← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Recluse
Thread ID: 10646 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2003-10-21
2003-10-21 19:42 | User Profile
In religious Springfield, Mo., some are tiring of evangelism THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 10/19/2003
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - This Ozarks city has about 360 places to worship, almost all of them Christian. The area also has six Christian colleges attracting religiously minded students from across the nation.
But in Springfield, home to the headquarters of the Assemblies of God, some residents complain they're drowning in a sea of missionary zeal. They're tired of the evangelism they encounter regularly.
"These missionaries are like telemarketers," physician Joel Waxman told The Springfield News-Leader. "And I want to be put on the 'don't call' list."
Waxman, who is Jewish, said patients have handed him religious pamphlets and colleagues have invited him to church. People have stopped him on the streets and offered to pray for him.
The area's six Christian colleges give more than 8,600 students a chance to mix faith and education.
Evangel University in Springfield, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar and College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout have a liberal arts focus. Classes at Central Bible College and Baptist Bible College in Springfield have a theological foundation, while the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield offers graduate degrees.
And at Southwest Missouri State University, with Christian organizations on the rise, young people use rock bands to promote a Christian message.
"God has his hand on this town, and he moves here in dynamic fashions," said Catherine Bradley, 24, a Southwest Missouri State graduate student.
Naomi Hunt, 21, a nonpracticing Catholic raised in Springfield, said she learned at an early age that religion is a community priority.
"As soon as kids heard I didn't go to church, they would start inviting me to go with them," Hunt remembered. "I would say, 'No,' and they would just keep asking. People here don't understand that there are people who don't feel like they do."
Hunt recalled a third-grade sleepover at a Baptist church, when the children watched a video depicting a car crash where cartoon characters who hadn't been saved floated to an animated hell.
[url]http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Missouri+State+News/53CBAC1DA23BCA7A86256DC40046E4A3?OpenDocument&Headline=In+religious+Springfield,+Mo.,+some+are+tiring+of+evangelism[/url]
2003-10-22 01:18 | User Profile
This is an example of the extreme intolerance of non-Christians. So what if a coworker invites someone to church. It takes two seconds to say you're not interested. And, that Jew doctor, Waxman, probably got one pamphlet in his entire career and he acts like it's an unfair burden that he deals with every day.
The substance of the article is that there's something wrong with Springfield because so many people are Christian.
How about the AP run an article about people tiring of being forced to increasingly deal with Spanish? Now, that's not a once-per-year thing like being asked to church by a coworker.
Also, the Springfield Newsleader is very liberal. For example, they run liberal columinists like Debb Price (whose every column is a promotion of the homosexual agenda). So, it doesn't suprize me that the Springfield Newsleader went out looking for people who complain about being accosted by religious people. How Christian could Springfield possibly considering it keeps the Newsleader afloat?
2003-10-22 03:19 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Happy Hacker]This is an example of the extreme intolerance of non-Christians. So what if a coworker invites someone to church. It takes two seconds to say you're not interested. And, that Jew doctor, Waxman, probably got one pamphlet in his entire career and he acts like it's an unfair burden that he deals with every day.
My thoughts exactly!
How about the AP run an article about people tiring of being forced to increasingly deal with Spanish? Now, that's not a once-per-year thing like being asked to church by a coworker.
I don't know why Hispanics do what us Slavic-Americans do. Yes we speak the old language at home and among ourselves, but we speak English for the most part in public. In many Slavic neighborhoods, the signs are both in the old language and English. If they did that, they could both maintain their ethnic identity and also be able to operate fully in the larger community.