And most everyone knows that “Jesus loves you,” is far more effective with children (and most people for that matter) than “You’re going to hell.”

It is a shame that the undirected zeal of some Christians has managed to put off so many from wanting to hear the Gospel. We should always remember that showing love also means being cognizant of each other’s feelings and sensitivities. Like Paul, we should strive to “become all things to all men so that by all possible means [we] might save some.” (I Corinthians 9:22) While I pray for salvation for the lost, I also pray for wisdom for the body of Christ.

Christians are not shoving their religion down your throat. They are obeying the Lord in telling others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

People who have come to the Lord after strong resistance (even sharing your “shoving religion” attitude) see how the Lord was working in their lives. They now understand witnessing to others about salvation through Jesus Christ.

It says in a prophetical book in the Bible known as Isaiah that God’s Word does not return unto him void. God’s Word that was shared with you through your rejection did and is having its God desired effects on you.

I have taken part in on the street and door to door evangelism. I have encountered people like you doing the “turning it around” thing. I along with others continued to pray for those who shared your attitude.

It is all worth it, because many come to the Lord.
Some come early some come later in life. I was a part of planting or cultivating the Salvation Seed. The harvest (accepting Christ as Savior) came through other Christians.

You would have to be above God to have your way about unsolicited witnessing.

When non Christians have approached me about who they worship. I let them know I am saved through Jesus Christ and share with them (as long as they want to listen) about Jesus Christ taking the punishment for what they have done wrong through my bible scriptures. Of course I pray for them after the encounter. I tell other Christians so that they can pray for them too.

So Jack guess what? I will be praying for you.

Hi Trish,

I mean people who knock on my door and try to preach to me after I politely tell them that I haven’t any interest. It has happened more than once.

I suspect that what you call “turning it around” means making a violent attack on people who approach you with love.

No, there is nothing violent about it, unless you consider poking holes in an argument to be violent.

And you should know that even things that are done in love can be viewed as hostile. When a child tells my children that they are going to hell because they do not believe as he does there is a problem.

I don’t assume that the child is acting maliciously or intentionally trying to hurt my children. But I am sure that you can appreciate that the end result of this is that it creates issues.

Because now my children come to me and ask why “Jimmy” says that they are going to hell. I in turn explain that we all have different beliefs. I prefer to leave it at that, but the conversation doesn’t necessarily end there.

“Jimmy” continues to try and push my children so I help to protect them by giving them more reasons why “Jimmy” is misguided, wrong and confused.

I am sure that you can see how this puts us on a path of conflict. It is one that I prefer not to engage in. What good is served by having an emotional debate with people because ultimately religion comes back to emotion.

Trish,

We disagree about whether religion is a tool or not. I call it a tool because it is a set of beliefs that you can choose to accept or deny.

And under those beliefs great good has been done as well as great evil.

You can look at various ministries that have worked hard to help the downtrodden as being examples of good.

At the same time you can look at the Inquisition and Crusades as being instruments of evil. How many people were unnecessarily tortured or murdered in the name of religion.

It is a tool like so many other things. How you use it helps to determine its value.

What especially gets me is the refrain; “There are many roads to God.”

Oh yeah? On what authority? Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and practically every other religion makes no allowance for alternative routes to “paradise”, nirvana” or what have you.

Paganism is one “religion” that allows for a pluralistic pathway to gods. In their case, introducing another “way” just means adding yet another god to their pantheon for appeasement.

They’re all exclusive in their own way. It naturally follows then that they all can’t be right. So one has to drill down and deduce the truth.

Take the Judeo-Christian precepts, and that spawn of Satan, Islam. All three claim a common root in Abraham:

* The Jews are still waiting for the Messiah — prophesied as a lamb since the founding of the Jewish nation — theoretically, he would come after the Temple is rebuilt.
* The Christians say that He has already come, and been sacrificed by His own who refused to accept Him as the Son of God.
* The Muslims, say all of the above is bunk and that God speaks only to the lineage of Ismael and the sacrificial lamb is everyone who partakes of jihad to the bitter end. Never mind that Mohammed came centuries after Christ.

In any case, regardless of what one believes, it is all predicated on faith, even for the agnostics and atheists — faith in a truth unseen.

When you talk about “unsolicited witnessing” what do you mean? Do you mean, “witnessing to people who have expressed overt hostility to Christianity” or do you mean, “witnessing to people who don’t know Christianity”? How many people these days do know Christianity? Very few. I suspect that what you call “turning it around” means making a violent attack on people who approach you with love. You would react defensively in such a situation, too.

What you call “religion” is nothing more nor less than an individual’s relationship with the universe. It is not a “tool.” It is your life, wheter you realize it or not.

I just don’t like unsolicited witnessing and find it obnoxious and offensive. I have usually found that if I turn it around on whomever is doing it they get really defensive.

If I had my way unsolicited witnesssing just wouldn’t happen.

That being said I think that religion can be a very good thing and a tremendous way to help people. Like any other tool it all depends upon how it is used.

Michelle, what you say is interesting. I once, years ago, had a brief discussion about the nature of God, and it was the atheist who asserted that “if God exists, He exists as an objective being.” The woman who claimed to be a Christian said that “God changes according to what you believe about Him” I objected to that, and she quickly changed the subject.

Of course, not all ideas about God are correct, but it’s nonsense to suppose that because not all of them are correct, none of them can be.

Excellent post, La Shawn. Much food for thought here.

I pray that the person you witnessed too will stay in contact and more importantly, come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Everyone reading this may have a different picture of me in their minds, but I’ll tell you: I’m a young woman, blonde with blue eyes, and speak with a Texas accent. Anyone who still persists in claiming I’m a middle-aged bald man from Pennsylvania just because they believe it, and reject the “exclusivity” of me being only who I am, must be a fool.