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Tired of being Accosted by Christians
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SeoulFinn



Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Location: 1h from Seoul

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't have any problem with people who approach me on the streets. The people who come to my door to sell their (mis)beliefs are completely another matter, though.

As all of us have seen while visiting local stores, there are many different kinds of signs and stickers on sale. You know, "No Smoking," "Toilet," "Pull" etc. But has anyone seen stickers that say "No Christians" allowed? Naturally it should be in Korean, otherwise the nice lady behind my door (and usually waking me up at ungodly hour) might not understand the message.

Maybe I should make my own stickers I can put on my door. Something that has all the most common religious symbols (Christian cross, star of David, crescent moon etc.) with a fat red line drawn over them. That should do the job, don't you think? *^^*


Last edited by SeoulFinn on Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:32 am; edited 1 time in total
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kermo wrote:
[ Of course my friend obliged and followed her, but instead of reaching her home, she found herself in a church, forced to watch a video and mobbed by pressure to convert. .



How was she "forced" to watch a video? Did they tie her to a chair or something? She could have just said politely "Sorry I'm late for another appointment" have her student translate and then leave.

One wonders why certain people on here are so strident about missionaries. Just say "I'm not interested" and walk away.
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Cheonmunka



Joined: 04 Jun 2004

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Typos in any language. Actually should be 교회에 관심 없어요 to get the religios off your back.
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swetepete



Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Location: a limp little burg

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like evangelists if, and only if, they give me those weird little Jack T. Chick comic books. I LOVE those things. Some guy gave me two, here in Korea...the only good evangelist I've met here.



http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0054/0054_01.asp

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5003/5003_01.asp?FROM=bibleseries
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skinhead



Joined: 11 Jun 2004

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My greatest wish in life - is to be accosted by Christ himself. I dig the Jesus. The man was a child of the universe - an aquarian from the originaltor. A THELEMITE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!

Come sweet Lord Jesus. Meet me in the middle of the air when I die, I pray thee. I really really do.
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Demophobe



Joined: 17 May 2004

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ajuma wrote:


I had to laugh at this. My Mom was telling me about a missionary nun that talked in her church (Mom's a Catholic...Buddha bless her!). She was collecting money for the "poor children in South Korea"! Laughing Laughing Laughing



I'm not sure why this is funny. Are there no poor kids in SK? It's even more of a shame when kids are hungry in a "rich" country.
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Delirium's Brother



Joined: 08 May 2006
Location: Out in that field with Rumi, waiting for you to join us!

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To Gamecock, superacidjax wrote:
You are my new hero! That psuedo-crap is the kind of stuff I would expect to hear at some Portland, OR coffee shop where everyone is trying so hard to be unique that they end up being just like everyone else.

The same kinds of people are the ones that pretend to be Canadian when they're Americans...

You're my new hero too! I hate it when Canadians sound like Canadians, and when people with BAs in Anthropology pathetically try to actually get some use out of them. Those damn intellectuals... I wish they'd be more psuedo-...
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ajuma



Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Demophobe wrote:
ajuma wrote:


I had to laugh at this. My Mom was telling me about a missionary nun that talked in her church (Mom's a Catholic...Buddha bless her!). She was collecting money for the "poor children in South Korea"! Laughing Laughing Laughing



I'm not sure why this is funny. Are there no poor kids in SK? It's even more of a shame when kids are hungry in a "rich" country.


Of course! It's sort of like people going around collecting money for the poor kids in the US! SK is a fairly rich country, as is the US. I can see raising money for people in Somalia or in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, but sheesh!
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superacidjax



Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Delirium's Brother wrote:
.. and when people with BAs in Anthropology pathetically try to actually get some use out of them. Those damn intellectuals... I wish they'd be more psuedo-...


Everyone knows that a BA in Anthropology is best used for educating us backwater ignorants here on Dave's. My only regret is that I didn't get a degree in something that would allow me to drone on with various rehased theories garnered in "Why Western Civilization is Evil" classes. I didn't have the opportunity to take an entire major feauturing a lineup of self-hating, apologists determined to right the world's wrongs by educating everyone that it's the West's fault.

If you want to know the real reason for Christianity's strong presence in South Korea, you might want to look at Korea's anthropological history. You can blame the strict hereditary hierarchy of Korea's past social orders as the reason that Korea is one of the few Asian countries where large numbers have adopted Christianity. The Christian concept of the equality of man really pissed off the neo-confucian yangban. So if you want to start looking for the "source" of these over-agressive missionaries, one needn't look further than right here in Korea. Just as certain Christian denominations gain prominence in the American South due to the slavery, the same thing happened in Korea. Korea's slaves weren't completely emancipated until 1897. The first missionaries arrived in Korea in 1884. The social order created by the yangban aristocrats and the four-layer caste system of the neo-Confucians is what caused rabid Christianity to take root.

If you want to debate, bring it. But frankly I don't think anyone cares about the anthropological roots of the missionary issue.

I think that we just want to get on the subway without being ambushed everyday.

I'm curious.. what does a Canadian sound like?
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Delirium's Brother



Joined: 08 May 2006
Location: Out in that field with Rumi, waiting for you to join us!

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

superacidjax wrote:
If you want to know the real reason for Christianity's strong presence in South Korea, you might want to look at Korea's anthropological history. You can blame the strict hereditary hierarchy of Korea's past social orders as the reason that Korea is one of the few Asian countries where large numbers have adopted Christianity. The Christian concept of the equality of man really pissed off the neo-confucian yangban. So if you want to start looking for the "source" of these over-agressive missionaries, one needn't look further than right here in Korea. Just as certain Christian denominations gain prominence in the American South due to the slavery, the same thing happened in Korea. Korea's slaves weren't completely emancipated until 1897. The first missionaries arrived in Korea in 1884. The social order created by the yangban aristocrats and the four-layer caste system of the neo-Confucians is what caused rabid Christianity to take root.


That was actually interesting... thank-you! [/I'm being quite serious]. It would be interesting to read more about this.

peace,

ps.
  1. The West is "Evil"... that's a little melodramatic, don't you think? I do.
  2. Only 25% of my courses were drawn from `Why Western Civilization is Evil' classes. 25% were drawn from the `Why Western Civilization is Good' offerings. The other 50% didn't have anything to do with the West at all. So I could go either way issue by issue, I guess.
  3. I'm not sure a BA in anthropology is good for anything. I'll let you know.
  4. Some Canadians sound like me... others don't. Go figure.
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superacidjax



Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was being completeley melodramatic about the "west is evil." I was mocking those college professors that like to lay the blame of everything at the feet of the American/Canadian/British white man. Everything from slavery to crack cocaine is allegedly caused by white protestants. I wasn't taking a shot at you at all.

I was joking about what Canadians sound like. I was poking fun at the attempts of many people to homogenize Canadians, Americans, etc. I hear, "You don't sound like you're from Texas," all the time. I was born in New Orleans, raised in Houston and sound like I'm from Los Angeles.

As far as the missionary thing, I was having a discussion about it with one of my old professors from Soonchunhyang University (Asan, near Cheonan.) He's a governmental policy professor down there and he's an expert source about Korean social policy of the Chosun era. I figured Chrstianity was successful do to Confucian hieretical backlash, but I didn't realize about slavery and the extent of the social differences.
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Sister Ray



Joined: 25 Mar 2006
Location: Fukuoka

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Acid Jack, do you know there is a theology student loitering around your educational institute after hours looking for you?

I've seen him twice.

Just a heads up.
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Young FRANKenstein



Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SeoulFinn wrote:
But has anyone seen stickers that say "No Christians" allowed?

Will this do?

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kermo



Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheUrbanMyth wrote:
kermo wrote:
[ Of course my friend obliged and followed her, but instead of reaching her home, she found herself in a church, forced to watch a video and mobbed by pressure to convert. .



How was she "forced" to watch a video? Did they tie her to a chair or something? She could have just said politely "Sorry I'm late for another appointment" have her student translate and then leave.

One wonders why certain people on here are so strident about missionaries. Just say "I'm not interested" and walk away.


Some people (especially Brits and some Canadians) feel "forced" when other people don't respond to the usual polite refusals and protestations. We feel obligated to be civil, and sometimes we don't have an easy escape route (i.e., waiting at a traffic light, or waiting to meet a friend.) In this case, she was told she could leave shortly, "just 5 minutes... just 5 minutes" which turned out not to be true. She did protest and tell them she had another meeting, but they ignored her, taking advantage of her somewhat timid nature.

Some people have a real aversion to causing offense, and those people are the most vulnerable to these vultures.
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superacidjax



Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kermo wrote:
Some people (especially Brits and some Canadians) feel "forced" when other people don't respond to the usual polite refusals and protestations. We feel obligated to be civil, and sometimes we don't have an easy escape route (i.e., waiting at a traffic light, or waiting to meet a friend.) In this case, she was told she could leave shortly, "just 5 minutes... just 5 minutes" which turned out not to be true. She did protest and tell them she had another meeting, but they ignored her, taking advantage of her somewhat timid nature.

Some people have a real aversion to causing offense, and those people are the most vulnerable to these vultures.



I'm an American and I feel the same way. I feel that I'm a representative of America, even if only to a small degree, so I don't want to be rude. However, I've changed my mind about that attitude. I have just as much right here in Korea as any other human (after all, I was invited here, I pay taxes and I contribute to the economy) -- I'm no longer going to act like I have to care any more than I would if I were walking in Los Angeles. I am normally very diplomatic, even in the US, but I'm certainly not going to go out of my way anymore not to cause offense to these used-car salesmen masquarading as followers of God.

I did sit through the meeting. I wasn't physically forced, but I still stayed because I didn't want to be a snot. But now, I'm just going to ignore them. If they talk to me while going to the subway or bus, I'm just going to keep my iPod blasting away. They can all go fcuk themselves. They don't represent any god in which I believe.

I think Bono said it best, "The God I believe in dosen't take Mastercard or Visa." That's what it boils down to. These missionaries want foreigners in their church because it adds prestige to their work and thus attracts more contributions from members.
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