http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=8&article=2256
How Paganism Affects Reality: Hinduism and Nepal Airlines
| by | Dave Miller, Ph.D. |
State-run Nepal Airlines is not a large company by any means. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia. When an electrical glitch developed recently in one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the airline found it necessary to suspend some of its services temporarily. As part of the solution to the problem, airline officials sacrificed two goats to appease the Hindu sky god, Akash Bhairab (“Airline Sacrifices...,” 2007). That’s correct—in keeping with Hindu rituals, two goats were sacrificed in front of the ailing aircraft at Nepal’s international airport in Kathmandu. Situated on India’s northeast border, sacrificing animals in this Himalayan country to appease Hindu deities is common.
When humans embrace pagan superstition, their judgment becomes impaired. The behavior that results from an animistic belief system may seem quaint and harmless—but it can be deadly, both physically and spiritually. Listen to the apostle Paul’s observations on the matter:
[A]lthough they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but becamefutile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever (Romans 1:21-25, emp. added).
[Y]ou should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus (Ephesians 4:17-21, emp. added).
Sacrificing a couple of goats on an airport runway seems trivial enough. However, it hardly inspires confidence in the capability of airline personnel.
REFERENCES
“Airline Sacrifices Goats to Appease Sky God” (2007), Reuters, September 4, [On-line], URL:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070904/od_nm/nepal_airline_odd_dc.
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