Was: Naval Ships, Now: Divine Intervention

[Larry D. Hols]

Hallo,

>  SC> Yes, but there are also many historical counterexamples.  Look at the
>  Christian conquest of India.  Follow our religion, you can eat all the pork
>  you want and still go to heaven.  Believe it or not, many Hindus have stated
>  that freedom from the caste system and their dietary restrictions (i.e. their
>  culture) were major reasons contributing to their conversion.

        The sociological studies have shown that theology is not the reason
that people convert to a religion.  They learn the whys and wherefores of
theology only after conversion.  Christianity had such a pull in the days
of the early Church because of factors other than theology:  the status
accorded women attracted lots of female converts, and the number of women
led to conversion via marriage for lots of men.  The communal effort in
taking care of their poor and widows also impressed people.  The religion
has to offer something other than theology to convince people to convert.


Larry