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You could then say the same about suicidal LOSERS FOR ALLAH or LOSERS FOR BUDDHA, if what? They are short and don't have girlfriends like they are expected to?
In Christianity, it can implicitly (although not explicitly as most Christian social circles are "Genesis be fruitful and multiply" rather than Paulin "be as celibate as you can be, the more celibate the better, just like me.") be seen as a personal honor not to have had girlfriends. Same (or even stronger honor since it often even explicitly includes the social aspect) would be true in Buddhism in regards to monkhood.
If I had to describe him in one word it would hapless
From the beginning this guy was cursed to live a purely pointless life that could only end in him dying young for a hopeless cause. In short, we could describe John Chau as a
LOSER FOR JESUS!
He will go to the grave as a martyr in Christian Evangelical circles though.
Not that I support that, as to Evangelicals dying for Christ goes right back to the Roman Empire. (in fact anyone that wasn't a Catholic Christian back then, and hence must have been a Bible believing Christian)
He will go to the grave as a martyr in Christian Evangelical circles though.
Not that I support that, as to Evangelicals dying for Christ goes right back to the Roman Empire. (in fact anyone that wasn't a Catholic Christian back then, and hence must have been a Bible believing Christian)
Although the KJVersion was developed much after. The Christians that were persecuted were a thousand kinds of different from today's denominations.
He will go to the grave as a martyr in Christian Evangelical circles though.
Not that I support that, as to Evangelicals dying for Christ goes right back to the Roman Empire. (in fact anyone that wasn't a Catholic Christian back then, and hence must have been a Bible believing Christian)
can he be considered wrong and a martyr? I mean, yeah he was sick, its sad, and lest not do that again kind of thing?
You could then say the same about suicidal LOSERS FOR ALLAH or LOSERS FOR BUDDHA, if what? They are short and don't have girlfriends like they are expected to?
In Christianity, it can implicitly (although not explicitly as most Christian social circles are "Genesis be fruitful and multiply" rather than Paulin "be as celibate as you can be, the more celibate the better, just like me.") be seen as a personal honor not to have had girlfriends. Same (or even stronger honor since it often even explicitly includes the social aspect) would be true in Buddhism in regards to monkhood.
You're mixing apples with oranges. When was the last time you had someone stop you in the street and ask, "Excuse me, but do you know Allah as your savior?" Moslems and Buddhists are just not obnoxious about their faith the way Christians are.
My premise was that if this guys had anything on the ball career-wise or appeal-to-women wise I don't think he would have gone traipsing off to a dangerous part of the world just itching to get slaughtered--that is unless he had a deathwish for Jesus which in itself demonstrates just how screwed-up the Christian religion makes people.
No matter how you dissect this situation it looks bad for Christianity, for Jesus, for Christians in general. It's just abnormal, the whole missionary-for-Jesus thing.
You're mixing apples with oranges. When was the last time you had someone stop you in the street and ask, "Excuse me, but do you know Allah as your savior?" Moslems and Buddhists are just not obnoxious about their faith the way Christians are.
My premise was that if this guys had anything on the ball career-wise or appeal-to-women wise I don't think he would have gone traipsing off to a dangerous part of the world just itching to get slaughtered--that is unless he had a deathwish for Jesus which in itself demonstrates just how screwed-up the Christian religion makes people.
No matter how you dissect this situation it looks bad for Christianity, for Jesus, for Christians in general. It's just abnormal, the whole missionary-for-Jesus thing.
I think you're reading way too much into his height and his appeal to women...which I don't you really know. You've never met the man.
But you make a very good point about how obnoxious some christians are about their faith. As a Theravada Buddhist who spent a great deal of time in Thailand and lived there for a couple of years, it was unheard of for a Buddhist to approach someone about religion. And think of my situation while in Thailand. I looked like just another American tourist with a camera when I would walk into a Buddhist temple...and I probably visited over a thousand temples...and at least at first, any Thai Buddhist there, whether monk or lay person, would reasonably assume I was not Buddhist. Yet none ever approached me to try to convert me. Not once, not ever. When I would be in southern Thailand, not a single Muslim ever approached me to discuss religion, and even when I talked with Muslims, never did they try to steer the discussion to anything related to conversion (they did sometimes talk about the politics of religion).
Sounds heartless but in a way I'm glad he was killed. Christians need to see firsthand what happens to them when they rely on Jesus to protect them. One journalist describes him as "self-important, arrogant, deluded, foolish, and a pest".
The media might never have picked up this story and the Chau's death would have been for nothing. But shining a spotlight on the failure of Jesus to save his own proves beyond any shadow of doubt to the entire world that missionaries in hostile territories cannot rely on Jesus to ride to their rescue as so many believe he will.
I hope this is a wakeup call for the thousands of young Christian men and women who are contemplating going into missionary work. I hope they take off the rose-colored spectacles and say, "Crap! Jesus promised he would protect us and he didn't lift a finger to help John Chau. What am I doing thinking I can follow after John? What am doing in the Christian religion, period!"
This is one item Christians in here will not step forward and comment on because what can they say to circumvent a bald failure of Jesus?
Okay, first off, I'm no "bible beater" by any means. However, I don't believe the "love and protection" that Jesus offers according to biblical teachings necessarily means you will be protected here on earth by Jesus. According to the Bible, we are the creations of God. And God gave man free will, so that we could choose our own path and make our own decisions. I have never read anything in the Bible that lead me to believe that God or Jesus are going to come down to earth and intercede on our behalf in mortal affairs. The salvation being offered by Jesus is for the soul, not the flesh. So the fact that this man happened to die in an attempt to spread the word of his God is absolutely not proof that God or Jesus does not exist. Jesus/God are not going to come down and save you from a car accident or a primitive tribe of people. However, according to the Bible, if you have taken Jesus as your savior, your soul will be delivered unto him, and you will dwell in paradise, after your earthly body has ceased to be the vessel of the soul. Of course, it's totally up to us if we choose to believe or not. The same freedom of choice we all have in our every endeavor. This man chose to go and attempt to spread his chosen faith to people who have never heard the words he believes in. And he died for it. Perhaps his death on behalf of his faith is just as much proof that God does exist as it is proof that he doesn't.
I'd say that's cold comfort for a life just thrown away for no good reason.
I agree with this. Even as an atheist, there are so many things that I can think of that missionaries could do to make the world a better place without -- in this case -- throwing their lives away or disrespecting other people(s).
I see this all too often from Mormons. Doing good things with the ulterior motive of conversion. I watched as Mormon missionaries converged on the poor, immigrant neighborhoods of Latinos in Northern Virginia. Doubly offensive since they were trying to "steal" christians from one denomination (catholic) to their denomination. This is quite different than the two times I've been in a catholic hospital, and have been briefly visited by a protestant minister.
I'd say that's cold comfort for a life just thrown away for no good reason.
That won't bother Christianity. That fellow and his life doesn't matter a damn' to them. Only what propaganda value they can screw out of it.
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