R A T I O N A L I S T I N T E R N A T I O N A L

P O Box 9110, New Delhi 110 091, India.

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RATIONALIST INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN # 25

14 November 1999

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Editor: Sanal Edamaruku

Phone: +91-11-2253255, +91-11-8539526

Fax: +91-11-2256042

E-mail: <edamaruku@yahoo.com>

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International Rationalist Conference: January 2000

LEVI FRAGELL FROM NORWAY AND
JIM HERRICK FROM THE UK
TO ADDRESS THE CONFERENCE

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Levi Fragell, the president of the federation of humanist
organisations, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU),
and a champion of the rationalist cause in the humanist
movement, will address the forthcoming 2nd International
Rationalist Conference. Fragell who believes that the future
of humanism lies in India is an annual visitor to the country
since ten years. In a humanist congress held in India early
this year he stressed the importance of rationalism. During
the January 2000 International Rationalist Conference, he
will speak on: "The Four Dangers of Irrationalism."

Jim Herrick represents the pioneer rationalist movement in
the UK, the Rationalist Press Association (RPA), which was
responsible for bringing out the famous Thinkers' Libray
series of books. Jim Herrick is an excellent author (most
important book: Against the Faith) and editor of the RPA
journal, the New Humanist. The Rationalist Press Association
recently celebrated its centenary in Birmingham, the UK.
The Indian Rationalist Association has had links with the
RPA since its inception 50 years ago. Jim Herrick is a
long time friend of the Indian Rationalist Association.
He will speak during the January 2000 International Rationalist
Conference on: "The Continueing Relevance of Rationalism."

Speakers and delegates from around the globe are expected to
participate in the 2nd International Rationalist Conference,
scheduled to be held at Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala,
the southern coastal state in India, from 17 to 22 January,
2000.

You are cordially invited to join this festival of ideas.
The theme of the conference is: "Rationalist Agenda for the
21st Century."

For more details and registration, please write to:
<sakthy@giasdla.vsnl.net.in>

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Report from China
CRACK DOWN OF FALUN GONG

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With the first publicised trial of Falun Gong followers, a
Chinese court recently sentenced four members of this new
religion upto twelve years in prison for unlawful cult
activities. The Intermediate Peoples' Court of Haikou gave
Song Yueshen a twelve year jail term for organising illegal
Falun Gong gatherings and escaping from police custody after
being detained on 8 August. Chen Yun was sentenced to seven
years, while Jiang Shilong received three years and Liang
Yulin two years, "for using an evil cult to violate the law."
The intensified crack down on the movement followed a
decision by China's National Legislature to extend the
existing criminal law to target members of the Falun Gong
for swift prosecution and sentencing.

While the Chinese authorities use force to suppress, harass
and persecute the members of Falun Gong, it shuns away from
educating the people to help themselves to reject the
strange new religion. Beijing's efforts to wipe off the
Falun followers or any other group of people having their
special beliefs, by using political force, is a violation
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If, however,
any member of Falun breaks law and indulge in criminal
activities, they should be handled for that crime as
individuals, not on the basis of their beliefs, howsoever
strange they are for the political system or society.
It is reported that more than 500 Falun Gong followers in
northern China's Hebei province alone had already been
sentenced without trial to labour camps.

Our strong criticism of the Chinese government for its
hegemonistic suppression of the Faluns does not, in any way,
go in favour of the views and activities of this new religion.

Li Hongzhi, the 48 year old leader of the Falun, who lives
in New York, developed in 1992 a 'cosmic' theory. He has
written about his ability to fly, powers of X-ray vision
and other supernatural powers. The new religion portrays
itself as preaching some adherence to Buddhism and recommends
exercises; discourages modern medical treatment or
consultation with doctors, and suggest 'qi gong', ancient
practice that encompasses activities from martial arts to
fortune telling. The religious group gets its name from
"Law Wheel Big Way", or Fa Lun Da Fa, which is its precise
name. Falun believers were said to have been coerced into
slitting open their stomachs to look for the "Wheel of Law".

Like the Hinu gurus who hoodwink gullibles with sleight of
hand 'miracles' and the Christian faith healers who campaign
against the use of modern medicines, Faluns are to be
countered with systematic education based on scientific
temper. Suppression and persecution give them only
justification and an image of martyrs.

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Report from the USA
COMEDY FILM "DOGMA"
UNDER ATTACK BY
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
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The US Catholic Conference recently gave "O" rating, meaning
it is morally offensive for all audiences to a new Hollywood
movie, Dogma. The movie written and directed by Kevin Smith
narrates a humorous story of fallen angels whose scheme to
re-enter Paradise threatens to destroy the universe. Attacking
the movie, Father Gregory of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
says: "The problem with Dogma is that it takes Catholic
beliefs and practices and holds them upto mockery." He denied
that he lacked sense of humour.
The movie's plot rests on an obscure bit of Roman Catholic
doctrine known as the 'Plenary Indulgence', a carte blanche
forgiveness of any sin you have ever committed. And it is
being waved about by a New Jersey cardinal as part of his
"Catholicism..Wow!" campaign to beef up membership. "Christ
didn't come to Earth to give us the Willies!" says the
cardinal, who has replaced the crucifix as a church symbol
by a Buddy Christ, a winking Jesus with raised thumb. This
offends God and the angels are exiled for all eternity to
Wisconsin. But their offences against God will be forgiven
and they will be re-admitted to Paradise, if they can get to
a New Jersey church and pass through its portals, thereby
the Plenary Indulgence kick in. In doing so, they will prove
God (Canadian rocker Alanis Morrissettee dressed in a tutu)
fallible, thus negating all of creations and provoking end
of the universe. To block their plans, God choses a woman
having a crisis of faith, assisted by a winged messenger
of God, a hitherto unknown 13th Apostle written out of the
Gospels because he is black - and a heavenly muse.

The devouts did not get the humour and they are out in
protest, while the Entertainment Weekly called Dogma "a
searching and obsessive meditation on faith of our times."
Dogma opens in movie theatres this weekend.
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Report from the USA
URI GELLER IS BACK; NOT WITH BENDING SPOONS,
BUT WITH "MIND MEDICINE".
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Uri Geller, paranormal superstar in the TV shows of the early
70s, tries to come back. After more than two decades of
silence, he surfaced in San Francisco recently with "Mind
medicine", a help yourself book about the use of "mind power"
to control your emotional and physical well being.

Israel born Geller came to international fame as a master of
"mental power" bending spoons and stopping clocks in favorite
talk shows in Germany and the USA. While the studio tricks
were simple sleights of hand, the twisted cutlery which some
TV viewers maintained they had discovered during the programme
in their kitchen draws indicated that a hysteric mass
phenomenon was emerging. Gullibles from all walks of life
were carried away by a wave of pop superstition. In 1973,
Geller's career came abruptly to an end when he was exposed
in the American TV programme "Tonight Show": under host
Johnny Carson's watchful eyes, table spoons resisted Geller's
mental power and simply did not move. Media mockery came
upon him and he was labelled a fraud. Geller tried to challenge
his detractors with law suits and publicity campaigns, but
he could not regain his image and retired frustrated, but
financially well settled, in Britain.
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Report from France
FREDERICO MAYOR FELICITATED
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Representatives of 58 countries came together in Paris to
honour Frederico Mayor, who leaves the office of the Director
General of UNESCO after 12 distinguished years. Regardless
of political diversity, all of them shared high respect and
admiration for the man whose vision and untirable enthusiasm
shaped UNESCO and guided it through turbulent times. "It is
not my vision alone", said Mayor, "it is the vision of the
founders - poets, politicians, school teachers and scientists,
who viewed the world with a child's eyes... UNESCO is not
the Fontenoy building in Paris. It is all its associated
schools across the world. It is with every learner, at all
levels of his life." According to this concept, he has
travelled the world speaking for peace, justice and freedom
and encouraging and persuading decision makers to uphold
the interest of the child.

In February this year, Frederico Mayor visited New Delhi and
laid the foundation stone of the new UNESCO House in order
to intensify the co-operation with authorities and
organisations in India. Frederico Mayor is widely respected
as a person of social concern, rationalist and humanist.
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Report from India
VATICAN'S ASIAN AGENDA REVEALED
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A historic map marking Vasco da Gama's route to India
adorning the backdrop, Pope John Paul II, on a three-day
visit to India, held a special function with the bishops of
the Asian Synod "to seal the fruits of the Synod which was
celebrated in Rome" in May 1998. He signed the document
"Ecclesia in Asia", which will serve as a blueprint for
the activities of the Roman Catholic church in the region
for the new millennium.

The map in the backdrop only underlined what the Pope
proclaimed in the 140 page document in a language which
leaves no scope for interpretation: "Just as in the first
millennium the Cross was planted in the soil of Europe,
and in the second in that of the Americas and Africa, we
can pray that in the third Christian millennium a great
harvest of faith will be reaped in this vast and vital
continent". Evangelisation had to be "an absolute priority"
for the church in Asia, the Pope said, and the Synod was
"an ardent affirmation of faith" in Jesus and remained a
"call to conversion". "In presenting the fruits of the Synod's
work...you, the bishops, are being asked to make ever greater
efforts to spread the gospel of salvation through the length
and breadth of the human geography of Asia", the Pope said.

The blunt call for the conversion of Asia shocked all those
who had tried to play down the voceferous protest of Hindu
groups during the last weeks, who had accused the Vatican
of just that: a religious war of conquest against Hinduism.
After China, Taiwan and Sri Lanka refused to invite Pope
John Paul II and even to grant permission to hold the Asian
Bishop's Conference, it was with hesitation that the
Government of India agreed to invite him as a state guest.
The Indian government, in a vulnerable position because of
the connections of the leading BJP to the Hindu extremist
spectre and the pending suspect of Muslim and Christian
minorities against its secular approach, tried to be more
than perfect host for the state guest and left all religious
aspects of the visit to the Indian Bishops' Conference.
In official meetings with the guest, President, Prime Minister
and other government representatives highlighted the
principles of religious freedom guaranteed by the Indian
constitution and kept tactfully mum about conflicts and
tension, recently caused by the zeal of the Christian
missionaries, especially in the tribal areas of the country.
The revelation of the true Vatican agenda for Asia proved
the Pope's critics right in the end and may turn out to
cause considerable damage to the Vatican's image in India,
which has already suffered in the public controversies
before the visit.

John Paul II's call for the evangelisation of Asia has not
only embarassed the tactful Indian government, it has also
left the Catholic church in India worried. When suddenly
the wolf lurked out of the sheep's clothing, which to carefully
keep in good shape the Indian bishops had seen as their duty,
they desperately decided to take action: immediately after
the Pope's departure, they called a Press Conference and
tried to play down the Pope's statements, claiming that
"out of lack of knowledge about Christianity" they have
been gravely misinterpreted. When the Pope called for
conversion, they claimed, he meant "inner conversion" only.
And the "great harvest of faith in this continent", according
to the bishops, was only a reference to Jesus being born in
Asia. Why the Pope had spoken under Vasco da Gama's map,
the bishops have not been able to explain.

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