Christian Missionaries

As a longtime resident of predominantly Buddhist countries in S.E. Asia, I’ve tended to harbor a rather contrary disposition towards Christian missionaries. That is despite the fact that I was raised a Christian (Catholic), had an uncle who was a Christian missionary in Chile for eight years and a sister who became a nun. Christianity has many fine attributes but, so does Buddhism. It seems to me that both beliefs have much to offer and to learn from each other. That, however, is not a view commonly shared by some of the Christian missionaries I’ve encountered. Technically speaking, Buddhism is not a religion because there are no Gods in its pantheon. Tolerance is its most revered principle and the one that holds my utmost respect. It is possible to be a Christian Buddhist, a Jewish Buddhist or a Hindu Buddhist. As for being a Muslim Buddhist…well, tolerance is definitely not in that ideology’s repertoire. Muslims who proclaimed an affinity for Buddhism would find themselves at a dead-end.

Unfortunately, Christian missionaries can also be intolerant of differing ideologies. I met such a person several years ago while having lunch in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. The middle-aged American woman sat with her young daughter at an adjoining table. In retrospect, I wish we had engaged in some sort of innocuous conversation with regard, for example, to the buffoonery of the Chicago Cubs. Not innocuous, of course, if you happen to be a die-hard Cub fan. Following the usual who, what and where banter, it turned out that the woman was a Christian missionary peddling her articles of faith to the local heathens. She exhibited extreme umbrage when I suggested that Christians have as much to learn from Buddhists as the other way around.

“You disagree?”

“Absolutely. Jesus Christ is our savoir…their savoir. There is no salvation for those who do not accept Jesus.”

“But, suppose they have led exemplary lives? Suppose they have manifest kindness and good will…and, as Christ proclaimed, treated others as they would have others threat them?”

“I’m sorry but, it’s very simple. Unless they acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ as their savoir there is no salvation for them.”

“So, to hell with them?”

“Perhaps, but, certainly not heaven.”

“You must be joking. What about the millions of people who lived and died before Christ was born? Are they all doomed?”

Before she could respond I said, “So, you a baseball fan? How about those damn Cubbies? Any chance of salvation for those ne’er-do-wells?

And that was the end of that conversation. I was reminded of Groucho Marx when he said, “I don’t want to be a member of any club that would accept me as a member”.

In the past year I’ve gotten to know a guy named Victor…a very likeable character. He’s an American with an American wife and a son in his mid-20s. Victor is highly educated with a wide reference level which enabled us to converse upon a number of lively subjects…however, not the Cubbies who had finally won a World Series. It was nearly 6 months after meeting him that I found out he was a Christian missionary in Cambodia. The guy never spoke about religion…thank God. Well, not until his vocation was revealed. I thereupon recounted my conversation with the woman in Chiang Mai. To Victor’s credit, he agreed that Christians have much to learn from Buddhists. However, he did seem to subscribe to the notion that acknowledging Jesus Christ as your savoir is essential for achieving salvation.

I put the same questions to him as I had to the woman.

“Not sure how to answer you”, he replied. “However, what I am sure of is that Christ is the loving son of a loving God. I would sincerely trust him to make his decisions based upon His love.”

“You have a son whom you love, right?”

“Right.”

“Would you still love him and welcome him into your home if he proclaimed his conversion to Judaism or, God forbid, Islam?”

“You bet your life I would. My son is my child. I will always welcome and love him.”

“Your child, huh? You think your love is greater than…”

“I see your point. We are all God’s children. My love is in no way greater than His.”

And so, there is the difference between a missionary and a mercenary.

God have mercy!