Hi Rafroel, What about .... I`m going to the Czech republic.....(hope you got the gist) I quite doubt that this site has been established to generate any form of hatred towards ANY nation. Why do you want to come to a peaceful country for some religious purposes with a spiteful desire to piss off someone you disagree with? First, the Czech Republicans, if that party still exists, have nothing to do with the American syntactic counter-part. Second, it might be a good idea to turn a deaf ear to your preachers and get in touch with people who have been developing some objective knowledge so that they aren`t saying the same things at the age of 80 which they were saying at the age of 8. Third, keep your spelling in a way you are told to do so by standard English grammar. Informatively Yours, Karel
Well he didn't understand because they aren't called "Czech Republicans"--Is that a Bushism?? they're called "Czechs". A lot of them are atheists, there are some devout Catholics. But I read about them being the most atheist country in Europe. What you do to piss people off in this country would be the same as in any other country. Just be courteous.
Hi Rafroel, Atheists form the majority of the Czech population, largely due to the fact that religion was suppressed for 40 years during Communism. There are also people who are Roman Catholic "on paper" but are not in fact believers and do not practice. If I look at all the people I know, I can think of just a very small handfull of those who believe in God. Out of those who are religious, the prevalent religion is Roman Catholic. About 8% of Czechs are Protestant and Orthodox. Some of the things that Czechs specifically don't like about foreigners are arrogance ("we're better than you"), disrespect for our country, ignorance about our country, loud and ostentatious behavior. Czechs appreciate when foreigners are truly interested in learning about their country and language. I'm not going to try and summarize how most Czechs feel about Americans because I don't think there is any obvious pro- or anti-American sentiment that can be applied to the Czech nation as a whole. Everyone has different feelings and of course these days the American foreign policy plays a big role in how the country is being looked upon by the rest of the world. Is your Christian group going to provide you with any kind of information about the Czech Republic before your trip? It seems that if they're organizing a mission to a foreign country, they should make sure that the people who will be going there are familiar enough with the country and have a good understanding of its religious environment. It seems strange that you need to be "asking around" about what to expect and don't even have an idea about how the Czechs feel about religion and God. Or maybe you do but it's not what I got from your post.
Hi Rafroel, It's great to hear that you're going to the Czech Republic on a missions trip!! I've been over there on three (soon to be four) missions trips. I just spent 4 months there living with a Czech family and teaching English in the schools. I wouldn't worry too much about offending people. Just be open and honest and you should be ok. Some people in Prague might be offended just because you're a tourist or an American but if you're in a small Czech town then they will be very warm and hospitable. Czechs can be a bit more conservative then most Americans. Americans are usually louder and more boisterous and Czech will tend to keep to themselves until they get to know you. But sometimes a little craziness can do wonders for allowing people to relate to you. My nickname over there is "crazy" or "monkey" which in czech is something like "blazen" or "opice". I would also recommend trying to learn a few words of czech. You don't need to be able to carry on a conversation but learning a bit of their language will go a long way to showing them that you care. Try to go beyond the basic hello or good bye and learn some fun or silly words. I would also try to learn little of their history too. I wouldn't worry to much about Karel and his being offended at you wanting to spread the the Gospel. There are always going to be individuals who would like to say whatever they want but don't want you to say anything contrary to what they have to say. Have a great time over there!!
I'm going over June 28th and I'll be back on July 14th. We're planning on a team of 15 people over there for an English camp. It's a great format and a great experience. Most of our students are ages 14 to 18 and we get a great chance to interact with them. Our camp is located in northern Czech Republic near the Krkonše mountains. It's a little daunting this year because I'm kinda running things this year and 15 people is more people then we have ever had. We're also planning on 70 students so that will be harder to manage. I hope this year will be our best one ever. Don't worry too much about learning a lot of czech in two weeks. I would pick out a few words to surprise them and maybe a few useful sentences. What is the format of your trip? It sounds like you will be more prepared then we normally are. That should make things go alot more smoothly. Good luck with your trip.
Hi Supershalin, What you call by "spreading the Gospel" I call "indoctrination of the blind by the blind". If your religion is meant to be handled only in this way, then I`ve got a good piece of news for people who believe in reason. The number of Christians is constantly decreasing despite the massive efforts. The second correction of mine is that Democracy, generally speaking, is not about being free to say or do ANYTHING what your whimsical character orders you to say/do ( that`s Anarchy), but about CHOOSING what you DON`T want to say/do (still subject to the law) so that you don`t have to work unless you want to, to give just one example. Lastly, you are absolutetly right that there are always going to be some individuals who will do anything................(I know you don`t really mean it but I am afraid that you`re rather unconsciously paving the way to all suicide-bombers by the definition above). Again, I am quite sure you don`t propagate such atrocities, but it follows from your post. Hope this puts you in the picture Karel PS Sorry, I`ve doubled my post by some mysterious trick. How can I delete one of them? It won`t allow me to send an empty post.
Rafroel, why czech republic? I think they are ok, go somewhere else, or better stay at home and do something what is more usefull. :evil:
Karel, racoon: I really see no reason for starting a flame-war here. If someone wants to come and try their luck in spreading their opinions, I have no problem with that. I think that Czech people are quite reasonable and well informed, and they can decide for themselves what they want to believe. I personally have experienced quite a nice and enyjoyble chat with two Christian girls in my college room recently. I even got a nice book with Lucas's evangelium Yet, surprise, they caused no harm to me. I even did not start to believe in Jesus Christ suddenly I sometimes meet a group of Americans in the streets - they stand there and try to sing Czech religious songs. They are quite cute, sometimes funny, and if you do not wish to talk to them they say just "All right, have a nice day". Not very dangerous or offensive it seems to me... And Rafroel, there surely are "people who like to have nice philosophical conversations about God/religon" - I am one of them
Halef: Thanks for the words of wisdom. That is truly being open minded even if you don't agree with what someone says. Listening and then discussing is the best way to communicate and if more people did that then this world would be a lot better place. Plus, I will admit I sound really silly singing Czech songs but it is a hoot for my Czech friends. They can laugh for hours about it. Racoon: the Czech Republic because it has a significant percentage the population is athiest and was difficult to minister to while the communists were there. Plus, it's not we are picking a random place in a random country. We were invited by a Czech church and some permanent missionaries there. Karel: No one on this board has said anything rude or obnoxious to you but you have been rude and inconsiderate on a few posts here. Your comments "indoctrination of the blind by the blind" and "Why do you want to come to a peaceful country for some religious purposes with a spiteful desire to piss off someone you disagree with?" aren't exactly written of an open and peaceful desire to communicate. They are meant to bully someone who was trying to learn about a culture before traveling there. Rafroel: I'm sure you will enjoy the czech republic. It's a beautiful country with great people. I haven't been to Plzen but I'm sure it will be like the areas I've been to. Let us know how it turns out for you.
Maybe Karel finds preachy religious people annoying?? A lot of people do, I do. Watch the Simpsons and you'll know what I mean. I myself am Atheist. And Atheists and Christians will fight each other always. Like anarchists against fascists. Not that Christians are facists, but the two groups are just complete polar opposites. I think you should question religion and the world...you know question and not follow things blindly---like thinking for yourself, ya know? But that's just my opinion. But why go to a country full of Atheists to talk about God? It just seems that you're trying to change people's opinions and "convert" them. Religion and politics are just really touchy subjects so the mod might as well lock this thread before it gets really ugly here.
hockeygirl_leafs07: I also find preachy religious people annoying but I don't think Rafroel and I are like that and Karel's assumption that we are is very close minded. Rafroel wasn't trying to be preachy, just trying to get information and was very honest about the reasons and look what happened. Being a Christian is part of who we are and part of being a Christian is spreading our beliefs and a normal way to do that is through missions work. We do it because we think it is important to reach people that haven't read the Bible and if a country has a majority of athiests then we figure that it is a good opportunity. The camps I teach at are fun and informational for people but we don't push religion on people. The students know that Christian people will be organizing the camp so they know what they are getting into before hand. They are not required to participate in any activity they don't want to. If they were doing things they don't want to do at our camp , then attendance wouldn't be going up and it wouldn't be necessary to only allow local Czech people to attend. As long as people are willing to discuss things and not take things personally then we can get along quite well. I went to dinner with a Muslim who was staying with a New Age Christian who was married to an athiest and it was a pleasant discussion about all the differences that we had and no one got upset. You said that we should constantly question religion and the world. I try to do that. I just know what I believe.
Yo! Rafroel: What up ? Few things: + You 'love' people, man. You dont 'love on' them. Its perhaps that kind of language that makes people nervous about your intentions. + The name of the country is Czech Republic, and the inhabitants are called Czech. You seem to have been using them haphazardly. Its perhaps mistakes like these that make people think you are probably not as considerate to another culture as you percieve yourself to be. I am not Czech, but I thought people will be more respectful towards you if you perhaps make changes along these lines. later.
If the inhabitants of America are called Americans, the inhabitants of Romania - Romanians, the inhabitants of Serbia - Serbians, etc... , then we - inhabitants of the Czech Republic - must be Czech Republicans . I found it logical.
