fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2565 ]

[ SECRET POST #2565 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2565 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

08. [SPOILERS for Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan]

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09. [SPOILERS for The Walking Dead]
http://i.imgur.com/Rnp3pTB.png
[gore in image]

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10. [SPOILERS for American Horror Story]

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11. [SPOILERS for Doctor Who]

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12. [SPOILERS for Sherlock]
http://i.imgur.com/d4tbog4.png
(OP requested link)

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13. [SPOILERS for Sherlock]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #366.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Wow. Thanks a lot for that. I'm having a really rough day and your message is actually making me fucking cry. Thanks. That's really what I needed. For you to jump to fucking conclusions and tell me I don't deserve any friends.

I didn't say you don't deserve friends. I'm pointing out a possible reason why you don't have them. My guess based on the information that you provided. Quit being a prejudiced asshole and more people will like you.

Being turned off on someone who thinks it's a worthwhile use of their time to preach their own religious and cultural values at people in developing nations (who very likely have a religion and culture of their very own) doesn't make someone a "prejudiced asshole." You were unnecessarily cruel to AYRT.

Spreading the Word of God is something Jesus told us to do. Passing out a few Bibles and building a church or two is well within the rights of the woman and is a part of her faith. And South Africa is multi-ethnic and considered 'newly industrialized.' It's very likely the people there have at least heard of Christianity and wherever the woman went they were also willing to let her build a church there.

'Oh, you're a Christian and you went to talk to some people about God? We can't be friends.' That's a really prejudiced thing to say.

Not all Christians believe that. There are many kinds of Christians who don't proselytize. OP is allowed to be disturbed by proselytizing and not want to associate with people who do it. Doesn't make them prejudiced against all religious people or even all Christians.

Where did Jesus say "Hey go shove your religion down other peoples throats?" Or "Trick people into listening to you by bribing them with food and water?"

Btw you are aware that Jesus was a Jew right and wasn't out to start a new religion.

Except the OP has no idea if that was what this woman did. OP said she passed out Bibles and built a few churches.

I am aware that Christ was a Jew and did not start the Church. How is that relevant?

Because it makes a difference of the context in what Jesus was saying. Not to mention the fact that even in my biblical classes we were told to take things with a grain of salt because others wrote down Jesus' words and that even the most devout of disciples is still mortal and prone to error and misremembering.

A lot of truly awful things have been done in the name of converting others to Christ, I don't blame any person that is uneasy with it.

And I would indeed look down on someone that went some place that had need and handed out bibles and built churches instead of things that were truly needed.

If the people there have already heard of Christianity, then they've had the opportunity to convert if they were interested. And there are a LOT of things that people believe that Jesus told them to do; that's not anybody else's problem except the people who believe that. Besides which, I'm pretty sure that building schools and handing out medical supplies would be more inline with "what Jesus said" than building churches and handing out Bibles, and I think it's reasonable for the anon in question to be uncomfortable with the sort of person who thinks the best "help" they can offer someone less fortunate is paternalistic proselytizing.

'Oh, you're a Christian and you went to talk to some people about God? We can't be friends.' That's a really prejudiced thing to say.

It sure is. It's a good thing that's not what the anon you're being awful to said.

You do realize that what you're talking about ties heavily into colonialism which also ties heavily into the erasing of indigenous cultures. Do you also realize that the whole reason there is Christianity in a lot of these places is because of colonialism and Christians forcing the "poor brown folk" to be Christian.

"Spreading the Word of God" is not always as innocent as it sounds and can even at it's most innocent be very disrespectful to people of different faiths. OP has every right to be hesitant about someone who makes it their life mission to spread Christianity. Christianity has a violent and horrible past and present, I don't understand why Christians act like those outside the faith are the bad guy when they're scared.

This. This right here. These words that you said. Yes.

This, oh so fucking much.

I really don't think simply having a message for those who wish to hear it is anything like missionary work during imperialism. However, based on various things the OP said I get the impression his or her "friend" was doing more than simply talking about God to anyone who was interested, and was quite patronizingly proud of it.

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 03:34 (UTC) - Expand

I find it interesting that you think it's about three hundred years ago, no one in Africa speaks English, and that the Africans aren't capable of looking out for their own interests - it's not like they regularly sign natural resource agreements with China, compete in the Olympics, allow or disallow churches/mosques/temples in their communities, or saying "No, thanks" on a personal basis.

Oh wait, they do that every day.

There are certainly legacies from colonialism, but the inability to say "No, thanks" to the government of France, much less a small group of U.S. missionaries who show up to build infrastructure for free isn't one of them.

(And way to lump all Christians together and make wildly inaccurate statements about them.)

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 05:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

chardmonster - 2014-01-11 06:38 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 11:50 (UTC) - Expand

THIS.

This person is just being embarrassing right now honestly.

If you ever wonder why people are down on Christians and Christianity, look no further than yourself. Missions like the one you describe were a huge part of colonialsm, a force that not only robbed developing countries of their natural resources, but also played a large role in destroying their indigenous cultures, language and quite often, the people themselves. The whole history of Africa is proof of this.

Saying that it's good because Jesus told you is not a strong defense.

You're conflating several factors, motivations, corporations, and individual people and then lumping all of your misinformation together and titling it "Christianity". Since I'm pretty sure that I've replied to you at length in other places in this thread (because there really can't be that many people with the same massive misunderstanding of what colonialism or the various Christian denominations in existence at that time actually entailed), I'll suffice it to say that it's tiresome to see your misinformed hate-on for Christianity (and the practical effects of colonialism) everywhere.

(And that you really need to crack a history book and a modern traveling in Africa book. You'll be surprised.)

So do you think South Fucking Africa is some kind of untouched wilderness where the utterly ignorant natives have never heard of Christianity and have no idea what they are doing when they go to the clearly marked missionary area?

No but that's cute.

People don't usually go proselytizing in communities where everybody already shares their beliefs.

It's as if you don't really know anything about how most modern mission work works!

I'm sorry, most American church ladies aren't going into the middle of the wilderness. They're going to places with established churches, spending two hours at a christian school gawking at the kids, and then going on safari and shopping. They are not forcibly converting The Innocent Natives.

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

(Anonymous) - 2014-01-11 17:01 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Finding out people you like are scumbags

chardmonster - 2014-01-11 23:15 (UTC) - Expand

ayrt

Did you miss the part where I said I'm okay with religion as long as people aren't proselytizing and trying to convert people? My problem was not that she was Christian but with the type of Christian she was, where she thought Missions and traveling the world and 'helping' people only with the purpose to convert them was the highest achievement. I am not prejudiced and if anyone is the asshole in this discussion it is most definitely you.

I'm leaving after this. So any other anons replying are not me, jsyk.

"I'm fine with religion until you follow the commandments of your faith and go to another country and talk to people who are not me and do things that will not affect me. Then we can't be friends."

Nah, pretty sure the asshole here is you.

"My religion told me to" is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If it's sucky to do it for shits and giggles, it's sucky to do it for religion.

Passing out a few Bibles, building a church (that the locals must've have allowed them to build in the first place) and talking about God, is not really sucky behavior.

Christians do a lot of sucky shit. This isn't an example of it.

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