Are missionaries selling faith?

I was just posting in another thread and it really got me thinking is it wrong for missionaries to help? I think what they do is almost anti-God in a way. Think about it you are poor and hungry and then some people come and give you food and shelter but they want you to pray with them and understand there god and mission. This in my mind is evil on many levels why not just help and if they find faith so be it?



I would have no problem with them if they just did not push there agenda. In many cases the only reason they are going is to sell there product. It is not to help but convert the poor pagans. Is this what God would want? I don't think so.



It is wrong to sell religion in my eyes what does ATS think?

[edit on 2-3-2010 by Subjective Truth]

They are not really selling religion. They are giving food and shelter and giving an understanding of their god and beliefs. When you are sold a car the dealer does not give you a car and then educate you on why fords are better than toyota.
Would this be anydifferent than an atheist group giving food and shelter while educating people that there is no such thing as god and that all religion is false?

[edit on 2-3-2010 by zaiger]

reply to post by zaiger


Well if they are selling atheism in return I would have a problem with it. It is about giving something and expecting something in return. And what they want in return is souls. This is evil and man should not play God.

[edit on 2-3-2010 by Subjective Truth]

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
Are missionaries selling faith?

You cannot sell something that is free. Giving it without cost or trade is therefore a gift.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
I was just posting in another thread and it really got me thinking is it wrong for missionaries to help?

No, nor is it wrong for anyone else to help either.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
Think about it you are poor and hungry and then some people come and give you food and shelter but they want you to pray with them and understand there god and mission.

Missionaries should not be trading food and shelter for prayer and understanding, but would it not make sense if they are giving free food and free shelter that they also offer freely prayer and understanding? Food and shelter fill the belly and cover the head, but prayer and understanding feeds the soul forever.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
This in my mind is evil on many levels why not just help and if they find faith so be it?

Many (if not the great majority) of missionary work operates this way.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
I would have no problem with them if they just did not push there agenda.

What missionary work, specifically, denies food and shelter if the person they're trying to help denies prayer and understanding?

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
In many cases the only reason they are going is to sell there product.

What sale? What product? Please be specific.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
It is not to help but convert the poor pagans. Is this what God would want? I don't think so.

Before we put our personal thoughts into this, let's ask ourselves what does God say for us to do and what He wants. The answer is here:

"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." - Mark 16:15

"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." - 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Sounds pretty clear, yes?

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
It is wrong to sell religion in my eyes what does ATS think?

I agree it is wrong to sell religion. Fortunately this is not what Missionary work is.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
It is about giving something and expecting something in return.

I agree, there should be no trading. Giving without expectation of any return is true love:

"Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." - Luke 14:12-14

[edit on 2-3-2010 by saint4God]

Missionaries don't deny folks their charity if they don't convert to Christianity.

People are so ready to cast aspersions and focus on the negative to the exclusion of all else. It's a bit sad.

I'm not a Christian myself, but no one can deny that mission workers do a tremendous amount of good in the world.

So they have a message to share that they truly believe will help others... So what? Let them share it. It's up to each discerning person as to whether they want to believe it or not.

Honestly if missionaries were offering their charity work and no church services wouldn't someone be offended because someone said "god bless you" and therefore "has an agenda". These missionaries help people who really cares if they offer a church service on sunday or employment helping others.
I hear a lot on this board about how religion is all about "stealing money", greed and controlling people. Now when the charity work that the church does gets brought up there is something wrong with that too.

If they don't get converted to their brand of faith, then what happens?

Do I have to bring up history?

Throughout history, the Catholic Church was on a mission to convert those poor heathens to Christianity, destroying their cultures and even killing people in the process.

And the British missionaries? And ummm....


In other words, yes they are selling faith, or perhaps FORCING their faith on others. They don't care if they are starving or not.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
I was just posting in another thread and it really got me thinking is it wrong for missionaries to help? I think what they do is almost anti-God in a way. Think about it you are poor and hungry and then some people come and give you food and shelter but they want you to pray with them and understand there god and mission. This in my mind is evil on many levels why not just help and if they find faith so be it?



I would have no problem with them if they just did not push there agenda. In many cases the only reason they are going is to sell there product. It is not to help but convert the poor pagans. Is this what God would want? I don't think so.



It is wrong to sell religion in my eyes what does ATS think?

[edit on 2-3-2010 by Subjective Truth]

Curious, what are these people paying? Seems like the christians are giving, giving, giving as a tool to express the love of God and a way to show them the truth. Didn't Jesus feed the five thousand? Didn't Jesus help the poor? Look at the mindset of the Disciples who were indignant that the oil wasn't sold to help the poor? Where do you think they got the mindset to help the poor?

8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

The disciples had a mindset to help the poor to give them aid. I would bet my bottom dollar they told the poor about Jesus as they were helping the poor. Its not wrong to bring food and water and tell someone about the love of God. It is the duty of every christian to preach the Gospel not to just let them find their own way but to lead people to Christ. What we do is lead people out of death and into life. We don't force people to christ if they choose not to believe thats their own business and christians should continue to help the poor regardless of their beliefs because that is a commandment.


-Keeper

Originally posted by Deaf Alien
If they don't get converted to their brand of faith, then what happens?

Do I have to bring up history?

Throughout history, the Catholic Church was on a mission to convert those poor heathens to Christianity, destroying their cultures and even killing people in the process.

And the British missionaries? And ummm....


In other words, yes they are selling faith, or perhaps FORCING their faith on others. They don't care if they are starving or not.

The theocracy of the medieval-Renaissance Catholic Church, and the policies of Imperialist Britain at its height, both bear very little resemblance to the modern institutions of mission work, but then I think you knew that. It's a dishonest comparison in the extreme.

They don't withdraw their goodwill if people fail to convert. That's some fantasy you've concocted. There is no "sale" or forcible evangelism. Again, prejudiced fantasy.

reply to post by Subjective Truth


It is much better for them to be selling it than torturing or forcing it (I mean real Medieval style forcing it).

While certainly it might seem bad to some to have missionaries shoving their religion in people's faces I think it much preferable to the stuff Westerners used to do a few centuries ago, killing and torturing anyone who didn't believe their religion or the church's version of the truth, inquisitions, slavery, etc.

Most missionaries are misguided imo but they are still trying to do the best they see fit to help underprivileged people which must count for something