I like this post from Boz blog. It's a good analysis of where it has all gone wrong.
Missions do not have a “God given mandate”. To accept that they do would then mean that every fundamentalist, terrorist or extreme religious group of whatever religion also has a “God given mandate”, which is both dangerous and crazy. If to get round this, missions dismiss other groups/religions as not having a mandate because they believe in a different God, then one is on the slippery slope of arrogance that takes these missions into what they often become, cults! Yes they may start out with good intentions, lead by earnest people of faith but inevitably the more fundamentalist groups seem to deteriorate into mind controlling groups, masquerading under the guise of great personal sacrifice and humility. Scratch the surface and what is often found is systems of hierarchical control put in place so that the power rests in the hands of a select few men and what they say goes, because they “speak to God” whereas lesser members, women, children and the locals are expected to receive divine instructions second hand. As time progresses, many of these missions have evolved into abusive cults, extorting money out of church members who have laid upon their conscience that they should give generously so that “the noble work” (point of interest, check out what percentage of listed “missionaries” are actually out of their own home countries and how many are back home with comfortable lifestyles, fancy job titles and achieving very little except fund raising and recruiting) can be done on their behalf. They put themselves outside the jurisdiction of the laws of the countries they are guests in and hence when they are infiltrated by paedophiles they do little to protect their own children, instead insist on a diet of forgiveness and turning blind eyes. They do no report their sexual offenders to their home authorities, instead they denigrate anyone who dares speak out about the abuse, including parents of victims. Such mind control is exercised over members that parents will often carry on as missionaries, even when they see their own childrens lives destroyed. Hence my opinion (based on a childhood as an MK and an adulthood of seeing revelations of the most horrific abuse), that too many of these missions are now cults. The “God given mandate” is a myth, they have become gods in their own minds.
Amen, Amen, Amen
|