How is handing someone a gospel tract and INVITING them to church "shoving our beliefs down your throat"?

Answer 1

It's NOT shoving your beliefs down unbelievers throats. Christians are called by GOD to be soul-winners. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Keep handing out tracts. Better than letting them stay lost. Only God knows if they will die....at any moment.

Answer 2

I know it sounds odd, but it can be seen that way. Most of us who are non-Christian would feel that way, I think, to varying degrees. The act of handing something to me and inviting me to church without taking the time to talk with me is insulting. Why?

Because the person handing out the tract and inviting me to church assumes that I need it. Or that I want it. What you don't quite understand is that I would be more apt to toss that tract away without looking at it because I have no connection to you - and if you just handed it to me, you have no connection with me.

If you really want to hand out tracts and invite people to your church, perhaps it will be better received if it is done as part of conversation. Part of a connection.

I guess what I am saying is that handing someone a tract and inviting them to church, if that is all you are doing, just seems like you are not interested in me - just in passing out your tracts.

I hope that makes sense -

Good Question.

Answer 3

If the person you gave it to, was to come up to you and hand you a tract, of his or her religion would you take it ? When a person who believes very strongly in their own religion is standing there and you come up and start talking about your religion, It is normal for them to feel imposed upon and be defensive. Some people don't take I'm not interested, at face value. This is where the comment of shoving your religion down someones throat comes in.

Answer 4

Many individuals take this kind of behavior as "shoving beliefs down the throat" because the individual pushing the beliefs treats the other individual as someone who is ignorant to their surroundings.
I don't feel that this is the case. Religious people get up tight when you give their kids a condom in health class, when really the teacher is just educating them and preparing them for life.
When you hand a gospel tape and invite someone to church you are educating them (spiritually) in your own way. Don't worry about these kinds of comments, for it's really a case of different strokes for different folks.

Answer 5

I don't see that as shoving beliefs down a persons throat if you don't mind if a person like myself hands you that tract right back.

Answer 6

Did you give this to someone you know or were you handing it out in the street? As christians you are told to evangelise, but if you were hitting on people in the street, to them its "shoving your beliefs down their throat". Hitting on people while, say, shopping does not do the church any favours.

I can't tell you where to evangelise, but you need to pick and chose people who show any sort of interest.

Oh, and don't ask me down to church. Been there, done it, bought the T-shirt, took it back. Sorry!!

Answer 7

good question.

If it is "Here, have one of these" And "Come along to our Church service"

Instead of "Hi! How are You?" (Listen to them...) "Would you like one of these?" "I go to the local church________.Are you interested in coming along to one of services sometime? No? Okay"

It is a bit weird when you are approached out of the blue by some stranger, and the stranger invites you somewhere (to some religious service) without even getting to know you at all. The stranger doesn't know anything about you - you might be Christian, you might go to a different church, you might be (happily) another religion - and none of that is even considered. If they ask "Do you believe in God?" "Are you interested in finding out more about him?" Or something - that is a better 'start' - instead of just confronting them. If a stranger confronts me and invites me to a service without getting to know me at all - I feel like they don't value ME, they don't respect my beliefs or me, and they only want me to come along to the service to be added to a 'church statistic', to increase 'church numbers'.

Handing out gospel tracts is good, though - that's fine. Same with any other religious group handing out their scriptures.

This is what I think Christians could learn from:

I was approached recently by someone who smiled and said "Hi! How are you?" - I replied - and he gave a small explanation of what religion he was (something Buddhist-like) and asked, "would you be interested in reading one of these?" (offered me a scripture booklet). I said, "No thanks, I'm a Christian" - and he said sincerely, "That must be why you look so happy!" - What respect and humility this man had! If only all Christians could show the same respect and humility and care as this man when they do their gospel/invite-to-church thing. When Christians don't seem to CARE about the stranger they are inviting, when they say a brash "ok" and turn to the next stranger if the first stranger turns them down, if Christians don't seem to respect where other people stand - then it is seen as "shoving their religion down another's throat". It is unwanted, insensitive harrasment. It is wrong to want others to listen to your beliefs without spending a bit of time listening (without judgment) to their beliefs.

Answer 8

That depends. Are you disturbing people by showing up on their doorsteps uninvited when you're doing it? Are you standing in the mall parking lot interrupting conversations and sticking your gospel tract in their paths? Are you littering people's windshields with your invitations?
These hard-sell tactics are at best an annoyance and at worst harassment. If your religion is so fantastic, then it ought to attract plenty of followers on its own merits and you shouldn't have to resort to such aggressive sales tactics, don't you think?

Answer 9

If your religion was so great, you wouldn't need to peddle it like vacuum cleaner salesmen. There's no dignity in that, it makes your religion look even more pathetic and ridiculous to rational people than it usually does.

I take exception to it because it's not just about handing someone a tract and inviting them somewhere. It's about being more interested in delivering your message than you are in hearing what they are saying. I have been assailed by these people many times, and all they care about is whether or not people hear what THEY have to say, they couldn't care less about anyone else's beliefs, or lack of beliefs, they are deaf to the word "no" and will keep talking even after they have been told "no, thanks" or "I'm not interested". It is also quite difficult to hand the tracts back to them, they keep insisting and pushing as long as they can. That IS shoving religion down people's throats, and it's as obnoxious as your belief in Hell.

Answer 10

Amen,momof3. Great question. When someone hands me something on the street and I just say thank you and move on- I will either do what it says or I won't but I don't make a fuss about the person who gives it to me. The know why they say, it is "shoving our beliefs at them?" I think it is because if they really looked at the truth that would have to admit their need of a Savior. Keep witnessing, sister!! God will bless you- you are not responsible for how others respond.