Enthusiastic missionaries and hesitating military surveil Iraq

Christian ministries in Iraq are working day and night among the displaced Kurdish people of Iraq with an aid mission.  The aid mission is providing necessities of displaced people and is attempting to convert them to Christianity.  This information is provided by the Christian Aid Mission and is published by Mission Network News of USA. (by Ruth Kramer, on 13th October 2014, https://www.mnnonline.org)

A colonel, serving as a division commander of the Peshmerga and fighting ISIS, is converted to Christianity, according to this report.  The Kurdistan Regional Government's armed forces to which the colonel belongs, have helped to slow the incursion of ISIS in its brutal push to establish a caliphate imposing a strict version of Sunni Islam.  With the aid of U.S. air strikes, the Peshmerga have also slowly retaken some territory. They are helping to secure the Kurdish capital of Erbil, where a ministry team assisted by Christian Aid Mission is supplying displaced people with food, clothing, beds, and medicine. The colonel met the ministry team members and interacted with them. The colonel was impressed by the help that is being offered. The Peshmerga colonel, whose name is withheld for security reasons, was quick to respond.

"You see the Arabs around you in the Gulf states, which claim to be religious Muslims, have not sent us anything but terrorists," he told the ministry team members. "But you who follow Christ send love and peace and goodness to people every day. Today I am the happiest person! I've had the privilege of making this decision,' and he received a copy of the Bible."

According to the report, the colonel's experience was just one of many taking place in Iraq. In cities of refuge like Erbil for people displaced from their homes in other parts of Iraq, people are turning to Christ at a stunning pace. Tent churches are springing up in the makeshift camps. Under normal circumstances, mission strategies focus on how to proclaim Christ effectively, but the challenge now is keeping pace with the number who would receive Him, the director said.  The fervor of missionaries is such that some church leaders and workers for ministry organizations are remaining in Iraq even as the cruel practices of ISIS–beheading Iraqi children who refuse to deny Christ in Qaroqosh and Western journalists elsewhere–gain greater notoriety.

The news also includes a message and a request to more funds for food, water, medicine, and other supplies and promises to utilize the opportunity to demonstrate Christ's love in a tangible way.  While the UN and its powerful members are approaching the problem of ISIS in a hesitant and calibrated manner, missionaries are busy in poaching the helpless Islamic denominations by providing them with New Testaments and audio Bibles.

Saharanpur riot images

Communal riots between Muslims and Hindus has erupted in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh over a land dispute.  Sikhs have a Gurudwara and they have purchased an adjacent land 15 years back. According to Muslims, the same land belongs to Waqf board.  Construction activity on the site has resulted in a clash between two communities in July last week.

The image published through media channels show rioting Muslims.

​

The questions now are

1. Is it so difficult to identify the owner of a piece of land without any ambiguity?
2. Is it so difficult to give the land to their rightful owners?
3. Why the administration in every city is playing hide and seek when it comes to allotment of lands to temples and mosques?
4. Why a mosque is illegally built  in many situations? Why such illegal mosques are legalized?
5. Why should not rioting groups be separated in different localities?

Pope Francis promotes Internet for conversions

Pope Francis has praised the Internet as a "gift from God" that facilitates communication. Communication is a crucial element to reach out to non-Christians to bring them to the Christianity - euphemism for religious conversions.  Francis made the observations in a message about Catholic Church communications, titled "meditating on the marvels and perils of the digital era" and what that means for the faithful going out into the world and interacting with people of different faiths and backgrounds. 

Soft spoken Pope Francis is feared by non-Christians, especially Hindus, for his belligerent enthusiasm to infuse fresh energy in Christian engagement with the rest of the world.  The ability of Pope Francis to take riskier positions while delivering the commitment of the Church to proselytize non-Christians is evident when he said "To (have a) dialogue means to believe that the 'other' has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective," The New Pope is saying that in engaging in that dialogue, Catholics shouldn't be arrogant in insisting that they alone possess the truth.   For Pope Francis, this is not an intellectual commitment for an unconditional dialogue seeking the truth. To clarify Francis wrote. "Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the pretense that they alone are valid and absolute." 

Internet is invading all spheres of lives of people, especially newer generations and transforming the way people communicate. Setting an agenda for the Church to exploit this  phenomenon to spread Christianity, Pope Francis noted in his message on Thursday 23rd January 2014, that Internet offers "immense possibilities" to encounter people from different cultural and traditional backgrounds and show solidarity with them.  The Pope is confident of using the Internet efficiently and so said "This is something truly good, a gift from God". Continuing he also called for communications in the digital era to be like "a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts".  Specifically, he wants the church's message not to be one of bombarding non-Chrsians with Christian dogma in an ineffective way.  Pope Francis said "May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects".   He reiterated to focus on the vulnerable and the poor to receive the effective communication to be read by the Internet.  "The light we bring to others be of our being loving and merciful neighbors to those wounded and left on the side of the road," he said.

Although the media is predicting that the comments would likely to rile the more conservative wing of the church, in reality, Pope Francis has offered the softer approach in sermons and gestures, not deviating from the rigid Church teachings. 

According to church teaching distilled by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Catholic Church holds the "fullness of the means of salvation" — a message that has long been taken to mean that only Catholics can find salvation. Church teaching also holds that those who don't know about Jesus but seek him can also attain eternal salvation. Pope Francis is also just following the path of his previous head - Pope Benedict XVI who was a strong proponent of engaging in inter religious dialogue.

Archbishop Claudio Mario Celli, the head of the Vatican's social communications office, said he didn't think Francis was making an official policy statement on inter religious dialogue, noting that the message was merely a reflection, "not a conciliar or dogmatic text."

But he acknowledged that Francis is shaking things up in much the same "providential" way Pope John XXIII shook up the church in launching the Second Vatican Council. "We are realizing that there are sensations of, I wouldn't say difficulty, but of discomfort sometimes in certain circles," he said. "I think step by step we must rediscover a sense of the path, of what the pope wants to tell us." Pope Francis is cleverly positioning the Church to hasten the proselytizing pace and his followers take some time to understand and adopt his style of thinking. 

ಪೋಪ್ ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿಸ್ ಅವರ ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ಸಂದೇಶದ ಸಾರಾಂಶ

ಪೋಪ್ ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿಸ್ ಅವರು ನೀಡಿದ  ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ಸಂದೇಶವು (ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨೪, ೨೦೧೩) ಮೃದು ಶಬ್ದಗಳಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿ ಅಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮದಂತೆ ಕಂಡರೂ ಅದು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನಿಗೆ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಸಂದೇಶವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಚರ್ಚಿನ ಮತಾಂತರದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಮರೆಮಾಚಿದೆ. ವಿನಮ್ರ ನಡವಳಿಕೆಯ ಪೋಪ್ ನಾಸ್ತಿಕರಿಗೆ ಚರ್ಚಿನ ಪರಿಧಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಬರಲು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿದ್ದು  ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತೇತರ ಜನರನ್ನು ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣಕ್ಕೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅವರ ಗಡಸು ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವವನ್ನು ಬಿಚ್ಚಿರಿಸಿದೆ. "ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಜನರಿಗಷ್ಟೇ ಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ದೇವರು ದಯಪಾಲಿಸುವ" ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥ ಬರುವ ಬೈಬಲ್ ನ ಲ್ಯುಕ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ವಾಕ್ಯವನ್ನು ಉದ್ಧರಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಈ ವರ್ಷದ ಸಂದೇಶದ ಧ್ವನಿಯನ್ನು ಪೋಪ್ ನಿಶ್ಚಯಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. 

ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ಕ್ರಿಶ್ಚಿಯನ್ನರನ್ನು ಮತಾಂತರ ಮಾಡಲು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಪೋಪ್ ಕ್ರಿಶ್ಚಿಯನ್ನರನ್ನು ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನ ಕೊಡಲು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ಶಾಂತಿಯ ಸಂದೇಶವೆಂದು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ಮಸ್ ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನು ಪೋಪ್ ಕರೆದಿದ್ದು, ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಗೊಂಡು ಚರ್ಚ್ ಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿದಿನವೂ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದನ್ನೇ ಶಾಂತಿ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಗಿದೆ. 

ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಪೋಪ್ ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿಸ್ ಬಾಲ ಯೇಸುವಿನ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದರ ಮೂಲಕ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಿಗ್ರಹದ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸಾರಿದರು.   ಅದರ ಮೂಲಕ ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಮತಾಂತರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿ ಸಿಗುವ ಜರ್ಝರಿತರಾದ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸಲು ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು. ಹಾಗೆ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ವೃದ್ಧರ, ರೋಗಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯ ವಹಿಸದಂತೆ ಎಚ್ಚರಿಕೆ ನೀಡಿದರು. ಪೋಪ್ ಹೆಂಗಸರ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೂ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ ದೈಹಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನಸಿಕ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾದ ಹೆಂಗಸರನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪಿಸಿದರು.   ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾದ ಹೆಂಗಸರ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಸ್ಲಾಂ ಮತ್ತು ಹಿಂದೂ ಕುಟುಂಬಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಸ್ತಕ್ಷೇಪಕ್ಕೆ ಕುಮ್ಮಕ್ಕು ಕೊಡುವ  ಚರ್ಚಿನ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಈ ಸಂದೇಶದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಇದೆ ಎಂದು ನಂಬಲಾಗಿದೆ. 

ಸಿರಿಯಾ, ಮಧ್ಯ ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾ, ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಸುಡಾನ್, ನೈಜೀರಿಯಾ, ಇಸ್ರೇಲಿ-ಪ್ಯಾಲೆಸ್ಟೈನ್, ಮತ್ತು ಇರಾಕ್ - ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಂತಿಗಾಗಿ ಪೋಪ್ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸಿದರು.  ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆಯು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಬಾಹುಳ್ಯವುಳ್ಳ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ಒಳಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚಿಗಿರುವ ಗಮನವನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸಿತು. 

ಕ್ಯಾಥೊಲಿಕ್ ಚರ್ಚಿನ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ತನಾಗಿ ಪೋಪ್ ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸಿಸ್ ಇಡೀ ಜಗತ್ತನ್ನು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತನ ಬಳಿಗೆ ತರುವ ತಮ್ಮ ಹಠವನ್ನು ಪುನರುಚ್ಚರಿಸಿದರು.  ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಪರಿಭಾಷೆಯ ಇತಿಮಿತಿಯೊಳಗೆ, ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಕುಚಿತ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನದಲ್ಲೇ ಪೋಪ್ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸೀಮಿತಗೊಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಪಾಶ್ಚಿಮಾತ್ಯ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮವು, ಯಥಾ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನು ಧನಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಚುರಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಭರವಸೆಯನ್ನು ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿಸಿದೆ.  ಇಸ್ಲಾಂ ಮತ್ತು ಹಿಂದೂ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳು ಸಂದೇಶದ ಒಳ ಅರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ವಿಶ್ಲೇಶಿಸದೇ ಸುದ್ದಿಯನ್ನೇ ಕಡೆಗಣಿಸಿವೆ. 

Chrismas message from Pope Francis

The Christsmas message from Pope Francis was filled with rhetoric and masked genteelly the proselytizing agenda of the Church. The Pope has invited non-believers to come to the fold of Christianity exhibiting his aggressive style masked in his mild manners. Invoking a biblical quote from Luke which assures peace only among those whom the Christian God favors, the Pope set the tone of his Christmas speech. 

Christmas directs, according to the Pope, Christians to bring every one to Christ.  The Pope wants Christians to resolve to give their lives towards this goal (of evangelizing). The Pope defined peace in his speech as a daily commitment starting from Jesus Christ. 

Pope Francis, unveiled a baby Jesus statue promoting another idol of worship for Christians around the world. He called missionaries to focus on vulnerable children, especially victims of war without loosing focus on elderly and the sick.  He focused on women and stressed on battered woman setting the agenda for Christians to destabilize Islamic and Hindu societies.  His message confirmed the continuation of Church strategy to push legal changes to intervene in Muslim and Hindu families around the world. 

Pope Francis prayed for peace in Syria, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Israeli - Palestian conflict and Iraq.  He also prayed for displaced and refugees of Africa and eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically mentioning killings of Lampedusa. The prayer calls were focusing on Islamic countries and tragedies involving mainly Muslims indicating the intensity of focus of the Church on Muslims in the near future. 

Overall, Pope Francis has insisted, as the head of the Catholic Church, his focus on the goal to bring the entire world under Christianity. He has done it strictly within the framework of Christian theology and world view. The western media, as usual, has projected his speech passively and positively providing false hopes to the public.  The media of the Islamic and Hindu world, continue to neglect the message overlooking its overtones. 

Oath for students on the occasion of Ramadan

An oath for students received through mail....

Shows that the troubled people are forced to educate the younger generations.

RAMADAN OATH FOR STUDENTS

Fasting is meant to purify the body and soul. During the month of Ramadan, devout adherents are supposed to pray and reflect about the God and the self.  However, praying through the loud speakers defeats the very basic purpose.  Such prayers do not purify the individual but contaminates the environment and the surrounding areas with noise pollution. Use of speakers before 6.00am or after 10.00pm is illegal and the perpetrators are punishable.  Because, the noise pollution increases blood pressure and allied illnesses like heart attacks and strokes. Noise depriving good sleep is a major cause for onset of many diseases. Noise affects the students who are pursuing their studies. Observing fasting during Ramadan requires getting up early in the morning. Free time during mornings and evenings is not meant for playing and disturbing the residents of the area.  The free time is meant for silent prayers. Resentment created in the neighborhood due to the noisy observation of Ramadan affects social harmony.  I personally will not fast during Ramadan in this way. Instead, I pray silently and encourage others to follow the suit and set a model for superior spiritual practice. I will convey this message to my parents and all my friends.

Published by:

Coalition against Noise pollution, Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Bangalore

Muslims burn a person accused of burning copy of Quran

A traveler in his 30s who was murdered by an angry mob on Friday, 21st Dec 2012 in Seeta village village of Sindh, a southern province of Pakistan. The traveller had sought a night's sleep in the local mosque, as is customary for out-of-town strangers to do in this part of the world.

He offered Isha prayers (on Thursday) and spent the night here. When (worshippers) came to the mosque for Fajr prayers (on Friday morning), the local imam and others found charred copies of the Holy Quran. The visitor for some reason allegedly lit one or more of copies of the Quran on fire.

The traveller was handed over to police after beaten by locals. And the imam of the mosque announced the incident on horn loudspeakers. More number of people assembled and about 1000 people attacked the police station. A group of 30 people led the mob, dragged the traveller out of police station and brought him to the center of the village. They assualted him brutally, poured kerosine and burnt him. 

The suspect spoke in Saraiki accent. Saraiki is a Punjabi language group and is also spoken among many Hindus in the region. In the brief time that he was in the custody of the police, the man in custody, he refused to give up his identity. He is said to be mentally unstable and he was unable to provide basic information about himself like name and address. 

An average of 53 people a year have faced blasphemy charges between 1986, when the law went into effect, and 2010. Of these, 52 people were murdered by angry vigilantes before their cases could be handled by the courts. About 1,400 blasphemy cases have been brought before Pakistan's courts and 15 people are on death row after having been found guilty of blasphemy. Local Muslim preachers (imam) play a prominent role in strengthening the charges of blasphemy and provocate local people to put pressure on the authorities. In many cases, vested interests misuse the laws to settle scores or to prosecute minorities.

Police have arrested more than 100 people in the village and neighboring areas. Immediately after the arrest, women of the village have protested in the street against the police action with copies of Quaran in their hands.