jim rosinski wrote:

Chris W wrote:

Not all religions believe it is just a simple matter of accepting Jesus Christ.
Also, while many try and use the poor argument you described to "convert"
people, I think anyone that really understands scripture, knows that no argument
made by anyone can truly convert, if a person is to be converted, that is
something that must happen between them and God. All proselyting is for is to
introduce others to a believe, the conversion is then completely out of the
hands of the proselyter.

I respect and appreciate this point of view. Kind of a "lead the horse to
water but don't force him to drink" attitude. Problem is, in my experience
most proselytizers could care less how uncomfortable or miserable their
victims become during the discussion. Case in point being the lead article
of the "Bible-beater pilots" thread that preceeded this one. For many people
their religious beliefs are very personal and private. Those folks don't
appreciate being confronted in arbitrary contexts with threats of eternal
damnation if they don't accept some particular doctrine.

The situation Jay described is very unfortunate and I can't see how a confrontation
like that could ever do any good. Religion is very personal, there are ways to
discuss and share religious beliefs with people you don't know very well, but only if
they are interested in discussing religion and then only in a non confrontational way,
I however rarely discuss it with people I don't know very well and then I always
listen to what they believe and simply tell how my beliefs are different and why I
believe the way I do. It's also unfortunate that even members of my religion can be
confrontational in their proselytizing, although I don't know of any as bad as what
Jay experienced. I think that if you run across someone that is searching for
something different or just curious, they will be willing to talk to you, but if their
not of that mindset, all the confrontation in the world isn't going to do any good,
unless you are a very manipulative person and the person you are talking to is easily
manipulated, in which case I think you have lost the whole point of sharing your
beliefs with others.




--
Chris Woodhouse
3147 SW 127th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73170
405-691-5206
N35° 20.492'
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"They that can give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania