Ah, So This is How They Do It…

Well, I’ll be the last to condemn a person’s belief (unless it says they should hurt me), but this is praying on the weak. Connects very nicely with the stories about US soldiers in Iraq handing out silver coins with quotes from the scriptures… In Arabic…

Thanks for the link.

– Arik

Well, I’ll be the last to condemn a person’s belief (unless it says they should hurt me), but this is praying on the weak. Connects very nicely with the stories about US soldiers in Iraq handing out silver coins with quotes from the scriptures… In Arabic…

Thanks for the link.

– Arik

You should take that stuff with a grain of salt. For example, the disaster relief stuff is quite slanted. To fault religious people for providing disaster relief is absurd. Contrary to what is implied at your link, they do not place conditions on the relief. This isn’t to say that they do not make their religions known as they often do, but their “strategy” (if it must be called that) is to live by example. The idea isn’t to say “We’ll give you this help if you convert to Christianity” but to say “We’ll give you this help because it is the right thing to do and as Christians we are obligated to help our fellow man – regardless of his religion, his race, etc.”

I’m sure that there are some things on that page that are accurately portrayed, but my impression is that the person or people who put the page together have an axe to grind and are either exaggerating or picking the worst of all examples and holding them out as typical.

You should take that stuff with a grain of salt. For example, the disaster relief stuff is quite slanted. To fault religious people for providing disaster relief is absurd. Contrary to what is implied at your link, they do not place conditions on the relief. This isn’t to say that they do not make their religions known as they often do, but their “strategy” (if it must be called that) is to live by example. The idea isn’t to say “We’ll give you this help if you convert to Christianity” but to say “We’ll give you this help because it is the right thing to do and as Christians we are obligated to help our fellow man – regardless of his religion, his race, etc.”

I’m sure that there are some things on that page that are accurately portrayed, but my impression is that the person or people who put the page together have an axe to grind and are either exaggerating or picking the worst of all examples and holding them out as typical.

I support a missionary group in Guatemala (http://www.porchdesalomon.org/) that I think gets it right. They are a humanitarian group first. The provide aid for those who are unable to provide it for themselves. This could range in funding for medical procedures, or repairs to decrepit houses. In their humanitarian work they make it known that they are also evangelists and offer to teach the people they are assisting about the message of Jesus. If the recipients are not interested, it does not hold any bearing to their ability to receive help.

This is how I would like to see more Christians portray Christianity. You rarely see people getting all pissed at Buddhists, Hare Chrishnas, Amish or other religions who have made a point of making peace and love a central part of their public and private image.

I also think you need to look at this from both sides. You may be looking at it as oppressors looking to take advantage of people while they are at a week point in their lives. To most religious people, they view their religions as an asset that has helped themselves through some hard times. They want to teach that joy to others.

I support a missionary group in Guatemala (http://www.porchdesalomon.org/) that I think gets it right. They are a humanitarian group first. The provide aid for those who are unable to provide it for themselves. This could range in funding for medical procedures, or repairs to decrepit houses. In their humanitarian work they make it known that they are also evangelists and offer to teach the people they are assisting about the message of Jesus. If the recipients are not interested, it does not hold any bearing to their ability to receive help.

This is how I would like to see more Christians portray Christianity. You rarely see people getting all pissed at Buddhists, Hare Chrishnas, Amish or other religions who have made a point of making peace and love a central part of their public and private image.

I also think you need to look at this from both sides. You may be looking at it as oppressors looking to take advantage of people while they are at a week point in their lives. To most religious people, they view their religions as an asset that has helped themselves through some hard times. They want to teach that joy to others.