A debate is going on in some circles of the Christian community as to who is better, the one who believes in God or the one who does not and which of the two is politically acceptable. It started with a remark by Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, the President of Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI), that BJP was a lesser evil than the communist parties. He made this remark in reply to a question during a book release ceremony of his biography in Kerala. His remark was strongly criticized by the Mumbai Catholic Sabha and some other catholic circles while there were others who agreed with the remark. Those who supported the Cardinal said that it was an intellectual debate about the superiority of a believer over an atheist. The Cardinal had also praised the communists for their service to poor. The Cardinal’s supporters emphasized that the rule of believers in God will always be better than the rule of unbelievers.
The Remark and Its Implications
One wishes that the Cardinal stopped short of mentioning the BJP by name. If he thinks that that BJP is a party of believers in god, he will also have to admit that the god of BJP endorses demolishing a mosque in Ayodhya, burning alive innocent children of the Christian missionaries in Orissa, staging a carnage in Gujarat and burning the churches in Kandhmal. The renowned cardinal Dr John Dayal aptly pointed out that “the Bharatiya Janata party, the political face of the poisonous Sangh Parivar, has soiled its hands with the blood of innocents – be they Muslims or Christians or others. And it remains unapologetic. How can anyone be worse than them in the Indian situation?” However, it would be wrong to form an opinion about the Hindu beliefs on the basis of BJP’s words and deeds. The party has in fact been exploiting the sentiments of Hindus simply to advance its political agenda. Its belief in Hindu religion is limited to Varan wyawstha (discrimination on the basis of castes).
Another Aspect of the Cardinal’s Remark
Analysing the bishop’s remark, one would think that to him the concept of god is the same in which the Christians largely believe; the One Who is Kind, Merciful and Compassionate. But what about the conduct of America, the leader of the largest chunk of Christian believers in the world? Why did it kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and ruined their lands? Why did it occupy Afghanistan? Why is it supporting Israel’s oppression of Palestinians? Why has it waged a campaign of character assassination against the practicing Muslims all over the world using all sorts of lies, deceit, mockery and injustice? Who wrote the scripts of Abu Ghuraib, Guantanamo and Bagram camps? The Keralite cardinal may argue that Americans are not Catholic but Protestants. But what about Pope Benedict? He is the leader of the Catholics. Why does he keep silent on all these wrongs? Can one conclude that if BJP is exploiting Hindu religion in India, America is exploiting the Christianity in the world? Or does the Cardinal think that BJP can’t be faulted for exploiting the religion because the Catholic leader does not fault America for exploiting Christianity?
01/04/09 khabar-o-nazar by Parvaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: M H Zulqarnain
The Remark and Its Implications
One wishes that the Cardinal stopped short of mentioning the BJP by name. If he thinks that that BJP is a party of believers in god, he will also have to admit that the god of BJP endorses demolishing a mosque in Ayodhya, burning alive innocent children of the Christian missionaries in Orissa, staging a carnage in Gujarat and burning the churches in Kandhmal. The renowned cardinal Dr John Dayal aptly pointed out that “the Bharatiya Janata party, the political face of the poisonous Sangh Parivar, has soiled its hands with the blood of innocents – be they Muslims or Christians or others. And it remains unapologetic. How can anyone be worse than them in the Indian situation?” However, it would be wrong to form an opinion about the Hindu beliefs on the basis of BJP’s words and deeds. The party has in fact been exploiting the sentiments of Hindus simply to advance its political agenda. Its belief in Hindu religion is limited to Varan wyawstha (discrimination on the basis of castes).
Another Aspect of the Cardinal’s Remark
Analysing the bishop’s remark, one would think that to him the concept of god is the same in which the Christians largely believe; the One Who is Kind, Merciful and Compassionate. But what about the conduct of America, the leader of the largest chunk of Christian believers in the world? Why did it kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and ruined their lands? Why did it occupy Afghanistan? Why is it supporting Israel’s oppression of Palestinians? Why has it waged a campaign of character assassination against the practicing Muslims all over the world using all sorts of lies, deceit, mockery and injustice? Who wrote the scripts of Abu Ghuraib, Guantanamo and Bagram camps? The Keralite cardinal may argue that Americans are not Catholic but Protestants. But what about Pope Benedict? He is the leader of the Catholics. Why does he keep silent on all these wrongs? Can one conclude that if BJP is exploiting Hindu religion in India, America is exploiting the Christianity in the world? Or does the Cardinal think that BJP can’t be faulted for exploiting the religion because the Catholic leader does not fault America for exploiting Christianity?
01/04/09 khabar-o-nazar by Parvaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: M H Zulqarnain
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