So I finally get to go to Japan...this sucks!

[mrstickball]

sapphi_snake said:

mrstickball said:

Sapphi,

Given the fact you have nothing to do with Christianity, I don't understand how you can claim to know why we do it, then condemn us for it despite likely never being in a church (much less a protestant, ministry-focused church). Helping others is a deeply personal part of the Christian faith. You can condemn all you want, but the fact is, people like Joe are helping others while you are at home doing nothing. By your age, I was spending a day a week or more helping deliver tonnes of food to my local food pantry to help the poor. You can say that I did it because it was a ploy, but the fact is, people were getting fed. Comparatively, by your own admission, you've fed no one. You've clothed no one. You haven't helped the homeless. Even if my faith was false, I still made the world a better place than you did by helping distribute food to those that needed it.

I would suggest that before you condemn Christians for thier ploys, you get out there, do exactly what they are doing in terms of helping the poor, then come and tell us that we're being awful for mentioning Jesus to them. I think that you'll find out that when your helping the poor, you will share your worldview with them, because you want to help them get out of the situation they are in, and to help them out of poverty by whatever means neccessary.

But until you do that, I don't think you need to come in these threads, throw out your hate speech, and then expect everyone to be OK with you deriding their work.

I used to be a Christian, and I've been in a Church before (never been in a protestant one though, because I was told they were dubious and dangerous).

People getting fed is a tool, not the purpose of what you're doing. I will criticise that. I can criticise that all I want, because me actually having done "something" won't change whether or not I'm right abotu my assessment.

If I'd be helping the poor I wouldn't see why I'd have to tell them that I'm an atheist, or that they should be atheists also. I've always believed that it's rude to try to convert people to any relgious faith (or to atheism), and I've always had a distaste for anyone who does such a thing (I was disgusted with CHristians who did taht even when I was a Christian myself).

And handouts don't work in getting peopel to better their lives. Untill the Governments of those countries don't improve, until their economy doesn't take off, until they don't get better access to education, people over there will be poor. Handouts isn't the answer.

1. Protestant churches aren't dubious or dangerous. It shows ignorance on your part for not going to or learning about these types of churches. Generally, protestant churches have a far more 'active' base of attendees than Catholic or orthodox churches do. What I mean by that is that a decent number of people at these churches are actively participating in the church, read their Bible daily, pray daily, ect. I suggest you try one some time. I had an exchange student from Switzerland that was Catholic come to the Methodist church I was youth pastoring at. She was shocked as to how different and better our services were, as they weren't boring, more informative, and more enjoyable than her masses.

2. Yes, doing something will change your assessment. Rocketpig said the same thing, and he is (please correct me if I'm wrong) an Agnostic. When you help someone through giving them aid, your goal is usually to not *just* give them temporary help through something like a day's worth of food, but help them better their lives so they can live sustainably. In a Christians' case, we believe that by teaching them about Jesus Christ, and how he wants us to live, they can live more sustainably and escape the poverty they are experiencing. As Rocketpig said, your worldview effects what you present, and that is why Christians do it - we are implored to help others through our faith, and in general, we are motivated to share why we are there. Put it this way: If you were a medical doctor and saw people drinking dirty, unpurified water with feces in it, you would do everything you could to explain to them that drinking polluted water makes you sick, and how to recitfy it. A Christian does the same thing by sharing the love of Jesus Christ (this is something you said you know nothing about, as you got to Leviticus. I heartily suggest you read Acts through Hebrews in the New Testament to gain a better understanding of Christian praxis, as Genesis through Leviticus has very little application or sway in a current Christians' life).

3. Somehow, I doubt you wouldn't tell people your an atheist. Given the fact you spend a lot of time on VGC bashing others' viewpoints, I really can't believe that. If anything, it shows you are just as guilty of attempting to sway people as much as Christians are.

4. That is why Christians build schools (look at Indonesia - education levels among Christians far exceeds that of Muslims due to the schools built my missionaries), hospitals, water wells, and do what they can to improve their lives. Generally, Christian aid organizations do not just give handouts, but attempt to improve their lives. That is also why countries have banned missionaries - they know that Christianity will bring human rights and potentially dictator-deposing Democracy with it. Go look at the correlation of democracy with Christian nations.