Missionaries in Chiang Rai?

[tom07]

Find it hard to believe a preppy Eagle Scout Mormon could teach a hill-tribes-person anything about survival, shelter and food in the wilds of Chiang Rai's mountains; more likely to end up in the pot perhaps. Actually, I cracked this mildly satirical joke to some of the white back-packer tribe of Chiang Mai - they actually believed me! Lordamercy me.

[onthedarkside]

2 off topic posts removed.

[JAG]

I watched a couple of them near the Hill Tribe vegetable market the other day, and after a while they came up and asked me what I did in Chiang Rai and if I went to church on Sundays.

I pointed out that I was a Catholic, and taught in the Catholic school.

They visibly cringed, and scurried off. I think they thought I was Satan's spawn, with cloven hooves and red horns!

Chalk that one up as a result for the old religion!

Seriously though, I do wish they would leave people alone with their various, or no, faiths. All the Thais I saw them speaking to seemed a tad embarrassed. If they are offering free English lessons as a bait for conversion to Mormonism or whatever it is called, then that is a bit naughty.

I'm sure that I read somewhere that whilst freedom of religion is a feature of Thailand, active proselyting is actually illegal. I may be wrong - it's not exactly unknown!

Edited June 4, 2015 by JAG

[tom07]

JAG, have you been out of the city much? There are plenty of examples of the Christian approach to bartering souls for English lessons, it’s definitely not confined to Mormons.

I know that some of the Christian schools here don’t attempt to indoctrinate the kids, but all Christian schools here owe their existence to the proselytising and evangelical missions of the past hundred or more years. On the other hand many Christian schools do attempt to indoctrinate the kids, and most seem to doll their schools up to look like churches.

I wish they’d all head off to the southern provinces and try converting their Abrahamic cousins.

[JAG]

I live some 20 km outside the city. I have done so - on and off for the last ten years although only permanently since the new year.

In all that time I have only once seen any evangelising drive in my home village. A group of young Americans delivered door to door some leaflets illustrating graphically and lucidly the awful torments awaiting all who failed to convert to their brand of Christianity. I "headed them off at the pass", told them that their claims, in theological terms were b*ll*cks, and if anything they were damaging the Thai view of Christianity. It's fair to say we didn't part the best of friends!

As far as the schools go, the one I teach at has about 5% of its pupils as Christians. Apart from a Hail Mary at assembly after the flag raising, and Mass at the start of the semester, formal Christian instruction is confined to the Christian children. The Catholic Church has been running schools nationwide on that basis for a long time, and they are well regarded amongst the wider community.

I agree with you that indoctrination is wrong, and eventually it is counterproductive. Trading English lessons for adopting a faith is only likely to fill your congregations with people who are only there for the English lessons. If you are really after their souls it's a waste of time.

As for attempting to convert the southern provinces, that would be like throwing petrol on smouldering bonfire!

Edited June 5, 2015 by JAG

[sceadugenga]

I know a number of local young people who regularly attended church/weekend English classes but the not only did they fail to convert but I never noticed much improvement in their English either.

Fail/Fail

[JAG]

As you said, Fail/Fail. No interest in converting, and it sounds like pretty ineffective lessons!

[onthedarkside]

Off topic post removed - please post only about CR

[MaeJoMTB]

how nice of them to fly halfway around the world to spread the arrogant nonsense that they need to save a bunch of heathen thais who are quiet happy with their Buddhism which has been around 500 years longer than their guy jesus.....much more exotic to come to thailand than go "save" some poor folks in mississippi...

go home.

Actually pomchop the founder of the mormons was a dude called Joseph Smith and did so less than 200yrs ago. He was a convicted con-man and had 40 wives. They say the first religion was started when the first con-man met the first fool and all the others since too.

I'm impressed by their Thai language skills.

The guys hanging out at the Central Festival m/c underpass are completely fluent.

[tom07]

That's a good point, and it's actually more worrying because it implies they've been groomed quite professionally for this mission (I guess this word is related to the word missionary) - obviously their "fluency" in Thai is not because of their love for or interest in Thailand or Thai culture.

But fluency means different things to different people: I was going to ask JAG what language the flyers were written in - hill tribe languages mostly don't have written forms; many hill-tribe people don't speak Thai never mind read it; and most Thais and hill-tribe persons don't read English to the level of engaging in Abrahamic propaganda.

[JAG]

Thai

[JAG]

May I add, the village I live in is near Wiang Chiang Rung, nowhere near "hill tribe territory".