The Christian must seek out, meet with, greet, unbelievers, absolutely, but only as fellow human beings.
«2nd Epistle of St John, chapter i, verses 9-11: "Whosoever revolts, and continues not in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God, but he that continues in the doctrine, the same has both the Father and the Son. If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, 'God speed you.' For he that says unto him, God speed you, takes part in his wicked works."»
«1917 Code of Canon Law: "Canon # 1325.1 Obligation to Profess the Faith - The faithful are bound to profess their faith openly whenever under the circumstances silence, evasion, or their manner of acting would otherwise implicitly amount to a denial of the faith, or would involve contempt of religion, an offense to God, or scandal to the neighbor."»
«Catechism Question: In how many ways may we either cause or share in the guilt of another's sin? Answer: We may either cause or share the guilt of another's sin in nine ways: 1. By counsel; 2. By command; 3. By consent; 4. By provocation; 5. By praise or flattery; 6. By concealment; 7. By being a partner in the sin; 8. By silence; 9. By defending the ill done.»
What is forbidden by Christianity is putting Christianity on the same level as any false religion, partaking in Pagan "festivities," which, even if not liturgical, is quasi-liturgical. At any rate, a Christian is forbidden from legitimizing, or even seeming to legitimize any system of error.
One can, and must salute one's neighbor, but one can never salute error.
I can say "Good morning," to anybody, but if I say, "Eid Mubarak," or "Happy Diwali," even if I don't say, "Jai Shri Ram," or "Salam Alaikum," I have sinned mortally, and committed an act of Apostasy.
When I greet a Muslim on "Bakri Eid," where they falsify God, saying that Abraham took up Ismael, not Isaac, to sacrifice, I join the Muslim in calling God a Liar, in blaspheming Him. The worst part of Hell is reserved for those who call or make God a Liar, including the Accursed and Damned Mahomet the Profitless.
My objection is to "Cordial greeting" on the "occasion" of Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Eid, etc. as the context of the document that I responded to demonstrates that context.
"The lay faithful for their part have traditionally engaged in 'the social and cultural dimension' (of Pagan festivals), incurring no censure, by cordially greeting neighbours and, or, friends.
"As a friend of mine says, it is a pity that 'good sense observed by the lay faithful since times immemorial is shockingly being violated now by some priests and nuns with all their theological preparation.'"
There are two statements cited, one is a direct quote, the other a "third party" quote.
The context for both statements is the same.
The two statements ramify each other.
The implication is "Happy Ganesh Chaturthi," "Happy Diwali," as "mere greetings" at a merely social level, together with a "tactful" avoidance, or even a refusal, to "have an audience," ("Darshan,") or to even seem to participate in the direct act of worship.
This is my understanding.
I have seen a nearly infinite number of "Catholics" do it.
I have not seen "Evangelical Protestants" do that generally speaking, though I have seen a minority of Protestants do that.
I have seen at least two "Catholic Charismatic Renewal" families accept prasad, and justify themselves by saying that they say "Grace" before consuming it.
If this my understanding above, of the article in question, is incorrect, then I am plainly in the wrong.
From hard experience, I am pretty sure that I have put my finger to the nub of the problem.
If my understanding is correct, however, then we have a very certain problem.
The nub of the issue is explicated by St Paul the Apostle in his discourses on the consumption of "foods sacrificed to idols" in his two Epistles to the Corinthians.
As Christians, we know that these two Epistles express the mind of God, are what the Church categorizes as the Word of God.
St Paul lays out two aspects to why a Christian should not ear such foods.
One aspect is of scandal to the weak Christian. That is a grave cause but it is not the cause with the highest value.
If, in the eyes of God, He sees that I, even by unthinkingness, carelessness, caused a weak Christian to be corrupted and thus to sin, and to be damned to Hell, He will demand an accounting from me. And indeed, this can, keeping Ezechiel 3 & 33 in mind, even cause me to be myself damned to Hell. That is Grave Cause.
The weightier cause is my duty to bear witness to the non-Christian that the Christian God is the only true God. With that is the equally stressed corollary that I must bear witness that the non-Christian worships false gods, worships devils, in fact.
That is the nub of the issue.
If I, by my actions, DO NOT offend the non-Christian into knowing, at the very least, that I consider his gods to be false gods, and that I am strictly forbidden from having anything to do with them, then I have effectively failed to acknowledge Jesus Christ before men, I have sinned against Charity and Mercy, and I will usually be "rewarded" by Jesus Christ Himself refusing to acknowledge me before His Father, as He warned.
This is a Grave Sin. It is the Gravest Matter in this subject of discussion.
Jesus Christ said that He came, not so much as to bring peace, as much as to bring a sword.
Jesus Christ offended, and accepted paying the price.
Jesus Christ expects us too to offend. The purpose of offense is to provoke the "offendees" to take thought, that they may open themselves to the Grace of God, that they be saved.
A refusal to offend is a refusal to confess Jesus Christ.
Christianity was never spread by diplomacy. Souls were never brought to Christ by tactfulness.
There is a valuable, a very valuable place, for Diplomacy and for tact, but that is very certainly not in the "Breaking of the Bread," bearing witness to Jesus Christ.
A person who pretends to "prudentially" "greet" Pagans, e.g. Hindus, Muslims, on their "religious" occasions, by merely giving them "good wishes" on the occasion but refusing to participate in "taking audience" ("Darshan,") or refusing to participate in the actual rite of worship of the false gods, e.g. "Allah," Rama, Krishna, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati, "Sai Baba," etc. deceives himself, and his "followers," that he has been "clever," "prudent," has not displeased his neighbor nor displeased the Living God; he has in fact, gravely insulted God, sinned exceedingly and Mortally unto Eternal Damnation, both in doing and by teaching, against both God and against his neighbor (See Ezechiel chapters 3 & 33). He has also committed the sin of effectively saying, "God speed you," to one who came to him bearing a false gospel.
Lúcío João Mascarenhas
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