Do Missionaries Destroy Other Cultures? (souls, pray, Christianity, God)
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Likewise, I've got friends that are missionaries in Peru. He has a 4-wheel drive that he drives up into the mountains to give free medical care to the natives (he's a doctor).
Sometimes missionaries go to some very dangerous places and Peru is one of them. They've had this rebel group called The Shining Path that's kidnapped alot of foreigners including missionaries.
I'd rather see people going to heaven than dead in their sins.
They can still keep their culture. First of all, no one is forcing them to convert. Secondly...they can still keep their culture...unless it involves idolatry.
Hummmmm, interesting, to the unbeliever, it would seem that most christers worship an instrument of torture, to the natives of an obscure land it could certainly be seen as such. And... just for grins and giggles, missionaries (not my favorite group) have long been responsible for the wholesale destruction of cultures as they spread, what is a harmless little bug to a european decendant, that will wipe out cultures without the genetic coding to fight off the bug. Too often is it a matter of conversion because if you don't, you, and your whole family will die, because only the converted get the medicine.
Last edited by Dusty Rhodes; 05-17-2009 at 11:18 PM..
I've known a few people who have become missionaries and gone into remote locations where small populations of isolated people have been persuaded to become Christians. A guy I used to work with a few years ago retired and went to Papua New Guinea and became a missionary. There's no doubt that his intentions were good and I remember him telling me about his plans before he left and he was very excited about it and also felt a sense of obligation to do it. I have no doubt that missionaries do alot of good work aside from their religious duties and they have helped a great many people on a very practical level in terms of helping them get schools, supplies and that sort of thing. The question I have about this is the fact that the individuals who accept this Christian faith from a foreign nation are going to abandon their own traditions and culture to a certain extent. I guess the word "destroy" in the title of the OP might be a little strong but there's no doubt that once this new religion becomes established there's going to be a sense of competition with existing beliefs and at some point the new Christians may try to stamp out what their ancestors may have followed for centuries.
My Step Father's sister was a missionary in Africa and she ended up getting malaria and she's back home now but in very bad shape. I can't imagine criticizing her, especially to my relatives, but I really wonder if this is accomplishing anything. In fact in certain African nations that are strongly influenced by Islam there is extreme hostility between Christians and Muslims and they often kill each other as I've mentioned on other posts. It seems like we're just adding fuel to the fire by trying to convert Muslims into Christians in nations that are unstable and much more serious issues to deal with than religion.
Do you support what missionaries are doing or do you think we should respect the existing religious beliefs that people already have?
Missionaries by their very Nature destroy all the cultures and societies they encounter. Sheer arrogance regarding their one and only "truth" and the way they condemn those who do not conform to their brand of worship can only lead to cultural genocide.
And we are all the poorer for losing the wondrous variety of Tribes and Societies which once made up this world.
Missionaries are there to render uniform what is by Nature different , they are there to convert ( often by force, guile or deception and of course let us not forget bribery) the "savages" the one and true faith and that is a crime against the variety of Human Culture.
Tribes lose their identity as soon as they lose their spiritual and philosophical roots, rituals are to be avoided and even better discarded, the language and traditions become nothing more than footnotes in the anihilation of cultural diversity.
We have gone in with our Western ideas and poisoned the well of intellectual and cultural vibrancy of other peoples by trying to assimilate them to our version of culture. It is shameful and a sad indictment on the narrow definition of the truth we have assumed the supremacy of.
As an Anthropologist I weep just thinking about the cultural wonders and Ethnic varieties, languages, etc... lost to missionaries.
Missionaries much more harm than good. They spend their time trying to 'convert the heathens' rather than finding real solutions to problems that face the world. Case in point, catholic missionaries in Africa that help contribute to the spread of AIDS in Africa. They keep the natives ignorant of rational thinking by teaching them not to use condoms rather than teaching them safe sex.
All one has to do is look at our own history, here with the Native Americans and in the Pacific islands. Wonderful cultures with much to offer have been supressed, altered or eradicated in the name of Christ. I think that Christianity is the only religion in the world that sends out people to help, heal and build, but with the primary objective of conversion as a price for their service. We, in the US are burdened with the most Puritanical and rigid of Christian beliefs as the one trying to become our state religion...that regardless of our constitution. We are also arrogant in our assumption that our form of government is the only right one. I know white, English-speaking Christian fundamentalists that are as fanatical in their belief as any follower of Islam. There is nothing of true, loving humility and tolerance there, anymore.
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Diverse Cultures Worth Protecting
