Depends what you mean as “shoved down people’s throats” do you mean normal evangelism via freedom of speech or Christian nationalism, like the Louisiana 10 commandments cringe
You’re getting downvoted because so many Americans experience normal evangelism as people literally thumping a Bible while threatening them with hell and damnation. And evangelists (the religious sect, not the act) are largely responsible for the repeal of women’s rights in the US. They’re currently trying to make women unable to travel without government permission.
The religious sect are evangelicals, not evangelists.
A sincere Christian evangelist doesn’t want you to go to Hell - The thing is, we completely believe in it and we are warning you about what we believe is inevitable. The most hateful thing we could do is not warn you about it.
To be honest, even proselytisation can come off as being condescending. A Christian is basically telling to the person “my religion is better than yours. You are a sinful person and you will be cast into the fires of hell. It will not happen to you if you accept Jesus as lord and saviour!” And it is not like evangelisation is done out of pure power of persuasive words and good teachings from the bible alone. Aside from threat of eternal damnation, many missionnaries tend to incentivise people by offering food or help, in exchange for the locals to listen to proselytisation.
Look at it from our perspective, though. We fully believe in Hell, and that everyone is sinful and deserving of it. And nobody can escape it without living a life of genuine repentance to God, trusting alone in the sacrifice that He made for us. The most hateful thing we can do is not warn you about it, but just watch you waltz your own way down to your destruction. Now, yes, there are many hypocrites who aren’t really evangelising at all and only do it to feed their ego, and God will deal with them justly, but for me and many others, we don’t want you to go to Hell. We want you, when your body gives up, to be in Heaven, where there is no more suffering or pain. When I tell people about Jesus and the Gospel - it’s not to further an agenda. It’s out of love and genuine care. And if it means spending resources on feeding people so they’d listen, then it’s worth it. Just like how some places gave out rewards to people who got a COVID-19 vaccine, we wanted to reward someone for doing something that’s for their own good.
If we were absolutely convinced that we had the method to eternal life - and that method is very much free - wouldn’t it be selfish for us to keep it to ourselves and not tell others?
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I’m no longer religious, but I find that religion has some sense in its own right. Provided it’s not shoved down people’s throats.
Depends what you mean as “shoved down people’s throats” do you mean normal evangelism via freedom of speech or Christian nationalism, like the Louisiana 10 commandments cringe
You’re getting downvoted because so many Americans experience normal evangelism as people literally thumping a Bible while threatening them with hell and damnation. And evangelists (the religious sect, not the act) are largely responsible for the repeal of women’s rights in the US. They’re currently trying to make women unable to travel without government permission.
So it’s kind of a loaded word.
The religious sect are evangelicals, not evangelists.
A sincere Christian evangelist doesn’t want you to go to Hell - The thing is, we completely believe in it and we are warning you about what we believe is inevitable. The most hateful thing we could do is not warn you about it.
To be honest, even proselytisation can come off as being condescending. A Christian is basically telling to the person “my religion is better than yours. You are a sinful person and you will be cast into the fires of hell. It will not happen to you if you accept Jesus as lord and saviour!” And it is not like evangelisation is done out of pure power of persuasive words and good teachings from the bible alone. Aside from threat of eternal damnation, many missionnaries tend to incentivise people by offering food or help, in exchange for the locals to listen to proselytisation.
Look at it from our perspective, though. We fully believe in Hell, and that everyone is sinful and deserving of it. And nobody can escape it without living a life of genuine repentance to God, trusting alone in the sacrifice that He made for us. The most hateful thing we can do is not warn you about it, but just watch you waltz your own way down to your destruction. Now, yes, there are many hypocrites who aren’t really evangelising at all and only do it to feed their ego, and God will deal with them justly, but for me and many others, we don’t want you to go to Hell. We want you, when your body gives up, to be in Heaven, where there is no more suffering or pain. When I tell people about Jesus and the Gospel - it’s not to further an agenda. It’s out of love and genuine care. And if it means spending resources on feeding people so they’d listen, then it’s worth it. Just like how some places gave out rewards to people who got a COVID-19 vaccine, we wanted to reward someone for doing something that’s for their own good.
If we were absolutely convinced that we had the method to eternal life - and that method is very much free - wouldn’t it be selfish for us to keep it to ourselves and not tell others?