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]

Acid Bath Slayer, you had mentioned earlier that there other locations on this website that deal specifically with Creation vs. evolution. Could I trouble you to give me the link to it, please ?

Now you're just trying to scare people into thinking "omg - I dont want to go to Hell! I better say I believe that then".

To me, thats one of the major flaws in the Christian faith. So many people are witnessed to, and come out of the situation scared to death that they're going to Hell. And usually, they end up "accepting" Christ out of fear, instead of truly believing in him.

And you cant deny thats not true. I go to a Christian school, and I sit in Chapel (which is basically a church service) every single day. Every day the same thing is preached - salvation. And every day at the end of the service, we spend a good 5 minutes praying, and the preacher wanting kids to raise their hands. You wouldnt believe how many new kids are scared into raising their hands the first day of school. Its pathetic.

If someone had no concept of gravity and had no clue what would happen if they jumped out of a plane at 25,000 feet, what would be the best way to get them to put on a parachute ? Would you simply discuss the concept while within the pressurized cabin drinking your soda and eating your peanuts ? Would you tell them that the parachute will improve their flight or make it, somehow, more comfortable ? Or, rather, would you open the door, hang them outside for a few seconds, and let them understand what would happen if they were to step out of their comfortable surroundings ?

"Hell-fire" preaching is one thing. It produces those you mentioned ("I don't want to go to Hell") -- fear-filled converts. This kind of preaching simply presents someone with the desire to jump out of the line going to Hell and into the line going to Heaven. They have no problem with going to Heaven. They most likely, though, still don't want to be around God.

Then there's the kind of modern evangelical preaching that simply says that you should "accept Jesus into your heart" because only He can provide true peace, happiness, joy, etc.. No mention of what would happen without the parachute on. Jesus is used simply as a means to make the flight more comfortable. This is in no way Biblical and the fruit borne of it is false converts. They say they're Christians, but there's no commitment to the One who has done so much for them. Once they perceive hard times (their flight gets some turbulence), they reject the jesus that was supposed to make their flight smooth and say, "Yeah. I was a Christian, but it just didn't stick." They rip the parachute from their back feeling offended that the person who told them about it was a liar. They'll certainly never put THAT thing back on again.

Biblical Evangelism is always Law to the proud, Grace to the humble. This is how the Old Covenant and the New Covenant show it to be done. Since I know you don't believe the Bible, I guess this probably doesn't mean much. But, as a Bible-Believer, my desire is to do things the way the Bible says to. So, when sharing the Truth about Christ with others, the Law is used to show people of the "jump" to come -- off this Earth and into eternity -- only one of two places to go according to the Bible. Once this is understood and there's a desire for someone to turn away from those sins that have led them away from the Lord, the gift that God has made available can be presented. At that point, the person who truly understands that they deserve judgment is going to come to the cross as a tear-filled convert knowing what God did in order to allow them to be with Him.

The first brings people who just want to avoid judgment. The second brings people looking for some sort of spiritual guarantee of their life here on Earth. The last brings people who have humble gratitude and want to thank the One who makes it possible to be with Him.

Even more pathetic, people end up targeting children. I know so many kids that are Christians, and have been since they were 3 and 4 years old. They dont know any different. You can make a little kid believe anything.

Do you make a distinction between the following: (1) "targeting" other people's children and (2) raising your own children with your own beliefs ?

If God sees me as badly as you have said (blasphemous... etc), I see that because He designed me with the weakness to become those things, He should have no grounds complaint.

But, don't you see that His "design" for you also included the ability to know not to do those things ? It included a conscience that should lead you to grieve that you've done a countless number of things to offend and deny the God that gave you life. In performing those acts of rebellion against Him, you actively reject Him. The "design" was that you would have a choice either to follow what you know to be right or to make a choice against the One who wants you to follow with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Years ago, there was a case of rape in South Florida and the judge literally ruled that it was the woman's fault for dressing the way she did. How unconscionable is that !!?? Because the guy who got away with it was "made" with that weakness, do you think that the judge should have no grounds for convicting ? Clearly, this judge's rule was flat-out wrong. There's no excuse for that to happen to anyone. No judge worth his appointment would ever allow for a crime to occur without due penalty. As a good and righteous Judge, He will bring right justice.

Have you ever been given a ticket for speeding and you just didn't know the speed limit ? Even ignorance of the law is no excuse. But in His Mercy, He did give each person a conscience to know that they've gone against His Will.

[Spirited Away]

But, don't you see that His "design" for you also included the ability to know not to do those things ? It included a conscience that should lead you to grieve that you've done a countless number of things to offend and deny the God that gave you life. In performing those acts of rebellion against Him, you actively reject Him. The "design" was that you would have a choice either to follow what you know to be right or to make a choice against the One who wants you to follow with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Years ago, there was a case of rape in South Florida and the judge literally ruled that it was the woman's fault for dressing the way she did. How unconscionable is that !!?? Because the guy who got away with it was "made" with that weakness, do you think that the judge should have no grounds for convicting ? Clearly, this judge's rule was flat-out wrong. There's no excuse for that to happen to anyone. No judge worth his appointment would ever allow for a crime to occur without due penalty. As a good and righteous Judge, He will bring right justice.
Have you ever been given a ticket for speeding and you just didn't know the speed limit ? Even ignorance of the law is no excuse. But in His Mercy, He did give each person a conscience to know that they've gone against His Will.

You said, and I quote, that if I've lied, stolen, used the Lord's Name in vain, looked at someone with lustful thoughts, then I am a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. While He instilled in me the the ability not to do those things, He also gave me the weakness to be tempted and seduced by them. Put a cookie in front of a child and he/she will reach for it. He created us in His image, but we do not inherit His Perfection, therefore, He should not fault us for the sins that we were too weak "at heart", too imperfect, to reject.

There is no excuse for that to happen to anyone, you're absolutely right, but there is reason for it. Note that reasons do not excuse, they simply explain. The rapist, in his weak, troubled mind, rejected his conscience, plain and simple. What made him weak if not his own imperfections?

If God is a good and righteous Judge as you say, He will indeed grant true justice, taken all things in consideration, including our deficiencies.

Ignorance of the law is not excusable, but it is a reason why I would have been caught speeding. Who made me ignorant? Myself, perhaps, but my imperfections guided me.