People often feel threatened by those whose views are opposed to their own. They may not have the skills or patience to debate and dialogue with these people, so they resort, out of frustration and fear, to some form of coercion to get their way. It may be a violent demonstration or a personal attack, but it seldom bears the mark of the lowly Jesus.
This is a genuine failure on the part of some Christians (and non-Christians as well) to see others who disagree with them as valuable persons, worthy of the time and effort to persuade them of the truth. God's way is the way of gentle persuasion, of being able to articulate the truth with the spirit of gentleness. This does not rule out vigorous social debate, but it does rule out coming to blows.
There is a history of the wrong way to convert people. The Crusades were an attempt to win back the Holy Land from the Muslims. The idea of the Crusades was to open the way for Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy Land. Not many conversions to Christ took place from this endeavor, but centuries of hatred, anger, and hostility resulted from using the sword in the name of Christ. Using the sword to defend or propagate any faith has never been the best tactic! Ironically, some of those who criticize the Crusades have picked up the sword as well.
Apparently Christians across the ages have forgotten Christ's words the night He was arrested: "Put your sword back in its place" (Matthew 26:52). There is a human tendency to use brute force rather than stir up a few brain cells and approach conflict and confrontation in a reasonable way. Richard Robert Osmer, in his book A Teachable Spirit, talks about the authority of the teaching office in the church. It has a bearing on this discussion as well. He writes: "True authority…elicits respect and attentiveness on the basis…of wisdom and truth. It is essentially persuasive, not coercive" ([Louisville, KY.: Westminster, 1990], 47). This is a more positive approach than the slash-and-destroy mentality of crusaders, Christians, Muslims, or any other group who may be tempted to use such tactics.
The apostle Paul was a persuader (2 Corinthians 5). He used persuasion and reasoning to accomplish his calling. He debated in the public arena and spoke convincingly in front of civil authorities. He suffered for it but he also won many to Christ in the process.
Our challenge is to use the public arena. We need to publically engage our culture and society in discussion and debate, and we can anticipate being humiliated in certain contexts.
From a window in a downtown hotel in a city where I was attending a convention, I saw why Islam is reported to be a fast-growing religion in America. A large church stood in the middle of the town square. There was a very busy bus stop in front of the church. All day long men dressed in Islamic clothes talked with commuters as they passed by that area. They handed out Muslim literature. Every day, men in nice, conservative suits walked past these commuters into a very impressive and prestigious old church. None of them stopped to talk to the commuters. No one handed out literature. No one engaged the commuters in conversation. There were no conversions to Christianity on that street that day.
While our eyes are often focused on militant Muslims who are constantly in the news, there are others working to convert the world to Islam in a more subtle and successful manner. They are ultimately the ones who can establish Islam in nations around the world.
The defense of our faith, if we are required to take that posture, must be done with skillful and persuasive proclamation. We fight the fight with testimony and holy living. We need to heed the Apostle Paul's directive in 2 Timothy 2:25: "Those who oppose him [the Lord's servant, v. 24] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to knowledge of the truth."
We will resort to gentle instruction—over the shouts and hostility of the world. We may be beaten and maligned for our public testimony. We will engage in no revengeful actions to defend the suppression of our right to speak. This, I deeply feel, is the true Christian way.
Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Our church parking lot is used as a Park and Ride. My husband suggested we offer free coffee along with information about Christianity to the commuters.
Posted by: Flyaway | July 03, 2013 at 03:00 PM