Missionaries should be banned

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:"Just as the first millennium saw the cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the third Christian millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent," he told a crowd in a New Delhi sports stadium.

-Pope John Paul II while he was treated as an honored guest in India, November 1999

Disgusting.

Was anybody in that stadium against their will? Was the pope forcibly converting anyone there? I’m not Catholic but even I can see your outrage is faux.

Your hatred is sort of appalling.

Your supremacist religion and it's supremacist leader are sort of appalling.

Your reductive stereotypes and bigotry are pretty appalling. Get help.

The need to "harvest" souls because you stereotype them as 'godless and uncivilized' is pretty bigoted and appalling.

Your throwing stones from a glass house (or glass church).

1. The pope did not say “uncivilized”, you made that up
2. You might not like the word “harvest” but it sounds pretty consensual
3. You’re not your

You must think that the choir boys being raped sounds pretty consensual too.

Your true colors come out in spittle-flecked ad hominems. Try to stick to the topic.

It’s on topic with your comments. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it.

People who enter a stadium voluntarily aren’t the same as choir boys being raped. You just had to get that in, didn’t you? Get help for your hatred and bigotry.

Lol, tell me how harvesting sounds consensual and then we can talk.

LOL, show us an interview with a single one of those “harvested” people filling the stadium who was there involuntarily, and then we can talk.

And then get help for your hatred and bigotry.

You would be the first to cry hatred and bigotry if a Muslim religious leader had a welcome reception by our government and then proceeded to give a big speech about how Islam conquered the Middle East, Parts of South Asia, and now it’s time to plant the Islamic flag on our soul and conquer it too.

But we already got the address to your glass house so no surprises there.

Al Qaeda and ISIS have been calling for a Muslim conquest of the west for years, so you’re welcome to find a quote from a westerner calling this bigotry. But you won’t, because the response over here is to ignore it or laugh, because it’ll never happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Just as the first millennium saw the cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the third Christian millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent," he told a crowd in a New Delhi sports stadium.

-Pope John Paul II while he was treated as an honored guest in India, November 1999

Disgusting.

Was anybody in that stadium against their will? Was the pope forcibly converting anyone there? I’m not Catholic but even I can see your outrage is faux.

Your hatred is sort of appalling.

Your supremacist religion and it's supremacist leader are sort of appalling.

Your reductive stereotypes and bigotry are pretty appalling. Get help.

The need to "harvest" souls because you stereotype them as 'godless and uncivilized' is pretty bigoted and appalling.

Your throwing stones from a glass house (or glass church).

1. The pope did not say “uncivilized”, you made that up
2. You might not like the word “harvest” but it sounds pretty consensual
3. You’re not your

You must think that the choir boys being raped sounds pretty consensual too.

Your true colors come out in spittle-flecked ad hominems. Try to stick to the topic.

It’s on topic with your comments. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it.

People who enter a stadium voluntarily aren’t the same as choir boys being raped. You just had to get that in, didn’t you? Get help for your hatred and bigotry.

Lol, tell me how harvesting sounds consensual and then we can talk.

LOL, show us an interview with a single one of those “harvested” people filling the stadium who was there involuntarily, and then we can talk.

And then get help for your hatred and bigotry.

You would be the first to cry hatred and bigotry if a Muslim religious leader had a welcome reception by our government and then proceeded to give a big speech about how Islam conquered the Middle East, Parts of South Asia, and now it’s time to plant the Islamic flag on our soul and conquer it too.

But we already got the address to your glass house so no surprises there.

Al Qaeda and ISIS have been calling for a Muslim conquest of the west for years, so you’re welcome to find a quote from a westerner calling this bigotry. But you won’t, because the response over here is to ignore it or laugh, because it’ll never happen.

When they fly a plane into a building or shoot up a mall we call it terrorism. Which is different from calling them bigots. Atheist pp needs to think through her analogies a little better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Just as the first millennium saw the cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the third Christian millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent," he told a crowd in a New Delhi sports stadium.

-Pope John Paul II while he was treated as an honored guest in India, November 1999

Disgusting.

Was anybody in that stadium against their will? Was the pope forcibly converting anyone there? I’m not Catholic but even I can see your outrage is faux.

Your hatred is sort of appalling.

Your supremacist religion and it's supremacist leader are sort of appalling.

Your reductive stereotypes and bigotry are pretty appalling. Get help.

The need to "harvest" souls because you stereotype them as 'godless and uncivilized' is pretty bigoted and appalling.

Your throwing stones from a glass house (or glass church).

1. The pope did not say “uncivilized”, you made that up
2. You might not like the word “harvest” but it sounds pretty consensual
3. You’re not your

You must think that the choir boys being raped sounds pretty consensual too.

You must think that Pol Pot’s conquests were ok because he was an atheist.

[Anonymous]

On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

If I had to imagine how Satan would put down belief in God or Jesus, it would be like what you are saying. Be gone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

No need for animal sacrifice because of the tortured godman
No need to fear being cursed
No need to burn a widow, believe in bad luck

Yes, all mankind is doomed because very few will and do believe the same thing
Witchdoctors are not healers, feeding a Buddha is an additional mouth to feed for the poor.
In some African countries the first schools were mission schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

Wow. Such an entitled narcissist.

Is this really how you rationalize missionaries forcing themselves on vulnerable people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

If I had to imagine how Satan would put down belief in God or Jesus, it would be like what you are saying. Be gone

So the Satan story is better than native cultures and native religions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

How many times have you been told on this thread that missionaries don’t threaten people with hell anymore. Most Christians don’t even believe that. It’s almost like you read what you want and ignore anything that doesn’t comport with your bigotry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

How many times have you been told on this thread that missionaries don’t threaten people with hell anymore. Most Christians don’t even believe that. It’s almost like you read what you want and ignore anything that doesn’t comport with your bigotry.

MANY Christians here in the US do believe that and do force that on others. Right here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

How many times have you been told on this thread that missionaries don’t threaten people with hell anymore. Most Christians don’t even believe that. It’s almost like you read what you want and ignore anything that doesn’t comport with your bigotry.

Yes they do. You can want to believe differently all you want, but that is not the facts.

Most missionary groups in Asia and Africa are very much the fundie types and their versions of Christianity that they are converting others into would horrify most Christians in this country. They are extreme and creating new generations of extreme Christians in other countries since they no longer have enough here or in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the contrary, I see mission work as having accomplished a lot good.
Missionaries have translated the bible to indigenous languages, therefore being the first to provide them with a written language.
The new faith doesn't require sacrifices of food to a god, burning of widows, sets people free from a fear of the witches and superstitions.
Has no concept of caste, the idea that your misfortune is earned because you lived a bad life previously.

There is a lot in the traditional beliefs that people need to let go off so that they can adjust to the current century and catch up with the modern world.

So making them believe that they and all humans are depraved and sinful and that a human godman had to be tortured and sacrificed because they are so corrupted is better?

That if they don't believe in this story then they will forever burn in a fire of hell with a red man that has a pointy tail. And that if their whole family doesn't get on their knees and praise Jesus, then they will have to forever know that they are burning in hell while only the saved sit up in the clouds with all they other now dead people that believed in this story. And that there is a man in the clouds behind all this that needs praise and devotion and requires that you get as many people as possible to believe the same thing from continent to continent or else you're better off with the devil.

I agree with your last sentence though. The sooner missionaries catch up with the current century, the better.

If I had to imagine how Satan would put down belief in God or Jesus, it would be like what you are saying. Be gone

So the Satan story is better than native cultures and native religions?

Do you call belief in God and Jesus "the Satan story?"

[Anonymous]

I mean if your religion teaches that the pagan gods are demons, yeah you're going to try to stop people from engaging in evil practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a former Mormon, I served an 18-month mission, I 100% agree.

Can you tell us your experience? What turned you off to this practice?

Sure, and I'll try to be brief. Also I'm not editing so apologizes in advance if this isn't clear.

Mormonism strongly believes that they are the only true church in the world, and the religion entwined in a very distinct culture. That culture is almost cookie cutter 1950s-60s white conservative America (there are interesting reasons for why this happened that I won't get into). As a missionary I was taught that not only did people need to change their beliefs, but their culture as well.

So I knocked on peoples' doors, told them about my little religion and how it was truer than what they believed, and that if they wanted to go to heaven, they needed to basically become like white Americans in the 1960s (with modified beliefs). This meant everything from changing the beverages they offered guests to how they interacted with their friends and families to changing their facial hair to what they should do in their spare time. And of course give the Mormon church 10% of their already meager incomes.

The people who typically changed were people who were missing something in their lives, usually because of a lack of money or other difficult life circumstances. We were taking advantage of the vunerable and in doing so robbing them of their beloved ancestral culture. The change was distressing for many but they were convinced it was the only way.

And then if they changed their minds or wavered, they got an earful about how still God loved them, but they were making a choice that was robbing them of eternal salvation. Even if it was just about not being able to afford tithing, or feeling like they shouldn't have to give up coffee, or deciding they didn't want to believe that Joseph Smith's polygamy was divinely inspired. If they stopped going, Mormon friends tended to fall away, but their connections in their Orthodox and family communities had been disturbed so sometimes it was difficult to re-build a community.

Coming around to the idea that it's wrong to go on missions was a slow process, but I think what really solidified it was learning about White colonization. A few years after my mission, I realized that that's exactly what I was doing on my mission. Destroying a culture to replace it with mine.

I suppose banning missionaries outright might be a problem (even though I'd like it to happen), but our activities could have been fairly restricted. Maybe we should have been forbidden to knock on the doors of peoples' homes, maybe our street efforts could be restricted to certain areas, maybe they could cap numbers and require permits. I don't know. Freedom of speech in the US and other solidly democratic countries isn't unrestricted, so it's unreasonable to think that missionaries who are doing so much harm should get lots of free speech.

And another note: I think that missions are bad for missionaries either. It was basically brainwashing. Very little individuality is allowed. We were literally compared to soldiers in an army. You got sent home if you disobeyed, which can have pretty severe social consequences in Mormon communities (like if you get sent home early, that's a strike against you when you're looking for a spouse, and for a mormon getting married is literally your most important goal in life. So it's fall in line or suffer severe penalties).

Another former Mormon here, and I agree 100%. We went to Japan and told them to stop drinking tea. I don't have anything else to add. You nailed it.

And yet, I am guessing they didn't take your advice, eh?