India impacted me, as it did last time I visited, but in a slightly different way. I

travelled with two others this time, one a fellow Christian and one a man with no

apparent faith. My faithless companion was impressed by the 'spirituality' of India.

For myself I was really sadenned and appalled by a religion that seems so easily to

accept the juxtaposition of abject poverty and high-tech affluence. It left me cold, the

fatalism or belief in a divine ordering of cast or other means of choosing some to

prosper & some to starve. I came to realise how important to my Christian faith is the

biblical emphasis on compassion for the needy & working for justice for the poor.

Perhaps I should see it more as a distinguishing characteristic of my faith. Either

way, I felt India oppressive & fatalistic.

I was also greatly saddened at how we (the British) had oppressed this nation and

failed to export a real vibrant Christian faith that could take root to an extent it

transformed that society. Instead having failed to 'save' India, now that we as a

nation no longer believe and arguably have little of spiritual value to offer to India, it

seems we are very successfully exporting a consumerist hedonism that is fitting in

easily and being increasingly welcomed by Indian society - something which again

will far from saved the oppressed poor there. I can imagine Jesus weeping over

how the poor of that land have not been brought practical & spiritual 'good news'.

My other travelling companion was more comfortable in the land. A more

mainstream evangelical Christian, he had spoken with his young children before

leaving and arrived with a bag full of small toys to give to needy Indian children.

Despite the apparent foolishness of this act, he just walked out of the hotel one day,

went past a church which looked rather affluent and found a small poor Catholic

mission. When he went in the padre was delighted to meet him and told him he was

that very day going to visit some children in hospital who would be glad to recieve

the toys. Ah, there was a naive beauty and even holiness to his actions and the

apparent divine appointment that ensued.