We are born into a religion of our caretakers (generally parents) and it does become part of our identity but it is not innate like color of skin or size/shape of your body. Ethnicity, nationality and religion are very different phenomenons.
And state definitely shouldn’t have the right to bar someone from entering or leaving a religion. Spirituality that belongs to the soul can’t be bound by physical laws no matter how hard we try.
Re: Conversions
The christians in this Indian state are a thundering 0.11% of the population. Why are the hindus so afraid of them? Sheesh!
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I wonder how these people, who work mostly like sweeper in Pakistan, became christian ?
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I want to convert. Do they have an online application form. BTW I know this jewish guy who became a minister on-line and they even sent him certificates and stuff.
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^ I am reminded of the Seinfeld episode where his dentist became jewish just so he can share jewish jokes.
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Thank Allah :swt: that there was no such laws in India when them Camel herders came to convert us. Otherwise we will all still be Hindu. Can you imagine that?
Laws of banning conversions or preaching only prove one thing: insecurity.
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Easy enough to convert, declare Jesus is your savior and allow someone to near drown you in the nearest river and wallah..... new baby christian.
On-line doesn't count unless during a rainstorm :D
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well its very easy to pass comments without knowing the ground realities.. christian missions in india are doing a very cunning job in converting people.. they first fool poor people by mimicking the rituals of their religions so that the poor (often ignorant too) people get fooled into conversion.,. mind you not just hindus, but muslims, sikhs and jains fall for this trap..
further they lure people with money and convert them.. conversion also happens by cheating.. one bishop went to the woods and performed a "miracle" and converted the tribals.. do u know what he did? he brought his car and asked the tribals to make it move by praying to their gods.. when the prayers didnt work (obvly), he called out to christ and slyly started the car and told them that his god was superior.. aise bahut hota hai.. masoom logon ko ullu banake convert kiya jata hai,, ahmadjee, dont try to sensationalize the news just because the news makes it out be a conflict between hindus (ur perceived enemy) and christians.. so many muslims (appke qoum ke log) also convert because of these wily missionaries.. now go cry foul...
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DB, don’t be calling them people ignorant. They are very smart folks. An Indian, by definition, is generally at least 10 times smarter than say an Arab. And if they are not there yet, they will be soon. If someone pays me to convert, I will be converting multiple times a day.
Waisay, I see your point. In Pakistan the penalty for converting from Islam to become a non-muslim is death.
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I know, I know, us christians are a wily bunch, why we have long hair, you know, hides the horns.......
C'mon, give it a rest, no one converts unless their faith is weak to begin with. I don't believe in trickery like that, rather have the word speak for itself. If they did do that, then they are no more than fakirs wowing the crowd with snakes.
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there is nothing like weak or strong faith.. when it comes to solving everyday problems, convenience is a man’s only religion.. if he gets money for becoming a hindu/muslim/xtian he will do it and wouldn’t care less for the higher benefits of sticking to his original religion.. its easy to become frustrated becuase u are a xtian urself but the truth is out there for you to see.. i have seen it with my own eyes.. bishops introduce stuff like “jap”, “pooja”, “teerath yatra” into their terminology just to fool people.. this has always been the forte of xtian conversions.. dont tell me u dont know abt st.patrick who brought xtianity to ireland.. he included pagan rituals in his xtianity so that the stupid pagans would convert w/o thinking of the extreme difference they had with xtianity…
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Hey, lay off the Patrick :D
I agree with you that the trickery should not be happening, agree, agree, agree. k??
Mostly I believe there are many roads to whatever God is up there, He is the one who put people on this earth to lead us to him. Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, whatever floats your boat, he set the rules, along with the basic tenet of 'do unto others...' and whatever man adds in.
Nah, not really frustrated, but I do think people tend to judge a whole people by the actions of the few stupid enough to be written up in the press.
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hey when did i call all xtains bad?? i only told whats happening out in india.. why do u read into lines stuff i din mean??? 
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Where did I say you did that???
I could say the same… 
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its not a few people my dear but scores and scores of such missionary institutions that thug people in the name of piety.. nothing comes out in the news unless its true.. (mostly, at least :D) did u hear the news abt missionaries in tamil nadu that refused to give out aid to villagers unless they converted to xtianity?? this news appeared in bbc lest you have any doubts on its veracity.. the pope himself said that south asia was a nice place for harvesting souls (for conversion) and later had his feet in his mouth when the press demanded an explanation.. when an official xtian body makes such bizarre statements, what do u make of it? still many xtians (european/american) are obsessed with the white-man’s burden crap.. i know i am hurting you by being blunt but i cant coat the truth in sugar candy for u to be agreeable to it..
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I know, I know, you took lessons from what's his-facey-yesterday who insisted that I REALLY want to argue with him.
Don't doubt veracity, really, I don't :)
Desibanda - I said I agree 3x in my first post. People, being what they are, will say things that later bite them in the a**, will do things to further their agendas, will even try to hide their agendas in local customs. Yes, it is done in Christianity and in other religions. Happens when people are competeing for souls (read: money). I know this is done.
Peace, k?
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DB.. It’s not just India, it is the whole friggin South Asia where such dramas happen in every country. I can be sentenced to die for saying Salam to someone in my own country.
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I actually wonder how much of this is true and how much is hindu propaganda. They’ll malign the christian today, but watch as they next go after Muslims (again) …
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What I haven't figured out is that how do they intend to enforce such a law? Issue ID cards with religion and a policeman standing outside a church checking that only Christians enter? I guess that can be done but to what greater good?
It is a myth that people convert because Christian missionaries give them money. Generally the convert ends up paying the church for the services instead. Most people convert because they are trying to find a purpose in their life and sometimes need a fresh start. Others convert after being impressed by the preacher, under pressure from community so they can mingle in better and at times just for rebellion.
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You dont have to tell us that Min_pa, we all saw the rescue operation on CNN, when they rescued Southern BAptists in Afghanistan in a trailer. No one in their sane mind would go to afghanistan and that too under taliban and preach christianity and to top it off have a success rate as well.