Missionaries

Missionaries have throughout History had very little success in 'converting' the people of a land away from their practiced Religion to a new Religion.

Some Religions claim some successes with their Missionaries being able to convert some people to their personal beliefs.

Most people already 'know' that their Religion is the only correct and true Religion.  They do not want some foreigner telling them that they are wrong.

Christianity has probably had more Missionaries than any other Religion and still only about a third of the world follows Christianity.  Since Christians 'know' that Christianity is perfect, wonderful, and the only correct religion they find it hard to understand why it is that not everyone wants to convert to Christianity.  

The people the Missionaries are trying to change may say that they have accepted the new Religion just to get the Missionaries to go away and leave them alone.

Some may 'convert' to the new Religion because the new Religion offers incentives for them to say they have 'converted' to the new Religion.  They may have gotten a new house, water well, or free food.  Why not just say that you have 'converted' and accept the new goodies.  Once you say you have 'converted' the missionaries will probably go away and leave you alone at least for a period of time.

Every Religion 'knows' that it is the best and only true Religion and that it needs to convert others to their Religion so that the others will cease being heathens. Christians, like all others who belong to an Expansionist Religion, 'know' that they must convert others so that the others may be 'saved' and go to Heaven.  

Sending out Missionaries seems to make Religions feel better about themselves, even if they accomplish nothing other than spending a lot of their churches money that was entrusted to them for God by the people. Why does God need money since God is all-powerful.

Many people have officially 'converted' to the new Religion and then simply continued their old Religion in private.

Some times the Missionaries have had the authority to force a people to 'convert' by having an army to use to destroy those who do not say that they have 'converted' to the new Religion.

Knowing that you and/or your family and/or village is going to be destroyed unless you 'convert' is pretty good incentive to say that you have accepted a new Religion, especially when you are being paid to 'convert' by getting a new home, water or oil well, fishing boat, television, radio, free food or perhaps free Beer, just for saying that you now believe in a new name for God.  This seems a lot like offering a criminal his freedom if he 'tells' on someone else.

Missionaries have also done a pretty good job of spreading infectious diseases to areas where the people had no resistance to the disease, thus killing of a large portion of the local population that the Missionaries were attempting to 'save' and convert.  Ask the American Indians about this.  It seems that the Christians who came to America for Freedom of Religion only wanted the Freedom of Religion for themselves and decided to kill off the natives since the natives practiced what the Christians called paganism.  This makes sense to an Expansionist Religion because by eliminating heathens and/or Pagans your Religion gains in the percentage of the population that belongs to your Religion, thus making your Religion more powerful.

Freemasonry has, and desires, no missionaries and does not attempt to control your beliefs in any way, shape or form, and as long as you express a belief in the one and only Supreme Being, known by whatever name you choose, the Freemasons will consider you for membership in the Craft.