by leavingwt 42 Replies latest jw friends
BTS,
I may not have been as clear as I want to be.
Christianity has been corrupted, the "organized religion" of Christanity that is, not they faith.
As such, I do NOT belive that one must be a Christian ( belonging to an oganized christian religion) to be saved.
LeavingWT - I think evangelism is asked of us. I think followers of Christ have joy and peace and salvation in the here and now, and want to share that with others. However, the shove it down your throat kind of evangelism, I disagree with. I'll speak of Christ if people are asking about Him, or about religion... or I'll speak about it if I think the situation calls for it.
It all depends on the people and the situation, and there is a good reason that I crave a forum like this.
Tammy
I'd like to know whose JW territory this tribe belongs to and how much witnessing they've received?
Yes, it was sarcasm, but i'm sure you understand what my point was. Christians may read other books, but they'll always take the bible's word over that of other books, regardless of what the other books are or what they say, which isn't a very objective way to operate.
And a christian calling someone ignorant is hilarious.
I am christian and I read many books, some that are very anti-christian even.
Nothing wrong with having our beliefs questioned.
Do I go back to the bible? yes, to verifiy the pros AND the cons against it.
Do I take the bible as innerant and the final word?
Nope.
Wow, I've come back to check on this thread to find many responses. I'm enjoying them all. Thank you.
This was the mental exercise I was going through. . .
If a person believes in a terrible, eternal torment, then evangelizing seems like the only proper thing to do -- warning people, trying to spare them of something terrible. "Come to Jesus and avoid Hell!"
However, once Hell is off the table, then I think of Mark Twain's quote:
"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
Hell and death are very interesting things to discuss.
I myself don't really focus on either that much, so I have to be honest and say that I don't know.
I try my best to be as perfect a Christian as I cna be at any given moment and know that when I am a good one, it is because of the HS that lives in me, pushing me, because of Jesus that is beside me, helping me and because God is there, waiting for me.
Beyond that, I leave that up to Jesus, if there is a hell then it will be his choice as to who goes there.
So, if you're a Christian who doesn't view Christianity as the ONLY road to salvation, do you think Evangelism is required or necessary?
LWT, that is an interesting question. I might take a bit of exception with the supposition that Christians might accept that there are alternative roads to salvation, since that would be a direct contradiction to carrying the name Christian. Evangelism (sharing the gospel) is central to the Christian belief, but that does not mean that is limited to what many see as "Evangelism", ie: a church sermon, JW-type door to door preaching, street corner Bible thumping or even outreach work such as soup kitchens or missions for street people. Evangelism can include things as simple as helping a neighbor, volunteering for a project to help inner city residents do home improvement, collections of supplies for food banks...even a simple change in lifestyle that would perhaps prompt people to ask why that change occurred or allow the "evangelist" to share the gospel. It certainly doesn't need to be an "in your face" type of activity...as we all know from our JW days, that is ultimately an ineffective way to "open" people's minds to another way of looking at things.
We all evangelize our beliefs in some manner, be it Christianity, Atheism, Paganism, etc...it is the nature of people to validate their beliefs by sharing it with others, be it strangers or friends.
Even miracles do not compel belief, as the Biblical narrative itself explains.
BTS
You'll have to remind me.....why was it, again, that Jesus is said to have performed "signs and wonders" in the first place?
Why any miracles at all?
