Orthodox Church of India

[ScottMalaysia]

There is a Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church here in Malaysia, in Brickfields (an area of Kuala Lumpur called "Little India" due to the large Indian population). I visited the church the last time I was in Malaysia. The altar was similar to a traditional (pre-1965) Roman Catholic altar. They had a five faced oil lamp exactly like the ones used in Hindu temples, except their one had a cross on the top. And the extremely watered-down wine at Holy Communion was administered in a teapot!

[jaggin]

The methods also matter, catholics and protestants give money to convert as much as possible.... the pope is a supremacist, the orthodox allow converts but their aim is not to convert as much as possible with weasal methods.

If a church isn't evangelizing much it isn't obeying God.

I can see where such tactics as paying for converts would chagrin some people but if a peson can be bought he didn't have strong beliefs to begin with. Missionaries sent by churches have to account for the money they are spending. If the sending party doesn't see any fruit it can recall the missionary. Americans tend to be result oriented which isn't necessarily a bad thing since we have managed to accomplish much but Christianity should have a more altruistic outlook. On the other hand some lazy Christian could go to India, live the high life and not evangelize much because it is too much work or too discouraging.

Lately there is a trend to fund internal evangelists. It is much more efficient because there is no need for language and cultural training. Also there is less likely to be the post-colonial bias that missionaries are apt to run into.

[devotee]

If a church isn't evangelizing much it isn't obeying God.

Correction : If a church isn't evangelizing much it isn't obeying the Bible.

--------------

This is important to understand because God cannot be two ... one for Hinduism & another for Christianity !

--------------

OM

[satay]

namaskar,

If a church isn't evangelizing much it isn't obeying God.

Could you share with us some quotes from church scriptures where god tells church to evangelize? My understanding is that there are no direct commands in your scriptures just interpolation of some verses of unknown origin.

if a peson can be bought he didn't have strong beliefs to begin with.

If a person can be bought do you think they will have a strong belief in the foreign maleccha cult that bought him or her?

Americans tend to be result oriented which isn't necessarily a bad thing since we have managed to accomplish much but Christianity should have a more altruistic outlook.

Americans are definitely results oriented. Since christianity offers nothing to them spiritually they are exporting the garbage to other countries. That's just good business.

Lately there is a trend to fund internal evangelists. It is much more efficient because there is no need for language and cultural training. Also there is less likely to be the post-colonial bias that missionaries are apt to run into.

There is nothing latest to this trend. This has been going on for many years. In India though missionaries 'lazy' or not have been failing no matter what dirty tactics they apply to fool the simple villagers.

I think that some villagers are smarter than the missionaires where they 'converted' to the foreign maleccha cult, took the money that missionaries gave them then either they officially returned back to their previous religion or just continued praying the way they did before, ignoring the foreign maleccha practices of their bought religion.

[Sagefrakrobatik]

^^^ I dont have the direct verse on me now but in there is a verse that says to "go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature in all the corners of the world."

[ScottMalaysia]

Could you share with us some quotes from church scriptures where god tells church to evangelize? My understanding is that there are no direct commands in your scriptures just interpolation of some verses of unknown origin.

Matthew 28:19-20 - "Therefore go and make disciples of (KJV teach) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded you."
Mark 16:15-16 - "[Jesus] said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
These passages seem to be a pretty explicit command to go out and evangelize - some groups, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, take it more seriously than other groups like the Orthodox, who don't evangelize much, if at all.

Many Protestant missionaries go to the poorest areas of the globe, bring food, clothing and basic necessities to the people, along with "Free Jesus tickets to heaven" (many Protestant denoms believe that once a person has "accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour", they are definitely going to go to heaven, no matter what they do in life, as they believe that salvation is a free gift from God which is not earned, therefore it cannot be lost). Many poor people who face problems obtaining the bare necessities of life would get sucked in by a promise of Heaven, as death is often very real to these people.

[sarabhanga]

Matthew 28: 18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16: 15-20

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Both passages were written long after the words were supposedly spoken by Jesus. And the lines from Mark are supposed to have been spoken posthumously by Jesus.

And, considering the explicit words of Jesus in his ‘Sermon on the Mount’, which profess that the enlightened will naturally attract and inspire others by their own perfect example, and that anyone who sincerely asks shall receive, and the warning (Matthew 7: 22-23) that:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

it should be clear that the posthumous instructions have turned the original teaching on its head.

And it should also be clear that anyone who is eligible to convert the spirit of others must also be able to drink deadly poisons without any harm. And all those who are bent on converting the religion of others should first prove themselves by taking some deadly poison.

If a Christian missionary ever came to my door, intoxicated but unaffected by the poison, and with a venomous serpent (perhaps a cobra) in his hand, I would be interested in his wisdom; but otherwise it would be more in keeping with his own Lord’s personal instruction to make himself into a candle stationed on a hill, so that others (of their own volition) will come to him and ask for instruction.

Matthew 7: 1-8

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Matthew 5: 37

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.