The Conversion Factor

Going around Mumbai roads, you will quite frequently  come across this hoarding these days.

Pay attention, keep your mobile phone aside. Think about the following.

• This poster or advertisement has no “responsibility tag”. What I mean by this, the poster has no names of the organization of the committee who are responsible for this.
• This poster has no “description” of what it is all about. All it speaks about is change or parivartan (in hindi).
• It has Johnny Lever and Nagma. Both of them a known television stars. Good selling point.
• It offers you free books and free sessions. Just call on the number. Maybe just a miscall will do.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, as Freddie Mercury says “too much love will kill you”, this whole thing is too good to be true. It, at the first glance, appears to be a trap. George Orwell write, Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent. In this case, it holds true.

What these guys are doing is giving the people the lollipop of conversion. Without ever using the word conversion , Jesus, gospel, church, Evangelism, etc. they are literary doing a missionary work of converting non-Christians to Christianity. 

Wow! Such a noble work! Pick up jerks from one room at place them in another room full of other jerks. At the end, the total number of jerk remains constant! The law of conservation of jerks works every time!

But now let us look at the details. Who are these guys? Why are they doing what they are doing? What is Johnny Lever doing there? Why is nobody opposing such them? What should you do about it?

Who are these guys? 

Power to Change, India seeks to contribute toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission in India and all of Asia by assisting believers in the God of all Creation in communicating the good news of the Gospel.

Power to Change is a community of believers, which mobilizes people to live a life of bold and adventurous faith. We call this a JOURNEY of FAITH. Discover GOD through his son Jesus. This is not a philosophy. It is an experience. Experience the power to change. Be inspired and be an inspiration. (http://www.powertochangeindia.com/about.php) 

Why are they doing what they are doing? 

The simple answer. This is what Christianity is all about. Converting people from other belief system into their. They have done this throughout the world, throughout the history (no wonder they have highest head counts in world religion). 100-200 years ago, this was done through crusaders. Forcing people to convert, if they don’t kill men and capture women and children. Today, it is done in the name of missionary (the word itself is over-qualified). Isn't this what Mother Teresa did in her ‘home for dying’? Isn't this what Americans do in African countries? In the name of charity, you are just increasing your head counts. 

Apparently it appears that Christians can’t do good without a conversion factor.
What is Johnny Lever doing there? 

The next question is, what is Lever uncle doing there. Everybody has a story, Lever does too. Here is what he said in an interview about this conversion stuff, 

"It was God’s will. I had always been a religious person, but one incident changed my life. My son was diagnosed with cancer. I was helpless and turned to God for help. I stopped working in films and spent all my time praying for him. Ten days later, when he was taken for a test, the doctors were surprised because the cancer had vanished. It was the beginning of a new life for me.” 

So supposedly, he has a reason to be the leader of this silent crusade. Although irrational, he finds it justified. I am OK with it (I am not accepting his theory, just excusing it for now). But why convert other? And what about millions of devoted christian families where boys and girls die of cancer every year? Why is the Jesus so partial? Lever Sir, doesn't your whole act looks like "Look guys, my God loves me, he saved my son, he doesn't loves you guys, so he never saves yours. I pray more *communicably* then you do" Isn't this the worst part of narcissism? 

Why is nobody opposing them? At first sight, I was furious. Why are they doing this? This is the root of communal violence. What if tomorrow VHP or Bajaran Dal or any other religious fanatic right wing organisation retaliate? Why is no authority in system actually worried about this? Simply because there is no law in India for acting against the conversion process. Or to put it more bluntly, they are not breaking any law of land. 

When you talk with a religious apologist, he says, well you can “convince” somebody to convert, not “force” somebody. What these people don’t realize is that at the emotional level, convincing is same as forcing. They are playing mind game

What should you do about it? Well if you are either smart, informed or non-religious, your aims should be guiding other people not to fall in this trap. The worst part of this is poor people who are easily getting slipped. There is no evidence that God/religious practices actually makes difference in medical problem. But people are irrational. They have to make their own mind. All it gives is false hope. At that too at the cost of upsetting your own domestic God.

FYI- This is the done by the same religion which says condoms are bad, homosexuality is illegal, abortion is worse, slavery is good.