My personal experience of evangelism

[JonathanL]

Can you name the exact congregation you have in mind so that I know to avoid them? In the 25 years I've been an orthodox Christian, I've never ever seen any evangelists evangelize out of fear or punishment. Ever. That idea is so alien and non-representational of the reality that I've witnessed personally, that I can't help but think you're assuming this based on some sort of odd media-driven stereotype of some sort.

Don't feed the .

[firstfloor]

Can you name the exact congregation you have in mind so that I know to avoid them? In the 25 years I've been an orthodox Christian, I've never ever seen any evangelists evangelize out of fear or punishment. Ever. That idea is so alien and non-representational of the reality that I've witnessed personally, that I can't help but think you're assuming this based on some sort of odd media-driven stereotype of some sort.

It has nothing to do with congregations. The offer contained in the Christian message is much more serious than, say, the offer of a cheese that you might enjoy. What do you think happens to a person if he is shown the ‘way’ and then withholds his love, devotion and obedience?

Nearly May, snow?!!? Altitude all of 95m!

[firstfloor]

Don't feed the .

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
― Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

[Cow Poke]

Another very serious problem for evangelists is that they are either acting out of fear of being punished for leaving lost souls behind

Wow, in over 40 years of evangelism, I have never encountered THAT "logic" before. That's just dumb.

or they are exploiting other people’s fear of damnation.

I have never EVER had to exploit somebody's fears of damnation or anything else - I have offered the love and peace of Christ.

To put it crudely they are either cowards or charlatans.

Well, that's not only crudely put, but is a steaming pile of horsie poo.

[Cow Poke]

It has nothing to do with congregations. The offer contained in the Christian message is much more serious than, say, the offer of a cheese that you might enjoy. What do you think happens to a person if he is shown the ‘way’ and then withholds his love, devotion and obedience?

We put them on our prayer list.

[shunyadragon]

You make very little sense. Your first paragraph praises the passing on of knowledge. Your second paragraph condemns it.

You've got a massively begged question. You're not comparing apples with apples.


In short, while on first glance your post appears eminently sensible, it's full of so much bad logic that it's worthless. THIS WILL NOT DO.

I understand him very well even, though I may not totally agree with him. It depends on what knowledge is being passed on and how. He believes the passing on the knowledge of science in the manner it does. He does not approve of how knowledge is sometimes passed on in Christianity, particularly evangelism which depends heavily depends heavily on an emotional connection to the knowledge.

[pancreasman]

First Floor, at this point you are generating more heat than light in this thread (and I think you're doing it provocatively). As OP I'm going to ask you not to post anymore.

[Darth Executor]

firstfloor is my favorite tweb atheist

[firstfloor]

First Floor, at this point you are generating more heat than light in this thread (and I think you're doing it provocatively). As OP I'm going to ask you not to post anymore.

Done. I will impersonate a church mouse.

[One Bad Pig]

As far as I'm aware most* confessional Lutheran denominations (which are the only genuine Lutherans IMO ) require you to get catechised before you're allowed to receive communion in their churches.

Lutherans are unusual among Protestants in that they practice closed communion.

[JonathanL]

Lutherans are unusual among Protestants in that they practice closed communion.

Lutherans are the original Protestants.


But only confessional Lutherans practice closed communion. The ELCA for example practice open communion.

[One Bad Pig]

This method of conversion in the Catholic and Orthodox church may count towards why those denominations are shrinking, and why Islam (in the Northern hemisphere) and Protestantism (in the Southern hemisphere) are filling in the gap.

Islam is growing mostly through a high birth rate and immigration, and the NoI's identity with black empowerment doesn't hurt either. South America is something like 90% Christian, and AFAIK that is mostly Roman Catholic. In that situation, the odds are extremely good that the small minority is going to have a better growth rate and a smaller percentage of nominal believers, and so conversion is almost inevitably going to be in the direction of the minority. I would like to see where you're getting your data. Eastern Orthodoxy is growing in Africa, and is growing in Guatemala (the only SA country for which I have much knowledge of Orthodoxy) so fast they're having a difficult time accommodating it; the Hatian mission desperately needs more priests. Part of the problem with Orthodoxy's expansion in this hemisphere is that it was established to mostly serve immigrant communities in their native language, and those communities tend to want to maintain that language in worship as part of their culture - which makes proselytizing rather difficult and makes it more likely that children will grow up and leave because they don't understand what's going on.

[Juvenal]

Lutherans are unusual among Protestants in that they practice closed communion.

Lutherans are the original Protestants. But only confessional Lutherans practice closed communion.

When my nephews were tiny, they'd ask why I didn't take communion when visiting my brother's church. I told them, "I'm not a Lutheran."



It didn't exactly fool them, but it wasn't really intended to do so. They knew I simply sat quietly without bowing my head when grace was said, because they peeked, the rapscallions! Still, it did make another point I could stress when they were older, that differences in our religious beliefs could be respected.

[One Bad Pig]

Lutherans are the original Protestants.

No, they were the original Evangelicals.

But only confessional Lutherans practice closed communion. The ELCA for example practice open communion.

But those aren't Real Lutherans^TM.

[JonathanL]

No, they were the original Evangelicals.

Semantics.

But those aren't Real Lutherans^TM.

True.