How to win friends and influence people

It appears we have uncovered the new Leftist Boogeyman - missionaries.

As a university student in the 70's studying to be a secondary teacher, certain professors were known to be Christian haters. If you made a seemingly religious statement in their classes, ridicule and mocking were sure to come. This was especially true in the philosphy department, where only one would claim to teach theism. My textbooks for Philosophy of Education were "Secular Humanism," "Existentialism," and "Values Clarification," that taught us not only what to teach but how to teach it.
To my regret, and for the desire to be considered among the academic elite, I succumbed to this dogmatic instruction to the point of being agnostic. I returned to Christ almost 20 years later. But if I was ever religiously indoctrinated, it was at the university and not the church.

Perhaps, that is why you don't want Christians to proselytize outside of churches. It is because you know that you already have a near monopoly on the best proselytization process in the world. And you use it very effectively.

When I travel to El Salvador, I notice that the only other gringos heading down there are either surfers or missionaries. I asked one group (all wearing the same T-shirt with a religious slogan) what they were doing. They explained that they were coming down to help paint a church in some community. I wanted to tell them to stay home and send the money to El Salvador. For the price of 15 round trip tickets and food and lodging for a week for these "vacationaries" they could have painted every church in the country twice!

Some Asian countries have enacted laws against so-called "unethical conversions" not because THEY are intolerant. Indeed, some of them are among the most tolerant societies on the planet. Rather, they have reacted to the unethical, deceptive, and aggressive tactics of evangelical Christian missionaries, particularly from the United States, who, all too often, take advantage of poverty and natural disasters to spread their particular brand of insanity among the local population when that population is most vulnerable. No one should have to tolerate the intolerable, and, indeed, it is not being intolerant to restrict the unethical tactics used by these misssionaries.

With the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Christian missionaries have been mobilizing to those nations. With devastation, pain, and grief comes an opportunity to proselytize and spread the “Good News” about Jesus.

Missionary apologists will often sing the praises of the good work that missionaries do. They feed the hungry, build shelters, teach the illiterate how to read, etc. These are all great things but they can all be done just as effectively if not more so by leaving religion at home. People in third world nations or nations which have been devastated by a natural disaster are in a vulnerable position. They are at a disadvantage economically, scientifically, and often emotionally (due to the losses suffered by natural disasters).

You can read the rest of my response to this topic:
http://tinyurl.com/yfkg47u

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-Staks
http://www.DangerousTalk.net

PROSELYTIZATION is a manifestation of the SUPREMACIST foundation of Christianity & Islam.

No one else has this serious flaw that Christians and Muslims have in their "religions" or spiritual systems. Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Jews, Wiccans, Animists, etc.. are all trying to make themselves better, not trying to undermine others.

Conversion has caused some of the biggest problems in third world countries.
The "charity" and "kind deeds" are insincere and deceptive actions, and therefore, are acts of evil.

Muslims & Christians don't seem to get the basics of goodness and spirituality. Pretending to be good while having and ulterior motive fools no one and is an act of evil. This can lead to crusades and suicide terrorism.

REMEMBER: Almost all religious conflicts in the world involve Muslims or Christians on one side or both.
Sneakiness, deception, conversion, undermining other cultures, etc... is offensive and nonspiritual.

You really feel the urge to do charity? Go to the inner city in America and help those in need. Look in your own family and help those who are depressed or drunk or angry.
Stop going to 3rd world countries and causing problems & hurting others.

PROSELYTIZATION is a manifestation of the SUPREMACIST foundation of Christianity & Islam.

No one else has this serious flaw that Christians and Muslims have in their "religions" or spiritual systems. Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Jews, Wiccans, Animists, etc.. are all trying to make themselves better, not trying to undermine others.

Conversion has caused some of the biggest problems in third world countries.
The "charity" and "kind deeds" are insincere and deceptive actions, and therefore, are acts of evil.

Muslims & Christians don't seem to get the basics of goodness and spirituality. Pretending to be good while having and ulterior motive fools no one and is an act of evil. This can lead to crusades and suicide terrorism.

REMEMBER: Almost all religious conflicts in the world involve Muslims or Christians on one side or both.
Sneakiness, deception, conversion, undermining other cultures, etc... is offensive and nonspiritual.

You really feel the urge to do charity? Go to the inner city in America and help those in need. Look in your own family and help those who are depressed or drunk or angry.
Stop going to 3rd world countries and causing problems & hurting others.

Sharing one's faith may be part of religious freedom, but doing so in a quasi-colonialist way is what makes much proselytizing by US groups wrong. Approaching the poor with material benefits, only to be accompanied by religious preaching, is just wrong.

Again, government and it's agencies represent all of us regardless of our beliefs theist or nontheist. It is paramount that our military forces and our national representatives understand and practice a secular approach that reinforces all of our views and rights and not just those of the religious conservatives in our country.