Several days ago I was discussing “evangelism” with a group of Christian friends. I guess evangelism has been a topic of concern for Christians as long as Christianity has existed, not to say a dilemma. The dilemma goes like this:
- If Christianity is real and true, it must be the most important topic in the universe.
- The basic principles of Christianity are easy to convey, merely calling for “testimonies” or “witnessing,” (telling or exemplifying what it did for you personally).
- For most of us there are many opportunities to “witness” every day.
- Notwithstanding the above, most Christians rarely witness.
- When Christians do try to witness, their attempts are often met with resistance and ridicule (which probably explains why they rarely witness).
The recently popular series of videos entitled Evangelism Linebacker provides sophisticated comedic evidence of the contempt with which society regards evangelism “explosion” or “how to witness” programs. I follow a blog that further illustrates my assertions, entitled Restless Wanderings. If you claim to be a Christian, I dare you to click on the link and read what you find there. As a final piece of evidence, I want to bring to your attention a book I recently read: unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters.
By this point you may be asking, “What is your point, and why do you feel compelled to make it?” I’ll answer the second question first: I am a master of rationalization. I have a friend who sometimes uses an expression to describe a good rationalizer as a guy that can “…hold on to both ends of a contradiction no matter how often it bites him.” I can tolerate an enormous amount of cognitive dissonance, especially when I silence it a bit with alcohol. I can tell the truth and violate it almost simultaneously.
So, how did I get this way? I did it by becoming a Christian. Before I became a Christian I didn’t worry much about my neglect of other folks’ welfare. I understood that my self-indulgence was a normal consequence of living in in a self-indulgent society in which self-interest was the highest value. When I became a Christian I realized that I had received a gift that non-Christians were not even aware of. I wanted the gift but I didn’t want to give up the self-indulgence that hid the gift from others. This blog is about the struggle to move from that old life to the new one. I feel compelled to make this point because I am aware that many people who read this are struggling with exactly the same dilemma. That is as it should be.
Finally, the point: For the Christian, learning to live for others while struggling with a self-indulgent flesh is hard, but it is not optional. When one is given the choice between love and indifference toward others, the normal, self-interested person must choose indifference (although it may look like love) or suffer the consequences. The Christian (an abnormal person in this world) must choose love, or suffer the consequences. In either case the consequences are to be a miserable rationalizer, bitten incessantly by contradictions that cannot be safely controlled.
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