I've read the testimonies of a lot of people who chose a particular religion, some of them at CR. I don't think, from what I've read, that they "don't give a damn." I'm sure they're quite sincere about what they believe. They choose other religions like Buddhism, New Age and Wicca which don't say anything about people going to hell. One thing taught in Islam/Christianity is the notion of God rejecting certain people for not meeting certain requirements. I suppose choosing a direction that leads to rejection by God could be seen as "synonymous" with committing suicide. The problem begins when we say that not accepting a particular faith is the same as "committing suicide."
This is what most people don't accept. They consider it to be a "sick attitude." I'm not worried about people thinking I've got a "sick attitude," but it would simply be a barrier to sharing my faith properly if people thought I had one.
Actually, I
was talking those who were
beyond reach. I thought it was clear in the sense we were talking about sharing our faith with others.
That's what I meant when I said "I don't think God will necessarily throw everyone else into hell." I was saying that I thought maybe He wouldn't do it to those people just because we didn't have a chance to share our faith.
Anyway, what I was responding to when I started, was this quote:
From what I've read and heard, Christian missionary efforts are more intense in non-Western countries than in Western countries simply because Westerners are less receptive to Christianity due to past Christian influence. I am more aware of how
faith-sharing takes place in Western countries than in non-Western ones. I am aware, in particular, of how many people tend to oppose the idea of "committing suicide" in terms of losing one's place in the afterlife.
In the meantime, perhaps you could share what you know about Muslim missionary efforts in the Western world. Islam, new to most people in the West, might be shared differently in the West than Christianity. Most people in the West know at least the general concept of Christianity. Getting beyond what people already know in general terms is a difficulty, especially if Christianity isn't about a systematic approach to life (people being saved by accepting Christ). When people know your faith in general terms, but aren't interested, they wouldn't be interested in
getting deeper if it's not a systematic approach to life. I suppose it's therefore more likely for a person to be interested in Islam or Buddhism which are about a systematic approach to life.
During our discussion, you mentioned the intense Christian missionary efforts in places like Africa and Malaysia (which is what I thought to start with). As a result, I don't think it's a "don't care" attitude, but depends on the culture you live in. In a Western culture, for example, it might be difficult to share Christianity or even Islam since people tend to oppose the idea that we lose our place in the afterlife. As a result people tend to choose religions that either have no afterlife or no hell.
I think perhaps what I didn't convey properly was what made the Western approach to religion different to certain other cultures. In other words, I wasn't talking about economy or technology, or lack of wealth or technology. I was talking about Western culture. Perhaps I should have omitted what I said about computers and technology!!! No, I was not talking about technology or wealth, but Western culture. Africa, Afghanistan and Malaysia, for example, would not be "Western." I didn't associate Western culture with modern culture.
Perhaps what I really wanted to say was that Westerners generally don't believe in absolutes. This is what makes it hard to share one's faith in the West. The idea is that most people don't want to waste time discussing absolutes, which is something they don't believe in. I am not saying Westerners are better, but just that Westerners tend to be
disillusioned about religion, especially those that are exclusive and say if you don't accept our way you are rejected by God. The Western world tends to be disillusioned, not just with religion, but even technology itself and life in general. Sure, it's wealthy and has lots of technology (and I'm not saying Malaysia doesn't), but there is so much competition in terms of making money and advancing technology. The need to compete is so great.
Sure, there are disillusioned people in other countries, but disillusionment about both technology and religion is something interesting, especially if you live in the richest and most technologically advanced countries in the world.
I suppose it's a bit of a paradox. Working hard at advancing technology to rid the need of religion, but at the same time, realising that technology isn't going to advance fast enough to solve our personal problems and deciding we need religion anyway.
Anyway, nice talking to you, Aidyl. I just thought I might share my experiences of the culture in a Western world. I'm not sure what it's like for Islam in the West, I tend to be more familiar with how Christianity does in the West -- in particular with the idea of losing one's place in the afterlife.
