Ranoodle's Doodles... OK doesn't quite work, but I'd thought I'd try it out anyway...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Coercing the desperate to convert?

Tonight's Muslim/Christian discussion group centered on how Muslims perceive Christianity and Christians. It was not hard to see why they have certain perceptions. One perception that took me by surprise is that mission-minded Christians are perceived to prey on the poor/desperate to coerce conversion to Christianity. One cited a recent experience where a philanthropic Muslim group was calling on local Afghan refugees and inquired about material needs... food, shelter, and other essentials. One particular family had their basic needs met but asked for things like HD TV's, X-boxes, and other unnecessary items. They politely declined the invitation to provide those items and moved on to help someone else in need. Later they revisited the home and found that a group claiming to be Christian had provided the unnecessary items and advised the family that all they needed to do was to show up for an occasional church service in exchange for the goodies. That certainly isn't the Christianity I practice, but I have to ask, is it becoming a new norm?

Many mission organizations that are rooted in the Christian faith are humanitarian in nature, serving the needs of those who are often poor and in desperate conditions to demonstrate the love of Christ. While that is the "mission" of the organization, it is also often a part of the mission to seek to meet spiritual needs as well. Is this perception some Muslims have based on isolated incidents of people claiming the name of Christ but behaving in a non-Christlike manner? Or has focus for an alarming number of missions organizations been changed from loving others for Christ's sake to claiming new converts regardless of the manner in which they come? Any thoughts?

How might you respond to this perception?

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