Evangelicals Building a Base in Iraq

[eleny]

Washington Post
Evangelicals Building a Base in Iraq
June 23, 2005

“National is Iraq's first Baptist congregation and one of at least seven new Christian evangelical churches established in Baghdad in the past two years. …
The U.S.-led toppling of Saddam Hussein, who limited the establishment of new denominations, has altered the religious landscape of predominantly Muslim Iraq. A newly energized Christian evangelical activism here, supported by Western and other foreign evangelicals, is now challenging the dominance of Iraq's long-established Christian denominations and drawing complaints from Muslim and Christian religious leaders about a threat to the status quo.

"The way the preachers arrived here . . . with soldiers . . . was not a good thing," said Baghdad's Roman Catholic archbishop, Jean Sleiman. "I think they had the intention that they could convert Muslims, though Christians didn't do it here for 2,000 years." During the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, American evangelicals made no secret of their desire to follow the troops. Samaritan's Purse, the global relief organization led by the Rev. Franklin Graham -- who has called Islam an "evil and wicked" religion -- and the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the country's largest Protestant denomination, were among those that mobilized missionaries and relief supplies.

"Evangelicals come here and I would like to ask: Why do you come here? For what reason?" said Patriarch Emmanuel Delly, head of the Eastern rite Chaldean Catholic Church, Iraq's largest Christian community. In interviews, Delly and Sleiman were torn between their belief in religious freedom and the threat they see from the new evangelicalism. They also expressed anger and resentment at what they perceive as the evangelicals' assumption that members of old-line denominations are not true Christians.

Some Iraqi Christians expressed fear that the evangelicals would undermine Christian-Muslim harmony here, which rests on a long-standing, tacit agreement not to proselytize each other. "There is an informal agreement that says we have nothing to do with your religion and faith," said Yonadam Kanna, one of six Christians elected to Iraq's parliament. "We are brothers but we don't interfere in your religion." “

[skooooo]

1. Silly question!

"Evangelicals come here and I would like to ask: Why do you come here? For what reason?" said Patriarch Emmanuel Delly, "



To save your pagan soul of course, Patriarch!

[Pallas180]

2. Oh yeah. That should bring peace with 1.5 billion Arab Muslins.

sarcasm off.

[napi21]

3. Are these people CRAZY?

Are they depending on our troops to keep them safe from harm in the middle of Bagdad?

They're free to try to spread their preechings anywhere they want, I guess, but somehow, I know they aren't willing to take no for an answer, and it's not right for them to endanger our troops, any more than they are already, just so they can get their way!

[Tux]

4. Remember what Bush said

Bush said that we're in Iraq so we can fight terrorists there and not here. More evangelicals go to Iraq, we can fight them there and not here thus America will be safer.

[eleny]

9. He also said we were in a "crusade" nt

[Bluebear]

5. They SHOULD be there. IN UNIFORM!!! nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Their "base" will have to fortified and protected by our troops.

Non-survivors will be granted admission to paradise and 47 virgins..oh, wait...

[ConfuZed]

7. Sweet I hope we can get a few thousand packed in there WITHOUT PROTECTION!

*grins evily*

[CatholicEdHead]

8. It has to be THEIR version

this is a sign of anti-Catholic beliefs, as there are MANY long term Christian communities there. There customs are different from the "born-again" Southern Baptist style, but still valid. Those old-line communites have lived side by side with Muslims for hundreds of years. The "born-again" evngelicals are not needed.

[Lars39]

10. I would say unbelievable, but there's been clues from the get-go.

Our soldiers have been protecting Southern Baptist missionaries? How
many have died protecting some goddamed brain-washed do-gooder who
shouldn't be in that country to begin with? It's a damn Crusade. :puke:

If you are a Southern Baptist and you are reading this, you need to
rethink what kind of fucking organization you are giving your money to,
cause the SBC has moved from being a church to a damn CULT.

[Neoma]

11. link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062202335.html

[Lars39]

12. .

[eleny]

14. Thank you so much Neoma!

I neglected to paste the link to the WaPost article. And now it's too late to edit my post. Bless your heart! ;)

[Neoma]

15. Your welcome

:)

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Who needs 'lectricity and running water when you have THE GOOD NEWS

Praaaaaaaaayyyyse Jaaaaaaaayyy-zus!

[hippywife]

16. This paragraph is interesting:

Some Iraqi Christians expressed fear that the evangelicals would undermine Christian-Muslim harmony here, which rests on a long-standing, tacit agreement not to proselytize each other. "There is an informal agreement that says we have nothing to do with your religion and faith," said Yonadam Kanna, one of six Christians elected to Iraq's parliament. "We are brothers but we don't interfere in your religion."


They seem to have had tons of practice at undermining harmony here at home. We too have had a long standing but written agreement as outlined in the First Amendment but that didn't stop them here. What regard are they going to have for a "tacit" agreement.

[eleny]

17. I read here at DU that Saddham protected Christians in Iraq

Something about how many Xtians were shop owners and he protected them from violence.

Looks like the evangelicals are up to some disruption by not giving a crap about historic relationships.

[Straight Shooter]

18. I still haven't figured out what god these so-called evangelicals worship.

It sounds like a "make it up as you go along" kind of god, you know what I mean? A situation presents itself, and - bada bing bada boom - all of a sudden their god wants them to march in there and spread the word.

Very confusing. Whoever their god is, I don't like him at all. I much prefer the God that Jesus loved, honored and adored.

[mr blur]

19. Wankers. Sorry, but they are. Dangerous wankers. nt

[leesa]

20. The Iraqis will take care of this problem.