Behind Conversions

"I am a Syrian Jacobite who converted to New Life, but nobody forced me to do so. As long as I was with the mainstream church I had no personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I was a Christian only because I was born into that religion. I had many problems and many fears. I used to drink and smoke. I used to get terrible dreams. I went to a psychiatrist, but the drugs he gave me only made me feel drowsy. I found my peace after I joined New Life and accepted Jesus as my personal saviour. It was not a change of religion it was a change of heart." Similarly, there was the story of a Hindu woman who had joined a Pentecostal group to escape the agony caused by her infidel husband. Also the story of a fisherwoman who had shown the light to a family, one of whose members was infected with HIV; a mother who had to find prayers for her daughter who was suffering from terminal cancer and so on. Verghese's pastor, Gopinath, was himself a Hindu-Brahmin from Kerala, who had converted into New Life and founded its unit in Udupi.  more

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Mujibur Rehman on violence against minorities in India

Orissa’s religious violence is intriguing because Oriya sub-nationalism was never rooted in Hindu religion. Instead, it grew around the Oriya language. It was Lord Jagannath and his cult which defined the mainstream Oriya  religious traditions. The statement  once made by an unknown Bengali writer, “Oriya ekta bhasa naye (Oriya is not a language)” became a rallying cry for a separate state movement leading to the creation of Orissa on April 1, 1936. Madhusudhan Das, a noted barrister, led a mass political movement through his political party, Utkal Sammilani, which was independent of the Congress Party. The idea of Orissa, along with Sindh, as a separate state, was floated in a White Paper prepared by British in 1933, as a sequel to the report of the Simon Commission. Thus, Orissa is the first state to be created on the basis of a separate language and inspired state reorganisations across linguistic lines in post-independent India.

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Nation: Orange County 

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Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry into anti Christian violence, invites statements

The public can file statements in the office of the commission or may send to:

The Secretary,
Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry,
Balabrooie Guest House, Palace Road,
Opposite to BWSSB Office, Bangalore - 560052

or

Home Office,
Justice B K Somashekhar Commission of Inquiry,
# 175, Brindavana, 3rd E Cross, II block, III stage,
Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore - 79

or

deputy commissioners of all districts.

Statements can also be emailed to - enquiry@jbkscol.org

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Church in India Under Attack

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Ananta Kumar Nag - Worship and Sermon

Ananta Kr Nag conducted his worship and sermon on 22 October 2008. The theme of the worship was "Living Christ in a dying Society. The Oriya Invocation song was written by Paras Khosla. The Bhajan was written by Babu Abraham. A solidarity song in Hindi, modified out of SCM solidarity song by Sandeep, also was used. All these songs were appreciated by the evaluators. The text of the sermon was 1 Peter 4:12-17. Ananta Kumar Nag derived two points from this text: 1) Living Christ in a Lifeless Society and 2) Living Christ to Encounter the unjust power Structures. The context of the sermon was the present persecutions of Christians in Orissa. In a power point presentation numerous stills of destroyed houses and churches were shown and this added some emotional flavour to the whole worship. The community was moved by the pathetic conditions of Christians in Orissa. However, the preacher deriving strength from the lessons of the early Church, which was the background of Peter's epistle, expressed hope in the power of the resurrected Christ to make persecutions an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel.

Ananta Kumar is an ordained minister of the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church and we hope that God will use him as a powerful instrument to continue the mission of Christ with vision.

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Church in India Under Attack: Orissa police to invoke Section 160 CrPC on nun who was raped

The Orissa police is contemplating invoking Section 160 of Criminal Procedure Code to force the allged rape victim nun to cooperate with the police, official sources said on Friday.

The state government, which was happy with the Supreme Court which refused to order a CBI probe into the case, was surprised at the nun's media conference in Delhi where she reiterated her lack of faith in Orissa police and said she will not like to be further harassed.

According to the section 160 of CrPC, any police officer making an investigation can order a person to appear before him and the person has to follow the order.

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"Pithavu" is one who ptotects and not a gender based noun

 A pithaavu is one who bestows 'arivu'(Wisdom) give shelter/protection, (abhayam) sutains (paalikkuka). Pithavu is not necessarily a father. Hebrew or Aramaic abba  also refers to father and mother.

Interfaith

See >Abba Amona (Hebrew, Jewish). Lit., "Father-Mother"

Abba 'abba' (Chaldean) (cf Hebrew 'ab, Syrian abba or abbo) Father, origin, source, transliterated in the Greek text (Mark 14:36) as 'Abba. The phrase "Abba Father" has become a title of invocation to the first person of the Trinity; in Coptic and Syriac churches, Abba (father or master) is a title of the patriarch of bishops. In the Qabbalah, 'Abba is the original principle symbolized by Kether (the Crown). >read

 

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The word “Abba,” is a transliteration. The word “Father,” is a translation. There is no English word that adequately conveys the meaning of the Aramaic word, “Abba.” This is why the translators gave us this transliteration – Abba. The word conveys a close intimacy that is reserved for parents and children. We might compare the word to dad, but this doesn’t do it justice. This (Mark 14:36) is the first use of the term in the Scripture. The next time (chronologically) it is used is in Galatians 4:6 > read

 Click here to read  from the Mercer Dictionary of the Bible

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India's space journey started from St Mary Magdelene's Church, Thumba, now a space Museum

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End of the end of history? by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

The wheel has now turned full circle. Fukuyama hasn’t exactly become a socialist but what he stated in the October 13 issue of Newsweek in an article entitled The Fall of America, Inc. could well have been written by a firm believer in analyses of Karl Marx. An excerpt: “Globally the United States will not enjoy the hegemonic position it has occupied until now…America’s ability to shape the world through trade pacts and the IMF and World Bank will be diminished, as will (its) financial resources. And in many parts of the world, American ideas, advice and even aid will be less welcome than they are now.”

Are we witnessing the beginning of a new history now that international capitalism is going through arguably its worst-ever crisis? read itall

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Orissa Christians need to be protected as Stateless Refugees by UN

 State assisted Terrorism in Orissa: Christians left to the mercy of Communal Terrorists

The government of Orissa is closing the refugee camps and driving out thousands of Christians, without food or shelter. In the meantime, the violence continues, denounced as a genocide to the United Nations, which is being asked for immediate intervention. 

Sajan K, George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has petitioned the United Nations over the decision by the government of Orissa to close the refugee camps in the district of Kandhamal. 

"These Orissa Christians and others to follow," he concludes, "express the desire to be termed Prima Facie Refugees and urge you, through the UNHCR to deem them so, in order that they can be covered by a legal framework to protect their human dignity from rights violations and abuse. Currently, they along with tens of thousands, are a stateless people, as the writ of the government of India does not run large in the state of Orissa.  read more

Church in India Under Attack

Relocation as an Option Read Pattas blog

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Belinda G. Praisy - Worship and Sermon October 15, 2008

Luke 8: 42b -48: "Breaking Free: Participation in God's Liberative Mission"   In concluding the sermon Belinda said:

The woman healed of hemorrhage  represents today's women whose mobility is controlled by patriarchal structures . She represents women who are prohibited to enter church altars, mosques and temples. She represents women suffering with illness like HIV/AIDS. She represents the Dalit and Adivasi women who are made politically voiceless. She also represents the agony, the cry, the pain, humiliation  and stigmatization of women who are forced into flesh trade because of their poverty.There is  a need to recognize the power dynamics behind the oppressive forces that keep women under bondage and  "wake up to resist and retaliate against them." She retaliated against the society by breaking the social taboos. Jesus also decides to bring her to the public view.  Her touch has shaken Jesus too. Her touch made Jesus to recognize the evil that his society had been inflicting on people in the name of religion, law and God. It was touch that could not be left unnoticed but one that should be given credit so that it will be a model for the God's community he was striving to create. Jesus recognized that resisting the oppressive forces is to do the will of God (Luke 8:21). By saying that her faith has made her well Jesus affirms that not only the woman's physical ailment was cured but that  by the woman's courageous act of faith she has sought to heal herself of the social constrictions that were imposed on her. Jesus has given full credit to her for taking a bold step to disregard the laws that bound her in the name of traditions and customs. He assures that both she and the society which she has woken up to recognize their  folly can reconcile to carry on the spread of the reign of God.

Belinda has brought out three significant ways from Jesus' attitude to the woman  by which  the community of believers can   break itself free from being oppressors: Firstly, Jesus chose to take a stand opposite to that of the patriarchal structures by acknowledging women to be co-workers in God's liberative mission which has been  the overall significance of  Luke chapter 8.  Secondly, by recognizing and acknowledging the act of the woman before the society Jesus teaches us that we should provide space for the oppressed to rise up by themselves and also must be ready to accept the change they bring. Thirdly, we should  be ready to identify ourselves with the oppressed people and stand in solidarity  with them in their struggles. This story of the woman with hemorrhage is  a radical call for the dominant oppressive society towards a "metanoia" to reverse all the structures to form the community of God.

To read it all  click  here

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Chengara's Dalit-Adivasis Call To Restore Their Fundamental Rights

Chengara's land struggle is historical. It shows that people can not really depend on government dole out for land. Political parties in connivance with the defunct industrial houses are keeping people landless. New landlessness is on the rise. Courts are being used as an excuse to evict people. The marginalized have understood this and are ready to fight till end. If the government of Kerala think it is wrong, let it come out in open and say that they oppose people's movement for land right. The government cannot use trade unions and other goons to threaten people and evict them. Life in Chengara has become miserable and any further delay will turn Chengara into another Nandigram. The situation in Chengara would become more dangerous and bloody if the government does not behave responsibly. All national and international rights bodies should take care of this note that denying people free movement is denying them right to choice and livelihood. Kerala government has failed to protect Chengara's Dalits and Adivasis right to move free from one place and other. The inhuman blockade has created unprecedented situation where children and elderly people in Chengara are suffering. Any further delay would escalate the crisis and only government of Kerala would be held responsible for this. The government must act fast and negotiate with the struggling masses of Chengara. The trade union blockade is unconstitutional and illegal and must be removed immediately as it violate the fundamental rights of the people living there who are victim of the criminal silence of the government and civil society. read it all

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Shashi Tharoor: Stop the Politics of Division

 Nehru had warned that the communalism of the majority was especially dangerous because it could present itself as nationalist. Yet, Hindu nationalism is not Indian nationalism. And it has nothing to do with genuine Hinduism either. A reader bearing a Christian name wrote to tell me that when his brother was getting married to a Hindu girl, the Hindu priest made a point of saying to him before the ceremony words to the effect of: "When I say God, I don't mean a particular God." As this reader commented: "It's at moments like that that I can't help but feel proud to be Indian and to be moved by its religiosity -- even though I'm an atheist."  more

faith and Spirituality

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D N Murthy, general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on Bajrangdal violence

You call the incidents in Karnataka as violence. A few glass panes were broken and you call that terrorism. In Karnataka not a single person was injured. What are these people talking about? It is ridiculous. Glass panes of cinema theatres are broken due to certain disputes. Can you call this terrorism? Did the Union government react in this manner? The people are just protesting against those indulging in forcible conversion. 

...............

But I would also like to add that everyone has a right to practice a religion. But nobody has the right to convert. If a conversion is based on an ideological acceptance of a new way of life, it is fine. But conversions in large numbers or mass conversions are deplorable. I can understand when an educated man converts. He can think and decide for himself what each religion has to offer. Why are missionaries targeting slum-dwellers and tribals? What can these people understand.  read it all 

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Valson Thampu on Communal terrorism

Terrorism must be identified not by who resorts to it, but by the nature and purpose of what is done. Our repugnance to atrocities should not depend on the religious identity of the perpetrators or their victims. It cannot be that avenging individuals or groups of a certain religious identity who resort to burning, killing, rape, destruction and spreading panic are not terrorists; whereas their counterparts in some other faith resorting to blasts and assaults are. All those who mock the rule of law belong together and have to be treated alike. To countenance terrorism of one kind is to lend legitimacy to terrorism of every other kind. read it all  

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Communal Violence in Orissa

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Manual scavenging violates Articles, 14, 17 and 23 of the Constitution

 "No human being should be allowed to get into sewerage and drainage lines to clear blocks, the Madras High Court said on Monday.

Passing interim orders on a public interest litigation petition, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.K.Ganguly and Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, said if any drain was choked, it was the responsibility of the authorities to get the block cleared, using mechanical devices."Human Rights and Civil Society Sphere: Related Content

Demand for bill on communal violence

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Abhaya Sahu, President of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, arrested

Sahu has been leading the agitation against the Posco steel project ever since the MoU was signed with the South Korean steel major in 2005. 

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Evaluation Worship and Sermon by Deacon Johns Koshy, M.

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SCM Dharna in Protest Against Religious Violence in India

Student Christian Movement of India, North Tamil Nadu Region, organized a Dharna in front of the Gurkul College, Chennai, on Saturday, 11th October, 2008.to protest against the continuing violence against minorities in several Indian states.  The SCM was  denied permission by the police to conduct a  protest rally.  read>Church in India Under Attack

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