I wake up this morning and find that CNN is now the subject of ten minutes of offence. Apparently one of their journalists found the most extreme Hindu cult and filmed them. Cue the political outrage.
Note that they do not damn the Agorhis for their repugnant acts: this cult needs to be suppressed, like the Wahabites, in a matter the Raj used when they destroyed the Thugees. They damn the publicity.
Aslan previewed his meeting with the Aghoris — a sect of Hinduism that worships Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction — who have been known to eat human flesh, drink urine out of human skulls, and smear themselves with ashes of corpses.
The TV host partook in some of these cannibalistic rituals, including eating human brain tissue, and teased his unconventional snack in a Facebook post on Sunday:
After teasing the episode, Aslan got devoured by critics who accused him of using the small, secretive sect to represent the entire Hindu faith — which, for the record, generally oppose the Aghoris’ practices.
Among those who have condemned the journalist include Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu member of U.S. Congress, and even Donald Trump‘s Hindu advisor Shalabh Kumar.
They shared on Twitter:
1/ While good people across our country are working hard to increase mutual understanding and respect between people of different religions,
2/ I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people’s misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.
I condemn @rezaaslan, CNN for airing Believer with fiction. Disgusting attack on Hindus for supporting @POTUS@stephenkbannon @newtgingrich
Sanjay Puri, chairman of the U.S. India Political Action Committee, said in a statement:
“Most Hindus are vegetarians and uphold non-violence. We are very disappointed. This is an issue that is of deep concern to the Indian American community evidenced by the large number of calls/emails we have received. In a charged environment, a show like this can create a perception about Indian Americans which could make them more vulnerable to further attacks.”
Given the current political climate, we don’t disagree.
But Aslan does — he defended the segment on Facebook, saying he made it clear to the “sensitives” that the Aghoris are an “extreme Hindu sect” and “are not representative of Hinduism.”
Unfortunately, the TV host seems to be overestimating the ability of some to separate sub-religions from their umbrella faith.
We are getting mad: both meanings: we have forgotten what right and wrong is, and in doing so we have forgotten how to correct. We have an example of how to do this with a woman who had fallen so far from polite society that she was not allowed into the sisterhood: she had to get water at the most hot time of the day because she was shunned.
And note this: Christ did not approve of her actions. He did confront her.
1Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” — 2although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized — 3he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4But he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Hinduism is a lie. Like the Mohammedans, they cannot earn a place of righteousness. In both, the extreme ends are violent. The idea that all religions are true and will lead to salvation negates the reason for Christ. Christ died for we could not find righteousness in us, so he payed the penalty of our sin.
And no embrace of evil or denial of truth (because the truth offends) destroys truth. Truth needs no defence.
The pagan lies of the narrative do.
The modern would be offended that Christ knew their partner number and accuse him of hate speech.
As if there are no consequences for actions.
Do not fall into the relativism of the narrative. Do not preach this. Do not be like this.
If you and I have to put up with Westboro Baptist… they can suck it up and put up with their odd sect as well.