God's Ma, Joseph Smith, and the Jesus People

I answer my doorbell late this Saturday morning. Two ladies hurry over, apparently caught by surprise at the foreigner peeking out the door. “Um, ah, would you like to know more about--(ruffles around in bag for English version of tract, thursts it in my nose)--the Bible??” I politely decline, and to their credit, the ladies leave, although that could’ve been due to my PJs and weekend morning Dr. Seuss hair. I’m sure they’ll be back, probably with someone who speaks better English.

From Wiki:

Seoul contains eleven of the world's twelve largest Christian congregations. South Korea is also the world's second largest missionary (with the United States as the first) nation.

Of course, any foreigner worth her kimchi would know this already, as one cannot help but be familiar with the Evangelicals in South Korea. This morning's ladies were the nicest/tamest I have ever encountered. I am always nice to them, because of my upbringing mostly (and also, of course, because of my naturally sweet and lovable disposition heheh). But I must admit, sometimes they make it difficult to be nice. They pepper the sidewalks on weekends, sashed and bannered, armed with tracts and free packets of candies or kleenex, and key English phrases. The latter is particularly annoying, because they are pushy, but lack the English necessary to hold a decent conversation. One man last weekend tried to push a tract into my hand while saying, “Would you like to come to church?” “No, thank you,” I said as I continued walking. “Why? Why! Weh, weh, weh?” (‘why’ in Korean) Then his voice getting louder as I got further away- “Why? No religion? No beliefs? Why? Let’s go church! Come drink coffee!!”

sigh. I had another woman come up to me while I was waiting for a friend, tell me I was beautiful, ask all sorts of questions about my home, etc., generally being friendly, and then, after about 10 minutes ask me to church. I find this- “I’m only interested in you because you are a potential convert”- very insulting. Reminds me of “friendship evangelism” when I was growing up.

Now I must say, the Christians are not as bad as the die-hard followers of the Heavenly Mother cult. Thankfully I’ve not had too much experience with them aside from a few sidewalk encounters.

Also from Wiki:

The World Mission Society Church of God was founded by Ahnsahnghong in 1964, when he left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church believes that he (referred to by his followers as Christ Ahnsahnghong) is the second coming of Jesus. Ahnsahnghong died in 1985, three years before his predicted date of the second coming of Christ. Today, the leader of the church is Zahng Gil Jah, known to followers as the Heavenly Mother. They introduce themselves (to foreigners) by asking whether the individual has heard of the Mother's love, or of the Heavenly Mother. The church believes that Korean resident Gil-Jah Zahng is "God the Mother" (who they believe is referred to in the Bible as the New Jerusalem Mother) as well as that Ahnsahnghong is God the Father. The church regards that the earthly family system is a copy and shadow of the heavenly family system, consisting of a Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, and the spiritual brothers and sisters (humans).

Oh brother, give me a break. How ridiculous that this embodiment of the second-coming Christ died 3 years before his own predicted second coming. And how convenient that the Holy Mother steps in right at this time and place to save the day. I have no time for these people. The mental gymnastics necessary to continue to hold these beliefs! I have known some naive foreigners to get sucked in and have difficulty getting out.

There are Mormons here too. You can see the young boys walking down the street, in pairs, impeccably dressed, always sweet, and sometimes a little wary of foreigners. They studied the language for 3 months before coming and raised their own money to fund their mission, all before their mid-20s. They spend their days pounding the pavement and giving free English lessons. I've never had too much problem with Mormons being too pushy, and usually I can have interesting conversations with them about their upbringing, happily skirting the finer points of their erroneous perception of reality.

Personally, I just don't like being accosted. I dislike being called to, pushed or grabbed, and treated like I'm deluded or misinformed. I'm not anti-religion, I'm freedom of, in, or from religion. To me, it's all about respect.