The Benny Hinn Show

Benny Hinn is a pastor from the US who's going to lead a prayer meeting (or whatever it's called) in Bangalore. You can't miss the posters; they're everywhere in Bangalore.

Now, the BJP, Shiv Sena, and other such tolerant organisations have protested this meeting (search for Benny Hinn Bangalore on Google) and are calling this an affront to Hindus and an attempt to convert people. Come on.

If you allow Reebok, Nike, Bridget Jones Diary, and all else that America has to offer, let the man come and hold his meeting. You want to go hold a meeting in the US, nobody will care. Just follow those safety regulations.

If there are people who want to go and attend the meeting, let them. It's a free country, isn't it?

Are people who follow any religion so crazy that if someone makes a comment, they feel insulted? Grow up. There's always someone with an opinion about something. It's ridiculous how people become so sensitive about religion. Is your faith so fragile that if someone who doesn't share your religion says something, you feel insulted?

If some people are converted based on the words of a person from the US, someone they don't know, do you want those people in your religion? Maybe they'll convert back if someone else tells them about a new religion.

I don't care if the conversions are from Hinduism to Christianity, Buddhism to Islam, Islam to Hinduism, or whatever else. If people want to convert, to whatever religion, let them. As long as they aren't harming anyone, I could care less what the other person wants to do.

Are the people who are protesting miffed that the government has given permission to Benny Hinn to hold a rally, but not to them? Might just be.

Let the man hold his rally, as long as he's not advocating mass murders or elimination of entire races. We've got other problems (population, pollution, electricity, water, to name a few) to worry about. If only the politicians could realise this.

---Updated on 17-Jan-2005 at 13:05---

I read in the Times of India today that part of the reason for this controversy is that there was some material being distributed that said,

idol worship and prostitution are sinful

or something of the sort. That's a real smart thing to do, especially if you want the moral police all over you.