Challenge for ORF: Protect Tibetan Buddhism

DAMMIT JANET! has a project for the new Office of Religious Pandering Freedom.

Speak up about assaults on Tibetans from guerrilla Xian missionaries.

Tibet is the K2 of the evangelical Christian world – missionaries see it as a formidable yet crucial undertaking, a last spiritual frontier. Of the 400 foreigners living in Xining, most are missionaries, estimates Chris [pseudonym for missionary interviewed].

Proselytising has been illegal in China since 1949, when Mao Zedong declared western missionaries "spiritual aggressors" and deported them en masse, so today's evangelists work undercover as students, teachers, doctors, and business owners. Moreover, Tibetans are tough customers in the market for souls – Buddhism is central to their cultural identity, making them notoriously difficult to convert.

While Tibetans might be a tough sell, Chinese authorities are not so much.

More than 10 people interviewed for this article said that Chinese authorities in Tibetan areas were selectively tolerant of missionaries for reasons that range from pragmatic to borderline sinister. One is that they are a boon to local economies – they open lucrative businesses and teach at local schools for next to nothing, supplementing their meagre salaries with donations from home. Authorities may also consider missionaries politically trustworthy, reluctant to undermine their spiritual missions by openly criticising regional policies.

And lastly, the government may welcome them as a powerful counterforce to Tibetan Buddhism, with its electrifying political overtones.

"China isn't trying to destroy religion by any means, but they're trying to destroy certain parts of Tibetan religion," said [Robbie Barnett, a leading Tibet expert at Columbia University]. "They're not the same project by any means, but they certainly have some congruency."

Makes sense. China is deploying religious homeopathy against Tibetan Buddhism.

Why is Tibet such a big deal to Xians?

Most missionaries in Tibet belong to nondenominational organisations which believe that Jesus Christ will return to the earth only when people from every social, cultural and linguistic group have been exposed to his teachings. These groups view mass conversion as a high form of ecclesiastical service, and as such, their tactics can be covert and transactional. Some lure young Tibetans with the promise of English lessons or professional training and coax them into conversion after making sure of their loyalty. Various Tibetans in Xining expressed disgust with this tactic. One likened it to bribery.

And Tibet has been the holy grail for quite a while, using similar 'covert transactions'.

The first missionary to make any significant headway in Tibet was a Portuguese Jesuit named António de Andrade who, in 1624, infiltrated the region disguised as a Hindu pilgrim.

Faced by both China's selective tolerance and Tibetans' disgust, the zealots get creative.

Missionaries have adopted a range of tactics to combat these obstacles, but none have proven consistently successful. In the 1990s, many would distribute religious leaflets in predominantly Buddhist areas. Evangelical blogs describe the process: often by cover of night, "tract-bombing" teams on tourist visas would stuff the leaflets into letterboxes and nail them to monastery walls. These missions tended to invite more hostility than curiosity. Missionaries were often arrested by high-strung officials or chased away by monks.

Here's an excerpt from the tract-bombing blog.

I dropped in at this one Hui (muslim) restaurant to get something to eat.  I asked for noodles (which is a staple among the muslims) expecting to get the usual bowl of broth filled with noodles and spices.  Instead I received a plate of weird looking thick noodles topped with sponges.  Yes, sponges.  They looked like sponges and tasted like sponges (unfortunately I do know what sponges taste like).  The only difference was that they did not chew like sponges.  I have no idea what it was but it wasn’t that great.  After forcing down most of it so that I would not offend the cook I asked for a bag to bring the rest with me and left.  It is an interesting experience going out to eat in a land where you don’t know what they are saying or how to order what you want.  Try it sometime.  Broadens your perspectives greatly.

This is the sort of sophisticate sent to convert the heathens. (And why, pray tell, does this guy know what sponges taste like?)

Here's the challenge. Will the Office of Religious Freedom protest the use of lying, sneaking Xian evangelicals by China in its campaign to eradicate Tibetan Buddhism?

Surely Tibetans' freedom of religion matters too?

Image source. (Get used to seeing it, dear readers.)

Office of Religious Freedom

deBeauxOs added a link to this splendid new creation by Stephen Lautens to a recent post, but it really needs to seen in all its glory. (It continues to perplex me how link-averse many people are.)

More wonderful Demotivational Conservative Posters here.

'Acids of Modernity' at a Christian Finishing School

Where to begin mocking the announcement -- finally -- of the actual establishment of the Office of Religious Freedom and the naming of its head, Andrew Bennet, to be styled apparently, 'Ambassador'?

I took my cue from Canadian Cynic and looked into the 'Christian college' of which Bennett is currently Dean.

It is Augustine College in Ottawa.

First thing to know -- it's tiny. It graduates at most 16 students a year, many years far fewer.

Next, it is a one-year program, well, really eight months, two semesters.

It certainly is Christian and evangelical. (Bold in original.)

The faculty, staff, and board of Augustine College desire above all to live out a faithful and disciplined Christian life, both as individuals and as a community.

Although we have come together from a diversity of church backgrounds and although the College has no denominational affiliation, we do share a profound desire for thorough-going faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ, submitting to the authority of Scripture and the foundational teachings of the Church.

We are called to unity in love of Christ (John 17) and seek to live by the first things of faith and, in the root sense, to exercise an evangelical duty to the world in which we have been placed.

Bennett exercising his 'evangelical duty' as an 'Ambassador' of Canada will go over well, I'm sure.

Next thing to know is that its views are a bit, well, retrograde.

Augustine College is a Liberal Arts college. It teaches the subjects that were the foundation of education for centuries, before education succumbed to the acids of modernity.

'Acids of modernity'* was one of the things that Evan Solomon latched onto in speaking to Jason Kenney on Power and Politics

At about the 9:15 mark, Solomon asks about the phrase. Watch Kenney bluster and squirm. Solomon also asks about non-believers and about situations where 'religious freedom' might conflict with other human rights, such as those of women and LGBT. Kenney faffs. (He is a very good faffer, isn't he?) But there is a teensy problem here. In a screed on the college website that should be hailed in the annals of the 'blog' of 'unnecessary' quotation marks, there's this.

We believe that faith is rational: reason shows man that he must have faith.

I'll let CC take that.

"We believe that faith is rational: reason shows man that he must have faith." augustinecollege.org/vision.html This will not end well. Trust me. — CC (@canadiancynic) February 20, 2013

If Andrew Bennett believes his faith is correct, he *must* then believe all the others are wrong. That's called "logic." — CC (@canadiancynic) February 20, 2013

Ok, then. Non-believers are irrational and believers of other nonsense are wrong. So who the hell goes there to study? It's a bit pricey for an eight-month bunfest program. Students pay $1500 down plus $3500 due on the first day of each of two semesters, total $8500. Residence is extra, but the site assures worried parents that it is NOT 'co-ed'. The college 'welcomes' everybody -- as long as they are Christian.

Many of our students have been home-schooled. Many come from public schools. Still others come to us after earning other degrees, desiring to fill in what several years of study elsewhere did not give them.

It's when we get to the Student Life part that things start getting really sad. This section talks up communal dinners, hymn sings, four tickets to the Ottawa Symphony, dinners with profs, and skating on the Rideau Canal.  All very wholesome. How 'bout this for a knee-slapping good time?

RESTLESS HEARTS CAFÉ Typically held around February 14, this pot pourri of entertainment includes readings, music, recitations, and lampoonery (sometimes harpoonery) presented by the students, faculty, and staff of the College.

'Harpoonery'? And there's helpful advice.

HIKING AND SPELUNKING The Gatineau Hills also have interesting caves and the Lusk Caves have been a destination for hikes. In fall the caves sport great views and sections of semi-submersed paths which are great fun to navigate (don’t forget a change of clothes, especially socks).

So what do student do upon graduation? There's a list of 13 mostly Christian (as far as I can tell) colleges in Canada and the US that will allow transfer of credits. Pay $8500 for some transferrable-only-to-Christian-colleges credits? Wow. Finally, if you have a penchant for sad-sacks, watch some students talk about their experience here. My conclusion: This new Ambassador is currently chief baby-sitter to a bunch of home-schooled kids in what amounts to a Christian finishing school. Is this really the best person the CONs could find?

There were reports that two people who had been approached to head up the new agency had turned down the post.

We here at DJ! look forward to watching the embarrassments activities of this latest Pandering to the CON Base effort. * 'Acids of modernity' is a phrase from a Walter Lippmann essay from 1929. By the way, he is the coiner of both 'Cold War' and 'Manufacture of Consent', though he is mainly known for his works on public opinion and advertising. Update from deBeauxOs: Stephen Lautens designed a special poster for the *Office* and his tweet regarding its funding. ADDED  by fh: Alison has more. UPDATE: Some question Bennett's academic credentials. No. Really?

Is the Harper government funding christian missionaries abroad?

According to this reportage in La Presse, more and more CIDA funds are being directed towards christian groups and projects that have a mandate to proselytize. Few have solid experiences with humanitarian aid projects as well regarded as Kairos; most have no international credibility.

While reducing financial support to many international cooperation agencies, the Harper government is now providing more subsidies to religious NGOs, especially those that have a mission to spread the faith.

This is what emerges from research conducted by François Audet, Director of the Canadian Research Institute on humanitarian crisis and aid; its results should be published this spring in the Canadian Journal of Development Studies.

His team of researchers combed through the tax returns of 198 Canadian NGOs who shared in 2010 a budget of $366 million in funding from CIDA.

Their conclusion: from 2005 to 2010, subsidies to secular NGOs have increased by 5% - from 226 to 237 million. During the same period, the annual budget for religious NGOs increased from 90 to 129 million - an increase of 42%.

The lion's share of this increase went to a dozen NGOs in Western Canada, which received $50 million in 2010, against 29 million five years earlier - an increase of 72%. However, in addition to their humanitarian mission, these NGOs are openly dedicated to evangelization.

Some examples: Africa Community Technical Services received $ 655,000 from CIDA in 2010, almost three times more than in 2005. On its website, the NGO says it carries out its duties "under the authority of the scriptures" and "seeks to glorify our Lord Jesus."

Cause Canada says: "We pray that our identification with Jesus, our concern for justice and our practical demonstration of God's love [...] attract people to Christ," on its website. This Alberta NGO received $ 483,000 from CIDA in 2010, an increase of 32% compared to 2005.

Rough Google translation of Agnès Gruda's text.  Radio-Canada is also reporting on this; CBC will no doubt soon produce a document in English.

Would receiving humanitarian support and the benefit of clean water, education, health care and other necessities made available through international aid projects be conditional upon conversion to fundamentalist religious christian beliefs?

It seems as though Fantino and his accolytes are enforcing have adopted the hospice model developed by Mother Teresa for the Vatican Taliban - a choice between having your soul "saved" or dying miserably in the streets.

BONUS: Dennis Gruending's post about the Office of *Religious Freedom* in John Baird's Foreign Affairs. Would there possibly be a connection to the CIDA funding?

Update regarding the CPC partisan documents Fantino did ^NOT post on the CIDA government website, at The Sixth Estate. 

Update: Montreal Simon wrote this in December.

Photograph found here.