The Everyday Club

1/25/10 Danvir, Debjit, both 22
Two graduate students sat at a table in IIT's student center, and agreed to answer my questions. I let them know I'm from a nearby church, and I asked many questions about their religious beliefs (Hindu) and about their lives at home in India. (They both came to the U.S. and IIT this year.) An interesting question I asked was "How will you raise your children?" They were both quick to say they would give their children complete choice of whatever religion seemed right to them. At times they said they were religious, other times they said they didn't have much to do with religion anymore. They say they believe in just one God (Krishna) who takes many different forms. I asked if they had ever studied world religions. They had not. They asked me what I thought of Muslims. I tried to keep things positive and told them I believe the majority of Muslims are respectful and peaceful. Then I described some differences in beliefs about Jesus between Christians and Muslims which led to their questions "What do Christians believe?" Ten minutes of friendly questions about their beliefs and culture led to a twenty minute opportunity to share the Christian faith. They had never heard of the Ten Commandments and had good questions about the Holy Trinity and the purpose of Jesus' death on the cross. Debjit asked "Can I become a Christian and still remain a Hindu? I wasn't quite sure how to answer that, because Hinduism is more than a set of religious beliefs, it's a whole culture. I told them we share common moral/ethical beliefs. They both expressed an interest in coming to visit my church; I hope they do.