Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Bill O'Rights
face it, one way or the other...there ain't no heaven in my future.
But a church mission...they require extra "motivation", beyond the teachings of Jesus Christ. Interesting concept.
|
Or even more so, one church might even set up a mission so that they get there before another religion does. I was present when a minister mentioned that there was a muslim mission in the same part of West Africa that we were sending food. I suppose that this news was supposed to inspire parishoners to dig deep. Although I suspect that in any competition our church would win -Pork is all to popular in West Africa.
You never know -Mr O'Rights, heaven may be in your future. Just like "no afterlife" may be in mine. The reality of the situation is greater that what you and I choose to believe.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
Sure, the food and the medicine help, but red cross and other aid organizations don't force religion on people. I'll bet that most if not all these aboriginal people had their own religious beliefs, and when others show up with food and medicine, offering them with another religion....well you can see that's wrong.
The motivation is power. They convert people and they are better Christians, more powerful in the church, and the church itself grows.
|
Okay, so lets say that the dominant religion in some part of West Africa is some form of ancestor worship with some voodoo thrown in for good measure. You as a somewhat civilized
atheist would view this religion as laughable. What exactly is wrong with offering (idunno bribing?) an alternative religion? I mean in your belief system -it's all hooey anyways and besides christianity brings them closer to the ideas of
John Locke for example.
Oh and as far as the red cross being non-religious -then what is the meaning of the red crescent and the Magen David Adom? It seems that by providing emergency assistance under (literally) a religous banner has more of an influence than one might suspect.