Evidence of the military-missionary nexus is found in virtually every country that suffered colonialism and Western invasion.
South Korea is the perfect example of American armed intervention preceding a massive missionary influx. Before the Korean War of the 1950's, the Christian presence in that country was negligible. Today they are the majority, and their congregational culture along with the power that ensues from it has pushed South Korea's Buddhists, Confucians and non-believers to the ranks of the marginalized.
Indeed, South Korea is the jewel in the crown of Christian evangelism. Not only does the wealthy country provide vast funds for conversions worldwide, it also has a huge supply of eager beaver Korean missionaries willing to do their Lord's work in every danger spot in the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Kenya, freedom fighter Jomo Kenyatta said about British missionaries who poured in after British forces colonized the east African country: "When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible."
India was one of the first countries in the world to be hit by the pincer movement of western colonial armies and missionaries. Thomas Babington Macaulay, Head of the Education Department of British India, was of the firm opinion that British evangelists should be allowed to convert Hindus to Christianity. In 1834, he said, "No Hindu who has received an English education ever remains sincerely attached to his religion. Some continue to profess it as a matter of policy but many profess themselves pure deists and some embrace Christianity. It is my firm belief if our plan of education is followed up, there will not be a single idolater among the respectable class in 30 years hence."
In 1878, Monier Williams, professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, said the enormous territory of India has been committed to England for a great purpose that every Indian man, woman and child may be elevated, enlightened and Christianized. His frustration at the lack of progress in that mission can be gauged from this statement: "The chief obstacle to spread Christianity in India is that these people are proud of their tradition and religion." Why, thank you Mr Williams!
While the British had to contend with a proud Indian race, the other colonialists, Spain and Portugal, were more "fortunate' in that they encountered less organized nations, especially in South America, where they easily conquered, pillaged, enslaved and then converted entire kingdoms to Christianity.
The arrival of Portuguese missionaries in India is a story of deceit, perfidy and unspeakable cruelties. After the local Hindu ruler gave their chief proselytizer, Francis Xavier, land to build a church, this is how the saintly Xavier repaid his generosity: "I order that everywhere the temples of the false gods be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols by the very people who formerly worshiped them."
From the tiny Portuguese enclave of Goa on India's western coast, Xavier launched the Inquisition, during which over a million Hindus are reported to have been murdered.
While not condoning the acts of the Taliban, it is worth wondering if the world would be a better place had local rulers everywhere given these barbaric missionaries similar treatment.
South Korea is the perfect example of American armed intervention preceding a massive missionary influx. Before the Korean War of the 1950's, the Christian presence in that country was negligible. Today they are the majority, and their congregational culture along with the power that ensues from it has pushed South Korea's Buddhists, Confucians and non-believers to the ranks of the marginalized.
Indeed, South Korea is the jewel in the crown of Christian evangelism. Not only does the wealthy country provide vast funds for conversions worldwide, it also has a huge supply of eager beaver Korean missionaries willing to do their Lord's work in every danger spot in the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Kenya, freedom fighter Jomo Kenyatta said about British missionaries who poured in after British forces colonized the east African country: "When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible."
In 1878, Monier Williams, professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, said the enormous territory of India has been committed to England for a great purpose that every Indian man, woman and child may be elevated, enlightened and Christianized. His frustration at the lack of progress in that mission can be gauged from this statement: "The chief obstacle to spread Christianity in India is that these people are proud of their tradition and religion." Why, thank you Mr Williams!
While the British had to contend with a proud Indian race, the other colonialists, Spain and Portugal, were more "fortunate' in that they encountered less organized nations, especially in South America, where they easily conquered, pillaged, enslaved and then converted entire kingdoms to Christianity.
The arrival of Portuguese missionaries in India is a story of deceit, perfidy and unspeakable cruelties. After the local Hindu ruler gave their chief proselytizer, Francis Xavier, land to build a church, this is how the saintly Xavier repaid his generosity: "I order that everywhere the temples of the false gods be pulled down and idols broken. I know not how to describe in words the joy I feel before the spectacle of pulling down and destroying the idols by the very people who formerly worshiped them."
From the tiny Portuguese enclave of Goa on India's western coast, Xavier launched the Inquisition, during which over a million Hindus are reported to have been murdered.
While not condoning the acts of the Taliban, it is worth wondering if the world would be a better place had local rulers everywhere given these barbaric missionaries similar treatment.
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