karma” which he said was first recorded in cassette form and had been listened to by the late Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Nayake Thero in 1994. He even quoted one sentence which was supposedly a statement made by the late Venerable Monk which he used for his advantage in the hope that he could draw massive young Buddhist crowds to the BMICH Main Hall on 19th July. The entire city of Colombo and even suburban areas were pasted with colour posters depicting Ven.Ananda Maithriya Thero on one side and Lalith Aponso on the other side informing the public about the CD launch. The first batch appeared just the day before Wesak Full Moon which is a very sacred day for Buddhists and the second batch appeared before Poson Full Moon the idea he tried to portray was that his sermon was connected to Buddhist philosophy on Rebirth. Tickets for this event were priced at Rs.1,500/-, Rs.2,000/- and Rs.2,500/- To make the event even more glamorous, he invited famous singers who fortunately did not turn up for the event. Chanting of Vannams and Kandyan dancing conducted Lalith Aponso to the Main Hall of the BMICH which was 75% empty which had surprised him very much as he had expected to have a full house. Instead of the large numbers of Buddhist Monks he had expected to see inside the hall, he was able to witness only about 25 Buddhist Monks of whom 22 had been very young Samanera Monks probably brought in by Ven. Ambegoda Kusalagnana Thero who chaired the proceedings and also appeared on TV to promote Father Lalith Aponso. Now comes the revealing part of the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. During a period of 3 months from April 2008 upto 19th July 2008 while Father Lalith Aponso was doing his commercial advertising, the Bishop’s Conference and the Archbishop Rt.Rev. Oswald Gomis who is head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka all kept dead silent in the hope that the event would end up as a massive success we think. It is extremely difficult to imagine that an event organised with such details on top of which an unimaginable amount of money would have been spent on posters, newspaper advertisements, printing of entrance tickets plus the purchase and recording costs of those CDs could have been done without the blessings of the Catholic Church. In the “Messenger” which is the English weekly of the Catholic Church and “Gnanartha Pradeepa” its Sinhala version of 20th July (mind you one day after the event), The Bishop’s Conference issues a statement which they state was to inform the public that the person named Lalith Aponso was not a Catholic Father nor an Apostate of the Catholic Church. Both the English and Sinhala reports are attached herewith for easy reference to enable readers to grasp fully how the Catholic Church works. This, hopefully will also enlighten and open the eyes of some of our well known Buddhist Monks who are “hob-knobbing with them” in the form of Inter-religious amity and harmony! The big question is- are we to believe that none of the members of The Bishop’s Conference did not know or see the eye catching posters pasted on either side of the streets of Colombo for two months? Did they not wish to enquire from Lalith Aponso why he was doing it using the name of The Catholic Church? If they are so concerned about building religious amity with Buddhists, why did they remain “deaf, dumb and blind” for 3 months without taking necessary disciplinary action against a man who was “posing off as an Apostate” if he did not belong to the Catholic Church? Did the Bishop’s Conference not feel it to be their duty and responsibility to respect our Buddhist Monks more so those that had departed from this worldly life like the late Most Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Thero? If Father Lalith Aponso was “ an imposter” why did they not make a public statement to that effect in the Sri Lankan newspapers for the real public to know that he did not have the blessings of The Catholic Church for this event? We remember all too vividly how the Catholic Church went into “express action mode” when news arrived about the release of Dan Brown’s film “Da Vinci Code” which was permitted to be screened even in Italy –the home of the Catholic Headquarters- BUT they got it banned from being imported or screened in Sri Lanka! However, they opted to turn a blind eye when one of their supposed Apostates insulted one of our most respected Buddhist Monks who passed away 10 years ago. We also remember how they went to the extent of lodging a police complaint at Colombo Police Station and sealed a publishing house in Colombo when they heard that a book critical and unfavourable towards Catholic beliefs and sentiments was about to go into the bookstores-they burnt the entire stock that was printed! With all the slogans of “ inter-religious amity and harmony” that the Catholic Church Fathers dole out to unsuspecting Buddhists, this is proof that their intentions are not sincere and honest but a slogan needed to be used when it suits them and to their advantage. Let us hope that this will certainly be an “eye-opener” to all Buddhist Monks who move around with them and think that they are truly sincere. Under these circumstances, can we ever hope to get just and fair redress in situations like “unethical conversions” where it would be the Christians who would be the perpetrators and Buddhists would be the victims? Would it not be another case of the Sinhala saying “ Horage Ammagen Pena Ahanawa Wage” The Buddhist viewpoint on religious harmony and amity is certainly not this method but true and honest reciprocal understanding and respect for one another irrespective of one’s religious beliefs. Buddhists have so far never ever overstepped the boundaries as much as the Christians have done so far. Let us sincerely hope that what we witnessed with the Lalith Aponso CD launch on “Life After Death and Karma” and the manner in which the Bishop’s Conference and more so The Archbishop Rt.Rev.Father Oswald Gomis acted in this particular instance. If they genuinely wished to warn the general public as it is stated in the Catholic weekly, then publishing such a statement in their own weekly is not the way to do it. Attached: 20th July Sinhala and English Versions of Catholic Messenger/Gnanartha Pradeepa text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1216782209 By Papri Sri Raman, Book: "Strong Religion, Zealous Media"; Author: Pradip Ninan Thomas; Publisher: Sage Publications; Pages: 207 The book is a result of a two-year study done in Chennai by Pradip Ninan Thomas, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Queensland, and naturally an academic point of view. "(It was) inspired by a comment about conversions and riots in Gujarat by the historian William Dalrymple in an article several years ago," Thomas told IANS. "It suddenly opened my eyes to the fundamentalism that is getting entrenched in Christianity across the world, in Brazil, (South) Korea, Africa and also in India." One of the reasons why Thomas took up the study of modern-day Christian fundamentalism in Tamil Nadu is because as many as 62 million people in the southern state follow the religion. "Chennai is today considered the fastest-growing hub of Christianity in South Asia," he says. His study is preceded by Lionel Caplan's 1987 work "Fundamentalism as a Counter-Culture: Protestants in Urban South India" and Susan Bayly's 1994 study in southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala, "Christians and Competing Fundamentalism in South Indian Society". Thomas has left himself open to criticism that he is playing directly into the hands of rising Hindu and Islamic fundamentalism by choosing to investigate how neo-Christian camps in India use the media and its audio-visual power to hypnotise their constituencies with "good news", miracles and blessings. Thomas writes that "Christian fundamentalists", like Islamic fundamentalists, "belong to a global umma and harbour real and perhaps imagined...longings directed towards making all of god's people Christian". Thomas says he himself is a practicing Christian, but that it is time "mainstream churches" begin looking at "Christianity in India and begin going to the media more" to halt what he calls "Karaoke" Christianity. His concern is delivered in his critique of the media-supported Joshua project, the Christian Broadcasting Network and the evangelism of GOD TV, the 700 Club, Num TV of the Chennai-based organisation Jesus Calls, the Rede Record TV Network belonging to Brazil's Pentecostal movement and such other mass followed sects. He fears that more and more the "worship experience on a Sunday" is being overtaken by rallies like those organised by Benny Hinn Inc (in the US). "Politics of mis-recognition certainly applies to Christian broadcasting in India," Thomas notes. The book takes a close look at India's Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal movements, their use of radio, television, merging church space with multi-media. Thomas says his is a "wake-up call" to the traditional church in India to recognise the danger of fundamentalist incursions into a faith that is largely seen as beneficial and peaceful, surviving for several thousand years in a multicultural, multi-religious space, which this subcontinent has provided. Warning against "evangelic spectacles" and various "brands of exclusive Christianity", Thomas gives the example of "militantly pro-conversion events" like the "Every Tribe, Every Tongue" convention in 2006, attended by political bigwigs like P. Chidambaram and from the self-proclaimed atheist Dravidian party the DMK and 20,000 others who had gathered in Chennai from all across tribal India. The event was supported by the International Living Mission; the stated objective of this group is: "In India itself there are more than 500,000 villages who have never heard about Jesus. There is neither a church nor has any missionary been in these parts. Our responsibility as the chosen one of god is to make an opportunity for these people so that they too can hear the word of god." Such events generate "new meaning for religion and politics, simultaneously mixing the religious with business and finance, creating spectacular events and media personalities", Thomas points out. "Liberal Christians...along with many others in India certainly have serious misgivings about" this kind of aggressive proselytisation, Thomas says. "The traditional church is, however, reluctant to admit it and take action against this, especially in the face of rising Hindu and Islamic fundamentalism." The traditional church "keeps quiet" because it "feels the need to maintain unity" among Christians of all denomination, Thomas says, advocating that traditional religion, including traditional Christianity, should search for a media model like Canada's "Vision TV" to reach out to India's pluralist multitude. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1215658316 Many years ago, while a rabbi in Atlanta, I answered a knock on my door one Shabbat afternoon. Standing in front of me was a fine-looking couple - obviously non-Jewish. "Shabbat Shalom, rabbi," they said, and asked to have a word with me. I sensed that they were missionaries and asked them what the subject was. They replied that they wanted to talk to me about the "Son of God." I suggested that while I respected their personal beliefs, in Judaism there is no such thing as a son or mother of God, that ours is a very strict monotheistic faith, and that our God is one, not two, and not three. I added that before attempting to convert Jews, they should consider converting Christians to Christian teachings, because throughout history, Jews had seen very little of Christian love and of turning the other cheek. End of conversation. WELL, AT least they were honest. Today, missionaries are much more subtle. For one thing, they often pose as Jews themselves. And, most significantly, they do not initially ask Jews to accept Jesus as the son of God, nor mention that in Christianity, Jesus is worshipped as a divine being. Contemporary missionaries realize that Jews - even secular, non-religious Jews - have a visceral revulsion at the idea of a human being as divine. They also realize that, for Jews, the figure of Jesus symbolizes a church that has for millennia condemned Jews to purgatory and eternal damnation; that the church, in the name of Christian love, has been responsible for oceans of Jewish blood because of the Jewish refusal to accept Jesus as a divine being; and for the belief that Jews deserve to suffer because of this refusal. Aware of all this, many contemporary missionaries have apparently altered their strategy. They are now appealing to Jews from a pseudo-Jewish perspective. In order to entrap Jews, in other words, much missionary activity has been Judaized. Jesus is no longer Jesus; he is now "Yeshua," a nice, Jewish-sounding name - as seen in recent missionary ad campaigns on Jerusalem's buses. A close reading of some of today's missionary material shows that the central belief in the divinity of Jesus and his role as "lord and savior" is hardly mentioned. Today's emphasis is on his supposed role as messiah. Further, many missionaries themselves now refer to themselves not as Christians but as "messianic Jews." They wear yarmulkes, don a tallit, and even have their own "rabbis." The State of Israel is a crucial target for such missionaries, and many so-called messianic Jews are actually born Christians who have given themselves Jewish names and moved to Israel for one reason: to proselytize Jews. THIS NEW strategy is illustrated by several recent media articles. The Washington Post ran a news article on June 21, picked up from the Associated Press, about "messianic Jews" who claim that they are discriminated against in Israel - a questionable accusation. The article's description of messianic Jews made not a single reference to the divinity of Jesus. It slavishly followed the news release of the missionary group that issued it - which was careful not to mention the fact that so-called messianic Jews believe Jesus is the son of God. Even The Jerusalem Post made no mention of the divinity of Jesus in its article last Thursday about the three-day messianic conference taking place that weekend. An innocent reader comes away from such articles with the impression that "messianic Jews" are simply another group within Judaism. There are Orthodox Jews, hassidic Jews, haredi Jews, and there are messianic Jews - all part of one big, happy Jewish family WHAT WE see here, in effect, is a renewed assault on the fundamentals of Judaism - not the traditional frontal assault, but, in a shift in tactics, one that attempts to infiltrate through indirect means by blurring the Jesus-as-God aspect of Christianity and stressing the Jesus-as-messiah aspect. Many missionaries feel this roundabout approach is less threatening to Jews, more "Jewish-friendly." In view of this renewed offensive against the basic beliefs of Judaism, some obvious truths must be reiterated: First and foremost is the cornerstone belief of Judaism: God is a pure and unadulterated One. He is singular, the unity of all unities, alone, unique, and indivisible. He cannot be transformed into two or into three - and certainly not into statues or figures. He is not and never was human, and he has no physicality, no father or mother. Millions of Jews have gone to their deaths proclaiming Shema Yisrael - Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Over and over again the Hebrew Bible prophetically warns against the inevitable attempts to dilute and distort this unity (see Deut. 13). Further truths follow from this cardinal principle: 1. It is a distortion to claim that one can be a Jew and at the same time believe in Jesus as a god or as a messiah, or a prophet or savior. 2. It follows, therefore, that terms such as "Jews for Jesus," or "Jewish Christians" are grotesque perversions. Such terms are misleading, misguided, misconceived, and ultimately a miscarriage of truth - for no Jew can believe in any divinity other than the One God, and no Jew can view Jesus as anything other than a teacher of another faith system. AS FOR the true identity of the Messiah, we have no specific knowledge, as Maimonides states in his Code, in Hilchot Melachim. In Judaism, the Messiah will not be a divine creature but a man born of a man and woman; he will inaugurate an era of universal peace, spirituality and enlightenment, and will gather in all Jewish exiles to the land of Israel, as outlined in Isaiah 11. Jesus has not fulfilled any of these prophecies. Furthermore, he is worshipped as a deity by another faith. For converts to Christianity to claim that they are "messianic Jews" is thus another pathetic distortion. Having said this, it is important to state that Judaism has no quarrel with those who choose not to follow the pure monotheism of our faith. We are not a missionary religion, and the benevolent behavior of the modern State of Israel toward non-Jewish religious minorities demonstrates Jewish magnanimity to those who do not follow Jewish ways. We have only respect for those who wish to worship their own deity in their own way, and to live ethically and lovingly with all people. We condemn those who would demean or use violence against believers of another religion. AT THE same time, missionaries should know that Judaism disdains those who would entrap unlettered Jews through deception and falsehoods. To try to persuade innocent Jews that there is no real difference between Judaism and Christianity - even when these attempts stem from "love and friendship" for the Jewish people - is an example of such deception. We welcome genuine evangelical love and friendship and cherish evangelical support for the State of Israel. But evangelicals must realize that words like "love and friendship" are very hollow when they come at the price of apostasy and betrayal of the millennia-old faith of the Jewish people. Jews understand that the conversion of the Jews to Christianity is a central tenet of many Christian sects. We know that missionary societies around the world budget many millions of dollars annually in order to "save" Jews. If this is a basic teaching of evangelicals, so be it. But Jews can learn from them. We too should be budgeting millions to save fellow Jews around the world, and especially in Israel, from ignorance and Jewish illiteracy. The old secular Zionist order, in its haste to be accepted by the outside world, deprived entire generations of Israeli Jews of even elementary knowledge of our Jewish heritage - with the result that too many Jews have no idea of what Judaism stands for, or of the deep chasms that separate Judaism from Christianity. We must become missionaries to ourselves. It is long past time for us to deliver serious Jewish learning to our people. This is particularly needed for newcomers to Israel from lands like Russia and Ethiopia, who are particularly vulnerable to the artful blandishments of clever missionaries. They, together with all Jews, need to know how to reply when the doorbell rings. The writer, a rabbi in Atlanta for 40 years, is the former editor of Tradition magazine. The author of nine books, he presently serves on the editorial committee of the Encyclopedia of Mitzvot. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1215658125 To bring about the Second Coming, fundamentalist Christians believe they must convert the Jews. Having failed in the past, they are now armed with a new arsenal of deceptive techniques. No Sunday services take place here; this congregation meets only on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. You will never see a cross or an altar; there is an Aaron Hakodesh (holy ark) with a star of David adorning its velvet cover, and a Bimah (stage for prayer services) in the center of the sanctuary. The majority of the men who worship here wear kipot, and their tzitzit hang down the sides of their pants. This congregation's rabbi, among many other functions, reads from the Torah and makes Kiddush every Shabbat. Most of the women are modestly dressed. Joyous shouts of "Shabbat Shalom" and "Baruch Hashem" can be heard as young couples greet each other. The sanctuary pulsates to a modern Israeli musical beat. If this sounds like a description of a traditional Jewish house of worship, think again. The above is actually a description of any one of the hundreds of Messianic "synagogues" which flourish throughout the world. Confused? Many are. Such congregations are designed to appear Jewish, but they are actually fundamentalist Christian churches which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks. Messianic "rabbis," many of whom are Jewish by birth, are committed to bringing the Jewish people to know Jesus. Their agenda is to make Christianity more palatable to the uneducated Jew, and to the astonishment and horror of the Jewish community, their marketing ploys are proving to be successful. Twenty-two years ago, twelve Messianic congregations existed in the United States. Today, more than 300 actively attract and recruit Jews who, because they lack a sound Jewish education and support system, are buying the manipulative rhetoric and persuasive techniques of the Hebrew-Christian missionary movement. Additionally, there are over 600 Christian missions dedicated to converting the Jewish people. It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 Hebrew-Christians in North America and Israel. As an exit-counselor who works with families to reclaim their Jewish family members from these churches, I can testify that the cost in terms of Jewish souls is dear. WHO ARE THESE MISSIONARIES? In order to understand the dynamics of the missionary problem, we must first understand who exactly these missionaries are. To the Jewish community, the word "missionary" is a charged word, with a multitude of misconceptions attached to it. Typically, the word "missionary" is associated with those people who stand on street corners, annoyingly and ubiquitously distributing literature that tries to persuade individuals to believe in Jesus. When we think of missionaries we might think of an organization with members, mailing lists, secretaries, and buildings to which we can point and say, "You see that building on 31st street, between Lexington and Park (New York headquarters of Jews For Jesus)? They are the missionaries." This is merely one of a variety of misconceptions we have about missionaries and how they operate. A number of years ago I lectured at a large university campus in Ohio. In my conversation with a dean we began to discuss the work I do. He immediately reassured me that at his university, they did not have a missionary problem. He recalled how years earlier there were indeed missionaries on his campus who distributed pamphlets and misused traditional Jewish symbols for the purpose of evangelizing. "But we don't have that here anymore," he insisted. "Tell me, are there any fundamentalist born-again Christians on your campus?" I asked. He quickly snapped, "What? Are you kidding? This is the Midwest! We're packed with them!" I then told him that indeed he had a serious missionary problem on his campus because, in reality, fundamentalist, born-again Christians are dedicated to the idea of bringing every Jew to a belief in Jesus. Our second mistake is that we tend to view the Christian world as a monolithic group of gentiles who all essentially believe the same thing. In fact, the Christian world -- with hundreds of variant denominations that differ on numerous fundamental theological issues -- is far more diverse than the Jewish world. At a baseball game, it is sometimes difficult to know who the players are without a scorecard. Let's break down the Christian world for a moment so that we know precisely to whom we are referring. THE COMPLEX CHRISTIAN WORLD The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest denomination in Christendom. Yet despite its past often-bitter relationship with the Jewish people, today Catholics are for the most part not interested in converting Jews. I need not worry that a Catholic priest is going to evangelize any of my patients at a hospital. If anything, he is one of the people who will show me where I can secure a kosher meal. Another significant segment of the Christian world, especially in North America, is the Protestant community. For our purposes, we will over generalize and divide the Protestant world into two groups. One group, the mainline or liberal Protestants (Methodist, Unitarian, etc.), is not at all interested in converting Jews. Liberal leaning Protestant denominations tend to shy away from any form of Jewish evangelism. It is, however, the other highly motivated and vocal segment within the Protestant community -- the fundamentalist, born-again Christians -- who are unyielding in their staunch commitment to convert the Jews. There are two rules about Jewish evangelism that must always be kept in mind. * The first rule is that the Christian who makes the very first critical and successful contact with the Jew is never a professional missionary. It will not be a paid staff member of Jews for Jesus or Chosen People Ministries. Rather, it is almost always a layperson -- perhaps a secretary at the office, a roommate in college or someone on the same swim team -- who makes that initial connection. Only after the lay evangelical Christian has made this preliminary contact will the professional missionaries step in to the conversion process. * Secondly, the Christian layperson who makes that all-important first contact with the Jew is invariably a gentile. It is extremely rare for a "Hebrew-Christian" to successfully make that initial contact with a Jew. The perceived betrayal of the Jewish people by the Hebrew-Christian's apostasy sullies his message in the mind of a Jew. Only after the lay gentile born-again Christian has made that first crucial and successful encounter with a Jew will the Hebrew-Christian missionaries step in to finalize the conversion. In essence, the central role that Christian missions like Jews for Jesus plays is to act as a clearinghouse and support system for evangelical churches around the world. As a result, these "Jewish missions" spend much of their resources and manpower teaching lay missionaries in gentile churches. How serious a problem are these Protestant fundamentalist Christians? How many born-again Christians are there in the United States? Their numbers are not small. According to most estimates, there are well over 50 million Americans who identify themselves as born-again Christians. That is, approximately one in five Americans is part of this army of lay people dedicated to "share" their faith with a Jew. When I spoke in Nashville a number of years ago, an Assemblies of God minister bluntly told me that he would rather convert one Jew than 50,000 gentiles. WHY THE JEWS? A question that naturally comes to mind is: Why the Jews? Why are these fundamentalist Christians so consumed with bringing the Jewish people to "know Jesus?" Why has the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, passed numerous resolutions encouraging more than 15 million American members to target and evangelize the Jewish people? There are several reasons. Firstly, the New Testament specifically prioritizes Jews for conversion. In the book of Matthew (10:5), when Jesus is instructing his apostles, he warns them, "Go not into the way of the gentiles ... but only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The Apostle Paul echoes the identical sentiment in the first chapter of the book of Romans when he declares, "Go to the Jew first, then to the Greek (i.e. gentile)." We find a recurrent and unique emphasis on reaching the Jews in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, almost to the exclusion of the gentiles. A second reason for this obsession relates to the Church's fascination with eschatology, the study of the End of Times. Fundamentalist Christians are consumed by the prophecies surrounding the end of days. They want to know when the Messiah will come/return. How will this take place? To which nations did the prophet Ezekiel refer when he described how apocalyptic nations would wage war against Jerusalem before the final hour leading to the messianic age (Ezekiel 38-39)? Christian bookstores typically set aside an entire section dedicated to eschatological inquiry. How does all this apocalyptic speculation and discussion relate to our subject? At the end of the book of Matthew (23:39), Jesus is quoted making a very important statement. He says, "I will not return until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Because Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience at the time he made this statement, Christians have always understood this statement to have one meaning: Jesus will not make his second coming until the Jews are converted. The Jews, therefore, are holding up the show. Fundamentalist Christians also believe that Jesus is going to make his second coming in or about the year 2000 (counting from Jesus' birth); therefore, the Jews must be converted by then, en masse, in order to enable Jesus to return. (Bear in mind that there remains considerable controversy among Christians as to the year of Jesus' birth. Many Christians -- largely based on Luke's narrative -- place the 2,000th year from Jesus' birth in the year 2007). Finally, the most significant reason for the church's preoccupation with the Jews stems from the credibility problem that the faith of a Jew presents to Christendom. THE MESSIAH COMPLEX Jesus was a Jew and Christians claim that he is the promised Messiah about whom the prophets spoke. The idea of the Messiah -- who will come at the end of days to usher in a utopian society of love, peace, and the universal knowledge of God -- is exclusively Jewish. Fundamentalist Christians insist that if the Jews would only look in their own Hebrew scriptures they would find Jesus literally bouncing off every page. It, therefore, stands to reason that the Jews should have been the first to embrace Jesus and his teachings, if in fact Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. Yet, the Jews were the very people who did not accept Jesus. This has always been a troubling reality to the Christian Church since its inception. It is for this reason that only the conversion of a Jew to Christianity can lend credibility -- never the conversion of the gentile. Peering back into world history, it would probably be quite difficult for any of us to think of another program that has been a more miserable failure than the church's persistent effort to convert the Jews to Christianity. Bear in mind that Christianity swept through Europe almost overnight. The same is true for Latin America. Yet the Jews, with all their problems of persecution and forced exile, still would not convert. With the approach of the end of the second millennium, evangelicals were faced with a serious dilemma: How were they to finally bring the Jewish people to accept Jesus? This quandary was no small theological challenge to the church. With the year 2000 in sight, two critical conferences were convened a little more than a quarter of a century ago. The first was held in Switzerland and the other in Thailand. The main questions that were asked at those two symposiums was: Why has the Church been so unsuccessful in their past efforts to convert the Jews, and what new techniques can be employed to attract masses of new Jewish converts to the church by the turn of the century? It was at these two unlikely locations that devout evangelists placed the Jewish people under a microscope. Indeed, it was at these symposiums that those Christians understood that the church had a number of serious challenges with respect to converting the Jews. PUBLIC RELATIONS PROBLEM The first problem they discovered was that the church had a significant public relations problem. They concluded that Jewish people historically tend to equate Christianity with persecution. Jewish people often feel somewhat uncomfortable just hearing the words "Jesus Christ," and when they see a cross or a church icon, it rarely conjures up warm, affectionate feelings. On the contrary, whereas Christians tend to feel quite comfortable in synagogues, or observing Jewish ceremonies, Jewish people tend to feel alienated by churches and their icons. Taking this public relations problem head on, these evangelists initiated a unique approach. It goes something like this, "You're Jewish? We Christians just love the Jewish people! Persecution? Oh, no! Any Christian who persecuted a Jew in the name of Jesus couldn't be a real Christian. A real Christian only loves the Jewish people!" This novel technique enables Christians to freely evangelize Jews by distancing themselves from their Christian forbears. In this way, potential Jewish converts will not feel alienated by Christendom. These evangelists realized, however, that simply smothering us with love could not in itself be totally effective. Jews would not simply start converting to Christianity en masse because evangelicals loudly condemned anti-Semitism. They understood that the essential reason why Jews do not convert is because they do not want to stop being Jewish, and Jews view Christianity as antithetical to Judaism. With this realization, these highly motivated missionaries developed an entirely new and remarkably simple approach to Jewish evangelism. It goes like this, "When you're becoming a believer in Jesus, you are not converting to another religion. On the contrary, you're becoming a 'fulfilled Jew' or a 'completed Jew.' After all, Jesus was a Jew and his followers were Jewish; therefore, believing in Jesus must be the most Jewish thing you can do." Messianic "synagogues" do not observe Christian holidays. You will never find a Christmas tree or blinking colored lights around December in a Messianic congregation. Instead, these missionaries celebrate Jewish holidays with a "Christological" spin. Throughout the world, Messianic congregations hold elaborate and well-publicized Passover Seders. A MESSIANIC "SEDER" At first glance, a Messianic Seder table appears quite traditional, with all of the customary essentials: Seder plate, matzah, and wine. Once the ceremony begins to unfold, however, even the most uninitiated will immediately realize that something is askew. Participants are told that the wine at the Seder table represents the blood of Yeshua/Jesus, and the matzah represents his body. Do you know the real reason why Jews have three matzoth at the Seder table? To represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Do you know why the matzahs are perforated? Because Jesus was pierced through when he was crucified. Why does the matzah have stripes? Because Jesus had stripes across his back as a result of the beating he endured during his trial. Why is the middle matzah broken? Because Jesus was brutally broken on the cross. Why is the matzah wrapped in a white towel? Because Jesus was wrapped in a white burial shroud. Why is this middle matzah hidden? Because Jesus was hidden away in the tomb following his crucifixion. Why is the matzah brought back at the end of the meal? Because Jesus will return in the Second Coming at the End of Days. Messianic congregations will never be listed in the Yellow Pages under churches. They are always listed with the synagogues. Additionally, the Messianic movement has created a remarkable tool for Jewish evangelism called a "communications card." This card carefully guides evangelicals on how to talk to a Jew in a manner that will not alienate them as potential converts. A two-column card which is usually wallet-sized for easy transport and access reads: * "Don't say Jesus Christ; Do say Messiah Yeshua," * "Don't say convert; do say "Messianic, completed, fulfilled Jew." * Don't say "Christian; do say Bible believer," etc. In essence, the Messianic movement's fundamental approach seeks to blur the distinctions between Judaism and Christianity in order to lure Jews who would otherwise resist a straightforward Christian message. To the horror of the Jewish world, it is a tactic that has achieved remarkable success with the most vulnerable segments of our community -- the very young, the very old, and our Russian brethren. PART 1 OF 2 text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1215658034 Peoples of the Buddhist World by Paul Hattaway, Piquant Editions, Carlisle, 2004. Reviewed by Allen Carr Some Western drug companies spend millions of dollars developing and marketing a new drug only to have the health authorities later discover that it has dangerous side-effects and then ban it. Needing to recover their investment and unable to sell their drug in the West some of these companies try to market their dangerous products in the Third World where public awareness of health issues is low and indifferent governments can be brought off. Some might say that Christianity is a bit like this. Having lost much of their following in the West, churches are now beginning to look for opportunities elsewhere. Of course the Islamic world is out of the question. Even the most optimistic evangelist knows that the chance of spreading the Gospel amongst Muslims is nil. The obvious targets are Africa, India and the Buddhist countries of Asia. There are now several evangelical organizations dedicated just too evangelizing Buddhists. The Asia Pacific Institute of Buddhist Studies in the Philippines offers missionaries in-depth courses in Buddhist doctrine, the languages of Buddhist countries and the sociology of various Buddhist communities – the better to know the enemy. The Central Asia Fellowship is geared specifically to spreading the Gospel amongst Tibetans. The Overseas Missionary Fellowship is 'an acknowledged authority on Buddhism' and 'is available to conduct training sessions and seminars, give presentations and speak on how Christians can work effectively in the Buddhist world.' The Sonrise Centre for Buddhist Studies and the South Asia Network are both on-line communities providing missionaries with detailed, accurate and up-to-date information useful for evangelizing Buddhists. Make no mistake, these are not small ad-hock groups. They are large, well-financed, superbly run organizations staffed by highly motivated and totally dedicated people and they are in it for the long haul. A book called Peoples of the Buddhist World has recently been published by one of the leaders of this new evangelical assault on Buddhism. The book's 453 pages offer missionaries and interested Christians a complete profile of 316 Buddhist ethnic and linguistic groups in Asia, from the Nyenpa of central Bhutan to the Kui of northern Cambodia, from the Buriats of the Russian Far East to the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. There is a detailed breakdown of the size of each group, how many call themselves Buddhists and how many actually know and practice it, which languages they speak, their strengths and how to overcome them, their weaknesses and how to take advantage of them, an overview of their history, their culture and the best ways to evangelize them. The book is filled with fascinating and beautiful color photos of all of these peoples, many of them little-known. It makes one very sad to think that these gentle, smiling, innocent folk are in now in the sights of worldly-wise missionaries determined to undermine their faith and destroy their ancient cultures. However, Hattaway book is also interesting for the lurid glimpse it gives into the bizarre mentality and the equally bizarre theology of the evangelical Christians. In the preface Hattaway asks, "Does it break God's heart today that hundreds of millions of Buddhists are marching to hell with little or no gospel witness? Does it break the Savior's heart that millions worship lifeless idols instead of the true, glorious Heavenly Father?" No wonder the evangelicals are always so angry and defensive, so self-conscious and full of nervous energy. Every day they live with the contradictory belief that their God is full of love and yet throws people into eternal hell-fire, even people who have never heard of him. That must be a real strain. Like a man who has to continually pump air into a leaking balloon to keep it inflated, they have to keep insisting that Buddhism is just an empty worthless idolatry when they know very well that this is not true. That must be a real strain too. Throughout his book Hattaway repeats all the old lies, slanders and half-truths that missionaries peddled in the 19th century but which mainline Christians gave up on a hundred years ago. Hattaway claims that Buddhists, like other non-Christians, are leading empty meaningless lives and are actually just waiting to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not surprisingly, the statistics he presents to his readers do not always bare this out. He shows that some Buddhist groups have been subjected to quite intense evangelization for years and yet have chosen to keep their faith. For example 32% of Kyerung of Nepal have heard the Gospel but 'few have understood the heart of the message.' Hattaway tells us that 'the American Baptists worked in the Tovyan area (of Burma) for many decades, but most of the converts they made were among the Karen people. They found the Tovyan people 'slow to respond to the gospel – a pattern that continues to this day.' Dedicated and self-sacrificing missionaries have labored in Thailand for over 140 years but have made only miniscule numbers of converts. According to Hattaway there are 2000 foreign missionaries operating in Chiangmai - more than the actual number of Christians in the city. It is hearting to know that amongst evangelicals Thailand has been dubbed 'the graveyard of missionaries.' Twenty one percent of Lao Ga people have been evangelized but 'Christianity has yet to make any impact on this people group.' Forty two percent of the Lemo have been told about Jesus but their 'strong belief in Buddhism and their isolated cultural mindset have prevented them from accepting the Gospel.' Of course Hattaway's 'isolated cultural mindset' prevents him from even considering that these people might have decided not to become Christians because Buddhism gives them the emotional, intellectual and spiritual sustenance they need. So he has to explain why so many Buddhists remain what he calls 'resistant peoples' some other way. To him it is because of fear (p.217), intellectual laziness (p.149), greed and blindness (p.172) and or course 'demonic opposition' (p.190). Another cause is delusion, as for example amongst the Palaung of northern Burma, who are so completely deluded that 'they believe they have the truth in Buddhism'(p.217). Of course, Hattaway is also crafty enough to know that the stability and cultural integrity of traditional Buddhist societies is a major hindrance to their evangelization. Civil wars such as in Sri Lanka and Cambodia are literally a god-send for the missionaries. Hatthaway calls the disruption and displacement of the Loba people of Nepal by several huge floods 'a God-given opportunity' (p.168). Like blowflies to a dying animal evangelical missionaries swarm around communities in need so they can win converts while disguising their efforts as 'aid work' and 'humanitarian relief.' Unfortunately, many genuine and decent Christians in the West, unaware of this hidden agenda, give money to World Vision and similar organizations that use aid as a conversion technique. But while many Buddhists have rejected the missionaries' message others have succumbed to it. Thirty one percent of the Tamangs of Nepal have now become Christians. The first missionaries arrived in Mongolia in 1990 and within a few years they had made thousands of converts, mainly among the young. This phenomenal growth has now slowed considerably but the number of evangelical agencies operating within the country has grown enormously and there are still almost no books on Buddhism in Mongolian. In China today Christianity is growing so fast that they can hardly build the churches quick enough to hold all the new converts. The gentle hill tribes people of Thailand and Laos are falling prey to the missionaries one by one. These and the numerous other successes are not just because the missionaries have been so unscrupulous and persistent but because Buddhists have been so indifferent, so slow to see the danger and even more slow to respond to it in any effective manner. In Thailand millions are spent on glittering ceremonies, huge Buddha statues and gold leaf for covering stupas but almost nothing on Buddhist literature, religious education and social services for the hill tribes. Another 'God-given opportunity' for the missionaries is the general lackadaisical attitude within the much of the Sangha. In one of the most revealing (about the mentality of both missionaries and the bhikkhus) and troubling parts of this book is Bryan Lurry's account of the four months he stayed in a monastery in the Shan states in north-eastern Burma. He was there to assess the prospects of converting Buddhist bhikkhus and he went away full of optimism. I fear that his optimism was not entirely misplaced. The abbot where Lurry stayed allowed him to teach the bhikkhus English (using the Bible as a text of course), show a film on the life of Christ and later even conduct regular Bible classes for the bhikkhus. Uninformed Western Buddhists might laud this as yet another example of Buddhist tolerance, albeit misplaced tolerance. I suspect that it was actually due to ignorance and to that indifference to everything that does not rock the boat or contravene traditional patterns of behavior that is so prevalent in much of the Sangha. As a part of his strategy to understand their thinking, Lurry asked his 'friends' a series of questions. To the question 'What is the most difficult Buddhist teaching to follow?' some bhikkhus answered not eating after noon, not being able to drink alcohol and one said to attain nirvana. To the question 'If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?' The replies included to be stronger, taller, to change the shape of the nose and to have more pale skin. When asked why they had joined the monastery not one of the bhikkhus mentioned an interest in the Dhamma, in meditation or in the religious life in general. As is usual in much of the Buddhist world they had probably ordained simply because it is the tradition to do so. When Lurry asked the bhikkhus if they would ever disrobe for any reason 'my students expressed their desire to leave the temple in order to be soldiers in the Shan Independence army...They did not see a contradiction in the fact that, as monks, they are literally not supposed to kill a mosquito, much less another human being.' Lurry admits that he was really surprised that so few of the replies he got suggested any deep knowledge of Buddhism or an apparent genuine religiosity. Having lived in Thai monasteries for eight years I am sad to say that none of the bhikkhus' replies surprised me in the least. All too often today the Buddhist monastic life consists of little more than rote learning, unthinking acceptance of traditional beliefs, an endless round of mind-numbing rituals, going to danas and having long naps. Fortunately, many Buddhist communities are holding out against missionary efforts but with poor religious education and little leadership from a sedate Sangha how long will they continue to be able to continue to do so? Something has to be done and it has to be done soon. Another old missionary calumny repeated throughout Hattaway's book is that Buddhists live in constant terror of devils and demons. This accusation is rather amusing coming from the evangelical Christians who see almost everything they don't like as the machinations of Satan and his minions. Lurry says of his experience, 'I must admit that the temples intimidated me. I saw many items that discouraged me from entering. At some temples, fierce-looking statues of creatures with long fangs and sharp claws guard the entrance. Guarding the main hall of many temples are two large statues of dragons with multiple heads on either side of the staircase...If such images were on the outside of the temple, what would I find on the inside? I half imagined that these creatures would somehow come to life and attempt to harm me' (p..234). I can understand how simple, often illiterate hill tribesmen in the backblocks of Burma could be frightened of malevolent spirits. But Mr. Lurry is a graduate of the University of North Texas and he is frightened of bits of painted cement and plaster used to decorate Buddhist temples. How easy it is to scare evangelical Christians! Nine pages in Peoples of the Buddhist World are devoted to the Sinhalese, the native people of Sri Lanka, long a target of missionary endeavors. Despite nearly 500 years of close contact with Christianity only 4% of Sinhalese are Christian and this is despite periods when their religion was severely disadvantaged and even actively persecuted. It both perplexes and infuriates the evangelists that they have had so little success in this staunchly Buddhist island. Since the late 1950's the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has tacitly accepted its minority status and for the most part adapted a live and let live attitude towards Buddhism. It has continued its conversion efforts but in a low-key and respectful way. But starting in the 1990's evangelical organizations have literally swamped Sri Lanka and they have a 'no quarter asked for, none given' attitude. So far most of their converts have been amongst Catholics, to the consternation of the Catholic Church, but of course the real target is the Buddhists. Buddhist bhikkhus are calling on the government to enact laws against conversion. But is this really the best solution? It is quite understandable that the Sinhalese do not like their religion being referred to as 'Satanic devil worship' especially by foreigners, which is what most of the missionaries in the country are. Some years ago a deeply respected Sinhalese bhikkhu died and there was a veritable outpouring of grief among the Buddhist public. At the very time of this bhikkhu's funeral the leader of a house church in an outer suburb of Colombo, let off fireworks, the usual way people express delight or celebration in Sri Lanka. Naturally, the Buddhists around this church were deeply offended and although no violence occurred some very angry words were exchanged. I happened to witness the locals' confrontation with this church leader. He insisted that his crackers had nothing to do with the bhikkhu's funeral but was unable to give a convincing reason why he had ignited them. Throughout his encounter with his neighbors he was brazen, unapologetic about his actions and dismissive of the peoples' hurt feelings. I can only say that he gave me the distinct impression that he would have welcomed being manhandled or beaten so that he could claim for himself the title that evangelicals so long to have – that of martyr for their Lord. Hattaway's book highlights incidents of violence against Christians in Sri Lanka and elsewhere which have unfortunately started to become all too common. Of course, what he fails to mention is that it is only the evangelicals, not Catholics or mainline Christians, who attract such negative reactions.. And of course he fails to mention why people sometimes get so angry at the evangelicals. The fact is that it is their bad-mannered pushiness and their complete insensitivity to the religious feelings of others that is the cause of such violence. This is not to excuse the violence but only to explain why it happens. It is also true that some of the more extreme evangelists even sometimes deliberately provoke confrontations. I have two evangelical tracts from Sri Lanka – one insists that villages must become 'a battlefield for souls' and the other says that Christians must 'confront the unsaved, yes even forcibly confront them, and compel them to make a decision.' And it is not just Buddhists who are offended by the evangelicals’ rude aggressive behavior. A Chinese Thai born-again Christian once informed me that the Pope is actually 'the prostitute of the Anti-Christ' and showed me the Bible passage that proved it. I could only laugh at his half-baked hermeneutics.. But how would a devout Catholic have felt being told such a thing? The section on Sri Lanka in Hattaway's book is written by Tilak Rupasinghe and Vijaya Karunaratna, two well-known evangelical preachers. They gleefully highlight Sri Lanka's many woes – civil war, high suicide rate, corruption, insurrection – and of course present this as just more evidence that Buddhism is false. Then they make the bold claim, 'In Christ there can be healing from the wounds of injustice, oppression and ethnic hatred...In Christ there can be hope for the redemption of the nation, its land, its language, its culture and its people.' This is a seductive promise and one that some people might be willing to listen to. But of course it is the same old spurious and empty promise missionaries have always made in the lands they try to evangelize; 'What a mess your country is in! Your gods have failed. Accept Jesus Christ and everything will be wonderful.' But does Christianity really do a better job of solving social problems? The evidence that it does is very thin. Christianity failed miserably to bring peace to northern Ireland, in fact, it was the main cause of the problem. Germany's long tradition of Catholicism and Protestantism did not prevent Nazism taking root there. South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church was an ardent supporter of apartheid and all its oppression and cruelty. The prevalence of evangelical Christianity in the southern United States, the so-called 'Bible Belt,' has not prevented it being the poorest and most raciest part of that country. And the racial segregation in the south is never more obvious than on Sunday morning when black and white people still go to separate churches; 'Hallelujha and praise the Lord but worship him in your own church!' Hattaway's book is or at least should be a wake-up call for we Buddhists. Unless we reform the Sangha, better organize ourselves and make more of an effort to both know and apply our religion the Light of Asia may be snuffed out. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1213935778 It is not only because of insatiable greed for oil, or because of America's addiction to war or because of Bush's obvious mental instability that America and its allies now seem hell-bent on attacking Iran, although these factors are certainly important. Equally crucially, the current wave of fervent war-mongering in the West directed against Iran owes to the enormous clout wielded by Western Christian fundamentalist organizations who, following the invasion and destruction of Iraq, which they had so fervently abetted, are now calling for a repeat performance, this time in Iran. These blood-thirsty votaries of the cult of unmitigated violence consider Iran to be the major challenge to American and Zionist imperialism, which they regard as enjoying divine blessing. Insisting that America and Israel should invade Iran at once, they regard this as a Christian necessity. They also believe that this would herald a global war of cosmic proportions that would, so they believe, usher in the end of the world and Jesus' Second Coming, something that they passionately await. A key American Christian fundamentalist ideologue is the Texas-based televangelist John Hagee. He is no insignificant crank, although his views are, to put it mildly, wildly outlandish. He is said to be close to top leaders of the American Republic Party as well as Israeli intelligence officers and politicians. He is the pastor of The Cornerstone Church based in San Antonio, and also heads the multi-million dollar Global Evangelism media company that broadcasts his daily programmes on 172 television and 82 radio stations throughout the USA and around the world. His fervent appeals to Christian simplicity obviously are not intended to apply to himself: he is said to be one of the wealthiest men in his city, and the trust that he has named after himself, The John Hagee Rabbi Trust, includes among its various assets a ranch spread over almost 8000 acres. Hagee is one of the principal ideologues of what is called Christian Zionism, which is said to be the fastest growing religious cult in America today. Hagee is known for his fervent support for Israel, for he considers this a Biblical duty binding on Christians, and has been opposed to any peace deal that might cause Israel to give up back any occupied land to the Palestinians. He works closely with several American and Israeli Jewish groups, and is one of the architects of a Christian evangelical-Zionist alliance. Recently he was in the news for bringing together 400 Christian evangelical leaders, representing as many as 30 million Christians, for a 'Summit on Israel', which resulted in the formation of a new pro-Israeli lobbying group called Christians United for Israel, which intends to establish a 50-state rapid-response network that aims to reach every senator and congressman in America. Author of numerous Christian fundamentalist texts, Hagee's latest book, 'Jerusalem Countdown: A Preclude to War' encapsulates the Christian fundamentalists' case for a joint American-Israeli invasion of Iran. In order to build up his argument, he portrays Iran in the most lurid colours. 'Iran', he insists, without adducing any evidence (for in Christian fundamentalist circles-and in the West more generally-such evidence is not needed) 'is the command post for global terror' (p.vii). Under President Ahmadinijad, Hagee argues, Iran is building up a nuclear stockpile, which it intends to share with the rest of the Islamic world. Since Iran, so he claims, is motivated by hatred for Israel and America 'without limitation', it might use these weapons to attack both these countries and their allies and to completely destroy Western civilisation (pp.4-5). Hence, before this can happen, America and Israel, he insists, must invade Iran and destroy the nuclear bombs that it supposedly possesses. As Hagee and his ilk see it, Iran's opposition to America and Israel has nothing whatsoever to do with American aggression and imperialism or to Zionist occupation and Israeli crimes against humanity. Rather, this opposition is attributed squarely to the fact that most Iranians are Muslims. It is, Hagee claims, Islam as a religion that is the cause of the supposed hatred of Muslims (including Iranians) towards America and Israel. Here, he conveniently ignores the fact that most ruling regimes in Muslim countries, some of which, such as Saudi Arabia, spare no effort to display their supposedly 'Islamic credentials', are decidedly pro-American and are little more than appendages of the West. Obviously, conceding this inconvenient fact would seriously undermine his argument. Tracing the cause of anti-Westernism simply to Islam, Hagee claims that Jews and Christians, on the one hand, and Muslims, on the other, are presently engaged in nothing less than the final battle for global domination, and that, in fact, World War III has already begun. Since this is, as he characterises it, a religious war, a war, as George Bush describes it, between 'good' and 'evil', there can be no compromise or settlement between the supposedly contending parties. It is a war to the finish, even if it brings about the destruction of the world and the entire human race through nuclear conflagration. In fact, Hagee seems to clearly suggest (and this is something that he appears to share with numerous other influential Christian fundamentalist ideologues) that this grand, final war must be speeded up by all possible means, for only then, he believes, will Jesus return to the world, destroy all non-Christians and dispatch all 'good' Christians, like Hagee himself, to ever-lasting bliss in heaven. In order to justify what is nothing short than a global anti-Islamic crusade, in which a proposed invasion of Iran is just one step, Hagee repeats many of the worn-out, tired clichés about Islam that were, and still are, part of the stock vocabulary of Christian fundamentalism. Islam and Christianity are poles apart, he insists. He claims that Muslims and Christians do not even worship the same God, and that Allah is actually 'the moon god of Mecca' (p.2). While Christianity is said to teach peace and love, Islam, he contends, does precisely the opposite. He claims that Islam was spread by the sword by the Prophet Muhammad and his followers, while, ignoring the centuries of Christian aggression, he writes that Christianity was spread through love and charity. Islam, he claims, insists that Muslims must kill all non-Muslims if they do not accept to accept Islam. Muslims, are by definition, 'terrorists', he says, because their religion allegedly teaches them that this is precisely what they should be. Muslims, he goes on, are driven to hate non-Muslims because their religion allegedly tells them to do so. Islam, he writes, has an 'absolute commitment' to 'violence, to murder and to terror'. (p.70). Muslims' supposed hatred of the West, he claims, is because the West (supposedly) champions democracy, freedom, women's rights, men's respect for women, education, the love of life, equality and so on, all of which, so Hagee wants his readers to believe, Islam strongly proscribes (p.28). The ultimate aim of Muslims, Hagee claims, is to destroy the West, kill all Jews and Christians, because, he writes, this is 'their ticket to heaven and the seventy-two virgins that await them there' (p.23). Muslims, he argues, aim to conquering the whole world and establishing a one-world Islamic government (pp.6-16). He terrorizes his readers into believing that a massive Muslim 'religious army, unlike anything the Western world has seen since the sawn of civilization' is now preparing for war against the West, intending to conquer it and force Christians and Jews into slavery if they do not accept Islam. (p.6) Iranian/Muslim opposition to America and Israel thus being said to be entirely a result of alleged Islamic teachings, rather than having any political or economic causes, the solution that Hagee offers is also expressed in religious terms: unleashing what is virtually a second crusade against Muslims the world over. The first step that America must do in this regard, he argues, is to admit and announce that it is engaged in a religious war against Islam, which he says, 'is totally dedicated' to America's destruction (p.35). Accordingly, he advises that the American government must firmly tighten control on Muslim immigration to that country. He even goes so far as to suggest that all American Muslims are real or potential 'terrorists' or terrorist-sympathisers, and claims that 'sleeping terrorist cells' have been set up in mosques and Islamic centres across the country. (p.63). 'The Islamic army is not coming .it's here. Quietly living next door, they are waiting for the phone to ring for orders to attack', he says with regard to Muslims living in America. (p.35) This veiled argument for justifying government-backed witch-hunts directed against Muslims in America is accompanied by equally frightening steps that Hagee advocates against Muslims living elsewhere. America must continue, and even step up, its war in Iraq, he insists, and must not bow to any pressure to withdraw from that country for that , he says, would be 'perceived as a victory for radical Islam' which might embolden Muslims to bring the war into America itself. (p.35). Simultaneously, he argues, with unconcealed glee, America must attack Iran and destroy its supposed nuclear warheads. This attack on Iran, Hagee writes, would be a singularly crucial event of cosmic proportions. It would, he claims, be nothing less than a major 'part of a much bigger picture-that of God's plan for the future of Israel and the entire world'. It would, in fact, he says, unleash a chain of bloody and devastating wars, the like of which humankind world has never witnessed before, and which would soon cause the destruction of the entire world. (p.37) The reader is not left without a strong feeling that this is precisely what Hagee and his war-mongering fellow Christian fundamentalists actually desperately crave for. Hagee sketches out the chain of events that would follow from the American attack on Iran which he claims the Bible predicts in fine detail. No sooner does America invade Iran than a massive Muslim army, hundreds of thousands strong, will attack Israel with Russian assistance in order to destroy it. This army would unleash nuclear weapons against America and Israel, and, in this way, would cause what he calls 'a nuclear Armageddon'. (p.53). This, Hagee insists, is not something that can at all be prevented. In fact, he seems to suggest that this global war is something to be wildly celebrated by Christians because, he claims, it has been ordained by none other than God Himself. 'God is making it clear that He is dragging Russia and its allies into Israel', Hagee writes (p.145). The purpose: So that God can 'crush them [the Russian-Muslim alliance] so that the Jews of Israel as a whole will confess that He is the Lord!". By all counts, nasty, brutal way for the god of Hagee's imagination to seek to convince the Jews of his existence. The combined Russian-Muslim force that attacks Israel as soon as America and Israel attack Iran will cause widespread death, Hagee says, but then God will intervene and cause his 'fury [to] explode' against those who have gathered against the Jews, for God, Hagee claims, considers the Jews 'His chosen people'. But no sooner has the Russo-Muslim army been quashed than another major opponent appears: this time in the form of the Anti-Christ, the Son of Satan, who will, through his powers of black magic, conquer the entire world. He will enter into a seven-year peace treaty with the Jews ostensibly in order to protect them from the Muslims and the Russians, but after three and a half years have passed he will break the treaty and will turn on the Jews, seeking to obliterate them. In this task, Hagee writes, he will be assisted by what the Bible calls the 'Man from the East', which he identifies as China. This represents the culmination of the final battle that heralds the end of the world, so Hagee (like other Biblical literalists and Christian extremists) believes. In this war against the Anti-Christ and China, the West will join forces with the Jews, at a place call Armageddon, a narrow valley outside Jerusalem, which the Bible describes in considerable gory detail. Just before the battle is about to begin, a miracle will appear, so Hagee ardently believes. Quoting the Book of Revelations, the last chapter of the Christian Bible, he writes, Jesus will descend to earth from the skies, clothed in a garment dipped in blood and seated on a white horse. He will be followed by a heavenly cavalry to assist him. His task, Hagee quotes the Book of Revelations as saying, will be to judge and make war. With the sharp sword that he wields in his mouth, Jesus shall 'strike the nations' that have gathered against Israel, killing the Anti-Christ and the 'Man from the East' and sending them-literally hundreds of millions of people-all non-Christians, that is-to eternal torment in hell. The blood of those slain by Jesus, Hagee approvingly refers to the Book of Revelations as announcing, would create a virtual 'sea of human blood' that will be 'two hundred miles long'. Jesus would then ascend his throne in Jerusalem, from where he would rule the entire (and, if Hagee is to be believed, the by-then entirely Christian) world for a thousand years. A 'Golden Age of Peace' is how Hagee characterizes this era, although how non-Christians could ever consider it so is something that he obviously does not bother about. 'Rejoice and be glad', he excitedly announces, celebrating the gory chain of events that he describes with such passion that he says will unfold in the wake of an American invasion of Iran, 'The best is yet to be!'. That 'best' that Hagee and his fellow Christian extremists so fervently pine for, is nothing less than the destruction of the entire world. text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1213935706 Om Namah Jesu could well reverberate inside hundreds of Catholic churches in India very soon, if the changing physical face of these places of worship is anything to go by. The Vatican-blessed process of 'inculturation' being implemented by the 168 Catholic dioceses in India has already seen Jesus acquiring the form of a Hindu sage, St John the Baptist with a 'kamandalu', grottos in the shape of conch shells, and a church in Bangalore that can easily be mistaken for a temple. 'Inculturation', broadly speaking, is the indigenisation of the Church through the process of assimilating local culture and symbols in construction, layout, interior design, furniture and religious fixtures like the tabernacles. So far, around 45 churches across the country have been wholly or partially 'inculturated'—many have adopted Indian architectural forms and motifs, and quite a few have been refurbished and their interiors redesigned to include murals, panels, furniture et al that have been inspired by Hindu religious symbols. The tabernacle at the recently inaugurated Our Lady of Mount Carmel church at Murugani near Dumka in Jharkhand, for example, has been rendered in the shape of a 'kula'—used by local tribals and people in neighbouring states, including West Bengal, to thresh foodgrains, and regarded as an auspicious symbol. jesus_flock_20080512.jpg Indian Panel: Jesus with his flock This process began gradually in the early 1990s, but gathered momentum about five years ago. "Initially, there was a lot of opposition to this from conservative elements in the Church. For them, any dilution of the European element in church construction, or in the murals depicting scenes from the Bible where all the people look European, or in statues or church articles, was totally unacceptable. That has slowly changed with the growing realisation that the Church has to incarnate the Gospel in the culture in which it is being preached," a senior priest from the Archdiocese of Calcutta told Outlook on condition of anonymity. Explained Father Varghese Puthussery, the Jesuit Provincial of Dumka-Raiganj who inaugurated the Murugani church, "In many parts of Asia, especially in India, Christianity is inseparably linked with Western culture, which is looked upon as alien. Many committed Christians in India feel a split between their Indian cultural experience and the still-Western character of what they experience in the Church. Inculturation, thus, is the Church's attempt to bridge that divide." The Murugani church is an eloquent example of 'inculturation'. "The structure is not typical; we've incorporated elements of Islamic architecture since many old buildings in this region have a strong Islamic influence. The tribal influence too is very strong in this church. The pulpit is a replica of a 'morai' used by local Santhal tribals to store grains, the altar rests on a tribal drum, the fibreglass statue of Jesus at the sanctuary looks as if it is carved out of wood, since tribals worship wood-carved deities, and the stained glass windows depicting parables from the Bible have persons with a distinctly tribal look," Subrata Ganguly, the man helping the Catholic Church implement the 'inculturation' process, told Outlook. Ganguly runs Church Art, a firm that designs new churches and renovates existing ones to give them a strong local flavour. "We have worked in all states of the country. In the case of new churches, we formalise a concept after intensive discussions with the local diocese and congregations, and then work with a local architect to give the concept a concrete shape on the drawing board. Next, we work with the contractor to ensure proper construction.After that, we start working on the interiors and various other objects like the pulpit, the altar, murals, windows and various other objects. With old or existing churches, too, we follow a similar routine. All the moveable 'inculturated' objects, including murals and statues, are made at my workshop in Calcutta and transported to the respective sites. Big objects like statues are transported in knocked-down form and then reassembled at the site," says Ganguly. jesus_lotus_pose_20080512.jpg A seer for the Indies: An Indianised Jesus in the lotus pose Remarkable specimens of the studio's creations exist around the country. Like Jesus sitting cross-legged on a lotus (installed in a church in Hyderabad), or Jesus emerging after a purifying bath in the Ganges with temples on the riverbanks (in a mural in a Haridwar church), or rendered as a typical Bastar tribal priest surrounded by tribal women at a church at Bhopal. At a church at Jhansi, scenes from Christ's life in a set of 40 paintings has human and animal characters that leap straight out of Amar Chitra Katha and Panchatantra comics. "We've installed similar panels in many churches and the feedback has been very good. We're getting requests to make more such panels and murals, which show biblical characters in Indian forms, from various churches, seminaries and Catholic institutions all across the country," says Ganguly. "There is greatness and divinity is every culture and the Church draws from that to make itself more acceptable to local congregations. This is more so with tribals and in tribal areas," says Dumka's Bishop Rev Julius Marandi. 'Inculturation', say Catholic priests, is an evolving process specially tailored to different local traditions. "The requirements for an inculturated church or seminary in Northeast India are very different from those at Ambapara in Rajasthan's Udaipur, where the next 'inculturated' church is coming up," explains Ganguly. "At a seminary near Shillong, for instance, Jesus is shown in a mural standing under a pine tree with people in Khasi and Garo headgear around him. At Ambapara, we'll show Jesus as a Bhil tribal. We've studied and researched extensively on the Bhils; we always do this before every such project, to get an accurate idea of local customs, traditions and culture," he adds. Already, typical Hindu rituals like 'aarti' are being performed inside churches. At a church in Nadia, the Good Shepherd looks like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the 15th century Vaishnavite saint of Bengal, his arms raised in a beatific trance. At this rate, can the cross taking the shape of a trishul be far behind? text/html http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1213237806 “They are proselytizing not on behalf of the Constitution of the United States . . . but rather on behalf of some sort of fanatical view of end times. And they are using our army to affect that.”
 -Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson- Last August the watchdog group, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, foiled a Pentagon plan that would have allowed the shipment of “freedom packages” to soldiers and Marines in Iraq. The parcels were put together by the fundamentalist Christian ministry, Straight Up, and contained Bibles, proselytizing tracts in English and Arabic, and the apocalyptic “Left Behind” computer game, in which Christian Tribulation forces convert or kill infidels—nonbelievers, Muslims and Jews. On May 1 the Senate approved the promotion of Brigadier General Robert L. Caslen Jr. to Major General. Currently the commandant of cadets at West Point, he will become the commander of the 25th Infantry Division. He is also president of the stridently fundamentalist Officer’s Christian Fellowship, whose vision is a “spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit” General Caslen was promoted despise the Defense Department’s recommended disciplinary action against him and several other senior military leaders because they had “improperly endorsed and participated with a nonfederal entity while in uniform” by participating in a promotional video for the Campus Crusade For Christ’s Christian Embassy, an evangelical organization that ministers to Beltway politicians and sponsors weekly Bible studies at the Pentagon. According to the DoD Inspector General’s report, one of the generals involved “asserted that Christian Embassy was treated as an instrumentality of the Pentagon Chaplain’s office for over 25 years, and had effectively become a ‘quasi federal entity.’” Arguably, he believed his participation in the video was in the line of duty. Considering both the Pentagon’s evangelical proclivity and a 2006 Pew survey which found that of the major religious groups in America, evangelicals have the most negative views of Islam and Muslims, the U.S. sniper who was recently caught using the Quran for target practice in the Baghdad neighborhood of Radhwaniya might be excused for thinking the book was a legitimate target upon which to perfect his craft . . . excused for thinking he was acting in the line duty. And is it any wonder that with evangelicals and fundamentalists at the very top of the military’s officer corps —to say nothing of their Commander in Chief—that an enlisted Marine was passing out Christian “witnessing coins” inscribed in Arabic at a checkpoint in Fallujah? One side of the coin asked, “Where will you spend eternity?” An evangelical favorite, John 3:16, was on the flip side. Sheik Adul-Rahman al-Zubaie, a tribal leader in Fallujah who was outraged by the Marine’s proselytizing said, “This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally.” While the Marine’s proselytizing is not the official policy of the predominately Christian force occupying the predominately Islamic Iraq, it was done “in the line of duty” with a wink and a nod from his chain of command. Think Abu Ghraib! From Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest basic training facility, where trainees are encouraged to attend Campus Crusade’s weekly “God’s Basic Training” programs, to the U.S. Air Force Academy where students are pressured to attend the Crusade’s weekly “cru” (short for crusade) Bible study, American military personnel are, as Campus Crusade’s Scot Blom gloats, “government paid missionaries” when they complete their training. As the demands of fighting a perpetual war against “radical Islam” begins to strain both the military’s resources and the country’s resolve, the Pentagon has begun outsourcing larger chunks of the war to private contractors. Predictably, our “government paid missionaries” have become more expensive and much less controllable or accountable. The Bush administration’s favorite contractor, Blackwater, is the most powerful private army in the world. It commands thousands of mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan, has over a billion dollars in government contracts, and enjoys complete immunity from prosecution for its theater of operations’ conduct. Blackwater’s founder, Erik Prince, a staunchly conservative Catholic, has also served on the board of directors of Christian Freedom International, a crusading missionary organization operating in the overwhelmingly Islamic countries of Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Prince envisions an evangelical “end time” role for his warriors, “Everybody carries guns, just like Jeremiah rebuilding the temple in Israel—a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other.” No one in the last decade has contributed more to end time, apocalyptic evangelism than John Hagee, a televangelist seen by millions of viewers weekly and pastor of the 19,000-member Cornerstone Church. Hagee preaches that in order to bring about the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture of true believers, Islam first has to be destroyed. In a 2006 interview with National Public Radio’s Terry Gross, Hagee told her, “Those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.” He went on to claim that there are 200 million Muslims waiting for the chance to attack Israel and the United States. From his pulpit, Hagee makes it clear to his congregation and the radio and television audience what they can expect from American Muslims if such an attack ever took place, “While American Muslims live in America, 82 percent are not loyal to America and are not willing to fight and defend America.” In his book, “Jerusalem Countdown - A Warning to the World,” Hagee warns that the war between Islam and the West “is a war that Islam cannot and must not win.” John Hagee is not just a mad evangelizing prophet. He is the mad evangelizing prophet who is courted by a war president, a hawkish presidential candidate and members of Congress from both parties. His Islamophobic bilge has trickled down from Capital Hill, through the labyrinthine corridors of the Pentagon, and into the chamber of a sniper’s rifle and the hand of a Marine guarding a checkpoint in Fallujah. Officers in the military are expected to lead by example. Enlisted personnel are expected to follow that example. If the recent incidents at Radhwaniya and Fallujah are not just the acts of renegades, then the chain of command seems to be working the way it was designed. -END- Biography: Robert Weitzel is a contributing editor to Media With a Conscience. His essays regularly appear in The Capital Times in Madison, WI. He can be contacted at: robertweitzel@mac.com