Posted by Lisa on: 05.03.2006 /
Marty was kind enough to raise a glass to toast Hemant.
He says,
“Hemant has completed his committment to visiting and reporting on his visits to 10 churches. Although we look forward to new possibilities of doing things with Hemant in the future and although we are all very grateful to the dialogue created between the Atheists and Christians on this board as a result of this Friendly Atheist coming into our lives - let us take this opportunity to convey to Hemant our appreciation and share with him what we learned from him as this chapter has now been completed.”
Thanks, Marty!
Comment by: Ir
1Thanks Hemant! (And thanks, Marty, for the toast to Hemant)
Hemant, I sometimes wonder whether people who grow up in the US are taught to value ‘excellence’. I see my children going through a school system which seems more focused on making no one feel bad than encouraging kids who can accomplish their assigments easily to go beyond what’s required and reach their own level of excellence.
In view of that it’s encouraging to me to see that there’s at least one person out there who has come through that system and does value excellence - because I do think your surveys have been absolutely excellent.
Thank you for being willing to do church surveys for Jim and Off-The-Map and not only do them but make them excellent. I hope your willingness to give your best, like you have here, will help you get wherever you want to in life. It should, because someone who gives their best is the sort of person anyone with any wisdom would want to work with.
Comment by: Julie Marie
2Hemant, I believe you met your goal of getting positive exposure for atheists. It is the prerogative of the majority to be unaware of the minority in any culture, and the strides you have made to change this are large. Watching a human being empower themselves and succeed in a worthwhile endeavor as solidly as you have succeeded always chokes me up; I am very proud of you for showing us all how to be better humans. Somehow, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of you :) I am also thankful on a personal level as my part in this “experiment” has been enlightening and enriching.
Comment by: TXatheist
3Thanks Hemant. I would have never thought of selling my soul on ebay and had I known there would be bidders willing to pay atheists to go to church I might have thought about the ebay thing but honestly I doubt I would be brave enough to go public like you did. I go to church with my grandma because I want her to be happy and if it means sitting through and hour of something I don’t believe, it’s a small sacrifice.
Comment by: Julie Marie
4ooohhh TX, most of the bidders had the intent of evangelizing him. I would hope all those that bid read at least the blog, if not the DB so they could see what the real issues are between us. I suspect there may have been an overload on your flame thrower. I mean, its one thing to hold your tongue because you love your grandma. Its another to hold it for someone who views their ‘winning’ the auction as an opportunity to preach you into the kingdom.
we are all so lucky that Jim is the one who won. What a long, strange trip its been. (back in the day, things were a bit different with me….)
Comment by: Jim Henderson
5Hemant is a very unusual young man. Being biased toward people from India it would be hard for me to not like him regardless of his viewpoint but he surpassed my expectations as a temp worker for Off The Map.
Without Hemant I would never have met any of you or had the privelege of having my assumptions challenged or my “hypothesis tested to destruction”. His diligence and openess toward “my world” has been inspiring. I know that he is going to be very successful at whatever he gets involved in and I only hope that people from “his world” follow his example of friendliness, curiosity and collaboration.
It has been a privelege to travel this recent path with Hemant and if there is a god I have to thank him for making Hemant his choice for this experiment.
Comment by: Hemant
6You’re all very kind– It’s amazing to see a holiday for an Atheist that isn’t on April 1st :)
It’s been a great experience, and I second the kudos to Jim for winning the auction. It would’ve been *very* different any other way, and probably not for the better. I’ve learned a lot and I look forward to learning more through this blog and through the writings of everyone on here.
Please keep this going!!!
Comment by: Lisa W.
7I appreciate the fact that Hemant was able to follow through with integrity throughout the project. Most of life is about ‘just showing up’. You only have to work with a contractor once on house renovations to know that. Hemant showed up week after week with insightful, honest feedback. He brought his own biasses to the table and was amazingly willing to dissect them! In doing so he is a very good role model.
Comment by: Esther
8I whole-heartedtly agree with all of the above comments!
And I am so blessed by this whole experience personally!
I am real glad that I was there on the first day this event began! I still vividly remembered the great wonder of where this would lead at the beginning….?
And it turns out to be something imo better than what I have expected.
I think what I love the most about the outcome is that it is not a kind of “fairy tale” type of shallow ending - Hemant being “saved” and “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord”.
Or Hemant being looked at as a “stone-hearted atheist” and Xians therefore decided to leave him aside everafter….
No, instead, what happened was that through this experience, all who got “involved” had been enriched, enlightened, and deepen in their understanding of life, isn’t it? Our mind has expanded and we become more humble and compassionate to others.
And the best of all is that this experience encouraged us all to want to learn more, listen more because we have tasted the goodness of exchanging thoughts of each other without judging.
I love it because this is not an end but a lead to something beautiful in the future!
Big appreciation to Hemant and Jim!
Comment by: Jim Henderson
9I think Esther captures the essence of the project - “tasting the goodness of exchanging thoughts without judging” If we could popularize this idea it would definitely help to MTWABP
Comment by: Priti
10Jim,
I noticed on the blog and on several of the taped interviews that you often say you are “partial” to Indians. In fact you overtly stress how much you “appreciate” and “like” Indians. To me, as an Indian, this seems very strange. In all of my experiences a caucasian man, who purports to “like” Indians, is interested in something more than fostering relationships between certain ethnic groups.
I would have appreciated it if you didn’t *always* point out Hemant’s ethnicity and your *acceptance* of it. I think that we are all human beings here and instead of saying “I trusted that Hemant would do what he did…because he was Indian” was an insult at least! Please know that it is offensive when you talk about a person’s specific race in a stereotypic way, whether positive or negative. It would be the same as saying “Yea I knew he was going to be cheap because he was Jewish” or “I knew he was going to control the situation becasue he was German”. We are all individuals.
The fact that you are apt to categorize a people or to like a specific person because of their ethniciity makes me question why you are so adament about a particular religion and why you are partial to one belief.If your reception toward ethnic groups–your partiality toward Indians–is any indication of your religous perception–then I think you need to re-evaluate these beliefs!
For the record, I don’t think Hemant’s race *needs* to be pointed out every interview and I still watch my purse on the L..even if you are white, Hispanic, Indiand, black, purple, pink, green, or blue…
Just a thought….
Comment by: Ir
11Priti,
Thanks for sharing.
I’m wondering why it didn’t occur to me that Jim’s comments about Hemant’s ethnicity might offend anyone. Maybe because they were positive comments.
But I see your point, because I think I’d have mixed feelings if someone said they liked me because I was a certain ethnicity - even though that is a ‘positive’ comment. I’d rather they liked me because I’m me.
Thanks for raising my awareness.
Comment by: Jim Henderson
12Thanks - this is a complex issue and I find it interesting to be on the receiving end of being thought of as racist but I can understand your viewpoint - It is (imo) unfortunate that our world(s) have become so laden with “reading into” each others motives and it is certainly easier assume ignorance/guilt etc than to offer one the benefit of the doubt.
For example - it would be easier for me to respond to your concerns with a dismissive “thanks” with no comment instead of attempting to express what I really think about your perceptions in this blog, knowing that the odds are against me to be read fairly and I am even offering what might appear as a defense. Typically this is taken as proof of the original accusation since mostly these arguments are about power and we are very reluctant to give it up once we have aquired it especially groups who have had to fight for it.
So am I sorry - yes and no.
Yes to you Priti for offending your sensibilities and perception of how you read my words
No because I meant what I said and continue to learn that sometimes my opinions happen to fall outside the ROAA
Comment by: Hemant
13Priti– Yeah, I noticed that, too. It never offended me, and I never questioned Jim on it, but it did make me do a double take each time he’s said it. I think I was thinking along the lines of what Ir said– I would want someone to trust me for me, not because I was Indian.
But I always got the impression that Jim did see me for me, so his intentions were never mistaken. He was merely trying to tell me where he was coming from.
For what it’s worth, it would be awkward for me if anyone said to me, “I worked in Africa and that’s why I trust black people.” I think the implication for some people might be that you wouldn’t trust whatever race/ethnicity unless you had spent time with them. Which I think everyone here disagrees with.
– Hemant
Comment by: Jim Henderson
14Hemant explains my feelings quite accurately.
Comment by: Keith
15I guess I’m a day late for the holiday, but I just wanted to say thanks, Hemant. Your time and effort on this project has been beneficial for many of us, myself very much included. Thank you.