Christianity hasn’t lived up to its promise

IT’S A BIG lie. It has never been the people’s prerogative to convert to Christianity; the church has waged an unrelenting crusade to bring the heathens of the world into the Christian fold. (“Ruckus over conversion insult – Dia Mirza in Twitter tirade”, Sunday Tribune Herald, March 1).

Through fear, guile and persuasion, Christianity preys on the masses and now has a firm footing in the Indian community.

While it could be argued Mother Teresa was not around to answer her critics, as South African Hindu Maha Sabha president Ashwin Trimkamjee indicates, this should not preclude anyone from questioning her motives.

While I am not conversant on Mother Teresa’s humanitarian work in India, I do know Christianity has never been only about charity, but rather spreading the gospel among unbelievers and expanding the Christian empire. It’s big business.

It’s an indisputable fact that Christian missionaries brimming with religious fervour sailed to the far corners of the world with their Bibles to save mankind from damnation and purgatory.

They set up mission stations in remote jungles and made the ignorant indigenous tribes who had never known of sin cover their naked bodies and bow down to the white man’s God.

While it must be acknowledged missionaries did some humanitarian work among the sick and the poor, their philanthropy was not entirely selfless. Often the underlying agenda was blatantly obvious and they made no secret of it – that the white man’s God was superior to the stone gods and showed mercy, love and compassion.

Christianity has spread rapidly in our community. With the Christianising policy of the apartheid government and international funding, Hindus were seen as easy prey.

Like the ANC’s “better life for all”, it promised miracles, deliverance from sin and heavenly bliss. And the gullible fell for it.

When I was at school, there were just one or two Christian children in my class. Now Christians often make up the majority.

Poverty-stricken Westcliff, with a population of 1 791, has only two temples but seven churches. Christianity thrives among the poor and ignorant.

On a more personal note, I remember as a boy being dragged to church by my doting aunts. And there I would sit in trepidation as the white, bald-headed pastor belched out his fiery sermon of hail and brimstone on the unbelievers.

We children never knew what the underlying motive was for the charity dished out to our large, poor family.

Only much later in life did it dawn on me that the real intention was to convert us to Christianity. While nearly all in my family were beguiled by the wolf in sheep’s clothing and converted, I did not succumb to the temptation.

And I had good reason. I saw around me that going to church was just a façade, more a Sunday outing, a social rather than a spiritual upliftment.

Christianity failed to live up to its promise. It had no unifying influence on the family, but left it disjointed and broken.

Though we had little, we were happier and closer when we were Hindus. T MARKANDAN

Silverglen