CNN article about missionaries

[crawfishgirl]

CNN has an interesting article about Christian missionaries.  The author has worked in the Middle East to provide medical care, etc., and states that missionaries who go to other countries in the guise of helping them, but actually just want to convert them, are being dishonest and hurting everyone.  He explains his opinions well, and states the consequences of many of these actions.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/opinions/declassified-covert-missionaries/index.html

 

[Lurky]

Wow, that's a great article - and awesome it comes from someone within the community - and who's living what he believes.

[FundieFarmer]

I loved his first point. I loved it. 

"1. It's fundamentally dishonest."

Thank you.

Okay, so you're going abroad under the pretense of a lie in order to convert people to a religion that says, "Do not lie" in its very commandments but it's suddenly fine to lie (either blatantly to a foreign government or by omission) if you're going to save someone? I don't get it. We have missionaries in my family now, and I admit to feeling very squicky about it. 

[Mercer]

I had some wannabe covert missionaries in my extended family (fortunately their trip fell through and they aren't going) and another big issue I saw with them is that they were treating it like it was a game. They were like a couple of kids playing Super Secret Spies, making a huge deal of how they had a Big Secret and talking in their code even though they were at an invite-only event at a bed and breakfast in the United States and there was literally no chance the North Korean authorities were listening to their conversation, but at the same time wanting everyone to guess their secret plan and admire them because it's all so exciting, thus being so utterly transparent that anyone who has ever even glanced at a newspaper could have figured the whole thing out from their sly references regardless of whether they said place names.

It wasn't about helping people. Oh, of course they said it was, but it clearly wasn't really.  It was a very naive fantasy of "winning souls for Christ" while having exciting adventures. They didn't seem to have any concept of what was at stake - not just for themselves, but for all the local people they would be putting at risk with their antics. 

Like I said, though, luckily they aren't going after all.