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?

[sdingfelder]

For anyone else reading this thead, please don't lose sight of the most important thing: your eternal destiny.

Has anyone heard the saying, "Your eyes are the windows to your soul." Would anyone sell one of their eyes for a million dollars ? How about both of them for 10 million ? You'd be crazy to say "Yes". Of course you wouldn't -- your eyes are precious to you !!

So, why would you take a chance on your eternal, everlasting soul when it's SO much more precious that either one of your eyes ??

Please consider that none of us have tomorrow promised to us. If you were to stand in front of a Holy and Righteous God and be judged based on your "goodness", you'd be found greatly lacking. Your sentence would have to be "Guilty" because God is love. As He loves righteousness, He must hate the transgression from righteousness.

Know that, as I believe everyone is here, I get nothing from saying these words to you. My only interest is to help you not be found "Guilty" on the day you're judged by God.

If I saw you park in a parking lot and stopped you to tell you that I've worked on cars for many years and I noticed that you have a very bad brake fluid leak, would you get upset with me because I cared enough to tell you ? Would you be so prideful that you would reject my input because you'd never met me before. Simply out of a desire for your safety, someone approaches you to please do something to repair what could possibly kill you. Wouldn't you want to check it out before you got back in your car to drive away ? Wouldn't you want to check for yourself as opposed to basing a decision on anyone else ?

If I told you that I had a gift for you and I pull it out of a bag and hold it in front of you, when does it become yours ?? It's not yours because I say I have a gift for you. It's not yours when I pull it out of the bag. It's not even yours when I present it to you. It's only yours when you take it from my hand and you make it your own. That's how a gift is accepted.

Please consider your need to repent and ask God to forgive you for breaking the Law that He's put on your heart. Please ask Him to give you His free gift of salvation. Every time someone shares the Gospel with you, God is holding the Gift in front of you. It's your choice to accept it or not...