Pujari asks followers to brings guns into Mandir…
…or something like that…From the New York Times:
…Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.†And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!†as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration†puts it.
“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,†Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.â€
Interestingly,
Public attitudes also seem to be turning more sympathetic to gun owners. In April, the Pew Research Center found for the first time that almost as many people said it was more important to protect the rights of gun owners (45 percent) than to control gun ownership (49 percent). Just a year ago, Pew said, 58 percent said gun control was more important than the rights of gun owners (37 percent).
Gun-control advocates say they feel increasingly ineffective, especially after a recent spate of high-profile shootings, including last month’s murder, inside a church in Kansas, of a doctor who performed late-term abortions.
Enjoy the weekend. Stay healthy, stay safe.
Pity! Religion of Love they call it!
Hi, I just want to say that we can control Guns ownership but can’t control Mind of people. It’s really unethical to keep any weapons in any temple church, mosque or any religious worship places.
Priest and Pujari are quite different things.
Priest is not a pujari. He is an actor on a stage who lectures loudly, very loudly to his beleivers. There is nothing like PUJA in the church.
Pujari performs all the various Vidhi-s in a Hindu Mandir calmly with great devotion.
The priest was correct. America was indeed won by the gun (and whiskey). If it was not the guns of the US cavalry or irregulars on extermination raids, it was the guns of the buffalo hunters who wiped out the vast herds of buffalo and consequently starved the Indians. He should have put one on the altar.
Weapons, fast powerful cars and motorbikes are an obsession for people who need these props to feel male. So, naturally the priest is looking to the mental well-being of his flock, who might be deficient in other departments.
In Latin America, when a guy tries to impress women by going “Vroom! Vroom!” in a power car, the senoritas just show a little finger. Shantanu, I suppose you would not be very happy if I tried to explain this further.
“In Latin America, when a guy tries to impress women by going “Vroom! Vroom!†in a power car, the senoritas just show a little finger”
LOL!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Thanks, Shri Shantanu.
I think perhaps we Hindus have got it wrong with the pacifism that has afflicted us. When India was assailed by Muslim invaders, it was the Sikh gurus appeal for “ploughs to be turned into swords” that saved Hinduism. This is also why India is so pathetically weak that it did not punish Pakistan for its many trangressions including the latest attack on Mumbai. One thing for sure these Christian religious leaders would not have let a similar attack on New York go unavenged (that is if they were not able to rely on their government to do the job). The right to bear arms is a constitutionally guarranteed right in the US. Our own people originated as a martial race, and I do not know where we lost our way. There is no better way to defend India than for every citizen to be required to bear arms in defence thereof. It was a similar law that required all English men to take up archery practice that went on to produce the mighty British army.
Apart from PUJARI, you have also used a wrong word MANDIR for the church. I do not understand why or perhaps you (please take it lightly) do not have a detailed understanding of the Hindu Spiritual terms as well as the biblical terms.
Mandir is a place where the ICONS of ISHWAR/Bhagawans (not god) are kept for worshiping and the Pujaris are attending the BHAGWANS from morning to Evening with sacred VIDHIS and with great Shradha (not Faith). Pujari has not much to do with the visiting devotees.
A priest is a preacher in a church which is just an Assembly hall (not Mandir) and and he has much to do with people. He acts and lectures with loud voice to believe a prophet who will save them from Hell.
I quote Ram Swarup:
“A charecteistic figure of these religions (Christianity and Islam) is a PRECHER, a CRUSEDER or a MUJAHID. He has nothing to learn; he has been sent to teach and correct and whenever possible even to punish. He feels lost if he does not fulfill his vocation.”