Keep your religion out of my throat!

Disclaimer: I'm doing a paper on the Christian religion infringing upon other (specifically Eastern) religions. This topic tends to bother me, but then again so do most things about religion.

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This website i just came across while working on a project is downright appalling if you ask me. Why is it that Christians feel such a strong need to convert other people? I mean really! On this website they are measuring other religions by how many members have not heard the messages of Christ!

Not only that, but they are looking at a map which highlights the most populated areas of the world, saying how they have insufficient missionaries to handle it -- like they are talking about a plague that will ravage the world if not prevented by them.

This other website talks about Thailand is now "open to the word of God" now. But who they are really talking about is tsunami victims who just happened to fall prey to devout Christians who wanted to help - AND convert them after they homes, lives and possibly families were destroyed by the tsunami.

I guess i'm just too much of an atheist to really understand it, or i was not raised properly, or something. But i know that reading things like this just makes me seethe. Almost all the people i met while traveling in Southeast Asia who spoke decent English said that at one point or another, a Christian had asked to speak to them about God for a while, or left a pamphlet for them to look at on their door, etc.

Now i will make one concession: my sisters friend explained it very simply to her one time, in a way that makes more sense to me than most other explanations. He said, "Well you see Jay, it really sucks when you know that all of your friends are going to hell if they won't follow the bible."

Oh.

Well when you put it that way, i can understand -- a little. But that is talking about your friends. And sure, it can be argued that these missionaries have such great hearts that they even want to save strangers who don't speak the same language as them.

But what do you think a Christian would say if i walked up and asked them if they have recently considered switching to Satanism?

Trust me, they don't like it - i've done it. And yes, i was a goofy teenager who didn't really know what i was doing, but that's besides the point. They were offended. And maybe they should have been - but if they find that so damn offensive, can't their missionaries take into consideration that most (if not all) of these people did not ask for the Christian Bible to be brought to them?

Can't these people realize that others don't need their god or way of life, that they are content with their own and maybe never wanted to even hear about Christ?

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