Here is the Free Republic Thread about it when she first said it
Posted on 05/30/2008 5:57:49 PM PDT by daniel1212
BAGHDAD — A U.S. Marine handed out coins promoting Christianity to Muslims in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, outraged Sunni officials said Friday. The U.S. military responded quickly, removing a trooper from duty pending an investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Alienating the population is not what they're there for.
This Marine earned the right to hand out christian anything, the problem is we have a President who sits down with the enemy and celebrates their ramadingdong dinners instead of standing with his Marines.
What if the local population pressed Korans and the like on the Marines? What would you suggest their reaction should be?
I disagree with you.
A man with a gun, possibly moments from shooing another human (a brother! as Jesus would say -”Love your enemy”) isn’t the right person to be an evangelist.
That's undeniable...
"They’re not missionaries."
Then they're not real Christians either. The spread of the Gospel cannot be allowed to yield to anything. That relm is not ceaser's
Ffranco wrote:
Charlemagne conquered the Saxons and gave them the choice of conversion to Christianity or death. Later, at what is called the ‘Massacre of Verden,’ he executed thousands of Saxons who reverted to their old religion.
It worked. Today almost all Saxons are Christians.
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One of the problems around here is that few people know what actual conversion is. You cannot force someone convert. You cannt argue someone into conversion. Only the Holy Spirit can convert someone. A Christian is only called to preach the gospel.
Spend more time with the word.
I agree. I do not think many people today who call themselves Christians would choose the same conversion method as Charlemagne. Though, some might come close.
Evangelism is the 24-7 job of every Christian.
I agree with you. What this marine did was wrong and dumb.
No, I agree, and perhaps should not have put it that way. Islam does often spread its creed at gun point, and even today is telling people in various parts of the world to convert or die; but Christianity can’t work that way.
Spent enough with the Word (eastern orthodoxy) to know that the sword and professing love don’t mingle. I’m sorry your Word allows you to feel differently.
Maybe not real Christians in your eyes. I don’t see how being tactful about approaching religion (to an already turblent populace wary of foreigners) is a betrayal to Christianity if it prevents enflaming hostility towards it.
Half my people were forced into conversions to Islam in the 16th century-19th century.
I was thinking of the man’s courage, but you are right that to do so could endanger others, esp. if the military sanctioned it. Any sharing would have to be informal and discreet and non threatening to the safety of others.
Absolutely correct IMHO. If you want to be a missionary, be a missionary. If you want to go to Iraq as a missionary and get yourself killed or your fellow missionaries killed, that goes with the great commission. However, to go there as a Marine and then endanger your fellow Marines or their mission on the assumption that any or all of them might want to convert those Iraqi pagan babies and Mesopotamian heathen bozos is very peculiar reasoning.
Agreed completely. It shows disregard and arrogance. And lack of understanding of “evangelist marketing strategies” (you know...religion at gunpoint...blood on one’s hands...that whole invading the country thing)
Here is the Free Republic Thread about it when she first said it
I’m confident that the vast majority of the Iraqui people are cognizant of the fact that the soldier is carrying the gun because it is his job, and do not make the strained connection that you seem to make.
Sorry to disagree. While I don’t know the guy, and give him all the credit in the world for serving, what he did is just stupid.
In an area where people kill over stuff like that, I can’t imagine his fellow Marines thought that was a good idea.
If he wants to do that, let him serve his tour of duty, get out, and go back over as a missionary. That would take guts.
What he did was paint a target on himself and his buddies.
Read the article. They Iraqis present seemed to be making this strained connection not I.
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