Lord Jesus And God

[KansukeKojima 0]

Alright, regardless of what they do: the bible says we are to spread the Word.I do not know much about missions work in foreign countries, etc. That said, I can not really argue this very well, and I will not post here until the discussion is no longer related to missionaries. But I honestly do not think most of us know what missionaries actually do, so unless you know a missionary, or if you can find testimonies online, first hand accounts,etc. I do not think we should argue about it.If people involved in missions work are doing what you have stated, I do not condone it, in fact I condemn it.

[saitunes 0]

I am a christian, I have a weird sort of belief system. I Believe in god, Karma, and a few other things. I believe that the truth lies somewhere in between the bible and science. I look at it like this:In Genesis, it says, "God said let there be light" Could it not be an analogy for the big bang?I Believe sort of in intelligent design. Everything happens for a reason, everything (or most things) conform to a plan.A Benny Hill quote comes to mind, "When god invented man, spectacles had not been invented but look where he put our ears"Yes I know that Man invented glasses, and used our ears to keep them in place. Think about it, the world has come together too well for it to be random. What do you think?P.S People need to as one of my lecturers keep saying, "You need to take the blinkers off" By that he means to open your mind listen to others ideas, music beliefs, and don't condemn them because you don't agree. Take it in.

Edited June 14, 2008 by saitunes (see edit history)

[tinoymalayil 0]

Believe in God and My Lord JEsus Christ..Don't be a man who believe in Christian Religion.Christianity is not a Religion ,but it is an Experience who would believe in Jesus.Jesus Christ who dead for us .Those who believe shall not perish and he will enter the eternal glory.That means do not look towards any christians,pastors etc.Read Bible and Obey all things that mentioned in Bible.If your a truth finder please pray to God when You are alone.If you want to know which is correct he will answer to you.

[curtis07 0]

In other words they go to a poor country where people are desperate for clean water, food, sanitation or w/e. Then they say: "convert to our religion and we'll relieve of your poverty by building you churches and periodically handing you food. If you don't, we'll bugger off, help someone else and leave your community to starve". Remind me what Jesus said about the good Samaritan and "[loving] thy neighbour".

 

Missionaries are not caring people with genuine concerns about third-world poverty.

 

When these missionaries go to other countries, they first goal is to convert and their second priority is to help. Why do Christians prefer to donate to Christian Aid rather than religiously unspecific charities if their primary aims are the same?

I beg to differ!

 

My church is very good about NOT doing that. In fact, we make it a point to never force ideas on people. Most of our missionaries go to a place, learn the culture, and live with the people for a year or two, helping them in every way possible. The people start forming trust and start asking questions. That is when they start "preaching".

 

Actually, our church (a worldwide church, with over 20 million members and missionaries in every country of the world) has a ministry where they take electric water pumps and drills across Africa (I can't remember the name of the giant aquifer upon which they are situated) and dig wells for people in the desert. The people show so much gratitude and ask why we would do something like that for them. This opens up the great "Jesus is the living water" analogy.

 

Maybe my church is the exception, but I surely hope not.

 

But I honestly do not think most of us know what missionaries actually do, so unless you know a missionary, or if you can find testimonies online, first hand accounts,etc. I do not think we should argue about it.

I've had teachers, pastors, friends (even in academy I had friends that went to India), relatives (my cousin went to Africa for a year, my uncle's family went to Thailand for a few years) and others (or did I include just about everyone I know?) that were missionaries. I even went down to Mississippi (18-hour drive) twice for week stretches after hurricane Katrina. In fact, all I did down there was work (demolition, construction, clean-up). Only when someone asked and seemed truly interested did we start to tell them our mission. When people see what we do and how we act, that should be our main testimony. Then they get curious, we start telling Christ's story, and that's when we gain in numbers.

 

I think some people in this thread must have had some sort of bad experience with missionaries or something. I'm kind of disappointed that you have these ideas. I can't imagine what it is.