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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grandk who wrote (19706)	3/24/2005 9:55:28 AM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28931

She is painted as mean, hungry for onions and perhaps thirsting for blood. A witch rumoured to be on the prowl on the streets of Delhi has caused a scare among sections of people, the same who probably earlier fell for such gags as a monkey man who attacked at will, zucchinis filled with snake venom and milk-sipping Ganeshas. The witch - some say three of them - turns up at the door and asks for onions. "When you give her an onion, she cuts it in half and blood starts dripping. Then you die instantly," said Shanti Devi, a housemaid working in an east Delhi residential colony. Added Saroj Chauhan, a homemaker from Rajouri Garden in west Delhi: "She is an evil soul. She can even disguise herself as someone you know." Only a palm print in turmeric or henna on the door can ward off the evil hag, so don't be surprised at the sight of yellow handprints on houses in east, west and even upscale areas of south Delhi. There are voices that the whole thing is political, given that the upraised palm is the symbol of the country's ruling party Congress. But has anyone seen her? "No, we have heard it from various people," said 11-year-old Rahul, whose Mayur Vihar home has a palm print. And now people swear she has been spotted in neighbouring towns such as Meerut and Faridabad. The story goes that three witches escaped from Rajastan's Balaji temple when a child unwittingly pulled out the nails that had pinned them to a post! And now they are wandering in the streets of the capital. Rumours have it that the nasty witch has claimed 100 victims already! Even natural deaths are being attributed to the unseen menace, causing phobia and some alarm among the local police. "We are not aware of any such problem, but the police in those areas will be on the watch for any trouble," said Ranjit Narayan, joint commissioner (crime), Delhi Police. Asked whether there had been any "incidents", Narayan chuckled. "Our men are there to protect. If they see her, they will tell her to lay off!" But many people seriously believe the witch is bad business. Holy men sporting saffron and matted hair, who usually make house calls seeking alms, have apparently sensed the opportunity to "help" people ward off the witch for a price. "It is all nonsense," said Sanal Edamaruku of the Indian Rationalists Association, who makes it his business to expose hoaxes and so-called supernatural phenomena that have often gripped public imagination. "Unfortunately, people are so unquestioning and gullible. They are ready to believe anything," he remarked, referring to the mass hysteria over past rumours like the monkey man and the Ganesha idols drinking milk. "Witch stories are interesting, but they are not real. People have to activate the critical faculties of their mind and develop some common sense." Edamaruku said he spoke to all district police chiefs, who denied there had been any deaths caused by a witch attack. Witch tales are not new to India, where superstition and blind belief thrive due to poverty and lack of education. There have been several instances of witches being lynched, publicly shamed or even killed on the tiniest suspicion of black magic. --Indo-Asian News Service news.newkerala.com

To: Grandk who wrote (19706)	3/24/2005 2:28:26 PM
From: Solon	Respond to of 28931

"Jesus broke down all the barriers" The character of the photo-brushed mythic Jesus is ugly. If He existed in some mythic fashion--it would be deplorable to contemplate. Have you read the words attributed to Him? He would never sit at my table. He was an idiot if He was anything. I would not break bread with an idiot. I would get them help or ignore them. Of course, the "Gospels" are mythic stories written decades after "Jesus". Out of hundreds...four were kept. None of the events in the "Gospels" are historical. It is 2005 and we are discussing ghosts and phantoms. Quite incredible. I plead guilty.