What would you do to win others to Christ? -- <font size = "4">The Drunks Bar </font size "4">

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Date Posted: 10:11:17 07/14/03 Mon
Author: Rev. Mike Sutcliffe
Subject: What would you do to win others to Christ?

When I was missionary in Asia (1990-1994), I was asked to do many things Americans normally don't do. I did these things to win others to Christ. Would anyone here do the same things to help their fellow man?

Living cross-culturally as missionaries asks us to do the things that are not comfortable or familiar in our frame of mind. We have our own culture and when it is confronted with another culture, we either reject or accept it. If we reject it, we will remain a foreigner. If we accept it, we will become friends of local people. As long as it is not compromising the essence of the Gospel, it is important to accept the new culture and live in that culture. In this context to eat dog meat or not to eat is the question.
We all have different preferences in clothing, housing, and eating. We have different preferences in pets as well. Some like dogs or cats and some like snakes or frogs. In America pets are better off than some people physically. �The life of dogs is the best life,� as one of the Korean Proverbs says. As pampered as they are, even to think about eating dogs is a horrible and unthinkable thing to most of people in America. Some Chinese and Koreans eat dog meat, and some do not.

Now, as missionaries we are to mingle with local people socially and try not to be too foreign in many ways. Local people see us as foreigners and they are curious to get to know us and learn our ways. At the same time they want us to appreciate their culture and foods, too. It is important for the missionaries to have the attitude of learners. We should try to learn their language and try to engage in social activities. The problem with most missionaries is that we always try to teach instead of learning.

Socially, we don�t drink and smoke when the Chinese offer, and they think that we are strange and no fun. We don�t want to give the Chinese the wrong doctrine that Christians are not supposed to drink or smoke. Eating dog meat with them breaks the distance between missionaries and Chinese. There is no scripture saying that thou shall not eat dog meat. Eating crab, squid, snail, turtle, turkey, and caviar is as strange as eating dogs, I think, in another culture.

Therefore, it is wrong to think of people who eat dog meat as merciless savages. They are not eating dogs such as Poodles, Bulldogs, Chihuahuas, or Shepherds. They are eating specially farmed dogs, which are raised for the particular purpose. To win the hearts of people, why not eat dog meat? It is not possible to reach out to people without socializing with them first. Eating together is a way to get to know the people, and we should be able to adapt to it. 1 Corinthian 9:20,21 states," To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law."

Paul is the great model for contextualizing himself to any kind of situation. To win the hearts of Jews, he became like a Jew and to win the hearts of Gentiles, he became like a Gentile. He is not easy to imitate, but we can eat dog meat, at least, for the Lord.

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Replies:

Wow... -- Jay Hovah, 15:57:00 07/14/03 Mon
So eat dog and learn Chinese and you'll be saved? -- Leo P�tsch, 16:33:12 07/14/03 Mon
- Salvation comes only by Christ -- Rev. Mike, 17:27:35 07/14/03 Mon
  - Dear Rev Mike (Myers? Sutcliffe?) -- Leo P�tsch, 17:37:31 07/14/03 Mon
    - The name is Sutcliffe, Rev. Mike Sutcliffe -- Rev. Mike Sutcliffe, 17:51:53 07/14/03 Mon
      - Mia Dio damnita! -- Leo P�tsch, 17:58:32 07/14/03 Mon
    - The name is Sutcliffe, Rev. Mike Sutcliffe -- Rev. Mike Sutcliffe, 17:54:49 07/14/03 Mon