I find it extremely astonishing how Christians have been charged with spreading the word of Christ to all the world, Christians were given instructions as to how to do it by not just words but by examples. Christ went and ate with the criminals of his time; he showed love and compassion to the tax collector, the prostitute and all others who chose a life that did not conform to the laws of Judaism or the land. He went to those who he saw needed his love and brought them unto him by giving them compassion and showing them that he cares. He did not stand at a distance shouting that they need to change or burn in hell he did not disturb their parties or rituals no matter how bad he felt them to be.
Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Christ using angry words, insults, fear, or picketing to convert what one may call the wicked. He said that he came not just to deliver the world from sin but to give us examples as to how we should live our lives and love one another. Christ Shook hands and hugged the ungodly even before they accepted him. He is G-d and is the one who makes final judgment on all souls before they enter into the kingdom of heaven.
If one calls himself a Christian and refuses to associate with those who are not, he is making a choice not to fulfill his job assigned to him by Christ. If a person chooses to be a Christian and decides never to spread the word of G-d he is choosing not to fulfill his task assigned to him by Christ. Christians are called to spread the word of G-d to all people the way that Christ did while he was on earth. If you are a good Christian there is only one thing you need to do. Examine yourself, Do you share the word of G-d every chance you get. If you do share the word of G-d do you use fear and force or do you come as a person with love to share unthreatening and compassionate manner. If you can honestly say you share the word of G-d with only love and you share with everyone that you can share it with, you may call yourself a Christian.
History is peppered with people using Christ as an excuse to torture, murder, segregate, exterminate, and judge other people. If we take the word of G-d to someone and they choose not to accept then we have done our job. If we take the word of G-d to someone and they choose to accept then we rejoice and educate them on where to find the necessary resources to grow and become closer to G-d. G-D will touch their hearts and ask them to remove what he sees as unfit and damaging.
So many people call themselves doing the work of G-d to the extent that they go to far. The start judging, trying to force others to be like them. in doing so they mess up the very thing that they tried to get done in the first place. In order for G-d to work the way he wants to we must learn to recognize where our job is done and where it is time for G-d to intervene himself of send someone else.
I write this because after attending Pride and OutFest, I thought about how people were trying to “convert” the homosexuals. They addressed them, as living wrong, everyone shut down went into defensive mode, defending their lifestyle. There were no Christians just talking about the love of Christ and how accepting him can make your life better, It was all fire and brimstone. If this is how Christians plan to bring others to Christ then that explains why so many people are turned off by “religion”. People are still using taking the bible today, after all that history has shown us, and using it to push their own agendas.
I want to close with this. No matter how firm you stand in your religion and no matter how wrong it taught you to believe something is, this is the United States of America where there is separation of church and state, to prevent one religion from denying rights to the people of another. If your reason ageist gay marriage is religion based you need to stand down. I bet you can look into any religion and find reason to revoke the rights of anyone. It’s not faire to pass legislature based on religion and it’s not faire to vote on based only on religion.
I think Christians need to reexamine their goals. The mandate to "spread the word" consistently supersedes Christ's message of peace and love. History has sadly shown that when it comes to conversion, the ends justify the means. As most Christians go along with this based on history and indeed the current power mongering, picketing, protesting, and threats of the lake of fire of which you speak, then most Christians are anything but. As a religion, Christianity would therefore just as easily spread itself with an open hand as with a clenched fist. As these methods are fundamentally divergent from the message, Christianity has failed its members as a religion. If so many Christians feel compelled to convert the by force or by word or by law, and not by example, then they should simply give up on converting people. It would be better for all concerned. Besides, with 2 billion members despite 2 millenia of sordid and bloody history, I don't think the religion is going anywhere.
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