By Lewis Loflin
I’ve got no patience for missionaries—Christian Right, Saudi Wahhabis, Muslims, secular left, you name it. When they target specific groups instead of the general public, it’s not about spreading truth; it’s about flexing muscle. I’m a hands-on guy—electronics, history, deism—not some sermon-swallowing drone. So when the Christian Right goes after Orthodox Christians, or Saudi Wahhabis turn secular Muslims into extremists, I smell the same stench: control freaks picking on the already-converted instead of facing the real challenge. Why not take your pitch to the unwashed masses? Because that takes guts, not guile.
In 2000, the Associated Press caught two Southern Baptist churches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina—Calvary and Oaklawn—plotting a “Cult Awareness Impact Crusade.” Set for February 6-8, they aimed to train members to convert “cults” like Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Pastors Mark Corts and Philip Henry claimed these groups aren’t Christian, wanting to protect their flock and flip the “cultists” to their flavor of faith.
“This would be like the U.S. Army holding a seminar on Russian military tactics or something,” said Henry. “In the military realm, they would call that understanding your enemy, but we do not consider them our enemy.”
Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses fired back. Gary Smith, a local Mormon leader, called it disappointing; Robert Shields, a Jehovah’s Witness overseer, brushed off the “cult” tag, saying, “We follow Jesus.” Fair enough—both claim Christ, just not the Baptist cut. The Southern Baptist Convention was already under fire for targeting Jews, Muslims, and Hindus, praying for Jewish conversions during Rosh Hashanah and calling Hindus “dark-hearted” in a booklet. But why zero in on fellow Christians?
It’s not just Mormons. The Christian Right’s got a fetish for “fixing” Orthodox and Catholic Christians too. In the 2010s, groups like Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) hit Eastern Europe, targeting Orthodox in Romania and Ukraine. They sneered at icons and liturgy as “unbiblical,” ignoring Orthodoxy’s 2,000-year Christ cred. Catholics get it too—Baptist missions in Latin America push sola scriptura on folks already baptized. If your gospel’s so hot, why not sell it to atheists or agnostics? Why tweak a working engine? It’s ego, not salvation.
Then there’s the Saudi Wahhabis—missionaries with oil money and a mean streak. For decades, they’ve spent billions—some say $100 billion since the 1970s—funding madrasas worldwide, pushing their harsh, puritanical theology. In Albania, a mostly secular Muslim country, someone complained the Saudis rolled in, built mosques, and staffed them with Wahhabi clerics. The tone went from laid-back to fire-and-brimstone fast. Moderate Islam? Out the window. Now it’s all about rigid rules and jihadist vibes. Why target secular Muslims who weren’t bothering anyone? Same reason: control the flock, not expand it.
It’s not just Albania. In Pakistan, Saudi cash built 6,000+ madrasas since 1947, training the Taliban. In Kerala, India, 2018 reports found madrasas teaching Wahhabism with Gulf hawala funds, aiming for a global caliphate. Why not preach to Hindus or Christians? Too hard. They’d rather twist their own into knots.
Other Muslims play this game too. Hizb ut-Tahrir and Saudi clerics target nonconformists—think Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, moderates bashed by hardliners in 2023 for tolerance. In the UK, Ahmadiyya Muslims get flak from Sunnis for being “heretics.” Ramadan 2024 saw Pakistan vigilantes beating Muslims eating publicly. It’s purity policing, not outreach. Why not face the non-Muslim world? Too risky.
The secular left’s missionaries—DEI gurus, campus zealots—don’t spare their own either. In 2022, Harvard’s Carole Hooven got mobbed by peers for saying biological sex matters. Progressives eat dissenters alive, not outsiders. Why not take their woke gospel to rural Trump voters? Because purging the choir’s easier than converting the heathens.
From Southern Baptists in 2000 to Saudi Wahhabis in Albania, it’s the same racket. Orthodox and Catholics don’t need “saving”—they’re Christian. Secular Muslims don’t need Wahhabi chains—they were fine. The left’s heretics don’t need canceling—they’re already on board. This isn’t about truth or souls; it’s about dominance. If your message can’t stand the general public’s heat, why test it? Bully the near-converts instead. I’d respect a missionary—any stripe—facing a raw crowd over sniping at kin. That’s conviction, not this petty power grab.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
