Will there be peace on earth when everyone is a christian?

[AVID]

a muslim? buddist? jew? mormon?

I met a family going to Peru to do missionary work. They want to convert as many people as they can in 6 days.

What if, eventually, everyone is converted?

Won't people stop hating the US when they worship jesus?

That is why they hate us, right?

[manic expression]

1. Missionaries disgust me

They are the most base people on Earth today. EOM.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. Couldn't agree with you more.

[Warpy]

13. that's kind of a broad brush, there

I've known some who were generous people who gave freely of their time and effort, who built hospitals and clinics, who immunized whole villages, dug wells, and generally tried to improve the lot of the people around them. These were older people who were wise enough to know that if they didn't show who they were by example, they wouldn't have any hope of converting a single heathen. They actually got a few converts, too, which may or may not have been a good thing, who knows?

The fresh faced young Christian soldiers who withhold survival supplies during emergencies until people convert should be arrested and tried for crimes against humanity. The best they can accomplish is temporary lip service and permanent contempt for all things western, as well as Christian, and that's a dirty shame.

A few arrests and trials might persuade these outfits to train their young missionaries in how to respect local people and traditions and how to convert without extortion.

[manic expression]

20. A rarity, but even then...

if they just wanted to do "good" for people, why do it in the name of religion? Build a hospital, that is great, but do not do it while carrying a crucifix in front of everyone. I think the latter action very much invalidates the sincerity of the former.

Even if someone converts out of their own free will, there is a great degree of persuasion at work, and therefore makes such a conversion disingenuous. Furthermore, it does destabilize entire societies, and destroys harmony in communities.

I have heard of missionaries working like this, but I still vehemently disagree with their intentions. People should simply let others practice their religion.

About the last part of your post: I completely agree. Anyone who is guilty of such crimes that you listed (among many others) should be punished without exception. Personally, I would go further and ban any type of missionary work.

[Nimrod]

2. Best question ever

:)

[tanyev]

3. Plenty of historical evidence of

inter-Christian violence. Once the external threats are all eliminated, there will be nothing distracting them from turning on each other.

[Robeson]

28. Right. Christians turning on each other HAS been the history...

...of Western society since the formation of Christianity. The history of Chritianity since the late Roman Empire, has been one continual civil war over what was the right type of Christianity, i.e. Arianism, Orthodoxy, Gnosticism, Primacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople vs. the Bishop of Rome vs. the Primacy of Patriarch of Alexandria, etc., etc., etc. Who's teachings should be kept; who's should be thrown out; what sect teaches the "true" version; what sect doesn't. Reformation. Counter-Reformation. Catholicism vs. Protestantism. And there's wars attached to all of those all along the way. And it goes on, and on, and on....

[da_chimperor]

4. Hell no

Just look at all the religious wars in Europe hundreds of years ago. It's more likely to be when fundamentalism no longer exists.

[amazona]

5. hahaha your friends never heard of northern ireland?

When everyone is a Christian, then Christians will busy themselves killing each other over trivial doctrinal differences.

People will always fight amongst themselves, and for the last couple thousand years Jesus has been perfectly happy to stand back and let it all be.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Warpy]

16. The violence in NI is more anticolonial, although it is along

sectarian lines. It's easy to get confused about that. The Protestants were brought in as settlers and protected by the might of the Crown so that the newly Protestant England wouldn't be outflanked by Catholic Spain on one side and Catholic Ireland on the other. The Protestant settlers were favored in every way over the Catholic indigenous people, and there's a good 600 years of bitterness stored up over it.

[BiggJawn]

27. "Are ye a Catholic or a Protestant?"

"I'm a Hindu! don't kill me!"

"F'sure, an yer a Hindoo...But are ye a CATHOLIC Hindoo or a Protestant Hindoo?"

[oneighty]

6. Never as long as Catholics

are considered a cult.

Also there will be war between the various interpretors of the bible and it will be loud and bloody.

All brands of Christian Religious will be competing with each other for souls and money to steal.

It is God's will however. Not to worry.

180

[Ezlivin]

7. Yes. Unfortunately, that means that nearly everyone must die

Achieving world Christianity will be a very bloody process.

See: Inquisition.

[Avalux]

8. OK - that just makes my head hurt

Those who think every person on this planet can and should be converted to Christianity or any other religion are living in a perverse dream world. Religion has been the cause of some of the most horrific battles in history. They just don't get it.

The hating stops when people learn to respect others who are different than them. Never happen.

[ktowntennesseedem]

21. Southern Baptists had a program called Bold Mission Thrust

a few years back. Started in the 50's in effort to reach the whole world for Christ by the end of the 20th century. Many believe that the second coming will happen after everyone has heard the gospel, and almost as many believe in millennial dispensationism, which in a nutshell means that the second coming should be sometime around the end of the 20th-beginning of the 21st century. (Y-2-K really freaked these people out!) So spread the gospel till the last person has heard, then Jesus can return right on time!

All that came of it was an increase in missionaries, increase in money donated, and a few more prayers said. As 2001 approached and the Southern Baptist became consumed by in-fighting between fundamentalists and moderates, it slowly became clear that they were nowhere close to achieving the goal, and by the mid-90's Bold Mission Thrust faded into obscurity.

I was raised Southern Baptist and had a ring-side seat for all the action. I'm still a Christian who believes in love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, humility, tolerance (Jesus advocated that long before SpongeBob ever did!), etc. But I gave up on Southern Baptists years ago. I'm so liberal now they'd probably try to conduct an exorcism if they ever got me into one of their fundamentalist churches!

[Avalux]

24. Bold Mission Thrust?

LOL - the name alone is offensive. And what you said about infighting - that it led to their demise, answers the original poster's question.

[ktowntennesseedem]

32. Offensive to me, too, now.

Growing up it was just part of the background, but I'm a lot older now, and hopefully wiser as well! If everyone had taken it seriously, it would have been quite a mess in my opinion; generally the focus was only on making sure everyone had a chance to hear the gospel, not necessarily trying to make everyone convert, but still raised the question about just what to do with anyone who does hear the gospel and says, "no, thank you." And beside, its a lot more fun to debate whether the bible is literal or figurative, or whether women should be pastors and deacons, or whether the ten commandment monument at the courthouse should be marble or granite, etc.

[Speck Tater]

10. Think Sunnis vs Shiites or Protestants vs Catholics in Ireland.

Republicans vs Democrats, dog people vs cat people, Raiders fans vs Chargers fans, blue-eyed people vs brown-eyed people, tall people vs short people, cool people vs nerds, ...

No, there will never be peace on earth because we will never stop creating new ways to make ourselves feel superior to some other group by first criticizing them, then demonizing them, and then declaring war on them.

[Behind the Aegis]

Self-delete

Ooops...double post!

[Behind the Aegis]

11. No!

There will never be peace on Earth. Conflict will always be around. And even if they were to succeed, it would be at great costs to others.

[kcwayne]

12. Hasn't stopped the Irish Protestants and Catholics from murdering

one another yet. And I guess they are both Christians.

[Ready4Change]

14. As my answer, I present Monty Pythons "Life of Brian"

http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/brian/brian-17.htm

[China_cat]

15. Depends on the flavor of christianity.

[ComerPerro]

17. When everyone mindlessly follows Pat Robertson

how could they hate each other?

[MostPeopleDO]

18. denominations, anyone?

The Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years War(you can imagine how bloody that was even if you have never heard of it) were fought between Catholic and Protestant Christians...religions will duke it out until there is one person left on earth, that one man, the only "True" believer.
Fundamentalism is a curse. Missionary work is wrong. Unless it is simply providing access to a religion in a country and introducing freedom of religion(ie Saudi Arabia et al could use some diversity).
All this lumping together and bashing of Christians sounds quite juvenille though. How many of you are still in high school? It reminds me of those years. 80% of America is Christian, and 80% certainly doesn't/didn't vote Repub. Not everyone is a Marxist.
I'm a socialist and a liberal Christian(Episcopalian). My Church is an outspoken and influential advocate of liberalism in all its forms, and in turn made me a liberal and thus helped me connect with my Creator better.
I think this is a better testament than, "dang christians are so stupid they should all die!!11"

[DesEtoiles]

19. Everyone in Mexico is a Christian and look how great it is there

[Jacobin]

22. Nope. Then the various sects start fighting each other

(in the name of Gawd of course)

[hatrack]

23. No, because then there will be Double Secret Probation Christians

They'll be holier than the others, and more correct than the others, and more justly guided by the Hand Of God than the others and will be willing to prove it in an interesting variety of ways.

BTW, the same holds true for pretty much any religion, so please don't take this as Christian-bashing.

[Zhade]

25. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you KIDDING? They can't even keep the peace between themselves when they were the dominating force in the past, what makes anyone think there'd be peace now?

Heck, many Christians don't even believe in the divinity of Jesus. Imagine the fights over that alone!

[cally]

26. Have you ever been part of a Christian Church?...No

Not a chance, negative. Christians fight as much, if not more, than other religions.

[porphyrian]

29. Cool! That's the day I get a three way with my exes!

They said it, when hell freezes over, I get a three way!

smartass.attitude = (smartass.attitude)/2;

Seriously, though, no single religion is interpreted and practiced similarly enough by its members to prevent conflict. All of the religions you named, especially Christianity, have multiple schools of thought on how they should be practiced and interpreted. It would only allow people to make blanket statements like "our Christian nation" without being completely full of shit.

On another note, if we don't yet have peace on earth, and the definition of the Messiah is the one who will bring peace to the earth, how can Christians reconcile their denial about Jesus being the Messiah? I mean, my toaster, by definition, is not a Mercedes. Just because I choose to believe that it is a Mercedes doesn't make me less in denial of the reality that my toaster is just a toaster, and it doesn't make my toaster into a Mercedes just by my wishing it. I can, however, convince other people that my toaster is a Mercedes, because their are a lot of stupid, gullible, and emotionally needy people in the world. At what point of insane behavior are you allowed to stop the believers from shaping your world based on their denial and/or delusion?

[raysr]

30. Imagine

"no religion".

[AVID]

31. who knew!