Counter-missionaries

[Angus McPresley]

The recent brouhaha regarding the condemnation of gays in Uganda has got me wondering. We fight a lot with the pious twits in our home nations because they are in our face. But what can be done to counter the effects of missionaries in developing third-world countries?

While I have no doubt that most missionaries believe they are acting in the best interests of the people they are preaching to, they almost always support policies that condemn their society to continuing poverty (e.g. no birth control), or that destroy human rights (as we see in Uganda). And once they get a foothold, they are very hard to eliminate, as they often have privileged access to government leaders (again, as we see in Uganda) who make a hostile environment for any dissenting viewpoint.

What can be done about this? Are there any agencies that specialize in this sort of counter-missionary outreach? I would love to see an organized effort that targets the very same places that missionaries are trying to convert, with a rationalist opposing viewpoint.

 

[hgc]

You gotta go in building schools and digging wells and junk like that.

 

[Fnord]

You gotta go in building schools and digging wells and junk like that.

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Some Christian missionaries go in to teach in those schools, as well. But then, they also teach a message of hope (salvation, resurrection, heavenly afterlife, et cetera) that merely secular communities (LGBT or otherwise) simply do not have.

"We're building this school not only to provide a future for the locals in this life, but to honor our God and spread his Gospel to the unsaved."

Now, if the OP is truly and sincerely interested in helping Ugandans, and not in just telling them "It's OK to be gay", then may I recommend the Kasiisi Project? This is their Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement:

"The Kasiisi Project does not discriminate in the operation of its programs or the hiring of any employees on the basis of race, color, creed, national, or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This policy also complies with all applicable federal and local EEO laws."

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So unless those "applicable federal and local EEO laws" allow for discrimination against members of the LGBT community, Kasiisi seems like an ideal candidate for the very type of organization the OP-er was asking for!

That is, if the OP-er is actually serious about helping others, and not just whining on about how Christians are playing an unfair game...

 

[Angus McPresley]

That is, if the OP-er is actually serious about helping others, and not just whining on about how Christians are playing an unfair game...

Dude, WTF? It was a legitimate question about a legitimate problem. Your response was rather dickish in its insinuations.

With as many posts as you've made you should know that people spend a lot of time here discussing areas where religious people have disproportionate control (government, school boards, etc.). My post was a request for information about another such area - please explain to me how it constitutes "whining".

And thanks for your information about the Kasiisi project - I will investigate them and possibly contribute. I don't think it actually addresses the problem I was asking about, however - you don't counter an active agency with a neutral one.

For the record, I've worked in the past for Women for Women in Africa. What made you immediately assume I wouldn't be interested in actually doing something about this other particular problem?

 

[Fnord]

... What made you immediately assume I wouldn't be interested in actually doing something about this other particular problem?

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Those who are actually doing things are usually too busy to complain.

 

[hgc]

Some Christian missionaries go in to teach in those schools, as well. But then, they also teach a message of hope (salvation, resurrection, heavenly afterlife, et cetera) that merely secular communities (LGBT or otherwise) simply do not have.

Message of hope? Worship my god or burn in hellfire for all eternity. And, oh, by the way, how do you like your school?

Chances are they already have their own religious fantacies of salvation and heavenly afterlife. Why do they need yours?

And, where does the LGBT bit fit in to this conversation?