Pope includes Hindu verses in prayers on Good Friday

merinews ^ | Apr 14, 2009

[Gamecock]

HINDUS HAVE applauded Pope Benedict for including verse from ancient Hindu scripture Upanishads in the Good Friday Meditations and Prayers led by him at Roman Colosseum.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was a remarkable gesture from Pope and invited him to study more ancient Hindu scriptures, which were very rich in philosophical thought. He or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the help and resources in this regard, if asked, Zed added.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, also commended His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for inclusion of a verse from India’s Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali and reference to peace icon Mahatma Gandhi in these prayers.

This year’s 'Way of the Cross at the Colesseum' Meditations and Prayers on Good Friday, led by Pope, included well-known verse from Brahadaranyakopanishad (“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality”), line from Tagore’s Gitanjali (“Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service”) and reference to Mahatma Gandhi.

Rajan Zed stressed that all religions should work together for a just and peaceful world. Dialogue would bring us mutual enrichment, he added.

Pope Benedict heads the Roman Catholic Church, which is the largest of the Christian denominations. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

[Quix]

“It has been said” by whom? Damage control apologists whose “soul” job it is to constantly tell us the quacking duck is an otter? Or the wolf is actually a sheep..

Or that a UFO ET personage at Fatima is the authentic Mary?

[The Comedian]

Between Hindus and Christians we have the two main groups in opposition to the Caliphate.

Don't forget the Jews. The ones in Israel, not the "Joos" in NYC.

Today is a good day to die.
I didn't say for whom.

[presently no screen name]

But, one way to get people to ask questions, is to provide the opporutnity for them to learn. If they have an idol that tells them to love their enemy - wouldn't it be wise to use that philosophy to expound upon Christianity? We ask, we learn, we grow - and IMHO, all roads lead, eventually, to Christ.

If one 'thinks' they have the truth, what makes you think they will ask questions? We are commanded to go make disciples - not wait until they have questions. You tell them of their need for a Savior and the Good News. The Holy Spirit does the rest. I'm not there to quibble about their beliefs.

Heb 4:12 "For the Word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart".

That's where the power is - in HIS WORD.

Apostle Paul used the Alter of the Unknown God, to preach the Gospel of Christ. This gave him a platform to build upon a precept, and cause the people of Athens to ask questions and learn the truth.

They didn't have the written Good News then, Paul was speaking IT to them. Not so today - we have HIS Word. I'm speaking of HIS WORD ONLY.

[netmilsmom]

>>Who's judging?<<

Judge from the Merriam-Webster thesaurus.

4) to have as an opinion (I judge that he knew what kind of woman she was when he married her)

Synonyms allow [chiefly Southern & Midland], conceive, consider, deem, esteem, feel, figure, guess, hold, imagine, judge, reckon [chiefly dialect], suppose, think, regard, view; accept, perceive; depend, rely, trust; assume, presume, presuppose, surmise; conclude, deduce, infer.....

[Quix]

At such lofty levels,

they KNOW what the gifts will be beforehand.

They leave nothing to chance in such meetings—particularly a photo-op.

[FourtySeven]

I guess I should have said, “The point of Good Friday services is to remind us of what occurred on that day”.

You can agree or disagree whether or not it’s a good idea to remember the Sacrifice Christ made on Good Friday. I don’t care. The point is though, for that kind of service, on Good Friday, it’s perfectly acceptable to pray, “lead us from darkness to light” because that’s exactly what Christ did when He died on Good Friday. He descended into the grave, surely a “dark” place, and then proceeded to destroy our slavery to the grave, thus leading us to “light”.

But again, please don’t let me stop you if your intention is to blast the Pope. Even if he doesn’t deserve it. Which he doesn’t, if one views this situation objectively.

[caww]

Yes it is about Salvation....One cannot be a Christian apart from being saved. Either you are saved or not...there is no middle road. Therefore if the vast majority of catholics have no certainty of their Salvation then one would determine they have need to be assured..one way or another before they can lay claim to Christian.

[Hodar]

I’m confused.

How does quoting from a Hindi sacred text, that conveys a philosophy that is in complete agreement with Christianity - in any way placing another god before God?

If I greet a Hindi practioner, and say “Namaste” - in your view, am I being blastphemous? I would say not. There are good ideas found in many religions - that ‘invent’ new ways to praise God in everyday life, that we have either abandoned or never considered.

************************
“In Sikh scripture Namaste, Namastung or Namastvung is referenced as salutation to the Primal being, the One God. The salutation is followed by an attribute respecting a quality of the creator of all religions, Akal. Sikhs say “Sat Sri Akaal” instead of namaste .

In Nepalese culture, namaste is performed when a younger family member meets older relatives. It also varies depending upon social status and prestige. The person with lower status or prestige performs namaste first to show respect for the higher station the other person has achieved.

Namaste is also used as a friendly greeting in written communication, or generally between people when they meet. When used at funerals to greet the guests, the verbal part is usually omitted. When the hand position is higher, it usually means reverence and/or worship. The expression with hands placed on top of one’s head is usually the sign of utmost reverence or respect. When the gesture is performed with hands in front of the chest, it is usually considered as aayushman.

The aayushman gesture is also a cultural symbol of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan hospitality.

In Sindh, Pakistan, the gesture of namaste, though extremely rare, is still maintained even by Sindhi Muslims.

The cabin crews of Air India, SriLankan Airlines — and Air France, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic on their flights to India — use namaste to greet boarding and deplaning passengers and in other hospitality settings.”

[Gamecock]

79% of [Roman et al] Catholics affirmed "Many religions can lead to eternal life."

Actually, that statement should not be a surprise to anyone who has perused the Roman Catholic Catechism, which teaches such.

Case in point:

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

[conservonator]

At first I was wondering why you felt the need to post a story that has an April 2009 dateline, then I remembered that we are nearing Lent, which leads inevitably to Easter and Christ's victory over death. I understand that for some, the mere thought of Christ's resurrection is enough to drive them to irrational acts, or at least ignorantly cooperate with the father of lies.

Can't wait to see what you and the other usual suspects dig up.

As for the substance of the article and the images, I'm shocked, SHOCKED!! that humans make mistakes or possibly that others may mistakenly interpret things. Let me know when the Pope makes a dogmatic pronouncement regarding Kalie.

[caww]

Well these guys gave the whole catholic Fatima alter for Hindu worship and caused quite the scuttlebutt! Of course the catholic church denied...they are experts at coverups.

http://www.fatima.org/news/newsviews/0704desec.asp

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Yep, and so is the ALL CAPS brigade that has to scream to make a point.

[conservativegramma]

Okay then if you are not allowed to (regarding someone's deeds or fruit):

conceive, consider, deem, esteem, feel, figure, guess, hold, imagine, judge, reckon [chiefly dialect], suppose, think, regard, view; accept, perceive; depend, rely, trust; assume, presume, presuppose, surmise; conclude, deduce, infer.....

How are you going to obey II Timothy 4:2 "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."

Or does it even really matter to you whether or not you obey the commands of Christ?

[netmilsmom]

>>they KNOW what the gifts will be beforehand.<<

And just like the rest of the “Arab Street” are willing to do what needs to be done to get that photo op.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1650273/posts

A seventy-nine year old with Parkinson’s disease was handed a book with writing he didn’t understand and he kissed the gift.
The most I would call it is “unfortunate”.
The Muslims and MSM call it “Gotcha”!

[caww]

it’s perfectly acceptable to pray, “lead us from darkness to light”

So if a New Age Spiritulist prays this it's perfectly acceptable? Because they do. The fact is the Pope acknowledged the beliefs of the Hindu faith.....to those of the Hindu faith....which for them was an acceptance of their practices and pagan Gods in THEIR eyes. Rather than exposing their beliefs as false...which Christ would have done and did and continues to do today.

[Antoninus]

But then I remember Paul who used the pagan statue of the unknown God to teach pagans about the One God.

Game. Set. Match.

Now all that's left is for the looney Catholic-haters on FR to continue jumping up and down like their hair is on fire in their eagerness do trash the Pope and all things Catholic.

This will be my first and last post on this thread.

[conservativegramma]

Ah yes catechism #841. I’ve posted that many times.

Btw: that catechism proves there is a 90% probability the book the Pope is kissing IS in fact the Koran.

[Gamecock]

We Catholics believe that Natural Law is written into every human heart by God, and human nature demands that we seek it. That some pagan philosophers may have found a nugget of Natural Law does not render that nugget untrue.

True.

But to drag it into a worship service?

[netmilsmom]

LOL!!!

Get your stones ready!

[netmilsmom]

I admire you greatly!