Morocco Time

Would you like to know what evangelists/missionaries think of Morocco? Read on for some words from Leah, who’ll soon be spreading the “good news” (which I think is a euphemism for spreading poo) there: [bolds mine, and YWAM is the same organization who sent our old friend Sam]

“In Morocco, we have to completely form to their customs. This means possibly wearing veils (which I hope so), women can not speak first to men, and most threatening… If a woman makes eye contact with a man, that means that she wants to marry him. YWAM has actually had a problem with this in the past. An outreach group was leaving when a man approached the leaders and demanded one of the student’s hand in marriage. They did some serious explaining and negotiating, but all worked out well and the girl returned home single. When all of this should seem threatening, the entire group is extremely excited and stepping up to the challenge to share God’s Love with this unreached nation. Scary fact- Morocco is a country of 3 Million (does 30 sound better? I forget so easily with numbers!) but only 0.006% are Christians (I know I have that percentage right). Truths like that spur us on beyond human fear! Also, if we are caught witnessing the name of Jesus Christ, we will face imprisonment. The only thing we can say about our faith is that we are Christian – anything beyond that will be jail time.”

I don’t even have words for this kind of ignorance. True, she’s only 19, and hasn’t even been in the country yet, but SOMEONE is feeding her this crap. It just makes me sick. She’s posted a bunch of pictures on MySpace, which I won’t duplicate here, but I will be forwarding on to various government agencies in Morocco.

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I want to thank “anonymous” for posting a copy of the letter they wrote to View from Fez. However, one of the first statements made was, “If you have really experienced Jesus Himself, you just can’t help it! It is like falling in love and not being able to talk about it, or finding the cure to cancer and not being able to share it with anyone!”

No, that’s not a very good analogy. Humans all over the world fall in love, it’s a basic emotion. “Experiencing Jesus” is not an emotion, it’s an experience, and it’s different for everyone who goes through it. As for “finding the cure to cancer” (I think you meant “for” cancer), that’s just another way of saying that you know the right way, and all other religions are wrong.

I don’t want anyone to get the idea that I’m Muslim (though I respect that religion), or that I support proselytizing in any form – I just choose to have a personal relationship with God. I feel it’s the height of arrogance to imagine that God needs anyone’s help to bring them to the “right” faith, or that a human could possibly decide that they know what God intends. Let me quote from the “Evangelist’s Toolbox” to illustrate why I think this type of activity is wrong, in more ways than one:

* Are you trying to locate evangelistic tracts or videos to share Christ with friends, available in dozens of languages?
* Do you seek training in how to witness to co-workers?
* Do you need “apologetic-type” materials to defend your faith?
* Are you looking for maps to plan summer evangelistic outreach strategies to reach a foreign city for Christ?

Another Christian site states:

“…we will also answer the question, ‘What is evangelism?’—something every Christian is to be wholeheartedly engaged in. Yes sir, if you are a Christian, you’re in sales! Well, sort of. Actually we’re not selling anything, but we are all about persuading people. What are we trying to persuade them to do? Sign up for forever. How so? We want people to make Jesus Christ their Lord, get born again, and thus have everlasting life, otherwise known as ‘forever.’”

When I get to where I’m going, I’m going to laugh at all the folks who thought that being saved by Jesus or following the five pillars of Islam was some kind of automatic golden ticket to paradise. Then I’m going to meet some old friends, including some animals, and go on to Tír na nÓg. Or be reincarnated. Or…I don’t know. But that’s what’s so cool – being a good person (ok, trying), right now, with no expectations of future reward.