Christian evangelists at Nana Plaza

[Old Hippie]

One might argue they would if they could get away with it...of course, my idiot president did once refer to the fun in Iraq as "a crusade..."

[Flashermac]

Would you rather they still did?

 

Basically these folks are wasting their time as far as conversions. Buddhism is so closely tied to "Thai-ness" that ordinary Thais feel they have to be Buddhists. It's quite obvious many do not believe in it any more, but they go along and pretend they do.

 

A couple of years ago, one of my students said in class that she intended to become a Catholic. Her classmates were shocked. They asked how she could do such a thing, when she was Thai. She replied she'd decided she liked the Catholic Church better. Still, her friends could not understand how she could even consider doing such a non-Thai thing.

 

Years ago, some Mormon missionaries told me Thailand was a very frustrating country for them. They said they would make repeat visits to a Thai family, feeling they were really convincing them. Then they'd find out the Thais weren't the least bit interested and had just been too polite to say so. One Mormon remarked, "I'd rather they told us they weren't interested so we wouldn't keep wasting our time."

 

 

 

[Julian2]

Why don't we try kidnapping a couple? S. Koreans just paid $24 million to get their's back from Taliban.

[Flashermac]

Think anybody would pay?

[Torneyboy]

Yes indeed :thumbup:

[gene1944]

Years ago, some Mormon missionaries told me Thailand was a very frustrating country for them. They said they would make repeat visits to a Thai family, feeling they were really convincing them. Then they'd find out the Thais weren't the least bit interested and had just been too polite to say so. One Mormon remarked, "I'd rather they told us they weren't interested so we wouldn't keep wasting our time."

 

 

 

When my wife was a teenager, she used to talk to the Jehovah Witnesses who visited her neighborhood for hours. She had absolutely no interest in their religion, just wanted to practice her English. :smirk:

 

[OCgringo]

I know a couple guys here that did their Morman mission work in Japan , and later used their Japanese language skills to do business there ,

 

I wonder how many of the Mormans missionaries that go to Thailand end up staying there ,

 

 

OC

[Flashermac]

Years ago, I got to know some of the Mormons. I asked why they always travel in pairs. One told me they have to! It's a rule to keep them from giving in to temptation. If they are caught out alone, they are immediately sent home in disgrace and at their own expense. Imagine being about 20 to 25, living in Thailand for 2 years and never even having a drink, let alone getting laid.

 

One of my Thai colleagues would sometimes say to me, "Why isn't your Thai as good as the Mormons?" Well, in what way? Several of the "elders" compained to me about their limited vocabulary. They said they could speak quite fluently about comparative religion and their own beliefs, which amazed the hell out of the Thais. But other than that, their vocabulary was rather limited.

 

 

 

[dddave]

THE EMPOWER FOUNDATION is mentioned in this article and from what I know' date=' is an organization that does deserve support.

I've met several girls that have received job training and English courses provided free of charge at their Silom center. They also have a successful branch in Chaing Mai and have opened one in Pattaya.

 

They very specifically DO NOT proselytize nor denigrate the girls in any way for working in the sex industry, they just provide support with no judgments.

When the worldwide AIDS conference was held in Bangkok several years back they were initially invited to participate but when the government realized that their goal was to encourage government support for providing condoms and HIV advice to working girls, they were turned away for encouraging prostitution.

I've never seen a solicitation for funds on their part but they certainly are worthy of support.[/quote']

 

 

Dave,

 

I'll politely disagree. These people all have problems that need fixing in their own countries, and they should stay there, and fix those. Additionally, I maintain that ALL these groups have an ulterior motive, regardless of what they say, or how theycome across.

 

OH,

You are jumping to conclusions, who said anything about EMPOWER being staffed by foreigners?

The founder and all the support staff at EMPOWER are THAI, they are neither missionaries nor Farang do gooders.

[Neo]

That's interesting about the pairing. It's kind of sad really. These well intentioned people (letâ??s not forget that their intentions are good) live their whole lives with guilt and shame about sexual gratification, seeing it as sinful and dirty rather than being able to enjoy it. Then they go and outreach to people to become like them where converts become guilty about many things they never used to be and try to live by a rule book written a few thousand years ago in a desert whose teachings is constantly being interpreted differently. Converts, especially the impressionable children they prey on, become social outcasts no longer fitting in and lose that essential social bond necessary to harmonious life in Thailand. There are laws against physical and sexual abuse, but there also need to be laws against mental abuse like this, particularly of children due to the damage being done.

 

While offering job alternatives to disgruntled sex workers, they need to keep in mind about half the people the world over are unhappy with their job regardless of profession. So if they only net a sliver of people to switch it means the career path they are peddling is perhaps not that great given the potential. And if they claim daily miracles and one of the greatest among them is a health test outcome changed, that looks bad since everyone from the outside looking in knows such tests are never 100%.

 

Itâ??s just really a grotesque religion when you think about it. The symbol is a mutilated corpse in the agony of death. Many each week gather together like cannibals to simulate guzzling human blood and consuming human flesh of someone who died a long time ago. Many teach Thai's that all their ancestors, friends, and loved who have passed on have gone to hell for eternal torture and damnation because God left them behind. If only these people could move out of this dogmatic darkness creating suffering and start thinking for themselves to see the true light, but they canâ??t let go because they live in fear the afterlife would be taken away from them.