South Korean Christians Released
An interesting article covers the South Korean response to the homecoming of the 19 remaining hostages held by the Taliban. Notably, there seems to be a backlash to apparent “overzealous proselytizing,” even though
Both Saemmul Presbyterian Church, to which the hostages belong, and the government insisted that the hostages had not been proselytizing, just providing aid. But many religious experts here consider such a distinction meaningless, since South Korean churches provide aid to gain converts.
Why does this matter to the military Christian? There is a growing movement in America that is reflected here by the quoted “many religious experts:” the supposition that Christians can’t separate their “overtly proselytizing ways” from their other actions–whether they be charitable or governmental. That is, Christians can’t help but proselytize, and they must be treated as if they will.
Some people seem to think that if the military forbids proselytizing in its ranks then it must restrict the actions of Christians, because Christians cannot help but proselytize. The cultural view of Christianity bears significant impact on the religious freedom of Christians in the military.