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?

[flc]

Umm..no offence to anyone here, but I think Evangelists are insane.

If they were devout Christians, they'd know not to judge people, & tell them where they're going in the Afterlife. They'd know that they are only mere humans & it's God's decision, not theirs, where a person will end up. These people take everything in the Bible so literally; they must have never heard the saying, "God works in mysterious ways," because really, they don't know, a guy could be on his deathbed, an Atheist his whole life, & then suddenly have a transformation that would make him believe, & he could end up going to heaven after all. {This isn't what I believe, mind you, this is just what I've been taught.}

I just think that good Christians wouldn't try to take God's job in bringing people closer to him. I believe that good Christians would "save" people, so to speak, by living a good life & setting a good example, not being so pushy & up in people's faces.

Once, a Jehova's Witness rang my doorbell for 30 minutes straight. I, honestly, was about to come out and nail 'I AM NOT F*CKING CONVERTING' on my door.

My gosh. Couldn't you have been like, "Listen, buddy, if you don't knock it off I'm going to call the cops on you for harrassment."?

[Ington]

My gosh. Couldn't you have been like, "Listen, buddy, if you don't knock it off I'm going to call the cops on you for harrassment."?

It seemed as though my voice couldn't pass the barrier around their heads. I eventually did come out and tell the woman I was going to eat her soul if she didn't leave, though.

By the way, don't do that. Ever. I was lucky, because she didn't think I was serious. Many of them are fanatics, and they would have burned my house down because of that. Whew.

Thank you for saying what I was basically thinking.

[flc]

It seemed as though my voice couldn't pass the barrier around their heads. I eventually did come out and tell the woman I was going to eat her soul if she didn't leave, though.

By the way, don't do that. Ever. I was lucky, because she didn't think I was serious. Many of them are fanatics, and they would have burned my house down because of that. Whew.

Lol.

But..you serious? That's pretty scary shit. That angers me a lot. Fanatics are stoopid.

& I'm more sane than Evan, ignore him.