Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

[Johny Joe Hold]

Long ago, Landover Baptist realized Jesus did not want our church to be bring strange looking people into the faith. We have steadfastly refused to send missionaries to parts of the non-white world. It baffles me that other Christians cannot see things as Jesus commands them.

Most readers will not have heard of the country in Africa called Uganda. It is in Darkest Africa. Why would anyone want to go there are harvest Christians there when there are so many unsaved white people right next door?

For whatever reason, groups do send missionaries there. This past August some of them got their comeuppance. They were on a boat headed to a remote area to start a church. One of them started preaching to unsaved Ugandans on the boat. Reports are the group got tossed out to drown. They might have been eaten; we don't know for sure.

We at LBC will continue to serve Jesus by staying away from savages in other countries.

5 Christian evangelists thrown off boat and drowned in Uganda | World News (christianpost.com)

[MitzaLizalor]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

I'm rather uncertain about this "End Time Word Ministry church" given the circumstances as reported. Were they knocked on the head first? It sounds like they were made to sort of walk the plank one at a time. The lake is only 13 to 18 feet deep, it said—as though that made it remarkable they didn't survive—whereas their being 200 or so yards from shore was the determining factor. Really? What sort of missionary is being sent to Uganda these days? That's really quite a short distance, especially if your life depends on getting there. Even if you got tired, you could float for a few minutes. To what extent you'd be eaten, I don't know. The main threat here is bats and mosquitos. Other nearby lakes do have crocodiles and since they're connected, it is a possibility.

God is Jesus. Therefore when Jesus said this it is God speaking.

Mark 16
17a These signs shall follow them that believe;
17b In my name shall they cast out devils;
17c They shall speak with new tongues;
18a They shall take up serpents;
18b If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
18c They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

If and when these missionaries were drowning,
it would be simplicity itself for one to lay hands
upon the other to effect resucitation but clearly
this did not happen.

Deuteronomy 28
15b If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God
15c To observe to do all his commandments and his statutes …
15e These curses shall come upon thee
15f And overtake thee …
26a Thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air
26b And unto the beasts of the earth
26c And no man shall fray them away.

EXAMPLE

Acts 28
3a Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks
3b And laid them on the fire
3c There came a viper out of the heat
3d And fastened on his hand …
5a He shook off the beast into the fire
5b And felt no harm.

It's fairly straightforward to determine which cohort are in the same category as Paul and which are not.

[Johny Joe Hold]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

If and when these missionaries were drowning,
it would be simplicity itself for one to lay hands
upon the other to effect resucitation but clearly
this did not happen.

It's fairly straightforward to determine which cohort are in the same category as Paul and which are not.

Thank you, Sister Mitza, for pointing out the correctness of Landover Baptist's refusal to send missionaries to Darkest Africa. The entire incident highlights the need for missionaries, sent by other denominations, to learn how to swim before going there.

[Dr. Anthony J. Toole]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

Mr. Mayor, the drowning death of some so-called Christians in Uganda is alarming but not overly so. The seas play a major role in the Gospels of Mark et al and as a True believer (in Himself) Jesus was fully capable of commanding the waters and pacifying the storms; this is how we know He is God. Walking on water or parting the seas are tools of the trade that could have saved these men, if they truly believed.

There is abundant literature in scholarly fields on the dangerous Sea of Galillee mentioned in the Bible.

Most of Mark’s Gospel prior to the passion narrative revolves around a body of water the author calls the Sea of Galilee. It is the geographical focal point where Jesus calls his disciples, preaches to the crowds, travels (by boat), and performs his miracles — including many that involve the sea itself. It is a dangerous body of water whose raging waves must be quelled by Jesus on one occasion to save his shipmates.

There is, in fact, no “sea” in the Galilee region of Palestine. There is a lake in the right location that matches the geographical description of Mark’s sea in many (thought not all) respects.



Dennis R. MacDonald (professor of religion at Claremont School of Theology) is a well-known proponent of the view that the author of Mark deliberately uses themes from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey to develop his story. As MacDonald notes in his books, students in the Greek-speaking world used the technique of imitatio to learn composition, and Homer was the most popular model to use. The literary culture was infused with Homer; no literate Greek learned to read and write without acquiring extensive familiarity with the Iliad and the Odyssey. Mimesis, or imitation of famous works, was not considered plagiarism, but a time-honoured technique for composing new stories.

To put it another way, there is little doubt that all the authors of the New Testament learned to read and write Greek through extensive study of Homer.

When MacDonald turns his tools for mimetic analysis to Mark, he finds numerous parallels with Homer. One that is relevant for our topic is a passage about Odysseus in Od. 10. Like Jesus in the stilling of the storm (4:35-41), Odysseus and his companions set sail with multiple ships (twelve ships to be precise — a rather biblical number). Odysseus sleeps while a terrible gale drives the ships and the crewmen despair. But Mark’s Jesus is greater than Odysseus, for Odysseus is powerless to affect the winds, which are controlled by the god Aeolus; but in Mark, Jesus does in fact wield the divine ability to control the wind.

[MitzaLizalor]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

Is it still OK to travel to Africa, for a safari maybe or to buy interesting fabric? For those fond of rail travel, and given the relaxed character of other passengers, there were some exciting trips possible too. I mean to and from the safari experience itself. Now, sadly, that is inadvisable. Helicopters need to be booked in advance and just to be sure, probably best to charter one. The main safari destinations accommodate helicopters very adequately.

The fabrics are very nice but I won't post samples here – it's easy enough to search African fabric & somewhat off topic. Family members need to be alerted to the dangers of lip plates, neck rings, bones through the nose and earlobe stretching, however. These are explicitly prohibited by God and anyone endorsing them or thinking they look "edgy" are effectively acknowledging the standard of some other god, in Africa always a demon, especially if a nun is manning the kiosk. They DO provide missionaries but where God would improve the lot of natives, where nuns are involved things always get worse.

[WWJDnow]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

The Bible tells us that we can walk on water if we have enough faith. I myself often walk on water when I cross the pond on my father's property. So it's impossible for True Christians™ to drown. Obviously these missionaries were not True Christians™.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 5:25-39

[Johny Joe Hold]

Re: Five So-Called Christians Thrown Off a Boat

The Bible tells us that we can walk on water if we have enough faith. I myself often walk on water when I cross the pond on my father's property. So it's impossible for True Christians™ to drown. Obviously these missionaries were not True Christians™.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 5:25-39

That explains a lot, Brother Dnow. One can be sure those so-called Christians were praying loudly, asking Jesus to save them. Jesus could have saved them. Jesus had his reasons for sending them to Davy Jones's Locker.

[Johny Joe Hold]

We at LBC have seen the folly of sending missionaries to darkest Africa. Our example in this thread was Uganda. Now there is another story of a dead missionary in the dark country of Angola.

This story involves a white wife of a missionary who found the muscular and handsome local black men of Angola irresistible. She wanted one of them instead of her white husband. She has five young children. The wife hired a local suiter to kill her husband.

I share this story to explain why we at Landover Baptist do not want our beautiful white women to be carried off to do missionary work in darkest Africa.

Missionary wife's affair behind murder for hire plot in Angola | World

[Adam Fag]

Missionary wife's affair behind murder for hire plot in Angola | World ☞ “According to Superintendent Manuel Halaiwa of the CIS, Jackie had promised the men $50,000 to carry out the killing, as reported by the Angolan Press Agency, Angop. The alleged motive for the crime, authorities say, stemmed from her romantic involvement with Elias and a desire not to leave Angola, where Beau Shroyer was concluding his mission work.”

So why not just stay there? Or she could move to a hut in the bush. But no, she has to kill him. Why is that, do you think?

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

The title of this thread is very reminiscent of the old minstrel song, Ten Little Injuns.

Five so-called Christians thrown off a boat,
Testing for witchcraft, to see if they would float.

[MitzaLizalor]

I must say he's looking rather apprehensive – perhaps "the dunk" was proposed to apportion blame.
Christians are happy to sink (+ chains?) as Jesus suggested:
.

Mark 8:38 - 9:1 [Jesus speaking] Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Not everyone present would see Him coming before they died, the text is explicit here, but those who do die? What about them? How limited is Christ's promise in this respect? I am still alive. Will I meet Jesus tomorrow? I'd love to see His Kingdom come with power.

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

We at LBC have seen the folly of sending missionaries to darkest Africa. Our example in this thread was Uganda. Now there is another story of a dead missionary in the dark country of Angola.

This story involves a white wife of a missionary who found the muscular and handsome local black men of Angola irresistible. ]

They say it is a stereotype to say that Black men want white women, and that women in general are ruled (if that's the right word) by passions - and yet here we see the truth played out.

The other problem is the drowning:

M't:14:29: And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
M't:14:30: But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
M't:14:31: And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

I really believe that unless you have Faith then you shouldn't be a missionary.