Indian skeptic charged with "blasphemy" for revealing secret behind "miracle" of weeping cross

Indian skeptic charged with "blasphemy" for revealing secret behind "miracle" of weeping cross
(Boingboing.net)

Just when you thought the Catholic Church was done with this nonsense...

An Indian skeptic who was invited by a local TV station to investigate the mystery behind a weeping statue of Christ, found that it was water from a nearby drain that had been seeping into it by way of capillary action. He has been persecuted by Church leaders and charged with "blasphemy". Now the police have an arrest warrant out for him.

Here we are in the 21st century and the church is still using a medieval mindset to dispose of it's enemies.

On 10th March, Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Rationalist International, flew to Mumbai. The TV channel TV-9 had invited him to investigate a “miracle” that caused local excitement. He went with the TV team to Irla in Vile Parle to inspect the crucifix standing there in front of the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni. This crucifix had become the centre of attraction for an ever growing crowd of believers coming from far and wide. The news of the miracle spread like wild fire. For some days, there were little droplets of water trickling from Jesus’ feet. Hundreds of people came every day to pray and collect some of the “holy water” in bottles and vessels. Sanal Edamaruku identified the source of the water (a drainage near a washing room) and the mechanism how it reached Jesus feet (capillary action). The local church leaders, present during his investigation, appeared to be displeased.

Some hours later, in a live program on TV-9, Sanal explained his findings and accused the concerned Catholic Church officials of miracle mongering, as they were beating the big drum for the drippling Jesus statue with aggressive PR measures and by distributing photographs certifying the “miracle”. A heated debate began, in which the five church people, among them Fr. Augustine Palett, the priest of Our Lady of Velankanni church, and representatives of the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) demanded that Sanal apologize. But Sanal refused and argued against them. [The whole TV program is recorded. You can watch an abridged version of it on YouTube.]

When they saw Sanal refused to bow to their demands, they threatened to file a blasphemy case against him. And they did. Yesterday (10th April,2012) Sanal received a phone call from a Police official of Juhu Police Station in Mumbai directing him to come to the said police station to face the charges and get arrested. He also said that FIRs have also been filed in Andheri and some other police stations u/s 295 of Indian Penal Code on the allegations of hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community. Mumbai police has announced that they were out to arrest him. It is apprehended that he can be arrested any moment.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


That bastard! He needs to be drawn and quartered for his words! How dare he use science and logic to show that our most sacred illusions are nothing but idiocy?

Seriously though, you can be arrested for using a condom in Vatican City. I'm not surprised that they are going after this guy for proving them to be a bunch of morons.

I agree with him 100%
Please CHARGE me with "blasphemy" so I can counter-sue them for idiocy

Click here for more information.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Thats the church for you ****ing it up for everyone for over two thousand years, Islam even longer.

2nd line

Click here for more information.

It could be worse, he could be executed like children are today in Africa by christians because they are deemed to be witches.

reply to post by HangTheTraitors


Makes you think about what kind of stupid people there must be to have laws in place where you can be arrested for Heresy.

The stupidity of people is often mindboggling!

Apparently this statue was a cash cow for that parish, can't let a rational explanation ruin everyone's fun (or the church's profit).

I love how the church elders tried to coerce him into silence, then made good on their threat to sic the cops on him.

He also said that FIRs have also been filed in Andheri and some other police stations u/s 295 of Indian Penal Code on the allegations of hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community.

1. Looks like its the law at work.
India is a secular country where the law tries to protect peoples religious rights.
I bet the cops who will arrest him would be hindus.... and the judge he hears from would also be a hindu.



2. The skeptic in question happens to head the "Rationalist International" organization, making it clear that he has an agenda of his own.
His organizations website
His wiki page


3. The TV channel you see in that youtube clip is one of the trashiest excuses for a news channel in India.
They are known to sensationalize news reports for ratings...and this incident is another example.

The TV channel TV-9 had invited him to investigate a “miracle” that caused local excitement.

There you go... they just wanted to CREATE a "news story" by pitting a known atheist against a church who believed they were witnessing a miracle. Like tossing a lit torch into a crate of dynamite.


my 2 cents.

reply to post by sk0rpi0n

There you go... they just wanted to CREATE a "news story" by pitting a known atheist against a church who believed they were witnessing a miracle. Like tossing a lit torch into a crate of dynamite.

This may be true, but it is not really relevant in the end.

India, despite being a secular country where the law tries to protect peoples religious rights. I bet the cops who will arrest him would be hindus.... and the judge he hears from would also be a hindu.

I dont really know what exactly did the skeptic said on the TV, but exposing false miracles is no grounds for any charge, not even an absurd "hurting religious sentiments" charge.

reply to post by Maslo

I dont really know what exactly did the skeptic said on the TV, but exposing false miracles is no grounds for any charge, not even an absurd "hurting religious sentiments" charge.

I commend this guys works in exposing false "god men" (frauds who pose as saints who deceive the unsuspecting public)... but there was really no need to go up to a church with a TV crew and make a big scene.

Sure, the church did over react in calling the cops on him. They could have shown some class and just acknowledged that there was an explanation to the dripping water.

However, India does have a law against "hurting peoples religious sentiments"... technically the church guys felt that their sentiments were hurt and sequentially used the law to their advantage.

When you have a whole paganistic church posing in Christian clothes do not be surprised when you rip their cassocks off that they are wearing frilly knickers and stockings

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


i didnt know it by heart so i broke out my bible.

Exodus 20:4 you shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth

20:5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

So who is in the wrong here?

Originally posted by freewestray
reply to post by Blackmarketeer

 

Thats the church for you ****ing it up for everyone for over two thousand years, Islam even longer.

2nd line

Islam's 700 years younger than Christianity.

It's impossible for Islam to of been messing things up for even longer than two thousand years, it hasn't been around for that long.

I'm not defending Islam's offenses, I'm just saying, they don't go back quite as far as you seem to think.