Christian Extremism

monosharp

Guys, I'd really like to get your honest opinion on this. I just want to know if you think this is wrong or not and what can be done to stop people mis-using your religion like this.

Please note I am not blaming christianity for these people, I know they would be equally out of their minds if they were muslims or ...etc. this is not an attack on christianity, its a request for you (Christians) to give your opinion on these people.

This is a video (slightly edited by some vietnamese youtube user) about a tv show in Korea a few years ago.

Basically theres an English guy married to a Korean woman.
Her older brother continuously tries to persuade the English guy to go to church with him.

The English guy eventually makes the point that the older brother now no longer attends family gatherings at 추석 (Chuseok) and 설날 (lunar new years) because of his church/religion.

Neither of these celebrations are really religious. Chuseok is slightly religious in that it involves 'honouring' your ancestors.

Large Christian church with the speaker praying for Buddhists temples to be burned/collapse. Buddha is Satan etc. -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGQzS7RA9zU

Buddhist temple burned down by christians -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wh30ZQxYUQ

Evangelising on subway ->
#1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1jxWlXNenk
#2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrbbYD6U2fY

General craziness worship -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nj2JTPjlgk

Seaneh

monosharp wrote: »

Guys, I'd really like to get your honest opinion on this. I just want to know if you think this is wrong or not and what can be done to stop people mis-using your religion like this.

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I don't think there is a Christian on this forum who wouldn't agree that these actions are wrong. These people are bing mislead by their leaders, people who preach about destruction of property and hatred towards other religions are not basing their teaching on Christian standards, they are applying their own hate toward a religion and flogging it as biblically based, which is an absolute load of tosh. The bible says to be a light in the darkness. To live by example. that's the best form of witnessing you could ever do. Nowhere in the NT does it tell people to attack others because of their beliefs.

I think that it could be stopped it people were somehow able to teach a real christian message to these believers who are being mislead, show them that christianity is about love and forgiveness not hatred and violence, show these preachers for the hate mongers they are.

monosharp

Seaneh wrote: »

I don't think there is a Christian on this forum who wouldn't agree that these actions are wrong. These people are bing mislead by their leaders, people who preach about destruction of property and hatred towards other religions are not basing their teaching on Christian standards, they are applying their own hate toward a religion and flogging it as biblically based, which is an absolute load of tosh. The bible says to be a light in the darkness. To live by example. that's the best form of witnessing you could ever do. Nowhere in the NT does it tell people to attack others because of their beliefs.

Thank you.

What do you suggest could be done about these people ? I know its not christianities fault, or problem, nor is it Christians responsibility to do something about it but this issue continues to get bigger here. The more people join these churches the more people have children and the children grow up in this kind of hate filled cult. They never have a chance.

One of the worst parts of this is, it is destroying the traditions and culture of Korea.

As I said above there are two very big traditional celebrations in Korea. Neither the Catholic church nor mainstream protestant churches have any problem with people continuing to celebrate these occasions with their families as they have done for thousands of years.

But these christian cult churches forbid their followers from taking part in these celebrations and some of the really extreme ones forbid associating with non-christians except where its necessary for work. i.e > If your christian and your family is catholic/buddhist/nothing then you shouldn't associate with them unless they join your church.

This problem is growing every year, its constantly getting worse. It really is the beginning of a fred phelps type christian state.

I think that it could be stopped it people were somehow able to teach a real christian message to these believers who are being mislead, show them that christianity is about love and forgiveness not hatred and violence, show these preachers for the hate mongers they are.

What people ? Opening a church is a great business here, you don't need any training just rent a room, stick a neon cross on the front and rant about whatever you want. Someone will listen and pay for the privilege because you stick the 'christian' sticker on the front.

PDN

Monosharp, give it a rest. You keep banging on about this stuff all the time, despite my fellow moderator asking you to stop.

As you yourself say these people don't represent Christianity, nor is Christianity responsible for their actions. In a democratic society people are allowed to be as crazy as they want within that society's laws. Often their craziness expresses itself in distortions of exising ideologies and beliefs.

As for whether they are destroying the "cultures and traditions of Korea", that happens all the time in every country in the world. For example, Islam destroyed the cultures and traditions of Coptic Egypt, secularism is destroying the cultures and traditions of Catholic Ireland, and MacDonalds is destroying the cultures and traditions of cookery and food in many nations. I dislike extremism and intolerance of any kind, but history demonstrates that we don't live in a museum or a folk park and so cultures and traditions are continually being destroyed and recreated. The present culture and traditions of Korea only developed in the first place because their advocates became numerous and influential enough to trample over the preceding set of culture and traditions.

Zombrex

monosharp wrote: »

Guys, I'd really like to get your honest opinion on this.

One of these days everyone, just to wind you up, is going to go "Yeah, I think this is great, I'm all for it" :P

JimiTime

yeah, I think its great, I'm all for it.

Manach

Count me in as well.

monosharp

I'm glad religious intolerance and extremism is something we can all laugh at.

On a similar note a young teenage school girl died last weekend from some form of cancer.

She had been begging her parents to bring her to a hospital for the past few months because of the pain. Fortunately her parents pastor (and their official churches policy) convinced them to pray it away.

Unfortunately they mustn't have been praying the right way because after months of this they eventually brought her to a hospital and the doctors informed them that she had a good chance of surviving it, if they had brought her in months beforehand. Now it was too late and the only thing to do was take something for the pain, wait, and say your goodbyes.

And no this is not the same as the 'faith healers' state side. This is an official church policy in a huge metropolitan city and it is very far from been the only one.

PDN wrote:

As you yourself say these people don't represent Christianity, nor is Christianity responsible for their actions. In a democratic society people are allowed to be as crazy as they want within that society's laws. Often their craziness expresses itself in distortions of exising ideologies and beliefs.

Well there you misunderstand me because I am not posting this here to try and attack Christianity or Christians. I'm posting it here because I really believe that the only way to deal with these people is for mainstream christianity to do something about it.

It takes a lot, a huge amount, to make me care about this crap. I normally wouldn't bat an eyelid, but the situation here, in my adopted country, is just getting completely out of control.

What is this place going to be like in 20 years time when all these brainwashed children (extremist variety) grow up ?

Why don't mainstream christians do something about these people ?

PDN

monosharp wrote: »

I'm glad religious intolerance and extremism is something we can all laugh at. ?

They're not laughing at intolerance and extremism. They're laughing at you. Now give it a rest.