2 Christian organizations are ready to convert Iraqis

<i>(Let me preface my rant by letting you know that I am not attacking religion in general. I am merely relating my personal experience growing up attending a southern baptist church.)</i>

You can't sit there and tell me that missoinaries (baptists, at least) are not trying to convince non-christians that they are not doomed to hell and that the charity that they provide is via a chistian god.

I spent my entire youth being bombarded with the hypocracy of a baptist church.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not attacking christian beliefs. You have every right to believe what you want (just as I do). I respect EVERYONE'S faith. I don't judge people on thier religious views (baptists included), even if I don't agree with them. But I do have a hard time tolerating judgemental hipocrits.

We are talking about the same religious group that uses scare tactics here in America to convert people into god-fearing christians. I can only imagine what goes on outside of the country.

How many of you have had to sit through their armageddon propaganda films at church? In my small town these events were commonplace. They would show these films and 3/4's of the people would all rush up to be 'saved'.

Southern baptists scare me some times.

 

SpaceCity,

1. No one is denying that Baptist missionaries are "trying to convince non-christians that they are doomed to hell and that the charity that they provide is via a chistian god." Juan's point is that they are not FORCING people to believe that, nor are they making the belief a condition of receiving their charitible work. Everyone in America has the right to convince others to believe in anything legally.

2. Not all Southern Baptists are alike. Maybe you should try some other churches?

3. I appreciate your respect for other people's faiths. But your intolerance of the "intolerant hypocrits" sounds a bit hypocritical to me.

 

Lol

 

Easy,
1) I am not implying that they physically force people. I know it's a long, repetitive process. If you hear something over and over you may actually start believing it.
2) You are correct, and I have. Many religions are more tolerant than baptists.
3) I only become intolerant when I am unjustly judged. If someone feels compelled to preach to me on how doomed I am, they better be prepared for some healthy debate!

 

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

 

One of the reasons we are attacking Iraq is to remove the threat to the Saudis so we can get the hell out of Islam's holy land.

Any Christian missionaries applying for visas to Iraq should be denied.

 

You can't do that if Iraq were to be a liberal democracy.

The Iraqis should learn to live with new and foreign influences in their society, an essential step towards an open society.

 

Sending American Christian Missionaries to an Arab country after this conflict is akin to throwing gasoline on a fire. We don't need Baptists going to convert Iraqis, and our government should not allow this to happen.

Iraq already has a Christian population. Send the Iraqi Christians money if you want to convert people.

 

The American government is not sending the missionaries, nor does it have the authority or ought to ban them into Iraq. True We don't need Baptists going to convert Iraqis, but banning them would be a gross violation of the constitution of the US and a very bad precedent for the new Iraqi government. Let everyone, every charitable organization in, Baptist, Buddhist, Islamic, whatever, and provide no endorsement except protection of safety.

 

I know you are right.

I just hope they don't go, because they are only hurting the greater cause.

 

Well, Baptists going in is better than Scientologists going in, I guess.

We have to leave something to chance, or devine providence, depending on what you believe.

 

I thought you advocated tolerance and understanding?!?!?!?! I hope this is a really bad joke

i was partly being sarcastic. See the smilies. I do think it is bad form to allow religious people to control needed resources to desperate people in the US or abroad. I think it is naive to think that they don't porselytize. Some are going to do it and it is very hard to supervise them. The desperate feel like that they have to agree with those who dispense the aid. I have heard several times in my life from people who felt at least mildly coerced to listen to "voluntary" sermons or go to services.

Of course my post was somewhat sarcastic, especially about converting the Jews and Palestinians, but I do know that some of my Jewish friends go to syangougues where they are quite worried about evangelicals who focus on converting Jews.

I agree with Heath this is like pouring gasoline on fire to open Iraq to Christian missionaries at this time. The US has aggravated the humanitarian disaster in Iraq with this invasion. It should foot the bill and not try to pass it off on Churches.

 

How do you suppose the government NOT to "allow religious people to control needed resources"? The resources are theirs. They are not government resources. They are private donations. Are you suggesting that the government should take away those resources from the private sector and control them?

The only thing the government can do is to say, "OK, we aren't protecting your safety out there. You're on your own." But that doesn't sound right, does it?

 

Let me preface what I am about to say with this disclaimer: I am not religious.


That said, we do those who are religious a disservice, IMO. We expect people who believe they know why we are on this planet to treat that 'knowledge' and any actions which derive from it as if it were something as insignificant as it would be for those of us who don't beleive...to compartmentalize it into Sunday between 11am and 12 am, or whatever...to act as though it were a family secret never to be brought up in polite society...Remember, if they are right, they are in posession of the most important information antof us will ever have; the meaning of life. The fact that I don't share their beliefs doesn't mean that I should expect them to treat those beliefs like I treat my, say, sports affiliation. In fact, we are generally more comfortable with someone expressing their sports affiliation that we are about them expressing their belief as to the nature of our existence.

As long as they don't forcefully try to convert me, and resoect my non-belief when I ask them to, I have no problem with them expressing theirs. And people like those guys who come door to door, or these people willing to go to Iraq are doing a hell of a lot more in support of their beliefs than most of us do...under the conditions I outlined above, I say more power to 'em.

 

MacBeth,

This is the best post I've seen so far in this thread.

 

Great post

I completely agree with you. I greatly respect someone that is willing to express their beliefs even if i disagree with them. The big catch is that they dont try to forcefully convert me or resort to scare tactics.