Missionaries, your thoughts?

#1
OrangeEmpire

OrangeEmpire

The White Debonair
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Nov 28, 2005
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#1
OE was listening to sports talk and tebow was mentioned. The guest said something to the effect of ive always had a problem with people preying on hungry underpriviledged people trying to sell them on religion.

OE admits he is a bible thumper but never really looked at it this way. I wouldnt think my brother in peru doing medical work is a bad thing
 
#2
#2
James 1
27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Is any commentary necessary?
 
#3
#3
Missionaries are great, so long as they give aid without prosletyzing.
 
#5
#5
RespectTradition said:
Then they aren't missionaries, they are aid workers.
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I categorically disagree; one can have a religious mission to heal the sick and feed the hungry and can do so without every trying to Evangelize or talk about the Gospel, the Koran, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, etc.

You may say that without proselytizing they are not "Christian Missionaries"; I may or may not agree with depending upon how you define "Christian".

If I am a Kantian, I can believe in "true religion" and then believe that my duty is to maximize the good in every possible situation. That would be "missionary"; yet, I could do so without ever trying to convert anyone else to the Kantian school of thought.
 
#6
#6
therealUT said:
I categorically disagree; one can have a religious mission to heal the sick and feed the hungry and can do so without every trying to Evangelize or talk about the Gospel, the Koran, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, etc.

You may say that without proselytizing they are not "Christian Missionaries"; I may or may not agree with depending upon how you define "Christian".

If I am a Kantian, I can believe in "true religion" and then believe that my duty is to maximize the good in every possible situation. That would be "missionary"; yet, I could do so without ever trying to convert anyone else to the Kantian school of thought.
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Then you are categorically wrong.
 
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#7
#7
All major religions have a patriarch that came from humble beginnings (coincidently, all from a virgin as well) that appeal to the meek and poor. Missionaries work in the same way. This is not a mistake of circumstances, it is draft appeal to populism. It shouldn't be a huge surprise they market to the poor and uneducated, given what they are selling.
 
#8
#8
RespectTradition said:
Then you are categorically wrong.
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Only according to you.

missionary, n. and adj.
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈmɪʃnˌəri/ , /ˈmɪʃnˌri/ , U.S. /ˈmɪʃəˌnɛri/
Etymology: < post-classical Latin missionarius (c1620 or earlier) < classical Latin missi&#333;n- , missi&#333; mission n. + -&#257;rius -ary suffix1. Compare French missionnaire (1624 as noun, 1685 as adjective), Italian missionario (1622 or earlier as noun, 20th cent. as adjective), Spanish misionero (mid 17th cent. as noun and adjective; also †misionario ), Portuguese missionário (mid 17th cent. as noun). Compare slightly later missionaire n., missioner n.
A. n.
1.
a. A person sent on or engaged in a religious mission abroad. Also: a person engaged in evangelical or humanitarian work at home
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#11
#11
That is not an exclusive or, as anyone familiar with common usages knows.
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People believe what they want, not what is reality.

I don't have an issue with people going abroad to help, as in the case of OEs brother. It is admirable. But the preaching isn't required, or even necessary.
 
#12
#12
Missionaries are what I find to be most deplorable about organized religion in West. If you want to spend your hard earned money and time to help less fortunate people; I applaud you. I really do. Don't engage the less fortunate under good samaritan pretenses in hopes of gaining their trust and ultimately sway their hearts and minds towards your religious beliefs. Engage the less fortunate in admirable way, impart your good deed upon them, and leave your religious beliefs at home. Furthermore, I would hope that you do it for the right reasons. Being that it is the right thing to do; the honorable thing to do. Not out of fear for judgement day or to score points for whatever deity you pray to.
 
#13
#13
BearCat204 said:
Not a huge fan of missionary
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weirdlook.gif
 
#17
#17
VOLatile said:
Good. I don't like missionaries.
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I used to live out in the county, and I was very obsessive with my front yard. From the garden, the grass, the trees, hedges/bushes, and walkways. It was a real piece of work. Anywho, for some reason, there was a big surge of Mormon bicyclists who just pestered the living piss out of myself along with most other folks in my neighborhood.

About once or twice a week, around the same time I was indulging my lawn obsession (it was like effing clockwork), one or two nicely dressed young men around my age would just park their bikes beside my driveway, walk up without warning, and start helping me work. It startled me the first few times, and despite my asking them to not come back again, they'd show up. It became easier and easier to drown out their menial (albeit incessant) attempts at witnessing. Finally, I realized they weren't going to stop. I came to terms with it and I just said to myself "**** it. I'll put in my earplugs and usurp the free labor while listening to Fishbone."

After this glorious epiphany, they stopped showing up after the Earplug Initiative completed its first test run.

So, I guess I don't have qualms with that sort of stuff. Like anything governed by man, mission work is susceptible to abuse. If God were real, then I'm sure the Bible would address this in greater detail if he disapproved.
 
#18
#18
therealUT said:
Missionaries are great, so long as they give aid without prosletyzing.
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Spoken like a true Marxist. You just want people to give something in exchange for nothing.

It's a quid pro quo. You want their assistance, you gotta listen to their ministry.
 
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#20
#20
Rasputin_Vol said:
Spoken like a true Marxist. You just want people to give something in exchange for nothing.

It's a quid pro quo. You want their assistance, you gotta listen to their ministry.
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Hmmm, I'm having a tough time thinking of aid organizations which ask for anything in return.
 
#22
#22
Rasputin_Vol said:
Spoken like a true Marxist. You just want people to give something in exchange for nothing.

It's a quid pro quo. You want their assistance, you gotta listen to their ministry.
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I am a Marxist? Do tell me what you mean by that term and how I fit it by asserting that "aid" should not be attached to conditions. I am waiting with baited breath because this should be good.

Feel free to offer definitions of "Marxism", "aid", "missionary", and "proselytize".

By the way, you have just made your form of Christianity look empty, amoral, and dumb.
DinkinFlicka said:
Hmmm, I'm having a tough time thinking of aid organizations which ask for anything in return.
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Exactly. This is not "aid" anymore, it is selling a "product". It is neither altruism nor charity. It is absolutely despicable; which, is why I do not endorse evangelical missionaries.
 
#23
#23
Isn't this really a Catholic vs. Protestant perspective more than anything else?
 
#24
#24
therealUT said:
Exactly. This is not "aid" anymore, it is selling a "product". It is neither altruism nor charity. It is absolutely despicable; which, is why I do not endorse evangelical missionaries.
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Hey now, those Mormons really helped my yard come together. It was fit for a princess to have a picnic there.
 
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