How Christian fundamentalists and their extremism are targeting other religions in the region, not just Islam.
The T****ruth about the “Attack on The Talahena Calvary Church” in Sri Lanka
** The Centre for Buddhist Action**
In mid July 2008 emails were circulating among Christian circles both local and international, through their Christian news networks titled “Sri Lankan Church Under Attack…very serious…”
This propaganda campaign commenced on 10th July when Ted Rubesh (Vice President) and George Niranjan (General Supervisor) of the Four Square Gospel Church sent out a message about the Talahena Calvary Church “coming under attack by a mob of Buddhist monks and supporters just last Sunday.” The Four Square Gospel Church, for those who are unaware, was implicated earlier this year in transporting suicide bomb jackets to the south of the country. Three of its pastors were arrested for transporting around 30 suicide cadres of the LTTE using church vans to Kandy and Nuwara Eliya through the town of Mannar. How aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation banned in several countries fits in with the teachings of Jesus Christ is beyond the scope of this article.
Stories about “attacks” on Christian fundamentalist groups are not uncommon things to be circulated among Christian news networks because their intention, as always, is to portray Christian evangelists as “martyrs,” and claim to the world that Buddhists and Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are intolerant people who do not respect minority religions. By spreading distorted half truths, certain Christian churches (both of the orthodox and born again variety) hope to gain the sympathy of unsuspecting Christians in order to build up an anti-Sri Lankan/anti-Buddhist propaganda network that will further their aggressive agenda of conversion.
It is an unfortunate thing to say, but duplicity and deception are not uncommon characteristics of the various Christian fundamentalist groups currently attempting to convert Sri Lanka into a Christian country. With a gung-ho attitude, and financial backing from their supporters in the west, these ‘Christian soldiers’ are obsessed with ‘harvesting souls’ for their god through their so-called “outreach programmes,” by which they hope to “save” the “heathen Buddhists and Hindus.” To these Christian fundamentalists, all those who follow non-Christian traditions are “groping in a spiritual vacuum” and “need to be brought to the light of Jesus.”
Even though it maybe considered a waste of time writing about the ignorant and extremist attitude of Christian evangelical groups as it has been done so many times before by many others (including liberal Christians), it is absolutely necessary to explain how their lies come into being. There is always a “cause” and an “effect” to incidents that have transpired and will transpire with Christian missionaries intruding into predominantly Buddhist and Hindu villages and aggressively trying to impose Christianity on the residents - even when it is most unwelcome.
Sri Lankan Buddhists have been extremely tolerant and accommodating towards other religions and their hospitality is all too well known. It is this hospitality and tolerance that has been sadly abused and insulted by Christian invaders - first by the colonials who destroyed countless Buddhist temples and monasteries, killed Buddhist monks and banned Buddhism for close to 500 years, and now by new Christian evangelical groups that offer no respect to non-Christian traditions and insist on trying to convert the island into a Christian one.
The story of the Talahena Calvary Church coming under attack is one such example of how Christian fundamentalists have abused Buddhist hospitality in the area where they have set up shop. Having pushed, goaded and annoyed the non-Christian residents through hate speech and aggressive and unethical proselytism, it is always easier to cry foul and relate a sob story to gain sympathy and deflect attention from the truth. The numerous orthodox as well as Charismatic churches operating in Sri Lanka have shown that they are extremely skilled in this art.
Background information on the activities of Pastor S. Roshan Andriesen at 3D, Araliya Pedesa, Talahena is as follows:
Residents of Araliya Pedesa, Talahena are 98% Buddhist with only 3 families all of whom are immediate family members of Pastor Roshan being Christians. Residents of the surrounding locality outside Araliya Pedesa are 100% Buddhist.
- About 7-8 years ago, Pastor Roshan and his family established the Timothy Montessori school at Araliya Pedesa. All the children attending this Montessori school are Buddhist children, with the total number of children being approximately 30. There are 2 teachers, both of whom are Christians.
Parents who send their children to this Montessori school do it in the hope that their children will be given a good foundation in the basics of education but not to become Christian converts. However, it has been reported that Pastor Roshan and the teachers have been surreptitiously attempting to indoctrinate these children into Christianity and Christian habits and attempting to convert the families of these children as well.
- During 2005-2006 Pastor Roshan had purchased 4 perches of land next to his residence with the address as 3-C1, Araliya Pedesa, Talahena. The land adjoins the Timothy Montessori school on one side, and another residence on the other side.
Subsequently in 2007, Pastor Roshan applied to the local Urban Development Authority (UDA) to obtain approval for a plan to construct a building on the 4 perches of land. The application was rejected by the UDA. It is illegal to construct permanent residential buildings on land less than 6 perches in extent. But despite having the application rejected by the UDA, Pastor Roshan began to illegally proceed with construction work while claiming to the neighbourhood that approval had been granted. Once the structure had been completed, the neighbourhood realized that the building was actually a church (later named the Talahena Calvary Church) with a long hall, a stage, and a huge cross fixed to the back wall.
Pastor Roshan began conducting prayer sessions on a daily basis at his illegally constructed church. The praying, the singing and the shouting common at Charismatic churches were broadcast around the locality through the use of loud speakers. The residents of Araliya Pedesa which include the sick, the aged and infants were continuously disturbed by the raucous noise emanating from the church - a church which was not supposed to be there according to the law.
In addition to the noise, so called “healing through prayer” sessions were commenced by the Calvary Church. Pastor Roshan began to bring in people from outside Talahena from areas like Malabe, Hokandara and Thalawathugoda. Unable to bear the noise and the crowds any longer, the residents made complaints to the nearby police station and the UDA on the noise pollution which disturbed the peace and quiet of the area.
- The Urban Development Authority (UDA) which had originally rejected the application made by Pastor Roshan to construct a building at 3-C1, Araliya Pedesa, Talahena sent inspectors to carry out an investigation in December 2007. The investigation revealed that the land in the said premises was owned by Pastor Roshan, that his application to construct a building had been rejected by UDA originally, and that Pastor Roshan had illegally constructed the said building against the ruling given by the UDA.
Subsequently, a case was filed by the UDA against Pastor Roshan in the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Courts with Case No. 10171/8 in which he was given a ruling under point 5 of the Magistrate’s Determination that the structure was illegal and that it must be demolished on or before 2nd April 2008 under Act No. 4 of 1982 and Act No. 44 of 1984 of the UDA Act which are Amendments to Clause No.28 (1) with special reference to sub-sections a, b, c of Act No.41 of 1978. The UDA by their letter reference 13/61/6774 (C) dated 18th March 2008 had also informed him of their decision.
Under point 7 of the Magistrate’s Determination, the Petitioner UDA also declared that the Respondent Pastor Roshan had disregarded the Order given to him.
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Time and time again, the residents of Araliya Pedesa had repeatedly requested Pastor Roshan to cease the noisy ‘Prayer Sessions’ and ‘Healing Sessions’ because their loud broadcast was a nuisance to the sick, the aged and infants in the vicinity but he had disregarded and shown absolute contempt to their appeals. Residents had also made official complaints to the nearest Police Station which is Talangama Police but no action was taken by them.
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6th July 2008 - The build up to what was termed “Attack on Calvary Church, Talahena”
On the evening of 5th July some hue and cry from Pastor Roshan’s house had been heard to the effect that someone had damaged a part of the cross inside his building. How on earth could anyone enter the premises without being detected by church members is not known, except for the fact that they themselves got it done to enable them to make a complaint at the Police Station in order to get police protection for their activities. Devious as it may sound, such instances are quite well known in Sri Lanka where Christian groups themselves damage their own Prayer Centres and then try and implicate Buddhists or Hindus as the culprits so they can claim to be Christian ‘martyrs’, obtain monetary compensation, and the protection of the police.
On 6th July 2008 some Buddhist monks accompanied by the Chief Priest of the Buddhist Temple in the area visited 3-C1, Araliya Pedesa to discuss the issue and plead with Pastor Roshan to reconsider his activities which were causing tension in the area. But instead of engaging in discussion, Pastor Roshan and a relative of his, together with some female followers had attempted to pull the Chief Priest by the robe and assault him while cursing in foul language. When onlookers witnessed the rude manner in which Pastor Roshan and his followers had treated the Buddhist Monks they were naturally incensed.
Pastor Roshan and his followers had further stated 'If necessary, we will get down even the LTTE from Jaffna to attack you if necessary." Talahena is a predominantly Sinhalese area and many of the so called adherents that are brought from outside to the Calvary Church of Pastor Roshan belong to the Tamil community whose true identities are not known by the residents. Given the security situation in the country, the local residents were naturally apprehensive about total strangers entering their locality.
Till the crowd was dispersed, Pastor Roshan and his father were seen walking around amidst the crowd and there was no sign of them having been beaten as is reported in the email circulated by the Christian news networks. However, much later in the evening after the confrontation mentioned above, Pastor Roshan claimed he was ‘beaten’ and took himself to hospital. Rather than going to the nearest hospital which is the Talangama Koswatte Government Hospital and where residents could have gone to examine the validity of his claims, he instead took the scenic route to the Kalubowila Government Hospital which is 10-15 km away. The pictures that were emailed around showing Pastor Roshan lying on the ground were not incidents which took place while the crowd was supposed to have been attacking Pastor Roshan. They were staged afterwards to show a morbid picture to the outside world. Pastor Roshan, it would seem, is not only a devious Christian priest who has no respect for the law, but a highly talented actor as well.
Carrying on with the charade, Pastor Roshan later made a complaint to the Talangama Koswatte Police Station claiming that he and his relatives had been assaulted and that he had been hospitalized as a result.
When asked to name any suspects, Pastor Roshan had listed out the names of all the residents at Araliya Pedesa, Talahena. Some of the ‘suspects’ named by him had not even been anywhere in the vicinity or even in Colombo for that matter. Most of the ‘suspects’ Pastor Roshan named were retirees who are in the range of 56-75 years of age. So it seems quite obvious that dishonesty is very much a part of Pastor Roshan’s lifestyle.
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Even though Pastor Roshan professes to be able to cure ailments through prayer and for which unsuspecting people are brought from outside the locality, it is highly ironic that his wife’s aunt who is a Buddhist married to a Christian and suffering from cancer has so far not been cured by him. The patient is now in a late stage of the illness and had pleaded with the Chief Priest of the nearby Buddhist temple to visit their home and chant Buddhist suttas as a way for her get some consolation from the pains she was going through. Even though the Christian members of the family had attempted to assault the Chief Priest, he had very kindly consented to the request of the patient, visited the house and conducted the Buddhist religious observances as requested by the patient. It seems ironic that Pastor Roshan has not been able to exhibit his talents at curing one of his own family members before he attempts to cure outsiders.
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Most of the disharmony between Christians and Buddhists/Hindus in this part of the world are initiated and created by Christian groups themselves - not by Buddhists or Hindus living in those areas.The case in reference to Pastor Roshan and the Calvary Church at Talahena is just one such example. There are many similar reports that do not reach the news because Buddhists and Hindus are not as organised and media savvy as the various Christian groups that have made it a business to ‘harvest souls for God.’
Whether in Sri Lanka or India, the story is the same. When a locality has a 100% Buddhist or Hindu population living in the area, suddenly a Charismatic church enters the locality and erects what they call “a community centre.” The tolerant Buddhists and Hindus welcome them in with open arms. Then the Christian groups begin to transport “lured followers” from outside the locality to show the residents of the area in and around where the new centre has come up that they have a large following. Then comes the distribution of leaflets that claim only Christianity is the truth and that other religions are false and inspired by Satan. Monetary and material inducements are then used to gain converts. Buddhist and Hindu traditions are condemned and converts are taught to despise and abandon them. The area begins to be divided long religious lines and into the “spritual battlefield” that many Christian priests long for.
In a multi-religious area, it is understandable that places of worship belonging to different traditions would exist to serve the spiritual needs of the local population. However, in areas such as Talahena where only 3-5 Christian families exist in an area where there are 1700-1800 families who are all Buddhist, one has to wonder about the move to aggressively “plant churches” even by breaking the law. That said, having entered such localities, if Christian groups attempt to live in harmony the Buddhist and Hindu residents will tolerate and accept them with open arms, but what non-Christians experience in places like Talahena is not reciprocity but the arrogance of Christian priests such as Pastor Roshan along with thuggery and blatant dishonesty. This is certainly not the way to further religious harmony in the country.