0

I am Indian and a Hindu by religion.

I have few doubts about intentions of christian missionary that happen in india funded by west.I have no intentions to hurt any religion but to get alternate opinion from christians about messages given by groups in India who are Hindu conservatives.

.

A book by the group argues that the purpose of christian missionary is to create a fault-line in indian backward caste like dalits and which may finally cause harm to national integrity leading to national disintegration for economic benefits of corporations.

Breaking India

.

My question is

  • As a christians , What in your opinion is objective of west to fund missionary in India?

  • Do christians in west really have such big conspiracy plans as they claim ?Like funding NGO to stop Nuclear plant development in india,etc?

Improve this question
8
  • 1
    If your claims are true, the Christians would be operating contrary to the purpose Christ sends people into the world: to preach the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. I visited the book link and saw no connection between the book and Christians. Why do you think there is a link?
    – Steve
    May 10, 2014 at 15:14
  • 3
    I'm a Christian living in India. Are you saying that India has not benefited from missionaries with the countless schools, colleges, hospitals, old age homes and other services. Even if there was such plots to bring down India, do you really think CBI or NIA would not know of that by now. In few more days BJP is going to come to power. If there is any Christian conspiracy theory with credible evidence wouldn't they bring that to light?
    – Jayarathina Madharasan
    May 10, 2014 at 16:09
  • 3
    Now coming to your book, unlike what you claim, the book does not say that these missionaries create the fault line, but they claim that their presence is making it worse. For thousands of years high caste Hindus have oppressed dalits and low caste people. I do not think there is any wrong in them getting help wherever they can find it. When social workers raise their voice, just because they are missionaries, does not mean they are trying to create a divide in India.
    – Jayarathina Madharasan
    May 10, 2014 at 16:10
  • Also this question will be closed here because this is NOT about Christianity and answer to this is completely opinion based. Please see FAQ.
    – Jayarathina Madharasan
    May 10, 2014 at 16:11
  • I have no idea why this question has stayed open. It is a question about opinions expressed in a book not about missionaries so I do not understand the answers either. Missionaries (especially the Anglicans who was virtually a branch of British foreign affairs) have throughout history gotten themselves involved in politics and there is no reason for Indians to trust them now but for Christians on this site to have the required knowledge to answer the questions is too much to expect.
    – gideon marx
    May 12, 2014 at 18:24

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
5

Christians go to missions inspired and commanded by the book of Matthew. Precisely:

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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20, KJV)

A true missionary is formed by 3 components: Himself, the one who is sent to missions. A prayer team that prays for him and a supporter team, that supports the missionary financially.

Real missionaries go to other countries to preach and share the gospel with people that never had the chance to hear about it or where the gospel is something forbidden. They aren't influenced by large western corporations or rich people in order to cause damage in the countries they go to.

I can't really tell you whether there are like fake missionaries with these intentions, but for sure those aren't the plans neither the objective of the christian world. Jesus commanded christians to go to other countries to share what he taught in earth and that is what true christians do.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    It's probably worth mentioning that the funding for missionaries typically comes directly and solely from churches. I've never heard of missionaries funded or sponsored by corporations.
    – Steven Doggart
    May 12, 2014 at 12:10
  • 1
    THat's right. I have also seen people supporting missionaries directly, but never through companies.
    – Charlie
    May 12, 2014 at 12:24
  • Christian Family Bookstores I believe supports missionaries. At the very least I know they have a missionary program for their employees, as I have a relative that worked for them. If any other corporation would, I'd guess Chick-Fil-A might. Regardless, I know both companies would sponsor out of love for Jesus, not for any sort of conspiracy.
    – user991
    May 13, 2014 at 15:31
1

The aim of Christian missionaries is to present the good news about Jesus Christ, for:

there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12 ESV

As well as preaching this good news, they are mandated with the task of making disciples of those who respond to this message with repentance and faith, teaching them to obey the commandments of Christ, which can be summarised as:

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. - Matthew 22:37-39 ESV

Their role is not to interfere with the politics, economics or industries of nation-states but:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. - Romans 12:18 ESV

You refer to the Dalits as a "backward caste", such a view warrants further examination, as it is far more likely that what causes "fault-lines" resulting in "harm to national integrity leading to national disintegration" are not the actions of Christian missionaries, but a pernicious persistence of the caste system itself.

Improve this answer
5
  • I liked your answer up until the last paragraph. therefore I have down voted your answer instead of up voting it.
    – BYE
    May 10, 2014 at 21:19
  • @bye thanks for your feedback, can you be more specific about what you object to in that paragraph?
    – bruised reed
    May 10, 2014 at 22:55
  • In the last paragraph you state a personal opinion, and it may offend some Hindus.
    – BYE
    May 10, 2014 at 23:18
  • 1
    The quotation of Acts 4:12 may offend some Hindus too. People get offended. That's life.
    – david brainerd
    May 12, 2014 at 2:37
  • Just to be clear, the existence of the Dalit class is disgusting and a disgrace to their culture and society. Anyone who perpetuates the discrimination against them has a lot to repent of. It is absolutely right that Christians in India attempt to change the status quo in regards to the Dalit people.
    – curiousdannii ♦
    May 12, 2014 at 20:31
1

Christians believe that:

  1. There is one God, who created everything in the universe, and He is perfect -- He has never done anything bad. He is also eternal -- that means He was alive before anything was created, and will be alive forever.
  2. All people (including Christians) break God's rules, and so all of us are evil.
  3. There's no way for people to be good enough to please God by themselves.
  4. Because we're all bad, and God is good, we all deserve to be punished. So when we die, we are going to be judged, and we will punished for eternity for breaking God's rules.
  5. But people are God's creation, and He loves every single one of us on Earth, so He does not want anyone to be punished when they die. God is a perfect Father, who loves His children, and wants them. So, He made a way out of the punishment for us: He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born as a human being, and live among us. Jesus was the only person in history to ever live a perfect life, without doing anything wrong. God sent Him to be punished instead of us, so that everyone who trusts in Jesus, and wants to stop doing bad things, can be saved from God's punishment. This means you will get to be with God, forever in heaven when you die.
  6. God will help that person who trusts in Jesus to stop being evil, by filling him or her with His Holy Spirit.

Christian missionaries in India don't want to change your government. They want your heart to be changed by believing in Jesus Christ, and trusting only in Him as your Savior, so that you don't have to suffer punishment when you die, and you can be a friend of God because of His gift.

In fact, Christians believe we need to obey the human government and do what it says, whether we are in India or anywhere else-- unless it is different than what God says for us to do.

Christians are supposed to be peaceful and they want to bring you Jesus's love. If you are seeing missionaries that are not acting like that, then they are going against what God tells us in our Bible, and you should stay away from them. Otherwise, please consider their message.

There is no conspiracy. In the West, we help fund Christian missionaries in India and other parts of the world because we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you need to believe in Him to get to heaven. We love God, and we love you, and we want all people in the world to go to heaven.

Source: The Bible - https://www.bible.com/hi/bible/819/jhn.1.hhbd

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .