There are few groups of people that irritate me more than missionaries.
In fact, I hate missionaries. I'm sorry, but there's nothing wrong with indigenous religion. Oh my goodness, they're not Chistian?! Cluch the pearls! Horror!

Give me a goddamn break. Why do they feel that non-Christian religions are inferior to their own? Why do they feel that non-Chrsitians are in dire need of saving? (OK, I do know the answer to that one...but it's bullshit.) Plenty of non-Christians have done just fine without Jesus, thankyouverymuch:

*Pagan Romans produced amazing artworks depicting their gods and goddesses. Their temples weren't half bad, either.

*Muslims pioneered geometry, built amazing mosques, and made a shitload of scientific discoveries while the Christian Europeans were scratching their lice and starving to death.

*Chinese Confucianists (or maybe it was the Taoists...one or the other, anyway) discovered and harnessed gun powder.

*Greek philosophers weren't Christian...but they sure as hell were smart.

*Hindus were among the first to discover the number zero (it's weird to think of zero as a discovery, but it was) and use it in mathematical calculations.

I also hate missionaries because they feel that they need to go and "civilize" the indigenous world. All I have to say is this: the crusades were not terribly civilized.

The world would be a much better place if the missionaries would just lay off and leave people to their own beliefs. Religious variety is a good thing, I think. It would be even better if people didn't have to play the "My God is better than your God" game...but I suspect that won't stop any time soon.

Anyway...missionaries suck. I hate them.

OK, cool hybrid religions - Vodou and Santeria, for example - occasionally come about as a result of forcing Christianity on people. Unfortunately, missionary work more often leads to the systematic destruction (and complete loss) of religious systems and cultures. That sucks. So...I still hate missionaries.