Evangelism Options

[yummy_delight]

A good friend of mine and I recently got into a heated debate about evangelism. We're both Christians, but we have very different ideas about evangelism. When my friend started getting really involved in church a few years ago, he also became a rampant evangelist. He believes that by bringing more people into the church he is not only saving them from eternal damnation, but also doing his duty as a Christian. He has often quoted Charles Spurgeon, saying "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter," essentially stating that you can't truly be Christian without evangelizing non believers.

I, however, don't like the idea of evangelism at all. Although I'm a devout Catholic, I dislike the idea of evangelism because I don't believe that anybody, myself included, has the right to force his or her beliefs on someone else. I think that everybody has a right to be whatever the religion they choose. Perhaps it's because I have a different idea about God than other people. I don't think that God sends honestly good people to Hell just because they don't believe in him. There are such things as Christian people who are hypocritical, paying lip service to God at church on Sundays, and still go about causing harm to other people. In my opinion, these people are less deserving of heaven than the good-hearted people whose only "fault" is that they don't believe in God. I think that my duty as a Christian is to be a good person and have a positive impact on the world, which doesn't necessarily mean that I HAVE to be an evangelist.

I'd just like to know what everyone else's opinion is on this, not merely from a Christian standpoint, but from another religion's or atheist's perspective as well. Do you approve of evangelism? Are you an evangelist? Do you think that evangelism is a necessary requirement for all good Christians?

[fifthing]

I fully agree with your stance on the matter. I prefer my faith to be a personal thing, so while I myself am Catholic, I'm socially liberal in my opinions. I base my actions and judgements not upon what is spelled out in the bible , because it should not be taken that literally, or what I'm told to do by others, but rather on what feels right, which is under no circumstances to force someone to change their beliefs or behavior unless they are causing palpable or plausible harm to themselves or others. Thus, making someone unhappy out of arrogance that my beliefs are the only correct ones is hardly on my agenda. There is too much doubt in the world for that. If my faith were ever to grow to such a militant extent, I would have to seriously reconsider, as that seems to be one of the most hypocritical things possible.