Let’s preach the Gospel to any one, any where, and at any time; let’s share it as gently, lovingly, patiently, and as often as we can; because if we truly love our neighbor, then preach it we must.
-Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries
I hear from a lot of people that religion is something that is to be kept private. That you shouldn't share it with other people for fear of offending or hurting them. This is something I've never understood for this very simple reason: If you believe you know of the one and only way to Heaven, why would you not shout from the rooftops and try to help everyone understand?! Especially if the only alternative to Heaven, is Hell, a place of eternal damnation, punishment and torture.
If you know your friend, co-worker, family member, classmate, or neighbor (just to name a few) did not believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and would not be given access to Heaven upon death, why would you not share it with them? I don't understand it, and unfortunately, it's one of Satan's best tricks.
Granted, there are ways of sharing the Gospel, and there are ways to not share the Gospel. The best way I have found is to develop a relationship with people, and then let them know of God's love for them. I know it's a corny saying, but I've found it to be true; people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Love for people is crucial when explaining the Gospel, but love for truth and love for the Lord is even more crucial.
I've always wondered how Christians and other proselytizing-focused religions (are there others? Christianity is the only one that comes to my mind) would react if, say, Pagans came preaching and evangelizing to them- lovingly, patiently, as often as they could. Perhaps there are a few amazing ones who would listen without angry response . . . but I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I hope everybody remembers that Christianity is supposed to be about respect- and that includes respecting someone's wishes to not be spoken to about religion. "Gently", "lovingly", "patiently", with a well-founded relationship behind it or not, if you don't want to hear it, you should be able to ask and have the preaching stop.
I'm celebrating almost 15 years of friendship between myself (atheist-sympathizing, sometimes non-practicing Pagan) and my amazingly devout Christian best friend . . . who has shared many a theological discussion with me, who has answered all my questions, who has inspired me, but who has never, not once, ever tried to preach to me, evangelize, proselytize, convert me, or "lead me to God". I love her for that.
Dang it, I had a comment all typed out in response to yours and it was deleted! Anyway, here's a gist of what I said:
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback! I do agree with you on one thing, if someone makes it clear that they do not wish to be preached to, I do think that wish should be respected. One thing I disagree with you on, is when you say that Christianity is about respecting people. It is actually about glorifying God and believing His truth. That's not to say that respect never comes up, but it is more of a result of living a life glorifying to the Lord rather than the cause of it. As we Christians like to say, it's a "fruit" and not a "seed". ;)
You have a fair point in your first paragraph when you talk about Christians getting angry when someone with differing beliefs talks about them. Unfortunately, there are far more hypocrites in the church that call themselves Christians than I would like there to be.
I know with me personally, I have had many conversations with people of differing beliefs, some were trying to persuade me, others were just looking for a good conversation or debate. I really enjoy talking to people about such things and I hope I have more opportunities to do so.
I hope this clarified or expanded what I was meaning a bit for you, and I hope to see you around more!