Missionaries

[historian]

No offence intended, but i dont think countries should allow missionaries in UNLESS they are there only to help with medicine food etc...
I've seen at first hand the havoc they create by eliminating local cultures and imposing their views instead.
I think its an insult to go somewhere and tell people they are wrong in their beliefs.
Historically, the arrival of missionaries has always been the prelude to economic exploitation and greed (Brazil/Portugal - Peru/Spain etc...)
They almost always manage to turn uninhibited people into walking examples of guilt (the hawaiians and nudity/clothing for example)
I realize there are some sincere ones who truly want to help but in the end it is the general perception which counts.
Ok - burn me at the stake - im ready

[daveskilt]

1. as a former missionary... I agree

religion is the worst offender of colonial oppresion ever. a lot of missionaries do good work and if that is their primary focus great but beating people over the head with a bible gets nothing done.

[DenverDem]

2. You are correct, sir.

It's no surprise that the agents from that great American PAC, the southern baptists, pissed Iraqis off enough to get whacked.

[grannylib]

3. Missionaries' focus should be on sustainable development and

improving the quality of life for the indiginous people; absolutely fine if their motivation is Christian love, but that does NOT equal proselytizing!
The best sermons are preached in action, not in words...
"And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love."

Unfortunately all too many 'Christians' are being known for their bigotry, hatred, etc.

[Kanary]

4. Since we can't undo the damage from the past

It's time to learn from it and prevent more damage in the future.

To me, it's analogous to continuuing to eliminate endangered species. Wiping out cultures is a loss to the whole world. They're not replaceable.

When will we learn to value what we don't understand?

Kanary

Another Delusional Diehard for Dennis!!

Kucinich 2004!

[jus_the_facts]

5. they're the only real *christians* IMHO......

.....who actually practice what they preach....."give up your possessions and follow me..." or some such!! ;-)

[historian]

6. im assuming you are being serious

Give up your possessions.... then go elsewhere and take somebody else's seems to be the reality of things

[jus_the_facts]

8. yeah I'm serious...the ones who go to 3rd world countries....

....and actually HELP others in need....not that agree they should spread their delusions....but the act of givin'up their cushy lives here...and put their selves in danger in all sorts o'ways....I have to commend them for followin' what Jeebus said you should do s'all I'm sayin'! :hi:

[daveskilt]

9. dont need to go to 3rd world countries

I was a missionary in an inner city in England. plenty of hungry, impoverished, drug addicted, desperate, and needy folks there and other big cities in the western world.

Maybe that is *'s plan - make lots of new poor desperate people who will turn to his religion?

[jus_the_facts]

11. s'true indeed....

......there are...I just meant that the ones who leave their modern way of life behind completely s'all! :)

[playahata1]

7. Famous quote:

"WE HAD THE LAND, THEY CAME WITH THE BIBLE.
WHEN THEY LEFT, THEY HAD THE LAND, AND WE HAD THE BIBLE."

[Az]

10. Missionaries carrying a message are culture warriors

If they are simply there to ease suffering they are doing good work. If they are there attempting to change people they are partaking in a culture war.

Of course the problem is that they believe they are saving souls. This is a critical issue in this diverse world. The need for the social contract is ever more vital and yet individuals and groups continue to throw it aside. In pressing their view of the world on others they discard those people's beliefs. They impose their belief systems as being correct and the others as wrong.

It can be exceedingly frustating. When you know the truth and are faced with someone clearly wrong you honestly wish to correct them. This is simply part of human nature. But our complex society demands that we restrain ourselves on this issue. Particularly from forcefully imposing beliefs.

Ideas battle for territory in our minds. Those ideas which develop methods of superior propogation can spread far faster than those that are more reclusive. This is the battle ground in which Missionaries fight. They may not even be aware of their actions as part of this evolutionary battlefield. But their acts of generousity form part of the delivery system of their particular belief set.

[daveskilt]

12. I was guilty of this

Although I mostly tried to say this is what I have, I think its good, I think it can make you happier - take it read it ill answer any questions or more specifically let you know where to get answers. But mostly I tried to help people find greater happiness through spirituality. By the end of my second year as a missionary I would only tell people to pray and find answers for themselves. Give them what i had and let them decide or integrate it to make them happier.

I built homes, rehabbed people from drugs, held their hands while they died, fed people etc but I still think that helping people to find happiness and self esteem through spirituality was as great or even more important in helping physical needs since the physical needs get smaller and more easily dealt with if someone has self esteem, self respect and the mental tools to cope.

[Az]

13. Well of course

Your beliefs form the basis of how you deal with the stress of the world around you. You believe that you have found the truth in the world. You see people suffering and you wish to help them. What do you have to offer. Physical assistance. But that somehow seems to be not enough. You still see the effects of the stress on them and want to help more. You have your way to offer. Its only natural.

Unfortunately some systems make use of our natural tendencies to try to help each other. Instead of allowing you to try to see the methods within their beliefs to deal with stress it guides you to present that which you have been taught to deal with it.

[daveskilt]

15. and especially in the context of being a missionary

it is almost impossible to see outside of the narrow confines of what has become your entire life. I didnt go out, date, see TV, movies etc I got up read the bible went out to do missionary things with other missionaries and then came home read the bible and went to bed for 2 years. the only way I broke out of that trapping mindset was i read the koran, the Gita, and anything else I could get my hands on (against mission rules) I still think I had something worthwhile but could see a wider view eventually and I stopped trying to convert everyone and instead looked at what did they need or want? I often wouldnt let people know I was a missionary or anything about church if that wasnt what they needed.

serving other people is a great idea, but it is much harder to look at what is the good in the eyes of the people being served and do that than to impose a worldview.

[SCDem]

14. Example of the destruction missionaries can do - Mexican town

I visited my mother (who was teaching local fisherman how to be eco-tour guides) in this little town at the tip of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It was a town of about 200 people about 6 by 6 streets wide. Three sides surrounded by water and the nearest town (Tulum) was about 1 hour drive away.

Anyway this town of about 200 has about 6 or 7 churches. It has been a favorite for missionaries I guess. Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Jehovas etc. This once little happy little town.... now people who do not go to the same church or follow the same religon do not even talk to each other when passing on the street. And this is a little town removed from the world. It should be the attitude all we have is each other. But that is not the case.

Pretty sad.