Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dogbert]

[Hwajangsil Ajumma]

I covet thy neighbour's wife on a regular basis. Especially when she's sunbathing in the yard. Talk about impure thoughts!

Anyone care to join me for some sins of the flesh? Especially you, Rapier. I bet you're a first-class Onanist.

[rapier]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[desultude]

I strongly agree that religion is a private matter in a secular society. If you are strong in your faith, you don't need to talk about it. If your religion is the one true religion, than your god will make it known.

Proselytizing, evangilizing, preaching and missionary gospel spreading are rude and disrespectful activities, in my humble opinion.

[Rteacher]

Historically, there has always been evangelism within the framework of secularism and religious pluralism in America. To brush up on this topic I briefly consulted on-line passages from Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby and a pop cultural study of evangelism at www.bookrags.com/history/popculture/evagelism-bbbb-01/

I personally remember seeing "televangelists" on TV when I was a kid - certainly by the early 60's (if not the late 50's) The biggest - and most flamboyant - Protestant evangelist I remember from early TV was Oral Roberts. The Catholics had the very popular Bishop Sheen. Of course, their broadcasts aired mostly on Sunday mornings. Evangelism as practiced by mainline Christian denominations (in the U.S.) has constantly changed in response to challenges presented by increasing secularization and urbanization (and diversity) which resulted in traditional religious values having less influence over individuals and culture at large.

The seeds of American secularism was the founding fathers' skepicism vis-a-vis the more authoritarian religious sects prominant in the colonial period - mainly Calvinism - and belief in ideals propagated by Enlightenment period thinkers. One especially influencial philosophical tenet was the notion that "if God exists, he created human rationality as the supreme instrument for understanding and mastering the natural world." Accordingly, religious faith was assigned "to the realm of individual conscience rather than public duty" and civil government was based on "natural" rights of man and religious diversity - rather than being based on laws of God "promulgated by self-appointed earthly spokesmen."

Especially among Protestant sects, evangelism, or enthusiastically preaching the Christian gospel, has always played an important role in their U.S. agenda - beginning with the "Great Awakening" of the colonial period, followed by Methodist "camp meetings" on the frontier, then by elaborate "crusades" organized by such preachers as Billy Sunday (1862-1935) Oral Roberts (1918 - ) and Billy Graham (1918 - ) and continuing on through the modern "televangelists" including Pat Robertson, Jim and Tammy Faye (and Jessica Hahn) Bakker and Jerry Falwell. Beyond bringing info about Christ and his teachings to the uninformed, many evangelists now demand a "born again" experience with Jesus and provide an on-going process of keeping believers enthusiastic about their faith. Toward that end are large stadium and televison crusades "designed to give already baptized Christians a chance to reaffirm ther faith and be reassured about their salvation."

I think that both secularism and evangelism have flaws - some that can be traced back to their very roots, and some that developed in time. Enlightenment philosphopical thought positing human "mastery" over nature has promoted material progress without regard for other forms of life and has resulted in widescale man-made environmental destruction. It has also fostered an anti-"personal God" bias in its assumption that there is no God - or soul - in the absence of physical proof. Similarly, evangelists' aggressively pushing their sectarian agendas without tolerance of other belief systems and scientific inquiry (and without deep philosophical understanding...) has caused divisiveness and spawned fanaticism. Obvious corruption and charactar flaws among so-called religious and spiritual leaders has also generated a lot of cynicism and skepticism. What's needed is a government - ideally informed by enlightened, non-sectarian spiritual leaders (not just "Billy Graham" types and material scientists...) that protects the rights of all living beings - and religious institutions that philosopically understand the harmony of all living beings linked to the Supreme living being through devotional service, the practice of which (despite different traditions) is essential to all real religions.

[Corporal]

[Rteacher]

I'll accept the lack of response (especially by the "big thinkers" on this forum) to my thesis as acquiescence to my views...

[guangho]

Is belief in G-d innate? That is, are you born a believer or do you become one? And if the latter, how did you become one? I'm up in the air about it- believing would be nice but I have seen and experienced too much to really accept the idea.

[Rteacher]

Any spiritual progress you make in one life, you pick up from that point in your next life...So, if you've already made a lot of progress (over God knows how many lifetimes...) then you will likely more readily take to it in this life. Many people lose faith due to experiences with individuals and organizations cheating in the name of religion. Associating with people with stronger faith and avoiding the influence of people heading in the wrong direction always helps...

[magicwolfman]

[Demonicat]

Actually, I agree with you MW. Nothing makes me closer to god than being awoken at 6 am to someone banging on my door,
me: Yo, what in the *beep* do you want?
Stranger: Have you accepted jehovah into your heart?

and nothing makes me take a religion more seriously than a dude with long hair and a beard playing folk songs in public talking about his love for another man...who is actually Jesus.

Honestly though, I do L-O-V-E the pamphlets that are comic books that describe in detail how everthing from being Catholic, to playing D&D, to reading Harry Potter, to glorifying magic or werewolves will land you a first class ticket to firey torment and damnation...because of God's love for you.

In fact, I am absolutely enthralled by the idea that a benevolant super being would do things like create billions of people to burn and suffer (all those born before Christ or in non-christian areas). The idea that an all-knowing God would send his son down to be crucified, thus leading to such horrors as the holocaust, the inquistion, the crusades, or just about any war that has ever happened that isn't about money. That is the religion for me!!!

In seriousness though, I do appreciate missionaries who go to third world countries to give medicine and dig wells, they are awesome humanitarians and their work should be praised. The jackasses who run around yelling about how everyone who isn't Demonination of the Second Baptist Awakening of the Blood denomination of the 1st Baptist Church of Mississippi is going to hell- yeah, they piss me off.

[magicwolfman]

The Jehovah witnesses, and the mormons are NOT Christians. They are a cult.

[Demonicat]

[Freezer Burn]