Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Spreading the word 

A while ago, my friend told me she was going to Fiji. I was getting all jealous that she'd be lounging around in the sun while I get to go to Melbourne, home sweet freezing home. It turns out she's going as a missionary. Yes, that clunk was my jaw hitting the ground.

I always knew she was a devout Christian, though more of the cute-Christian-spam chain-email type rather than the militant-evangelist type. THEN she said she chose physio because it was easier to get into countries that are hostile to Christians if you're a health professional. Ok, said I, fair enough (and she'll grow out of it anyway). Well. Apparently not.

I don't know why the idea is disturbing me this much. Missionary-ing is noble, to be sure...but it's a creepy type of nobility. Sure, it's understandable that if you were absolutely sure that belief in Jesus is the only thing that could save you from eternal suffering, as a compassionate human you'd try to encourage others to believe so that they might go to heaven as well. But it's that absolute certainty that is creepy. It says, my way is the only way, and you're fucked if you don't follow me. How many languages and cultures and even lives have been destroyed by this kind of dogmatic certainty? The aimless almost-but-not-really-agnostic in me respects and indeed envies such conviction, but there's a little voice in the back of my head that says, omfg, what arrogance.

# posted at 11:08 pm

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