How to sell Christianity to eskimos

Imagine that you are a Christian missionary. Your job is to go to Alaska and convert the native people to Christianity.

When you're pitching your God to people back home, you might say something like, "You are the lamb of God."

But there are no lambs in Alaska. If you say "lamb" to an eskimo, he won't know what the hell you're talking about.

So when Christian missionaries went to Alaska, they didn't tell the eskimos "you are the lamb of God." Instead, they told them, "you are the seals of God."

They made the same point — but they did it in a way their audience could understand!

Christian missionaries do this wherever they go. They adapt their sales pitch for the local audience.

For example, when they converted the Vikings, they learned that the Vikings respected strength. In Viking culture, you were right or wrong based on whether you could win a fight.

So the Christian missionaries told them, "you know your God, Odin? Our God could kick his ass."

When you're selling anything to anyone, you have to speak in their terms.

-Theo