Do you think its appropriate to use fear or guilt to convince others to come to Christianity? Do you follow the school of thought that it doesn't matter how a person comes to accept Christ, as long as they do, and the message can be clarified later?
2007-09-23 11:53:51 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Heidi -- Don't get so defensive right off the bat. What I meant was people who use the concept of hell to "scare" others into believing, instead of sharing the entire message and allowing them to make a decision themselves. I am a Christian, by the way, so this is not an anti-Christian question. This is just meant to be a discussion of opinion and ideology.
2007-09-23 12:07:15 · update #1
No, I do not believe in using fear to bring people to Christ. The only reason a person comes to Christ is love. Anything less than that, is not a disciple...it's just another fool buying "fire insurance".
I don't see anything wrong with meeting a person where they are, however. I don't mean lie, or cheat, or pretend to be something I'm not...I mean, try to put yourself in the other's place, and understand what his concerns are. I talk to alot of young people. They aren't going to be terribly interested in my day to day concerns...arthritis, grandchildren, watching my salt, getting enough rest, etc...and I just can't force myself to like "alternative" music. But I can understand dealing with parents, interest in the opposite sex, getting along at school...I can even understand why so many young folks are turning to alternative religions...although I find that some are rather confused about exactly what they do believe.
I talk to a great many atheists (online, I mean, and not necessarily in this forum). An awful lot of them feel the way that they do, because, in one way or another, religion has let them down. What they see in the visible world is a mockery of faith, and they can't understand it. We have so much more scientific knowledge today...we know, they say, how mankind developed. They don't need to hear about hellfire and damnation...they need to hear about love and logic.
No, someone "accepting Christ" under false pretenses hasn't really accepted Christ at all...and if they're cowering in fear, how will you ever clarify the message of love?
2007-09-23 12:25:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
No ... The Gospel message is 'good news' after all! However I see them problem is more in the other direction. A lot of churches compromise the Gospel in order to gain converts. They hide the cross. They bury the sin. They forget about grace and redemption and the fact that all of us are sinners, falling short of the glory of God. They spend their time on feel-good, guilt-free messages about how God loves us and wants to shower us with blessings. All of which is true of course, but discipleship comes at a cost. They pursue church as an emotional experience in which the test is how I “feel” when it’s over. They’re a mile wide and an inch deep. They make no lasting impact on anyone’s life and are all about the numbers crammed into the sanctuary on Sunday.
When Jesus told his disciples what to do, he told them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 19:28. That is the proverbial “Great Commission;” that is the church’s task, and we were instructed to go out into the highways and bring whosoever who wants to come into the Father’s house.
2007-09-23 19:20:55 · answer #2 · answered by thundercatt9 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No way , It's not the way of Jesus . You can't trick anyone under false pretenses . When they find the truth , it only makes it look bad for us . Don't lie with the tough questions and don't make it seem like everything that's done is hunky - dory when it comes to understanding . It's a commitment .
2007-09-23 19:03:20 · answer #3 · answered by Suicide642 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not by fear and not by guilt. But by love of God, who wants to bless you with the gift of eternal life with Him in a perfect place where there is not pain and sorrow.
2007-09-23 19:03:06 · answer #4 · answered by Nina, BaC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fear is the opposite of Love , and u can't serve 2 masters.
I AM
2007-09-23 19:11:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not. I don't know who said it, but "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still". There is not a shred of value in forced or coerced conversion.
2007-09-23 19:11:14 · answer #6 · answered by Karen G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Paul in the new testament says that the ends justify the means. He advocates lying, sneaking, pretending to be something you aren't even, to get potential converts to be able to relate to you and become friendly, and then to convert them. To the pagans be a pagan, to the romans be a roman, to the jews be a jew, even lying is acceptable to win converts. etc. etc. etc. Look it up.
2007-09-23 19:02:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You need to define your terms. If openly discussing my religion constitutes "fear and guilt," maybe you should try moving to a fundamentalist Muslim nation to see what fear really means.
2007-09-23 19:01:57 · answer #8 · answered by Heidi 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
No.
2007-09-23 19:10:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋