Taken to its absurd conclusion, this is where some interfaithists can end up: espousing a perverted form of spiritual relativism where the worship of Hindu idols can be reconciled with the protestant creed of the Church of England.
Rev. David Hart is the international secretary of the world’s oldest interfaith organisation, the World Congress of Faiths and the author of a book on Hinduism. He is also an Anglican priest that recently converted to Hinduish yet continues to work as a minister of the Church of England.
A PRIEST with the Church of England who converted to Hinduism has been allowed to continue to officiate as a cleric.
The Rev David Hart’s diocese renewed his licence this summer even though he had moved to India, changed his name to Ananda and daily blesses a congregation of Hindus with fire previously offered up to Nagar, the snake god. He also “recites Gayatri Mantram with the same devotion with which he celebrates the Eucharist”, according to The Hindu, India’s national newspaper.
Interestingly, he is able to reconcile his worship of Hindu idols with his role as an Anglican priest by deploying the standard postmodernist tools.
“My philosophical position is that all religions are cultural constructs,” he said. “I am acting out God’s story in local terms.”
As he explained in more detail to The Hindu:
“The image of a God with the head of an elephant and four arms was initially an object of curiosity. But it soon turned into a quest to learn more about this extraordinary God,” says 51-year-old Rev. Hart…. “Today, the cult of Ganesha has become globalised. He is no longer just an Indian God,” says Rev. Hart… “In England, the idol of Ganesha is more popular than Krishna or any other Indian God and many households have Ganesha in the living room.”
This should be a warning to all involved in interfaith work that there is such a thing as a little too much ‘understanding’ and a little too much ‘tolerance’ for the beliefs of others.
6 comments ↓
Well him being a Hindu is totally against the essence of being a Christian. He can’t have it both ways.
This article does not surprise me at all. Thanks, Austrolabe for highlighting it. I grew up in a Christian family and this is the essence of postmodern Christianity. That you can believe and do as you please and still claim to be Christian and no one will care because you are already forgiven for your sins.
Had I practiced Islam without actually saying I was a Muslim, my family would not have had any problem with that. But as soon as I said that I was a Muslim then they were up in arms.
Gives “broad church” a whole new meaning.
We should actually be celebrating the fact that he still believes in God, which is something of a minority opinion in the C of E
link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/578972.stm
It would be interesting, if
1.a parishioner took one of these clowns to court for conspiracy to perpetrate a fraud, by preaching Christianity whilst believing it to be fraudulent
2. if the C of E dismissed him for being an apostate from Anglicanism, and he took them to the European court for religious discrimination,
3.or indeed if He went to the workplace authority and demand that the C of E provide a workplace free of religious icons that offend his religious sensibilities.
4. David Hart turned up to work wearing an elephant head and gave the Sunday sermon, followed by a trumpet like bellow from the trunk and then sprayed his congregation with water from it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/393479.stm
For all we know, this man may be (mis)leading hindus into worshipping christ through a means that would beat hollow the British empire’s approach to to a largely unsuccessfull conversion. Beware!!!
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