Surrogate mothers are for hire in India.
You've heard about international adoption, no doubt. But what about international surrogacy? Here's the news from The New York Times:
An enterprise known as reproductive outsourcing is a new but rapidly expanding business in India. Clinics that provide surrogate mothers for foreigners say they have recently been inundated with requests from the United States and Europe, as word spreads of India’s mix of skilled medical professionals, relatively liberal laws and low prices.
Commercial surrogacy, which is banned in some states and some European countries, was legalized in India in 2002. The cost comes to about $25,000, roughly a third of the typical price in the United States. That includes the medical procedures; payment to the surrogate mother, which is often, but not always, done through the clinic; plus air tickets and hotels for two trips to India (one for the fertilization and a second to collect the baby).
Posted by Stan Guthrie at March 10, 2008 | Comments (1)
Does Louisiana's new Catholic governor spell hope for his Hindu homeland?
The Times-Picayune had a lengthy profile last week of Louisiana's new Gov. Bobby Jindal that focused on the India native's conversion to Catholicism and the role that has played in his political ascent.
When Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal converted to Catholicism during high school and college, he took a momentous step away from his inherited faith of Hinduism, the prevalent religion of his parents' generation and Indian homeland.
But among Jindal's relatives and among Hindus in India generally, his decision to adopt the Christian way is strongly supported.
Jindal's personal path to Christianity, which had politically significant ramifications for Louisiana, was aided by an open-minded attitude among his relatives about theology. Also, he visited India infrequently as a child, giving him little chance to acquire the deeply ingrained appreciation for Hindu culture that comes from exposure to daily life in that country.
His relatives' perspective reflects a tolerant side of a religion that for thousands of years has survived philosophical transformations, rebellious counter-religions and numerous sects, only to claim them all in time as part of the infinitely flexible cosmos of Hindu faith.
"If you find and see that you get more peace of mind, more solace, in that religion, then why not change religion?" said Jindal's uncle Subhash Gupta, a practicing Hindu. "In India, many people change to the Christian religion. And I can understand that some people maybe find Christian religion more satisfying to their needs."
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Although the relatives' opinions might seem magnanimous, their views are typically Hindu. India's large-circulation national newspapers viewed Jindal's election as front-page news, and for the most part his conversion to Catholicism was not commented upon negatively. Indian criticism of Jindal instead has centered on his infrequent visits and seeming lack of interest in his parents' home country.
The Indian national figure Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu so famous his image appears on most Indian currency, espoused religious tolerance because he believed there were many paths to God, so long as an individual was sincere in the pursuit of the divine way.
When asked about Jindal, Pandit Deoki Nandan Shastri, a Hindu holy man in Varanasi, made a similar point.
"Hindu is not a religion," he said. "Hinduism is a way of life."
"You pray to Christ, I pray to Rama, he prays to Mohammad," he said. "We are going the same way. God is one. His name is called a thousand names."
Sadly, such a liberal perspective is not universal in India, where Hindu fundamentalists poignantly remind the world that "religious extremist" is not just a code word for Islamic terrorist. Remember the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom five years ago that left 2,000 people dead, including a woman who's fetus was proudly ripped from her womb by this guy.
The fervency of Hindu nationalism is no secret; it helped gave birth to Pakistan and later Bangladesh. And India has had quite the history of violence against Christians, which sprang up again last month.
On Christmas Eve, violence broke out against Christians in the Kandhamal district of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, which has become well known for poor governance and class tensions. Hindu fundamentalist groups led by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP, the World Hindu Council) have attacked Christians and their institutions at will in rural areas. Over 90 churches and Christian institutions have been burned and vandalized, over 700 Christian homes destroyed, and the number of pastors and Christians killed is yet to be known, according to a report by my colleagues in the All India Christian Council. A pastor in Chennai told me that 11 pastors have been killed and thousands of Dalit (formerly known as untouchable) Christians displaced. Compass Direct reports that the death count is at 9. Many people are missing, and others have vanished in the nearby forests.
Human Rights Watch and others have decried the present carnage in Orissa and have recognized that freedom of religious choice — especially in a democracy like India's — must be respected. The Prime Minister promised immediate action to restore peace in the state. But the affected areas are still reporting sporadic violence over two weeks since the attacks against Dalit Christians began.
Despite reports that Christians retaliated in some places, so far Dalit Freedom Network investigations and statements by the Orissa government indicate that Maoist rebels — called Naxalites — were behind the revenge attacks that left dozens of Hindu families homeless. Most Naxalites are armed Dalits, and their involvement gives evidence of the root problem: ancient caste divisions.
The author of this article was Joseph D'Souza, whom I interviewed a few months ago for an article about the plight of the Dalits -- who dwell beneath the bottom of India's cast system -- that will appear in the February issue of this magazine.
One of the biggest forms of discrimination meted out by the government is that Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam lose their welfare eligibility. The same is not true if they converted to Buddhism or Sikhism. This often causes a dual identity.
"They will have their Hindu or pre-Christian indentity, sometimes keeping their Hindu name, because there is affirmative action and if they want to have the benefits of that, they cannot use their Christian name," Robert Eric Frykenberg, professor emeritus of history and South Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin, told me.
This article was cross-posted at The God Blog.
Posted by Brad Greenberg at January 14, 2008 | Comments (8)
Violence that began on Christmas Eve now in its fifth day.
Hindu nationalists began burning churches and Christian houses in the east Indian state of Orissa on Christmas Eve. The violence continues, although today it seems to have abated somewhat.
Dozens are injured, many buildings have been destroyed, and the death toll is at 4 (three Hindus killed by police as they burned down the police station, and one Christian killed in the riots).
Compass Direct is reporting higher numbers than those confirmed by the police:
Jacob Pradhan, a Christian leader in Kandhamal district, told Compass that at least four Christians have been killed and more than 50 churches and 200 houses razed or damaged.Telephone outages and VHP roadblocks made confirming reports “extremely difficult.”
The Associated Press reported that,
On Thursday a mob of Hindus defied a curfew and burned down the house of Radhakant Nayak, a member of India's upper house of parliament and a Christian leader in the area, Nayak told the CNN-IBN news channel.Also, 11 churches were ransacked and burned in Kandhamal district of Orissa state, the Press Trust of India quoted unnamed police officials as saying.
Meanwhile, in the village of Brahmangaon, a group of Christians burned down several Hindu homes in an apparent retaliation for the attack on churches. Angry Hindus then burned down the village police station, complaining of a lack of protection, a local police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
At least 25 people—both Christian and Hindu—have been arrested so far, and the federal government has announced that it will send in paramilitary troops.
The perpetrators claim that they were defending a Hindu leader who heads an anti-conversion campaign; Christians in Orissa say the attacks were to prevent a Christmas Eve performance that could have led to conversions; AP says it boils down to controversy over thousands of conversions to Christianity in the past few years, “Hindu groups have long charged Christian missionaries with trying to lure the poor and those who occupy the lowest rungs of Hinduism's complex caste-system away with promises of money and jobs.”
The Orissa government has ordered a judicial probe into the attacks, in response to claims that the violence was not spontaneous but sponsored by saffron activists.
Time warns against chalking it all up to religion:
As with most communal violence in India, this latest explosion of hatred is the result not only of religious differences but of a tangled intersection of political power, communal prejudice and the injustices of Hinduism's archaic caste system.
However, in a place where religion permeates everything, it’s not helpful to try to separate religion from political power, prejudice, or the caste system—especially as the hard-line Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gaining power. Orissa is currently governed by a BJP ally.
Posted by Susan Wunderink at December 28, 2007 | Comments (1)
A Christian restaurant in Beijing.
Last week I got back from two weeks in China. CT will be running a cover story on the church in China as we get closer to the Olympics. But first I’d like to tell you about Bing Chiu. Bing is the owner of two restaurants, one in Beijing’s Central Business District and another near a university outside Beijing. These restaurants are occupying a new public "space" available for Christians to live, work, and minister.
Bing, like many younger Chinese, became a Christian when he was studying overseas. In fact, it was in Halifax Nova Scotia, while he was an undergrad that Bing became a Christian. Since then, he has lived all over China and worked mostly in advertising.
But Bing wanted to do something different. He wanted to create a restaurant that combined both Eastern and Western food and featured his favorite desserts from Hong Kong. And let me say, he’s done a fantastic job. The meals at his Upper Room restaurant are fabulous. If you’re in Beijing for the Olympics next summer, definitely visit the Upper Room.
The restaurant is just one of many ways that Christians are making their voices heard in China. Bing uses his restaurants as friendly ways to introduce people to Christianity. Mostly, Bing serves meals. But he also sends out weekly inspirational e-mails inviting people to a music party held at the Upper Room where people sing and listen to music, some of it Christian. Bing’s letters go to more than 3,000 people, many of them non-Christians. For Bing, his letters and the weekly music party are opportunities to introduce people to Christians, Christianity, and Christian music in an inviting atmosphere. These aren't gospel preaching events.
But they are effective. He says university students, especially, are interested in hearing about Christianity and Jesus. Several students a week become Christians, he says, through the outreach at one of his restaurants.
While the Upper Room isn’t located on a major road, in fact it could be difficult to find, it is just one public place for Christians to be open and free about their faith. It’s not a church, but Bing says, it’s a place that can facilitate discussions about God and Jesus.
Christians throughout China are more freely operating in public. While there are still restrictions, I saw and talked to Christians running teen centers, doing marriage retreats and community development, operating orphanages, or even renting worship space for their unregistered churches. There’s no guarantee that this freedom will continue, so the church in China needs prayer. But as I heard over and over again, so far there’s no problem.
Posted by Rob Moll at October 19, 2007 | Comments (3)
The bravery and boldness of Buddhist monks displays the hard edge of spirituality.
One of the most startling images from the Viet Nam war was the self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc. On June 11, 1963, the monk burned himself to death at a busy Saigon intersection. (You can see Malcolm Brown’s famous news photo here and read part of David Halberstam’s eyewitness report for the New York Times halfway through this Wikipedia article.)
Thich Quang Duc was protesting the anti-Buddhist discrimination of Ngo Dinh Diem’s regime. But the disturbing image of his sacrifice seared itself into the brains of people around the globe. At the time, I didn’t understand the logic of self-immolation, but I was deeply moved.
Today Buddhist monks are once again taking to the streets of a South Asian nation, risking their bodies in nonviolent protest against an oppressive regime. This time the country is Myanmar (or Burma, as most Americans still refer to it).
This morning, the AP reported from Yangon (Rangoon):
Soldiers in Myanmar pounded down on dissenters Friday by swiftly breaking up street gatherings of die-hard activists, occupying key Buddhist monasteries and cutting public Internet access. The moves raised concerns that a crackdown on civilians that has killed at least 10 people this week was set to intensify.
By sealing Buddhist monasteries, the government seemed intent on clearing the streets of monks, who have spearheaded the demonstrations and are revered by most of their Myanmar countrymen. This could embolden troops to lash out harder on remaining protesters.
And in the Washington Post, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson commented on the spiritual power of the Buddhist monks’ protest.
[T]hese protests have ... shown that nonviolence need not be tame or toothless. The upside-down bowls carried by some of the monks signal that they will not accept alms from the leaders of the regime, denying them the ability to atone for bad deeds or to honor their ancestors. These chanting monks are playing spiritual hardball.
Gerson then mentioned the familiar spiritual analogs in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the spiritual revolutions that helped to bring down Communism in Eastern Europe. “Religious dissidents have the ability not only to organize opposition to tyrants but also to shame them. Political revolutions often begin as revolutions of the spirit.”
Gerson uses the language of spirituality to describe these bold moves against evil and on behalf of freedom. It is ironic that the words spiritual and spirituality have taken on such warm, fuzzy tones in contemporary American speech. They convey the image of spiritual drifters, people who are not anchored to any strong beliefs but are constantly going with the flow as they quest for the next feel-good experience.
Maybe, as these monks face the tear gas and truncheons of the oppressor, they can help us reclaim the hard edge of spirituality in our own culture.
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P.S. Buddhists aren't the only ones resisting the Myanmar government. Christians have also risked their lives in the struggle for freedom. But Christians are largely located in tribal regions away from urban centers like Yangon. For past Christianity Today coverage of tribal Christian resistance see "Burma's Almost Forgotten." And to learn how Christianity came to Burma, you can order Christian History and Biography issue 90, which tells the story of Ann and Adoniram Judson, early missionaries and Bible translators.
Posted by David Neff at September 28, 2007 | Comments (1)
