Polite Indians

[Kutte]

One day a Christian missionary arrived in an Indian settlement. He declared to the Indian natives with much zeal and in detail his religious convictions such as that the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus and that she went to heaven after her death. He also pointed out that Jesus once fed 5000 men with five breads and two fishes.

The Indians reacted with signs of polite agreement. Finally the tribal chief stood up and declared that he too had a similar story to tell:
"One day a beautiful woman came down from the clouds and seated herself on a mountain top. Many people were able to notice her. After her departure Indians found potatoes where she had been sitting. Corn grew where her right hand had touched the ground, and tobacco grew where her left hand had touched the ground.”
At this point the Christian missionary stood up and responded that he had never heard such nonsense during his entire lifetime and that only idiots would adhere to a belief like this.

The tribal chief answered: “Sir, did your mother neglect to teach you some good manners? We were willing to believe your story. Why are you refusing to believe ours?”
Author unknown

May God bless

 

[Tigger45]

Its one thing to be polite and completely another to believe.

 

[Hidden In Him]

The tribal chief answered: “Sir, did your mother neglect to teach you some good manners? We were willing to believe your story. Why are you refusing to believe ours?”

Enjoyed your post.

 

[GeorgeJ]

Its one thing to be polite and completely another to believe.

This wasn't necessarily about politeness on the part of either party, but more about the tribal chief not understanding why the missionary wouldn't believe his story, since the tribal chief was willing to believe a story just as "extraordinary".

 

[Tigger45]

This wasn't necessarily about politeness on the part of either party, but more about the tribal chief not understanding why the missionary wouldn't believe his story, since the tribal chief was willing to believe a story just as "extraordinary".

Within the tribal chief's culture the willingness to believe was an act of politeness.

 

[JackRT]

Bishop Desmond Tutu once said "When the white man first came to South Africa we had the land and they had the Bible. They said 'Let us bow our heads and close our eyes and pray together'. But when we opened our eyes they had the land and we had the Bible."

 

[-V-]

So... the point is Christians should be polite and believe in pagan gods & goddesses?

 

[Albion]

The main thought I carry away from that story is that potatoes don't seem as appealing to me now as they used to.

 

[JackRT]

So... the point is Christians should be polite and believe in pagan gods & goddesses?

Just polite would do fine.

 

[-V-]

Just polite would do fine.

Sure, but the story has the Christian being admonished for not BELIEVING.

 

[JackRT]

Sure, but the story has the Christian being admonished for not BELIEVING.

The story has the missionary going beyond just not believing into active insult and mockery.

 

[-V-]

The story has the missionary going beyond just not believing into active insult and mockery.

Correct. But that still doesn't change the fact that the Christian is admonished for not believing in a pagan goddess.

 

[Tigger45]

Correct. But that still doesn't change the fact that the Christian is admonished for not believing.

This is true and parallels real life where I've had 'polite discussions' where I held the position that Jesus was 'the' way and still got called names. LOL!

 

[Kutte]

The main thought I carry away from that story is that potatoes don't seem as appealing to me now as they used to.

Hi Albion,

For what it's worth: I will always prefer potatoes over noodles.

God bless

 

[thesunisout]

One day a Christian missionary arrived in an Indian settlement. He declared to the Indian natives with much zeal and in detail his religious convictions such as that the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus and that she went to heaven after her death. He also pointed out that Jesus once fed 5000 men with five breads and two fishes.

The Indians reacted with signs of polite agreement. Finally the tribal chief stood up and declared that he too had a similar story to tell:
"One day a beautiful woman came down from the clouds and seated herself on a mountain top. Many people were able to notice her. After her departure Indians found potatoes where she had been sitting. Corn grew where her right hand had touched the ground, and tobacco grew where her left hand had touched the ground.”
At this point the Christian missionary stood up and responded that he had never heard such nonsense during his entire lifetime and that only idiots would adhere to a belief like this.

The tribal chief answered: “Sir, did your mother neglect to teach you some good manners? We were willing to believe your story. Why are you refusing to believe ours?”
Author unknown

May God bless

I would just point out that to believe the gospel is to reject all wrong views about God. We should also be mindful that wrong views of God lead people to perish without salvation. Therefore, Christians should be zealous to correct the account by preaching and teaching the gospel with grace and humility

 

[Kutte]

I would just point out that to believe the gospel is to reject all wrong views about God. We should also be mindful that wrong views of God lead people to perish without salvation. Therefore, Christians should be zealous to correct the account by preaching and teaching the gospel with grace and humility

Hi thesunitsout,
What kind of wrong views about God are out there? Pope Francis said, that in a way our notion of God is outdated. I like to add, that God is neither a HE or SHE but an IT.
God bless

 

[JackRT]

Hi thesunitsout,
What kind of wrong views about God are out there? Pope Francis said, that in a way our notion of God is outdated. I like to add, that God is neither a HE or SHE but an IT.
God bless

I agree. Our understanding of God is constantly evolving --- even within Christianity.

 

[Kutte]

I agree. Our understanding of God is constantly evolving --- even within Christianity.

Yes JackRT,
everything is evolving. Humans are evolving from being a baby at birth to a grown adult. The process of evolution is not a theory but a fact, although many conservatives in the Christian camp are in denial.
The opposite of evolution is stagnation, a motionless stand, simply meaning death.
My best

 

[jimmyjimmy]

One day a Christian missionary arrived in an Indian settlement. He declared to the Indian natives with much zeal and in detail his religious convictions such as that the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus and that she went to heaven after her death. He also pointed out that Jesus once fed 5000 men with five breads and two fishes.

The Indians reacted with signs of polite agreement. Finally the tribal chief stood up and declared that he too had a similar story to tell:
"One day a beautiful woman came down from the clouds and seated herself on a mountain top. Many people were able to notice her. After her departure Indians found potatoes where she had been sitting. Corn grew where her right hand had touched the ground, and tobacco grew where her left hand had touched the ground.”
At this point the Christian missionary stood up and responded that he had never heard such nonsense during his entire lifetime and that only idiots would adhere to a belief like this.

The tribal chief answered: “Sir, did your mother neglect to teach you some good manners? We were willing to believe your story. Why are you refusing to believe ours?”
Author unknown

May God bless

Guess I should abandon Christianity now.

I like to add, that God is neither a HE or SHE but an IT.
God bless

How have you arrived at this conclusion?

 

[pescador]

Where I live -- New Mexico -- the Indians around here are very much aware how their ancestors were treated by "Christians", i.e. Spanish conquistadores who claimed to be Christian but in reality were extremely cruel and violent, making slaves of those who "believed" and maiming or killing those who didn't "accept Christ".
While your story is humorous there is a lot of terrible truth behind it. Fortunately quite a few Indians have become Christians over time but they will never forget how they were treated.