Floating books in a Dirty Port!

A bunch of us visited a floating book fair on board a ship which was docked in the chennai port.....
Even though it was an utter dissapointment, at least we did something new.

However, I was dissappointed at all the attention that was given to this boat. It was nothing but a floating christian evangelistic mission. Most of the books were on Christianity and there were free books being given away promoting the religion. So many innocent kids took these books and will most probably get influenced by it. This is what infuriates me about these missions, even though I personally have nothing against the religion.

SO many such missionaries have tried to convince me when i was in the US and I sometimes wonder if they will ever stop. I agree that the religion initially grew through such evangelism, but the context then was totally different. Then, the positions of power were held by religious leaders but now wealth is the universal oppressor and religious oppression is not really widespread anymore. I believe that Now, Religion exists merely as a spiritual support mechanism and also to provide a sense of belonging.

Now that I have bashed them up, the one positive take away is....How well they market thier religion. All aspectsof association, aggressive salesmanship, customization to local conditions, promotional incentives to convert (Education, food at the church etc.), extreme opportunism when it comes to prospecting for new markets for growth, excellent top down communication of targets....this religion runs more like a very well structured business!!

Anyways....I think the heat has finally gotten to my head now!!!

More later!