Second part to my first question.....?

Question

So, knowing that I am a Pagan, would you be willing to befriend me for the person I am on the inside, or would you just befriend a 'lost soul' in the hopes of converting me?

Be honest please and don't worry about offending me.

Answer 1

I would be your friend just because I liked you. It doesn't matter to me what you are in your beliefs. I wouldn't want to covert you anymore then I would want you to convert me. You accept me for who I am

Answer 2

Actually, knowing you are Pagan would not affect why I befriended you at all. It might affect our later friendship. Not because I wouldn't like you. I may or may not like you. But because generally, people tend to hang with people like themselves. Since I'm a Christian and Christianity is involved in every part of my life, it may be that we would have less in common than you would have with another Pagan, or than I would have with another Christian. In that case our friendship might not take as deep a root because of it.

If you chose to become a Christian, I would be pleased. If you didn't, I would think that you had a right to chose any religion--or lack of same--that you wanted, just like I do.

As far as befriending you in hopes of converting your 'lost soul,' I don't mean to sound uncaring, but regarding your soul being lost or not: your soul's salvation is really your responsibility--not mine.

My influence on you is my responsibility. What you do about it, is yours. So all I have to do is be who I am. You will either want to emulate me or not. That's up to you.

Answer 3

I would be willing to befriend you for who you are. We could probably be good friends. And because of that friendship, I would want to share the truth with you, not a religion the truth... Romans 10:13

Answer 4

Assuming we had other non-religous things in common, I hope I would befriend you for you. However, I don't know. The only friend I've had that wasn't Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Siek (spelling?) was just starting to dabble in Paganism when I moved and lost contact with her.

Answer 5

Befriend you for the person you are.
--
My responsibility as a Christian is to share the gospel with you and leave the results up to you and God.

It is not my job to convert you.
--

For a brief explanation of the gospel (of salvation through Jesus Christ), see http://www.godsci.org/gs/new/essence.html

I used to be an atheist. Over a period of time however, I grew convinced of the existence of the Christian God, and ultimately committed my life to Christ.

Cordially,
John

Answer 6

From a Christian perspective, this is a somewhat tricky question, actually. I'll do my best, though, because you seem genuinely interested in knowing.

As a Christian, I want people to convert to Christianity. This is really just a natural part of believing in something. If, for example, I believed people could rub lamps and have genies pop out and make their lives better, I'd be sending lamps to everyone I knew. But, I don't believe in genie lamps, I believe in Christianity. Christianity makes my life better. Part of believing in Christianity is believing that Christianity can make anyone's life better, so I want people to become Christians because I believe it will make them happier and make their lives better.

Obviously, not everyone agrees with me, though. If you did, you'd be a Christian. Keeping in mind what I just said, though, it wouldn't make any sense for me to try to force you to convert. Keeping common sense and general knowledge in mind, it's also not very likely that I'll be able to convince you with my words that Christianity is a better life. This leads to a famous Christian quote from St. Francis: "Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."

If I'm right about Christianity and if it really is a better life, people should be able to see that when they look at me.

So, how would I treat a Pagan friend? Well, let me make another analogy:

Imagine I have a friend who frequently gets upset with people and carries a grudge against them. Imagine this person also goes through a lot of relationships that usually end poorly. I can tell that neither of these things makes her happy. I believe that if she'd just let some things go and not get into relationships with people she barely knows or with just plain losers, that she'd be happier. So, what can I do? If I start trying to convince her that she needs to act differently, she'll likely get upset and not want to be around me... and with good reason, I have no business telling her how to live her life, but I do want her to be happy. So, I try to show her what it's like to NOT live like that, that is, what's it's like to live without fighting, holding grudges and dating losers. Hopefully she'll see the difference (if there really is one) and start to change some things.

I would never do something like this because I think it's how someone else should act. It's out of a genuine desire for someone to be happy.

So, I would treat a Pagan friend the same way. I wouldn't try to tell them that they're doing it all wrong and their beliefs are wrong and won't make them happy. I would just try to show them how my beliefs make me happy. If I'm right and Christianity really does give you the best life, then eventually it should become clear, and my Pagan friend will convert. In a sense, this is my goal, but only because I want people to find true happiness.

Of course, none of this would happen if I were to take the approach of "I must convert you." It's only through a real friendship that such a process could even take place. Religious conversion almost always requires faith in the person who shows you the religion you're converting to. If someone were to become a Christian based on what they saw in me, they would have to trust me. So, even if my goal was only your conversion, I'd need to be a real friend.

Of course, that would never be my only goal. Christians are commanded to love everyone. Our example, Jesus, was known as a friend of prostitutes and drunkards. I'm sure they didn't all convert, but he was still a real friend to them. If I refused to befriend someone based on their beliefs and instead just tried to shove Christianity down their throat, I really wouldn't be a good Christian.

Or um... short answer:
I would befriend you for the person you are.

I hope this helps somehow. I'm sorry if you've only come across people who want to beat their religion into your head.

Answer 7

Certainly. I always like to befriend interesting people. Religion is always a concern, but nothing I would force upon you.

Answer 8

I do not understand what a Pagan is. But, I would totally be your friend because you think for yourself and seem to have a good attitude. Plus, you get bonus points for not being christian.

Answer 9

If I find that you are a NICE person, I will befriend you for who you are.

Answer 10

you know deep down they want to convert you. it's their job to save you from yourself. they would be afraid of being judged harshly if they let you go about your merry way. it's that i know what's good for you type attitude that is soooooo wrong.