Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Hindus in the House!!! (Senate, actually)

Time for a rant. In the realm of news-that-matters-not-a-bit-but-cannot-go-without-my-mockery, plans to have a Hindu open a Senate session with a Hindu prayer have ocked...well, somebody's world. Via Texas Freedom Network News Clips:
Date: July 10, 2007
From: American Family Association
By: Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman

Hindu to open Senate with prayer

Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.

Dear ******,

Please read this news report from OneNewsNow.com.

On Thursday, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, by the name of Rajan Zed is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. Zed tells the Las Vegas Sun that in his prayer he will likely include references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards, and Bhagavard-Gita. Historians believe it will be the first Hindu prayer ever read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.

WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God."

"In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods," the Christian historian explains. "And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator -- that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion."

Barton says given the fact that Hindus are a tiny constituency of the American public, he questions the motivation of Senate leaders. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," he observes. "You look at India, you look at Nepal -- there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries."

And while Barton acknowledges there is not constitutional problem with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, he wonders about the political side of it. "One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it," he says. "What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?"

Barton says he knows of at least seven cases where Christians have lost their bid to express their own faith in a public prayer.

Zed is reportedly the first Hindu to deliver opening prayers in an American state legislature, having done so in both the Nevada State Assembly and Nevada State Senate earlier this year. He has stated that Thursday's prayer will be "universal in approach," despite being drawn from Hindu religious texts.
I never could quite figure out that whole Trinity thing, but I'll take these guys at their word that Hinduism has more gods than Christianism.

Where to start with this, though? I find it amusing that there is concern as to the fact that "we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion." Also, the mention of the "American motto" is a little disingenuous--not to mention somewhat belittling of the supposedly-vaunted Pledge of Allegiance. "One Nation Under God" is a pretty recent addition, relatively speaking.

What is most striking (and least surprising) about this whole letter, though, is the almost total lack of any actual information or rhetoric. There is speculation as to what was "in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator." And there is the obligatory "wondering" as to the political motivations of those who arranged for this prayer. Apparently, in today's America, "wondering" as to someone's motives, even with no evidence, argument, or follow-up discussion, is enough to impugn said motives. At least, I assume that is what this letter intends to do, since it's stated purpose is to express "disappointment." If not, I cannot begin to speculate as to what it is intended for.

Finally, worthy of both ridicule and the most abject scorn is the observation about what Hinduism has done for us lately: "'This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world,' he observes. 'You look at India, you look at Nepal -- there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries.'" I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about--is the strife in South Asia the fault of Hinduism? Maybe they should formally become a Christian nation--look how well it worked for Zambia!!!

They do note that the Hindu gentleman offered prayers in both houses of the Nevada Legislature. If Nevada goes the way of Nepal anytime soon, I guess I'll have to concede a few points.

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