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Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
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 Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: Korean missionaries want to go back to Afghanistan. |
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Taliban can't stop Korean missionary zeal
By Sunny Lee
BUNDANG, South Korea - This is the Saemmul Church, just south of Seoul. It is this Presbyterian congregation that sent 23 Christian volunteers to Afghanistan last July on short-term aid and evangelical missions. All the volunteers eventually returned home, two of them in coffins.
A 43-day abduction ordeal the group endured dragged the whole country into a state of anxiety and shock, prompting thousands to join candlelight vigils. The Saemmul Church was criticized for having a naive evangelical worldview and knowingly sending a group of mostly young, overzealous Christian believers in their 20s and 30s to an obvious danger zone.
During the hostage crisis in Afghanistan, Park Eun-jo, the founder and senior pastor of the church, was very apologetic and repeatedly said his church would no longer engage in missionary work in that country. Six months have since passed. "Things have
returned to normal," a deacon at the church said. Park is also now saying something slightly different, displaying renewed mission enthusiasm for Afghanistan. And this warrants due attentiveness.
On this last Sunday morning in February, Park isn't here to deliver his sermon. "He is away for three weeks in the US to hold 'Prayer Meetings for Afghanistan'," says the deacon, who himself had planned to join the mission team to Afghanistan last year but eventually did not, due to family obligations.
The church newsletter confirms that Park is in the US, visiting churches in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Houston and San Francisco, to name a few, to seek their support and also prayers for the Afghanistan mission in which two of his church members, including the associate pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, were slain by the Taliban, the hardline Islamic militants.
In his letter to the parishioners, shown in the church newsletter, Park says: "I apologize for not being present at the church for three weeks. I am making this trip because the Lord gave me a challenge on Afghanistan." Park continues: "When I think about the heart of God who let the two people's blood be shed in Afghanistan, I am also inclined to think that it's the same heart of God facing me and Saemmul Church as well as all the churches in this age. I regard serving Afghanistan as the mission task for all Christians today."
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| Park's sermon reached its climax when he said: "We need 3,000 more Bae Hyung-kyus in the future," referring to one of the slain hostages, adding "our missionary zeal shouldn't be dampened because of this incident. Rather, we should devote ourselves more passionately to the mission". |
emphasis mine. Read the whole thing here: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JC01Dg01.html
HT to ROK Drop. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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Bingo
Joined: 22 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Exactly my response. "And this year's winner for the annual Darwin Awards is........." I say let them go. But next time the photo-op goes bad, don't go begging the international community to bail you out. If you're not willing to die for your rediculous beliefs, you shouldn't be pushing them on others in the first place. It's time for humanity to throw off its iron age superstitions. |
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philipjames
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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If they do go back to Afghanistan it is our duty, as members of the human species, to leave them to their fate. Our species will only continue to evolve when we let the darwinian process remove them from our gene pool. If they are rescued again, and return to Korea, chances are they will reproduce and........
As I was reading that article all I could think of was "Darwin would really enjoy this article."  |
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Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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| They publically thumbed their noses at travel advisories, diplomacy, and common sense last time---remember the photos in front of the travel warning posters?---and the US got blamed. Then South Korea paid millions of dollars to the Taliban, putting its so-called allies in mortal danger. Let's hope the public is more aware of the antics of this group so that, when they get kidnapped, tortured, and ransomed again, there won't be the hair-trigger "help us, USA, you owe us!" reaction. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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can we alert the taliban these geniuses are back? maybe they can do us a favor
talk about stupid |
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Young FRANKenstein
Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)
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| Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Smee wrote: |
| Then South Korea paid millions of dollars to the Taliban, putting its so-called allies in mortal danger.. |
The fact that they paid will absolutely GUARANTEE this next group will get snatched, too. They know the SK gov't will buckle and pay up. Easy money for them, so why not?
Last edited by Young FRANKenstein on Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:37 am; edited 1 time in total |
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CeleryMan
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:13 am Post subject: |
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| What would Joel Osteen do? |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:08 am Post subject: |
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Here's something we overlooked when we were making fun of Lee Myungbag during his presidential campaign. He's a bit of a Christian whackjob, and last time was an outspoken proponent of the Korean government negotiating with terrorists. With him as the new president, it will be easier for missionaries to go to Afghanistan, as well as be negotiated for by the Korean government. So don't worry about missionaries disobeying travel warnings--maybe soon the travel warnings will be revoked.
On the bright side, if the government is sending all its money to the Taliban, there might not be enough to build the Grand Canal. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:23 am Post subject: |
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| I watched the new Rambo and the missionaries from Colorado that went into Burma made me think of this situation. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Orange jumpsuits |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| I watched the new Rambo and the missionaries from Colorado that went into Burma made me think of this situation. |
Seriously, this is such a backward mentality. It is that mentality that what I think must be done or work even if it defies logic. If you go to Afghanistan, there is a high chance you will be kidnapped unless you have the military protecting you. That church is absolutely stunned as me ar*e. Afghanistan is a Muslim country, and they do not want missionaries. |
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anyway
Joined: 22 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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| This only goes to show that opium is highly addictive. |
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mistermasan
Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| re: "christian whackjob"...isn't such redundant? anyone who believes in a religion is by definition a whackjob. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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| mistermasan wrote: |
| re: "christian whackjob"...isn't such redundant? anyone who believes in a religion is by definition a whackjob. |
Not necessarily. I could argue someone who doesn't believe in some kind of higher being is that way, but I wouldn't. I have atheist friends, and I don't make that judgement as you are. However, if someone is not using common sense and just literally follows an ideology whether the Bible, Marxism, or the Quran, then they can be whackjobs. They are often quite inflexible. This Korean church doesn't seem to have much common sense. |
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