Comments on: Taliban Kidnap 18 South Koreans in Afghanistan

By: Kim Chang-Ryong

Kim Chang-Ryong — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:33:57 +0000

Aint the ROK being too pro-Nazis? Why not tell America about that?

Why are South Koreans going there in the first place? I lost hope in believing that there is common sense.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:13:50 +0000

Sarcasm, right?

By: unifacationist

unifacationist — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:17:34 +0000

I think that the taliban was hired by the n koreans to kiddnap the s koreans. this will put a damper on any unifacation talks, as well as the bombing of raingoun since it killed 427 member’s of the s korean cabinit.just an other reason to put capitalism in and kim jong il out!

By: Dan tdaxp

Dan tdaxp — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:00:41 +0000

The Rise of Christianity (see my review) has a rational-choice view of martyrdom that's worth checking out.

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:42:33 +0000

“If you reread those comments, it is about blame, and it goes way beyond that to openly hoping that something bad happens to these people. The common thread is that some of the commenters donâ€™t much care for their beliefs, which I view as pretty unsophisticated and ultimately self-destructive.”

Different commenters have different viewpoints. That includes those critical of the missionaries. I am scrolling through that 160+ message thread, and I see only one comment, #20 by Careb, that actually wishes for something bad to happen. A few others, most prolifically IHBB, have complained about evangelical Christians or belittled religious beliefs. IHBB likened overseas Christian missionary work to 9/11, but I didn’t read even faint praise for “the sadists” you think those unsympathetic to the missionaries have a crush on. One can be critical of the missionaries’ work without loving or admiring their scary captors or wishing a dark fate upon them. They are good people, and I hope dearly for their safe return. I am bothered, however, by the prospect of freeing dangerous Taliban captives, who will kill more civilians and soldiers, or the possibility of ransom money, which will buy more weapons and bomb-making equipment.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:29:57 +0000

I don’t know, Sonagi. If you reread those comments, it is about blame, and it goes way beyond that to openly hoping that something bad happens to these people. The common thread is that some of the commenters don’t much care for their beliefs, which I view as pretty unsophisticated and ultimately self-destructive. They may even be founded on masochism. But there’s more to this than the classic sadist-meets-masochist story. Too many people seem to have a crush on the sadists here.

If we’re looking for narrow-minded, intolerant fanatics to condemn, the Taliban ought to be our starting point. These missionaries might annoy you at the train station, but after all, they aren’t beheading anyone. And I have no qualms about wishing every one of the hostage-takers a gruesome and painful end, and a swift journey to Hell.

Our world today can be a damned good illustration of just how thankless it is to defend a bunch of masochists from the sadists they secretly adore.

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:48:48 +0000

” Whatâ€™s striking about the discussion is that the Talibanâ€™s murder, kidnapping, intolerance, and ignorance never even became a subject. It was lost among the venom directed at the victims. “

The reason is that condemnation of the the violently extreme Islamist Taliban is a given; hence, there is nothing to discuss or debate. The focus is on the victims because there is a wide scope to debate the appropriateness and intentions of a project that has put them in harm’s way. This isn’t about blame. It’s about making wise choices.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:03:00 +0000

Hanlove, I’d like to see the day when Afghanistan is a tolerant enough place for all religions to compete in its marketplace of ideas. But what I think about the activities of these Koreans depends largely on what, specifically, they were doing. If these folks are doing humanitarian work and spreading the word by example (as opposed to actively proselytizing people who aren’t ready to hear their message) I’d be a lot more sympathetic. As a non-Christian myself, my advice for those who want to propogate Christianity is that I’ve never been swayed by anyone approaching me with religious doctrine I’m not prepared to accept. Frankly, if there’s one Christian demomination that’s made a great impression on me, it’s Mormonism, despite the fact that there’s so much in the Mormon religious doctrine that I couldn’t possibly believe. The reason for my impression is that I’ve just seen too many Mormons whose religion seemed to have helped make superlative human beings of them.

So I guess here’s what I’m saying:

1. The area in which an extremist insurgency operates calls for a very nuanced approach to challenging that insurgency’s ideology.

2. A nuanced approach would be opening clinics and schools that don’t openly proselytize, but which simply exemplify the values of Christianity in practice.

If these folks were applying a similarly nuanced approach, then I have complete sympathy for them. In such a case, their choice of a venue signifies nothing but courage. But if they were simply looking for an inhospitable place to take their message and confront people with it, then there’s something about that mission that’s more about the missionary’s own emotional needs than it is helping others, spiritually or otherwise. Furthermore, actions like that only serve to validate Taliban propaganda that interaction with the outside world is a direct threat to their values.

Either way, obviously, I hope they make it out of there safely.

By: hanlove

hanlove — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 02:29:06 +0000

well if they’re from a church group
then maybe they were doing some missions…. right?

hopefully they do return safely though

By: Shay

Shay — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:18:52 +0000

Agreed, this is pretty shocking news and I hope it can only get better. We’ll all hope for their safe return.

On a lighter note, great site and a good cause