A man was attacked and injured after jumping into a lion’s den at the Taipei Zoo and trying to convert the lions to Christianity.
The 46-year-old man leaped into the den of African lions and shouted “Jesus will save you,” according to the report. He also said, “Come bite me” before one of the male lions attacked and bit the man. -[u]story[/u]
I wonder if there is a parallel, or a greater political implication here, in the attempt to save the world.
Reckon why this never occurred to the early Roman Christians? Quite the spectacle. All the crowds with their thumbs out and shouting, and the Christian with his water there, baptizing the lions.
“Missionary Exposes Lions to Inanity”
Well, the lions paid attention to him, anyway…
I couldn’t find any Chinese-language reports on Google, but, from the English, this just looks like really bad theology, if he was claiming that lions are subject to salvation. No wonder they beat him up.
Was he inspired by the story of Daniel? Or, maybe he had just been to see Androcles and the Lion and missed the point about the thorn? (The 1952 movie was one of my favorites as a kid.)
Darwin, I never did a search for other perspectives, but just Googled and found this. Now I’m very disturbed by the potential parallels and even deeper implication. Check out these [u]hilarious headlines[/u].
[u]Mentally disordered man jumps into lion’s pit[/u]
A man who suffers from a mental disorder jumped into the lion¡¦s pit at the Taipei City Zoo on Wednesday. The forty-six-year-old intentionally provoked the lion by waving his jacket like a bullfighter. The aggravated tiger then attacked the man, but he was saved eventually after the zoo staff anesthetized the tiger with rifle shot.
¡§Come out or you will die,¡¨ shouted one visitor warning the man.The man, dressed in a white shirt and black pants, first began provoking the big cat while standing outside the lion¡¦s pit. At first, the lions didn¡¦t pay much attention to the man. But when he began waving his jacket at the ferocious animal, the lion finally jumped and attacked the man.
¡§ What is that guy doing, so scary I can¡¦t watch this. Let¡¦s go get help from the zoo staff,¡¨ said another visitor passing by. Visitors walking by were all petrified at the man¡¦s action. The lion left teeth marks on the man¡¦s arm and left leg, but the man still did not stop aggravating the big cat. He began to mumble prayers to the lion with both arms open wide. Almost seems as if he was trying to imitate Daniel in the Den from the bible.
This visitor used his jacket to provoke our lions. Our lions did bite him, but after the lion took away his jacket the lions also left him alone,¡¨ said one zoo staff. The incident happened around 11:30 in the morning. The zoo staff called the police immediately for assistance, as the lion had not yet been fed, and they were afraid that it might devour the man. The police mobilized a team with loaded rifles, and the fire department was also standing by with fire trucks.
Despite the warning signs in the African Animal Area, which are clearly labeled ¡§the lion¡¦s pit¡¨ the man just climbed the two-story high concrete wall and jumped down into the animal¡¦s home. Luckily, he suffered only minor bite wounds, unlike the innocent lions, who were anesthetized and quarantined. The lions will leave their display area temporarily for health checks, so as to make sure that they will not suffer any after-effects of the drugs.
The lion’s body language is clearly saying, “Get away from me, you lunatic.”
Tony
I don’t believe Christian theology assigns a need for redemption to animals. Isn’t the need the exclusive province of humanity?
Both humans and animals posess souls, but only the human soul is immortal and actually “goes somewhere” after death. The animal soul (being mortal) just ceases to be, rendering it useless to attempt to “save” it.
was one of my favs too . . . I actually still have the LP recording of the story told by one of those guys that did the Disney voice, Sterling Holloway, or something like that?
A group of missionaries were travaling through the jungles, when their guide stopped in horror, at an approaching group of tribesmen.
“What’s wrong?” asked one of the missionaries.
“This is a notorious cannibalistic tribe,” replied the guide.
“Well,” said the Missionary, “I’m not worried… see… they’re Christians… they’re praying!”
The guide, still quite horrified, responded, “They’re saying, ‘We thank Thee, Lord, for this meal which we are about to receive.’”
…Longpork…the other…other white meat.
The animal kingdom seems to get all the breaks. . .
There’s no real connection here, but the thread brings to mind what Ghandi had to say during an interview. When asked what his favorite thing was about Christianity, he replied, “Christ.” When asked what his least favorite thing was about Christianity he replied, “Christians.”
Then there was the Incan, Mayan or Aztec leader (I don’t remember which one exactly) who chose being put to death by the Spanish over being baptized (saved?) and spending eternity in heaven. When asked why he was choosing to die, he replied, “Would not heaven be full of people like you?”
I wish I had known of those two stories back in Catholic school. The nuns would have gotten a kick out of them . . . as I’m sure my rear end would have also. 
(For those of you who don’t understand my comment about the nuns, let’s just say that during the '60s some were not exactly known for being gentle creatures.)
Will O’Ban
Speaking of souls, nuns and the '60s, I recall the nuns saying there was a man back then who was offering quite a sum of money (in the millions) to anyone who could prove without a doubt that he had a soul. All of you philosophers and theologians out there may want to consider this offer if you’re looking to make a few extra bucks.
The only thing is . . . that offer may no longer stand, as his soul may have since gone on to a better place.
Will O’Ban
Trying to evangelize lions is akin to trying to teach a pig to sing - it frustrates you and it annoys the pig.
Mike
what a fool…
poor guy is probably schizophrenic, caught in his delirium.
you mean like…annoys, anoints, anoinks?
That reminds me of a fellow who use to travel to Montreal every summer to convert Rabbis to Christianity. He asked one Rabbi what he thought about Christ and he replied, “when I read about Christ, I think he was a good man.” And when asked about Christians he replied, “when I read about Christians, I feel sorry for Christ.”
Reminds me of one of my favorite entries from The](http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/devilsdictionary%22%3EThe) Devil’s Dictionary:
I don’t think Bierce was all there frankly. Either he was already on the edge or his US Civil War experiences drove him over. I love most of his work though. My favorite is “Incident at Owl Creek”. Great short story.
The one about the soldier being hung? I loved that story. Thank you for reminding me of
the name, I’d been meaning to read it again. Nice twist at the end.