Comments on: Martyrdom awaits!

By: The Marmots Hole More missionary madness

The Marmots Hole More missionary madness — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:22:50 +0000

[...] Korean missionaries bumming through Afghanistan. Now, Im not going to dive into a obscenity-laced diatribe like I did [...]

By: Simon World

Simon World — Fri, 05 Nov 2004 00:13:38 +0000

Asia by Blog
Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region.

This edition contains riots in China, kimchi, Chinese women’s attitudes to sex, tourism in t…

By: zecks

zecks — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 16:53:26 +0000

Off with their heads.

By: angus

angus — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 15:37:32 +0000

great, just fuckin’ great. don’t the iraqis have enough problems without more foreign zealots parachuting into their war zone? this is sure to grab some headlines and get some zealots and locals killed, not much more than that though. now, although i’ve lived in korea for years i still can’t grasp why koreans are so attracted to extreme beliefs and actions.

By: The Marmot

The Marmot — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 14:56:26 +0000

Give me a break, Justin.

If you don’t see how travelling to a warzone half-way across the globe to risk getting killed (and putting your gov’t in a difficult situation in the process) just so you can tell the locals their metaphysics aren’t quite right (I’m sorry, I meant bring the ignorant the Word of God) might be the act of someone who isn’t playing with a full deck, well, here’s the homepage of Pastor Kim’s group:

World Mission Revival Crusade

Kinda like the name — I’m sure the Crusade part goes down really well in Baghdad.

It’s in Korean, so on the off chance you can’t read it, fell free to shoot them an email at sesunbu@com.ne.kr. I’m sure they’re looking for all the believers they can who are willing to stick their neck out — quite literally, in this case — to tell Iraqis their religion is wrong.

That ain’t crazy, mind you. That’s simply choosing God.

Onward Christian soldiers…

By: Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 14:14:01 +0000

I agree that if they were sincere they should not ask for gov’t intervention on camera or make any political statement for the terrorists. However, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” said Tertullian. I think it is wholly commendable for them to go to ANY dangerous country, help people at the risk of their own lives, and submit to unjustice. Even pre-Christian Socrates proposed that submission to injustice was the best policy. It is absolutely fully moral to do this.

100,000 people per year are martryed for their Christianity (www.persecution.com) its not just a handful of “nutjobs” in Iraq. Many meet this end in North Korea. According to the Washington Post (yes that notable Evangelical newsletter):

“Lee Soon Ok, 55, spent seven years in a political prison camp in North Korea. She was not a Christian, but saw how Christians were treated. The torture, and the worst ways of execution, were most harsh on the Christians,” she said. “They didn’t give them clothes. They were considered animals. And in the factories, they killed them by pouring molten steel on them.” …… But Lee, who saw persecution firsthand in prison, disagrees. “I witnessed them being asked to choose God or Kim Il Sung, and they were told they would be released if they chose Kim Il Sung,” she said. “I saw them choose God.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....Found=true

Choosing God or Justice (as in the case of Socrates) is not the act of a “lunatic.”

By: wooj

wooj — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 10:25:16 +0000

Funny post, man. But shouldn’t it be Jungrohwan (????¡œ?™?) — which I once took with me on a high school field trip and all the American kids started passing it around and smelling it and calling it “balls of shit” — than Pepto Bismol?

By: Shawn

Shawn — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 09:09:37 +0000

Is that you in the Bundaegi challenge?

By: virtual wonderer

virtual wonderer — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 08:26:05 +0000

Well, I think we can all agree that insanity does not equate to stupidity. You guys might wanna read yesterday's NYT article. (registration required) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/international/asia/01missionaries.html

By: Hamel

Hamel — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 08:21:02 +0000

Kimbob: the link you post to is not a transcript of Osama’s words, but an editorial by Spengler on what *he* would say if *he* were OBL. See here for commentary and an actual transcript of OBL’s entire speech.

Secondly, I would hope that if and when these folks do become kidnapped and are paraded before video cameras they will have the strength of character to not do as you suggest, and that if they do, the ROK media will pour cold water over any demonstrations by pointing out that this is apparently how at least some of them wanted to die.

Justin Martyr: well said. I just don’t think that Pastor Kim and his flock were going about things in the right way.

Marmot: I think you didn’t need to be quite so strident with this post here. Also, I agree with the Iraqi Christians that they ought to leave before getting themselves or somebody else killed. Rather than call them nutjobs or f’ing lunatics, I suggest that perhaps some or all of them are, as Oliver Wendell Holmes said and Johnny Cash sang, ’so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.’