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Hindu
groups unfazed by US Baptist conversion call
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By
Amitav Ranjan
NEW DELHI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Hindus in India and Nepal on Saturday denounced a call by
U.S. Southern Baptists for the deliverance of the world's 900 million Hindus from
``spiritual bondage'' as ``illiterate and offensive.''
``I have read the (newspaper) report of U.S. Baptists' bid to convert Hindus to
Christianity during (the Hindu) Divali (festival). I must say I am not surprised. The
missionary approach to Hindus and Hinduism has always been illiterate and offensive,''
K.R. Malkani, spokesman for the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party, said in a
statement.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest U.S. Protestant group, said on Friday it was
distributing prayer booklets to its 41,000 churches asking members to pray for Hindus
during that faith's annual festival of lights, Divali, starting November 3.
Its International Mission Board said in a press release that the 12 days of prayer would
be ``aimed at dispelling the darkness that holds more than 900 million Hindus in spiritual
bondage.''
Malkani said: ``Firstly, India is more religious than any other country in the world.
Morally, it is more Christian than any other Christian country.
``Secondly, is it not an insult to India to tell Hindus that they are all sinners and that
only Jesus can save them?''
The BJP heads a 24-party coalition government at the centre.
The Kathmandu-based World Hindu Federation said the Southern Baptist Convention was
misguiding people and its claim to provide salvation was a ``farce.''
``It (the convention) is nothing but to misguide the people. They are claiming that they
can give salvation to the sinners. It is nothing but a farce,'' federation President
Krishna Gopal Tandon told Reuters.
Randy Sprinkle, director of the mission board's prayer strategy office, said Southern
Baptists were being invited to pray ``that the world's Hindus might be convicted of sin
and see Jesus is the Light of the world.''
``They are trying to throw a challenge to us. We Hindus are prepared to accept the
challenge. They cannot convert Hindus by and large. It is just not possible,'' said
Acharya Giriraj Kishore of the World Hindu Council.
``Those who believe in one god, one book and one messenger, they talk of conversion.
Hindus have many gods and many messengers and we do not believe in conversion,'' said
Srikant Joshi, spokesman for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), another hardline Hindu
organisation. |
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