1 post tagged “evangelism”
For the past few weeks my church has been talking about the subject of "evangelism" (i.e. the "promulgation of the gospel"). I think it's good for Christians to think through this issue. With the busyness of life and the increasingly secular nature of our society, I find that Christians can easily turn inward and become self-absorbed. Too often we think of "evangelism" as the duty of the full-time pastor or missionary, and disregard the fact that Jesus' Great Commission wasn't limited as such. Other than attending the periodic "out-reach" event put on at church, much of my Christian life has been self-centered. Why am I so hesitant in revealing my faith to my co-workers? Why do I shy away from discussing spiritual matters with my non-Christian friends? What does it say about me when I am more concerned of social awkwardness or my reputation, than I am of my friend's salvation? Penn Jillette, the American comedian/magician (from "Penn & Teller") is an outspoken atheist. His essay titled "There is no God" in NPR's "This I Believe" series is one of their top 25 most viewed essays since they started this program more than 50yrs ago. Despite his firm disbelief in God, he tells in a separate account of how he was moved by an encounter he had with a Christian. He describes how the man walked over to him, complimented him on the show and handed him a Gideons New Testament: "And he said, 'I wrote in the front of it, and I wanted you to have this. I'm kind of proselytizing,'" Jillette said. "And then he said, 'I'm a businessman. I'm sane. I'm not crazy.' And he looked me right in the eyes. It was really wonderful. I believe he knew that I was an atheist. But he was not defensive, and he looked me right in the eyes… And he was truly complimentary. It didn't seem like empty flattery. He was really kind and nice and sane and looked me in the eyes and talked to me and then gave me this Bible… This guy was a really good guy. He was polite and honest and sane, and he cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible, which had written in it a little note to me -- not very personal, but just 'Liked your show,' and then listed five phone numbers for him and an e-mail address if I wanted to get in touch." Reflecting on this encounter, Jillette then commented on Christians who don't evangelize. "I don't respect that [Christians not evangelizing] at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, and atheists who think that people shouldn't proselytize -- 'Just leave me alone, keep your religion to yourself.' "How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?" Jillette asked. "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn't believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there's a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that."
