Pope And The Sikh

About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Sikhs had
to leave Italy. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Sikh
community.

So the Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a
member of the Sikh community. If the Sikh won, the Sikhs could stay.
If the Pope won, the Sikhs would leave.

The Sikhs realized that they had no choice. So they picked a middle
aged man named Santa Singh to represent them.

Santa Singh asked for one addition to the debate. To make it more
interesting, neither side would be allowed to talk.

The Pope agreed. The day of the great debate came. Santa Singh & the
Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised
his hand & showed three fingers. Santa Singh looked back at him &
raised one finger.

The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Santa Singh
pointed to the ground where he sat.

The Pope pulled out a wafer & a glass of wine. Santa Singh pulled
out an apple. The Pope stood up & said I give up. This man is too
good. The Sikhs can stay.

An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him
what had happened.

The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the
trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that
there was still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my
finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded
by pointing to the ground & showing that God was also right here with
us. I pulled out the wine & wafer to show that God absolves us from
our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had
an answer for everything. What could I do?"

Meanwhile, the Sikh community had crowded around Santa Singh. "What
happened?" they asked.

"Well," said Santa Singh, "First he said to me that the Sikhs had
three days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was
leaving. Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of
Sikhs. I pointed down to let him know that we were staying right here
in this land."

"Yes, yes & then???" asked the crowd.

"I don't know", said Santa Singh, "He took out his lunch & I took
out mine."