Collarspace Discussion Forums


Home  Login  Search 

Spreading the "good word"


View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
 
All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Dungeon of Political and Religious Discussion >> Spreading the "good word" Page: [1] 2   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 5:56:55 PM   
breagha


Posts: 380
Joined: 7/29/2012
Status: offline 		Hello all

in reading a post here ( the one about the Christian type message ) i began pondering the various religions and i wondered...

how many of the world's religions spend time spreading the message of their particular belief structure? i know that the Mormons and Witnesses both go door to door to bring in potential members. Do other religions ( or denominations ) do this as well?

i don't want to offend anyone. i have noticed that Christianity seems to be the most common religion to have missionaries and attempts to convert.

i personally don't have an issue with any religious sect. people should be able to believe in what works for them personally. i haven't ever really understood the need or want to get other people to "join" their spirituality.

if this is a previous subject posted on i apologise. i searched the threads and didn't see anything that popped out at me. all responses are appreciated... and again i do not want to offend anyone. i am just curious
Profile   Post #: 1
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 6:45:08 PM   
Switcheroo1983


Posts: 238
Joined: 1/29/2013
Status: offline 		Islam teaches that God guides those that He wishes to guide. Judaism holds a very similar belief. If a man or woman comes to a Muslim and asks questions, that particular Muslim is to answer to the best of their ability, or if perplexed as well, help the seeker find a more knowledgeable Muslim. The same can be said if a man or woman asks a Jew questions of the faith. Judaism and Islam are "seek and find" whereas Christianity is "go and spread the gospel".

SOME Jewish sects will actually make a convert go through a trial, such as blowing off potential converts numerous times, not return calls, ect. This is to see if the potential convert is serious or not, not an actual attempt at blowing someone off. Not all Jewish sects do this.

Also please note Jews have a series of laws called "Noahide". Supposedly, God gave Noah (PBUH) seven laws for the rest of the world (gentiles). Followers of this are called either "B'Nai Noach" or "Noahidism".

Hope this helps in any way.

(in reply to breagha)
Profile   Post #: 2
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 7:38:03 PM   
Kirata


Posts: 15477
Joined: 2/11/2006
From: USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: breagha

i have noticed that Christianity seems to be the most common religion to have missionaries and attempts to convert... i haven't ever really understood the need or want to get other people to "join" their spirituality.

It is a part of the Christian religion, though in my opinion it smacks more of the megalomaniacal Paul than it does of Christ. Unfortunately, however, the Epistles of Paul preceded the Gospels and his influence appears to have crept into them. Thus we find "The Great Comission" at the end of Matthew:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ~Matthew 28:19

It is actually Paul who, despite having the reputation of being a liar, a charge he found it necessary repeatedly to deny, and despite the fact that he never knew Christ and that his teachings directly contradict him, is largely responsible (with the later bloody assistance of the equally trustworthy Roman church) for what ended up being called "Christianity".

K.


< Message edited by Kirata -- 2/4/2013 8:16:35 PM >

(in reply to breagha)
Profile   Post #: 3
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 7:40:00 PM   
Switcheroo1983


Posts: 238
Joined: 1/29/2013
Status: offline 		Also try to understand that with the three Great Abrahamic Faiths, there are sometimes distinctions made. There is Muslim and there is Islamic, just as there is Jewish and there is Judaic. Sunni (all sects INCLUDING Wahabi and Salafi), Shia (all sects), and Sufi are both Muslim and Islamic, whereas Druze, Bahai, and, well, myself are Islamic. All sects of Judaism are both Jewish and Judaic, whereas Noadidism and Krayarlar are Judaic. Christianity, on the other hand, is Christianity. There are no "Christian-like" religions. One who believes that Jesus (PBUH) is God (or in the case of Arians, the Son of God) are simply Christian.

Also hopes this helps in any way. World religions are one of my favorite topics. Also sorry for the over-use of italics, lol, just wanted to highlight what I felt were the important terms.

Thought I would bring this up just to clear up any confusion you may have had/questions you may have asked.

(in reply to Switcheroo1983)
Profile   Post #: 4
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 8:22:13 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Kirata


quote:

ORIGINAL: breagha

i have noticed that Christianity seems to be the most common religion to have missionaries and attempts to convert... i haven't ever really understood the need or want to get other people to "join" their spirituality.

It is a part of the Christian religion, though in my opinion it smacks more of the megalomaniac Paul than of Christ. Unfortunately, however, the Epistles of Paul preceded the Gospels and his influence appears to have crept into them. Thus we find "The Great Comission" at the end of Matthew:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ~Matthew 28:19

It is actually Paul who, despite having the reputation of being a liar, a charge he found it necessary repeatedly to deny, and despite the fact that he never knew Christ and that his teachings directly contradict him, is largely responsible (with the later bloody assistance of the equally trustworthy Roman church) for what ended up being called "Christianity".

K.




I have to agree with K here. Paul's influence is all over the Gospels detailing the life of Christ, almost as if someone rewrote previous versions of the story to fit what Paul was teaching.

Then came Constantine who gathered all the leaders of the various Christian sects and at the council of Nicea, told them to come up with ONE belief system, one universal Christian truth.

quote:

The council that formed an undisputed decision on the canon took place at Carthage in 397, sixty years after Constantine's death. However, long before Constantine, 21 books were acknowledged by all Christians (the 4 Gospels, Acts, 13 Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John, Revelation). There were 10 disputed books (Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2-3 John, Jude, Ps-Barnabas, Hermas, Didache, Gospel of Hebrews) and several that most all considered heretical—Gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthaias, Acts of Andrew, John, etc.
How the canon was decided on.


Of course, at Carthage, the decisions to omit the agnostic texts was made, as well as other books that did not fit with what they wanted taught.

Then Martin Luther rewrote the protestant bible to omit seven books of the old testament that taught doctrine he did not personally agree to.

So now you have Christianity, a fragmented religion with each individual group claiming they are the true religion.

Hence why, though I may call myself Catholic, I have a problem with organized religion.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Kirata)
Profile   Post #: 5
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 8:42:56 PM   
Zonie63


Posts: 2826
Joined: 4/25/2011
From: The Old Pueblo
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: breagha

Hello all

in reading a post here ( the one about the Christian type message ) i began pondering the various religions and i wondered...

how many of the world's religions spend time spreading the message of their particular belief structure? i know that the Mormons and Witnesses both go door to door to bring in potential members. Do other religions ( or denominations ) do this as well?

i don't want to offend anyone. i have noticed that Christianity seems to be the most common religion to have missionaries and attempts to convert.

i personally don't have an issue with any religious sect. people should be able to believe in what works for them personally. i haven't ever really understood the need or want to get other people to "join" their spirituality.

if this is a previous subject posted on i apologise. i searched the threads and didn't see anything that popped out at me. all responses are appreciated... and again i do not want to offend anyone. i am just curious


I've mostly encountered proselytizers from Christian religions. The Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons go door to door a lot, although I've met a few from Baptist congregations who do the same thing. I remember coming home one night after a long and tiring day to find a bunch of kids Christmas caroling outside my front door, with the pastor from a local Baptist church handing out pamphlets door to door.

I've known a couple of people (my grandmother being one of them) who would always invite proselytizers into their home and discuss the Bible with them. My grandmother knew her Bible backwards and forwards, so any time one of these people would misquote scripture or try to BS their way through, my grandmother would call them on it.

I also had a friend who was rather well-versed on many religions and their scriptures, and he was quite persuasive - so much so that he brought one Mormon missionary to tears, as his whole belief system came crashing down around him. That's when the Mormons sent out a few of their "bigger guns" who were more knowledgeable and better prepared to handle skeptics. He also tore down a few of the Witnesses and some Baptists who paid him a visit. He started to gain a bit of a reputation in his neighborhood, as a few Baptists down the block thought he was The Devil. Seriously.

Occasionally, I might see a Muslim at a table with a sign up indicating that he's willing to answer questions about Islam and entertain potential converts, but they're not so in-your-face about it as some Christians can be.

Every sidewalk preacher I've come across has been Christian, usually of the evangelical variety. Some denominations seem a bit more subdued in terms of their proselytizing. Some might use advertisements, and of course, many TV and radio stations have only religious content.

I'm not sure how it is in Muslim-majority countries, whether there's much proselytizing or not. Some Muslim countries have had sectarian violence, and there seem to be sharp divisions between sects. There's also been an ongoing rivalry with Christianity for over a millennium. I don't know if that qualifies as proselytizing, but it clearly shows a desire to "spread the word," as it were. If they're ready to do violence against people just for being in the wrong sect or the wrong religion, then they're certainly trying to spread something.

Occasionally, I run into some Hindus and Buddhists who like to talk about their religion, but not so much in the sense of proselytizing. I think they tend to be a bit more tolerant of unbelievers, since they believe that eventually unbelievers will receive enlightenment, even if it takes several lifetimes.

Christianity and Islam believe that if you don't get it right in this life, you're going to Hell. That cuts to the reason of why they do it. In the eyes of the proselytizer, they believe that the people they're trying to "save" will otherwise end up in the eternal fires of Hell, where for all eternity your flesh will be ripped from your body by grotesque serpents! With razor-sharp teeth! Where, for all eternity, your blood will boil, your bones will burn, and your marrow will be reduced to a putrid black slime! That's some pretty severe stuff. It's along the same principle as those gruesome movies they used to show us in Drivers Ed. class. That's why they do it.





(in reply to breagha)
Profile   Post #: 6
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/4/2013 9:42:41 PM   
Switcheroo1983


Posts: 238
Joined: 1/29/2013
Status: offline
From Zonie (I can't figure out the quotes to well yet, bear with me)


quote:

Occasionally, I might see a Muslim at a table with a sign up indicating that he's willing to answer questions about Islam and entertain potential converts, but they're not so in-your-face about it as some Christians can be.

Oh yes, fairly common. Not encouraged, but not condemned. Some Muslims will reach out to the community, but to go door-to-door, no. That is seeking converts, converts are to do the seeking.


quote:

I'm not sure how it is in Muslim-majority countries, whether there's much proselytizing or not. Some Muslim countries have had sectarian violence, and there seem to be sharp divisions between sects. There's also been an ongoing rivalry with Christianity for over a millennium. I don't know if that qualifies as proselytizing, but it clearly shows a desire to "spread the word," as it were. If they're ready to do violence against people just for being in the wrong sect or the wrong religion, then they're certainly trying to spread something.

Depends on the country. It is illegal in Saudi Arabia to be anything but a Muslim/Islamic. Very strict apostasy laws, same as Iran. In Iran, it is highly illegal for a Christian to try and convert Muslims, but perfectly legal for Muslims to try and convert Christians. Both are serious BS on many levels. However in places like Jordan (Jordan has many laws in place to protect their Christian minority, as well as laws to ensure Christians have numerous seats in Parliament). Much of the sectarian violence is between Sunni and Shia (the fanatics in the camps at least) with honest people caught in the violence.


quote:

Christianity and Islam believe that if you don't get it right in this life, you're going to Hell. That cuts to the reason of why they do it. In the eyes of the proselytizer, they believe that the people they're trying to "save" will otherwise end up in the eternal fires of Hell, where for all eternity your flesh will be ripped from your body by grotesque serpents! With razor-sharp teeth! Where, for all eternity, your blood will boil, your bones will burn, and your marrow will be reduced to a putrid black slime! That's some pretty severe stuff. It's along the same principle as those gruesome movies they used to show us in Drivers Ed. class. That's why they do it.

Indeed, yes. Here is an extremely basic overview of Islamic belief on Hell http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm. I am one of those that sees Hell as a "prison", not truly eternal. Judaism is unique with B'Nai Noach in that one does not have to a Jew to enter Heaven. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide_laws





(in reply to Zonie63)
Profile   Post #: 7
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:21:43 AM   
muhly22222


Posts: 463
Joined: 3/25/2010
Status: offline 		I've only ever encountered people going door-to-door from Jehovah's Witnesses and some local church that I didn't take the time to find out what denomination they considered themselves (this was while I was living in Columbus for law school). I also had a friend in law school was Mormon and occasionally went door-to-door. However, the vast majority of Christian denominations do some sort of missionary outreach, whether it's done by laypeople or by clerics.

I've grown up Catholic, and although I certainly don't agree with them on everything, they do a lot of good work with their outreach programs. Not just missionary work, but they also have a number of schools and hospitals that do a lot of good in their communities. They also do a lot of works-type missions, where the emphasis isn't as much about "bringing God to the heathens" as it is about helping people build up their communities, and being there to allow them to find God in their own time.

I had a number of protestant friends who went on various missionary trips as teenagers. Invariably, these involved doing some kind of work with building houses or some other sort of manual labor that they volunteered for. I always wondered a little bit if that was the best kind of missionary work to do, since building a house is something a lot of people are capable of putting in work on, and it's possible that having all these out-of-town volunteers come in takes jobs away from economically depressed people.

(in reply to breagha)
Profile   Post #: 8
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:41:53 AM   
DesideriScuri


Posts: 12225
Joined: 1/18/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222
I've only ever encountered people going door-to-door from Jehovah's Witnesses and some local church that I didn't take the time to find out what denomination they considered themselves (this was while I was living in Columbus for law school). I also had a friend in law school was Mormon and occasionally went door-to-door. However, the vast majority of Christian denominations do some sort of missionary outreach, whether it's done by laypeople or by clerics.
I've grown up Catholic, and although I certainly don't agree with them on everything, they do a lot of good work with their outreach programs. Not just missionary work, but they also have a number of schools and hospitals that do a lot of good in their communities. They also do a lot of works-type missions, where the emphasis isn't as much about "bringing God to the heathens" as it is about helping people build up their communities, and being there to allow them to find God in their own time.
I had a number of protestant friends who went on various missionary trips as teenagers. Invariably, these involved doing some kind of work with building houses or some other sort of manual labor that they volunteered for. I always wondered a little bit if that was the best kind of missionary work to do, since building a house is something a lot of people are capable of putting in work on, and it's possible that having all these out-of-town volunteers come in takes jobs away from economically depressed people.


I don't know if that is as big an issue as you might think. I doubt people are living in squalor and filth simply so they can lure some missionaries to come in and fix it up for them for free. Every missionary trip sponsored by the church I attended (Assembly of God; pentecostal beliefs) involved going to an impoverished country and making their lives easier through that labor. Houses were built/fixed. The beneficiaries weren't in a position to actually be able to pay someone else to do it.



_____________________________

What I support:

  • A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  • Personal Responsibility
  • Help for the truly needy
  • Limited Government
  • Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)

(in reply to muhly22222)
Profile   Post #: 9
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:51:19 AM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		I have been looking into the cash that some of these churches bring in....

And some of the houses that televangelists live in.

And then I remember the bible saying stuff about false prophets.

Of course there is the gold opulence of some of the historic churches in Europe and from the Mission era of the Spanish conquest of Latin America, and I have to wonder about what the bible says about vanity.

That brings me back to my issues with organized religion... How can so many groups of people have one book to guide them and come up with so many interpretations of what it says?

Every bible has the same words in it, written in the King James version, modern English or Swahili. With all the mistakes from translating the books from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to the various languages it is in today.

I cant help but believe god is looking down on us and screaming, "I did not bloody say THAT!"

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to DesideriScuri)
Profile   Post #: 10
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 6:21:25 AM   
leonine


Posts: 409
Joined: 11/3/2009
From: [email protected]
Status: offline 		One of the many things I like about Pagans is that I can't imagine them going round knocking on people's doors trying to convert them. As Switcheroo said of Muslims and Jews, they'll inform people who ask, maybe sometimes to the point of setting out a sign to encourage people to ask, but that's it.

Christianity's evangelism isn't all Paul's fault, much of the New Testament is about Jesus and his followers after him going round drumming up converts. But they had the excuse that, as JC made clear, they believed that the world was going to end real soon now and people had only a little while to get their tickets for Heaven.

For Paul, no question, it was all about empire building.

_____________________________

Leo9


Gonna pack in my hand, pick up on a piece of land and build myself a cabin in the woods.
It's there I'm gonna stay, until there comes a day when this old world starts a-changing for the good.
- James Taylor

(in reply to DesideriScuri)
Profile   Post #: 11
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 11:36:26 AM   
muhly22222


Posts: 463
Joined: 3/25/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri

quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222
I've only ever encountered people going door-to-door from Jehovah's Witnesses and some local church that I didn't take the time to find out what denomination they considered themselves (this was while I was living in Columbus for law school). I also had a friend in law school was Mormon and occasionally went door-to-door. However, the vast majority of Christian denominations do some sort of missionary outreach, whether it's done by laypeople or by clerics.
I've grown up Catholic, and although I certainly don't agree with them on everything, they do a lot of good work with their outreach programs. Not just missionary work, but they also have a number of schools and hospitals that do a lot of good in their communities. They also do a lot of works-type missions, where the emphasis isn't as much about "bringing God to the heathens" as it is about helping people build up their communities, and being there to allow them to find God in their own time.
I had a number of protestant friends who went on various missionary trips as teenagers. Invariably, these involved doing some kind of work with building houses or some other sort of manual labor that they volunteered for. I always wondered a little bit if that was the best kind of missionary work to do, since building a house is something a lot of people are capable of putting in work on, and it's possible that having all these out-of-town volunteers come in takes jobs away from economically depressed people.


I don't know if that is as big an issue as you might think. I doubt people are living in squalor and filth simply so they can lure some missionaries to come in and fix it up for them for free. Every missionary trip sponsored by the church I attended (Assembly of God; pentecostal beliefs) involved going to an impoverished country and making their lives easier through that labor. Houses were built/fixed. The beneficiaries weren't in a position to actually be able to pay someone else to do it.




That's completely possible. I know that the trips a lot my friends went on were to areas in Appalachia. The people there were poor, yes, but compared to third-world countries, they're oftentimes well-off.

And I didn't mean to imply that the people were luring in missionaries by being lazy. For many of them, basic subsistence is a daily struggle, and the missionaries helped them with that. There are certainly a number of times where the missionaries do incredibly beneficial work. All I was saying is that not every one of those trips is always in the area's best interests.

(in reply to DesideriScuri)
Profile   Post #: 12
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 12:27:08 PM   
DesideriScuri


Posts: 12225
Joined: 1/18/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222
That's completely possible. I know that the trips a lot my friends went on were to areas in Appalachia. The people there were poor, yes, but compared to third-world countries, they're oftentimes well-off.
And I didn't mean to imply that the people were luring in missionaries by being lazy. For many of them, basic subsistence is a daily struggle, and the missionaries helped them with that. There are certainly a number of times where the missionaries do incredibly beneficial work. All I was saying is that not every one of those trips is always in the area's best interests.


All the trips my locals went on were outside the US, usually places like Guatemala. They'd go help build houses for people that essentially lived in garbage dumps.

_____________________________

What I support:

  • A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  • Personal Responsibility
  • Help for the truly needy
  • Limited Government
  • Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)

(in reply to muhly22222)
Profile   Post #: 13
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 3:19:58 PM   
breagha


Posts: 380
Joined: 7/29/2012
Status: offline 		thank you so much for all the replies. it has definitely given me some food for thought. i will be looking into things to further satisfy my curiosity.

i have more to say but dinner to make... so i will be back.

(in reply to DesideriScuri)
Profile   Post #: 14
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 3:33:44 PM   
deathtothepixies


Posts: 683
Joined: 2/19/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

I have been looking into the cash that some of these churches bring in....

And some of the houses that televangelists live in.

And then I remember the bible saying stuff about false prophets.

Of course there is the gold opulence of some of the historic churches in Europe and from the Mission era of the Spanish conquest of Latin America, and I have to wonder about what the bible says about vanity.

That brings me back to my issues with organized religion... How can so many groups of people have one book to guide them and come up with so many interpretations of what it says?

Every bible has the same words in it, written in the King James version, modern English or Swahili. With all the mistakes from translating the books from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to the various languages it is in today.

I cant help but believe god is looking down on us and screaming, "I did not bloody say THAT!"


so why do you believe what you believe in? Which book or text or set of ideas have you decided is the " word of God"?

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 15
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 3:44:48 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: deathtothepixies


quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

I have been looking into the cash that some of these churches bring in....

And some of the houses that televangelists live in.

And then I remember the bible saying stuff about false prophets.

Of course there is the gold opulence of some of the historic churches in Europe and from the Mission era of the Spanish conquest of Latin America, and I have to wonder about what the bible says about vanity.

That brings me back to my issues with organized religion... How can so many groups of people have one book to guide them and come up with so many interpretations of what it says?

Every bible has the same words in it, written in the King James version, modern English or Swahili. With all the mistakes from translating the books from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to the various languages it is in today.

I cant help but believe god is looking down on us and screaming, "I did not bloody say THAT!"


so why do you believe what you believe in? Which book or text or set of ideas have you decided is the " word of God"?


Since the book is the same except for the catholic bible which has 7 more books in the old testament that were dropped by Martin Luther because he did not agree with them, I take the bible as a whole and try to live by those basic ideas.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to deathtothepixies)
Profile   Post #: 16
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 3:50:28 PM   
deathtothepixies


Posts: 683
Joined: 2/19/2012
Status: offline 		there are an awful lot of ideas in the bible( and many different versions too) how do you decide which ones are for you and which ones aren't?

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 17
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 3:52:00 PM   
LadyPact


Posts: 32566
Status: offline 		Interesting thread. Unfortunately, I don't have a great answer for you. I haven't really studied a lot of religions. Kirata showed the verse that I am familiar with on the subject.

I'm just kind of a person of faith. I'm actually not big on organized religion. I'm more the "if you ask, I'll try to answer according to where that faith leads Me" type. More often than not, that can just be answering a question on the way I believe about things when I've been asked. I'm not the type to shove what I believe at anybody when I haven't been. It's like most other things in life. If you want My help, I'll try. If you don't, I'll leave you be. I'm more the kind of Christian (because I do believe in Christ) that you usually don't hear about. I'm not the Religious Right. I'm not an extremist. I talk about the things that disappoint Me about organized religion and unless you bring the subject up first, there's very little about Me that would give you any inclination one way or another about what I believe.

As for converting, I tend to think that is the business of the other person and God, just like My faith is to Me.


_____________________________

The crowned Diva of Destruction. ~ ExT

Beach Ball Sized Lady Nuts. ~ TWD

Happily dating a new submissive. It's official. I've named him engie.

Please do not send me email here. Unless I know you, I will delete the email unread

(in reply to deathtothepixies)
Profile   Post #: 18
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:14:14 PM   
breagha


Posts: 380
Joined: 7/29/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Switcheroo1983

Also try to understand that with the three Great Abrahamic Faiths, there are sometimes distinctions made. There is Muslim and there is Islamic, just as there is Jewish and there is Judaic. Sunni (all sects INCLUDING Wahabi and Salafi), Shia (all sects), and Sufi are both Muslim and Islamic, whereas Druze, Bahai, and, well, myself are Islamic. All sects of Judaism are both Jewish and Judaic, whereas Noadidism and Krayarlar are Judaic. Christianity, on the other hand, is Christianity. There are no "Christian-like" religions. One who believes that Jesus (PBUH) is God (or in the case of Arians, the Son of God) are simply Christian.

Also hopes this helps in any way. World religions are one of my favorite topics. Also sorry for the over-use of italics, lol, just wanted to highlight what I felt were the important terms.

Thought I would bring this up just to clear up any confusion you may have had/questions you may have asked.


Switcheroo- first thank you for your reply.

this is something i also enjoy discussing. i do not prescribe to a titled religion. or even something that qualifies as a religion. i am one of those people who is willing to talk about the topic without trepidation. i have sat on the porch with Mormons or Witnesses many times to converse. All with the understanding that i am not going to convert. i just like to know other people's take on things.

Kirata- your reply was very interesting. i wasn't aware that Paul was/is credited with organizing the religion into what is now called Christianity. i would like to learn more about that.

----

i think the biggest issue i have with the "door to door" type stuff is that if i were to attempt to explain/convert one of the people who do this to my way of spirituality, they would be offended. yet they do not seem to understand how it can be offensive to someone for them to try to convert. i find it slightly hypocritical.

quote:


It is illegal in Saudi Arabia to be anything but a Muslim/Islamic. Very strict apostasy laws, same as Iran. In Iran, it is highly illegal for a Christian to try and convert Muslims, but perfectly legal for Muslims to try and convert Christians.


Does the legality of religion in Saudi Arabia cover only residents of that nation? or does it extend to visitors etc?

quote:


since building a house is something a lot of people are capable of putting in work on, and it's possible that having all these out-of-town volunteers come in takes jobs away from economically depressed people.


this is a good point. something else i never really considered. when the missionaries come in and build homes do they help the people learn the skills to build as well? are there programs out there that offer learning skills or a trade to people who may not otherwise have access to that type of education?

(in reply to Switcheroo1983)
Profile   Post #: 19
RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:20:40 PM   
breagha


Posts: 380
Joined: 7/29/2012
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

Every bible has the same words in it, written in the King James version, modern English or Swahili. With all the mistakes from translating the books from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to the various languages it is in today.

I cant help but believe god is looking down on us and screaming, "I did not bloody say THAT!"


i have wondered things like that myself.

quote:



One of the many things I like about Pagans is that I can't imagine them going round knocking on people's doors trying to convert them.


haha i would actually like to see that one time in my life. i identify the most with Pagan religions, though i do not call myself a pagan. the ones that i know would never dream of going door to door and saying "hey, come dance in our circle for the full moon rite" i have seen flyers etc for open circles though...


again thank you so much for the replies. it has all been helpful and very informative. leading me down a little research path me thinks...

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 20
Page:   [1] 2   next >   >>
All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Dungeon of Political and Religious Discussion >> Spreading the "good word" Page: [1] 2   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts




Collarchat.com © 2025
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Spam Policy

0.125