Souls to be Saved..

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.(1)

 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.(2)

Such quotes have empowered missionaries the world over to spread the gospel to the ears of the naive. If you are unfortunate enough to not have heard the gospel, your damnation is assured.For those that hear the gospel and reject it, they are still damned. The blinding faith of missionaries drives them on, in the belief that sharing  the 'good news' of Jesus Christ will save the ignorant  from the fires of hell.  Indeed, only by accepting Jesus Christ as their savior can they be forgiven for their sin, and be reunited with God. No unborn is sin free however as they still carry the taint of original sin through Eve eating a forbidden apple.
It becomes a bitter pill to swallow if you are outside this saved circle. Missionaries are doing this charitable work in your favor, to help you save your soul and you have no choice but to accept the message for the other option is to burn for a eternity.

Indeed through a combination of coercion which may involve political motives, monetary, social incentives millions of less fortunate have gained short term favors for long term education of a harmful nature. Indeed a strong memory lingers in my mind of a trip to Southern India, driving through a village affected by drought.  The poverty was quite apparent with groups of tribal families living in huts made of an assortment of branches and this year the crops had failed.While governmental agencies had been trickling in to assist, it seemed the first responders had been international Evangelical missions who set up a huge camp on the outside of town.
A huge tented auditorium had been set up and free food and drink to assist in the relief efforts. Loud speakers blared as the people received they food packages and were baptized to Christ.

That night as we came back, the roads were filled with previously hindu tribals staggering and collapsing intermittently yet joyous that having drunk 'the blood of christ' they were now redeemed and better off. Such  actions starts a rippling effect that can turn 

“ ‘a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ ⁽³⁾

Such actions I am sure have ruined the harmony of cultures the world over. Short term sacrifices of religion and culture have caused long term harm. My last flight to Africa was packed with missionaries to 'help' like minded Africans as well. One has to only look at the Joshua project (4) to see the determination of missionaries to spread the 'word' the world over in the Great Commission. What follows is a loss of traditional culture and values which not only affects the person and his immediate family, but society has a whole. 

Perhaps we can understand that the danger of literal meaning of such translations. The gospels offer much in value of ethics and morality and also help us grow as individuals. While there is much doubt over the authorship and age of each gospel, readings of it's teachings can hold value. However, the danger again lies in taking the literal meaning and enforcing it to a community. 

Indeed we are lucky to be in a position where we are able to read various gospels simultaneously including those that were suppressed by the early church, like the gospel of Thomas discovered at Nag Hammadi.(5) All have valuable information to offer, but to read and enforce only the canonized versions as authoritative and as the actual words of Jesus is misleading.  In fact we can see that even in the oldest gospel of Mark, circa 50 AD that additional verses have been placed much later :

 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.(1) (16.15)

This is not there in the oldest codices of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus which ends at 16.8. 

They went out, and fled from the tomb, for they were trembling and bewildered; and did not say a word to any one, for they were frightened.(16.8)

Here later additions were placed to spread the gospel which did not exist before. 
 

I often feel that suffering is a high value emotion. Christ suffered for our sins, we are often told and through his suffering humanity was saved and reconnected to God. People however continue to suffer on a daily basis, and suffering is universal. What can make suffering worse is delusion. Harmful education can isolate members of well knit community and even turn their minds against the very community that sheltered them. Through proper instruction and education, i feel, that even the misguided and deluded can be brought around. If we celebrate the diversity of cultures, study the wisdom they provide throughout history, we can slowly turn the tide against the unyielding Commandments of Abrahamic monotheism.

References : 

1)  Mark 16;15
2) Matthew 28;18
3) Matthew 10;34
4) http://joshuaproject.net/
5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag_Hammadi_library

Others : 

1) http://codexsinaiticus.org/en/
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_16

 

Introduction

Often I have spent my time thinking about the harm of the Abrahamic religions on ancient societies. Man has through history in various cultures expressed profound thoughts on ethics and morality. Unfortunately, such thoughts are often purged through socioeconomic incentives, eliminated by violence and crushed by ideas from God's 'favored' people.
Ideas should be stated to be better ideas if they on the whole cause less harm. Opinions should be stated to be better opinions if they cause less harm. Ideas that stand the test of time and hold value in today's world should be gathered and savored. The fallacy that the truth of an idea only makes sense during a particular period of time in a particular context should be closely scrutinized and contested.
It is my personal wish to see, contrast and compare ancient voices. To draw upon their wisdom as the struggle to extinguish them is ongoing. The harm to ancient civilizations continues and millions even today i believe continue to suffer because of a lack of understanding.
Here i hope to share stories of value that i have come across, questions and suggestions are welcome and i would hope to document ideas which I hope would be beneficial to a few who cross the blog.