Volunteering abroad is stupid

[Caliga]

Are there even snakes in Switzerland ?

You are confusing Southern Baptists with Pentecostals.  Southern Baptists don't handle snakes (unless you could trouser snakes.  )

[Malthus]

What annoyed me much more than the Mali thing was when Princesca's family church did a mission trip to.... Switzerland (her aunt went on that trip).  Yes, I'm sure many of the Swiss yearn to be Southern Baptists.

I think you can safely chalk that one up to 'how can we get a free vacation'?

The Swiss are notoriously curmudgeony about stuff like that...well about everything really but especially about religious stuff.  I cannot imagine that went well heh.

The one that annoys me is all the efforts in Israel...especially the constant preying on the weakest links in the society.  Considering the whole point of the country was because Christians kept slaughtering them it seemed particularly galling.

Jews are pretty used to prostheletizing. As I said, it's mostly just seen as rude and annoying.

[Valmy]

[Well, part of the alleged benefit of doing stuff like this is that they get an appreciation of, and some knowledge about, places far from home. Another is the self-reliance aspect of simply traveling and living far from home.

A kid can clearly *do* just as much good around his or her own town; but there are benefits *to the kid* to going abroad.

Not sure why the concept creates such hostility - I can see that it may well be dangerous, and may in some cases be a scam, and any Westerner going abriad can be comfortably accused of racism or whatever, but none of that explains the reflexive dislike I'm seeing.

Confession time: I've never done any volunteering of this sort for the disadvantaged, though I did work abroad as a volunteer at an archeological site. An experience that I still look back on with considerable fondness. Part of which can be explained by acquiring my first GF there ... 

Well Mexico is good to and they are our beloved neighbors. :viva:

Yeah the whole Imperialism thing sorta creeps me out I admit, especially in Africa.  'Westerners here to help!  This has never turned out badly before!'

[Valmy]

Jews are pretty used to prostheletizing. As I said, it's mostly just seen as rude and annoying.

In their own country?  Created explicitly to get away from Christians?  It just seems wrong

[crazy canuck]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Well this is my biggest deal with missionaries.  My church just funds charities in South Africa, there is no agenda there.  We just have charity money so we spend it and sometimes some people from our church go down there (on their own dime) just to check up on things.  A 'missionary' thing is explicitely an attempt to convert people to your religion...and for alot of flavors of Christian they have to do this or they are going to hell.  Jesus ordered them to do it.  So the good religious thing is to convert the locals.  Charity for the impoverished is a pretty good converting tactic.

I go out of my way not to give money to any charity that has any religious affiliation for this reason.  I dont want to risk that chance that my money is going to be used in a coercive manner - even if it is a soft sell.

[Barrister]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Well this is my biggest deal with missionaries.  My church just funds charities in South Africa, there is no agenda there.  We just have charity money so we spend it and sometimes some people from our church go down there (on their own dime) just to check up on things.  A 'missionary' thing is explicitely an attempt to convert people to your religion...and for alot of flavors of Christian they have to do this or they are going to hell.  Jesus ordered them to do it.  So the good religious thing is to convert the locals.  Charity for the impoverished is a pretty good converting tactic.

Well the Bible does seem pretty insistent on the whole "spread the Good News" bit.  I mean, there's a lot about the Bible that is confusing or muddled, but not that part...

[Valmy]

Well the Bible does seem pretty insistent on the whole "spread the Good News" bit.  I mean, there's a lot about the Bible that is confusing or muddled, but not that part...

Right I know that and you know that.  But Malthus might not so I thought I should mention it.  Though to be perfectly honest the Bible is a bit confusing and muddled on what that exactly means and we have been debating it for centuries...just like everything else in Christianity.

[Berkut]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Yes, I'm sure trying to convert people wasn't on her agenda at all.

SHe would not be a very good Christian if conversion was not on her agenda.

That is the problem with evangelical religions (which is most of them). Tolerance for other religions is logically unsound in the context of a monotheistic god who is going to punish non-believers.

[Barrister]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Yes, I'm sure trying to convert people wasn't on her agenda at all.

SHe would not be a very good Christian if conversion was not on her agenda.

That is the problem with evangelical religions (which is most of them). Tolerance for other religions is logically unsound in the context of a monotheistic god who is going to punish non-believers.

I think it is fair to ask evangelists that they not be annoying about their efforts, but you can't really ask them not to evangelize.

[crazy canuck]

I think it is fair to ask evangelists that they not be annoying about their efforts, but you can't really ask them not to evangelize.

Cant have one without the other. 

[fhdz]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Yes, I'm sure trying to convert people wasn't on her agenda at all.

SHe would not be a very good Christian if conversion was not on her agenda.

That is the problem with evangelical religions (which is most of them). Tolerance for other religions is logically unsound in the context of a monotheistic god who is going to punish non-believers.

I think it is fair to ask evangelists that they not be annoying about their efforts, but you can't really ask them not to evangelize.

It's an annoyance regardless of how nicely they go about it.

[Barrister]

OTOH, if she's just there to help out because it's the good religious thing to do or whatever, and not to try and convince the people of Mali to be Baptists, not a big deal.

Yes, I'm sure trying to convert people wasn't on her agenda at all.

SHe would not be a very good Christian if conversion was not on her agenda.

That is the problem with evangelical religions (which is most of them). Tolerance for other religions is logically unsound in the context of a monotheistic god who is going to punish non-believers.

I think it is fair to ask evangelists that they not be annoying about their efforts, but you can't really ask them not to evangelize.

It's an annoyance regardless of how nicely they go about it.

"Hi there, would you like to learn more about Jesus Christ"

"No thank you."

"Okay then, have a nice day!"

Doesn't seem very annoying to me...

[crazy canuck]

"Hi there, would you like to learn more about Jesus Christ"

"No thank you."

"Okay then, have a nice day!"

Doesn't seem very annoying to me...

If they come to my door to say it, thats annoying.  If they say that to me on the street, thats annoying.  If they say that to someone in another country that practices another religion or another brand of Christianity that is really annoying.

[Barrister]

"Hi there, would you like to learn more about Jesus Christ"

"No thank you."

"Okay then, have a nice day!"

Doesn't seem very annoying to me...

If they come to my door to say it, thats annoying.  If they say that to me on the street, thats annoying.  If they say that to someone in another country that practices another religion or another brand of Christianity that is really annoying.

People are fully entitled to come to your front door, and to approach you on the street.

[Jacob]

People are fully entitled to come to your front door, and to approach you on the street.

And I am fully entitled to be annoyed at them when they do.