RE: Spreading the "good word"

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:22:59 PM

thishereboi

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My church doesn't believe in going door to door or setting up tables. They welcome anyone who come into the church to hear the message but they don't go out hunting them down. The closest they come to what you described is putting up signs in front announcing the vacation bible school in the summer.

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 5:26:27 PM

thishereboi

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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.

There is a mission in Mexico that invites the youth group down every year to help with repairs and other misc stuff. I think it's a great way to teach kids about helping others in need and learning about other cultures.

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 6:06:47 PM

Switcheroo1983

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You are much welcome for the reply, breagha! Anytime.

The law in Saudi Arabia extends to all. This was one of the most colossal sources of contention for bin Laden and his cronies. They were extremely upset at US forces being on Saudi soil (al-Qaeda is also at great odds with the Saudi monarchy, as all should be). Technically US military bases are US soil, not foreign soil, so they did not violate Saudi law.

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 6:30:53 PM

breagha

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Switcheroo

i had no idea. how do they feel about visitors to the nation? do they not want people of other religions to visit their country? i get the us military stuff... but the average traveler?

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 6:41:11 PM

Switcheroo1983

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quote:

ORIGINAL: breagha

Switcheroo

i had no idea. how do they feel about visitors to the nation? do they not want people of other religions to visit their country? i get the us military stuff... but the average traveler?

Saudi Law (like the the laws of most oppressive/illegal regimes) can change at whim with "exceptions" being made. Foreign workers/contractors there on work Visas (typically skilled technicians or the most un-skilled of laborers, PROVIDING THEY ARE MALE) can come and go but are forbidden from holy sites. Foreign dignitaries, rules are bent all the time. Alcohol has even been served to them.. Women? Hah! That's a laugh! Not without either being a Muslim or having a Muslim "sponsor" and they MUST abide by Saudi dress code, and that's IF the royal family is "benevolent" enough to issue a Visa.

Honestly, the vast majority of people going to Saudi Arabia are Muslims performing Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca and Medina.

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RE: Spreading the "good word" - 2/5/2013 6:41:46 PM

cordeliasub

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I have a few family members who were/are missionaries, and it is always interesting to talk to them. My aunt and uncle, who are now retired, spent most of their time helping with manual labor, in the community, having people into their home for dinners (not preaching dinners, just dinners) arranging various charitable things. They subscribed to the belief that it was not appropriate to tell someone whose roof is falling in and hasn't eaten in two days that they are going to hell. Now, many people DID ask them about their faith, and they shared their experiences and beliefs gladly, but they felt that living out their faith was more important than pushing it verbally all the time. I think most career missionaries (those who spend their life somewhere doing work) feel the same way, and I have to say I agree. When I hear about people going door to door asking strangers if they know where they will spend eternity....even though I grew up in a church where that was done regularly, now I have to wonder.....how effective was that really? Kind of like the local church here who puts up pithy quotes on their sign like "sin may be hot, but hell is hotter." Does that really work???

I will say that for me, it was quite an eye opening experience as a sheltered middle class teenager to go to a place where people had nothing and help them. It really puts a mirror up in front of your face and shows you how much we take for granted.

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