Everyone proselytizes! As a christian who has worked in outreach ministries. I have often heard non-christians or even christian criticize the act of sharing the christian faith. The reason is because we are “proselytizing”. But I want to object to that because everyone proselytizes. As long as we do it in a respectful manner, and we do our due diligence in confirming our message is true and good, so that the message brings well being to the listener. This will leave space for civilized discussions and lead to truth that will help all of us as humans.
To proselytize means to advocate or promote (a belief or course of action). When you see an advertisement about a product or service. When you see a warning message about something’s effect on your health, such as the one on a cigarette package. Or when you see any form of human right activist movement. Or when you try to convince an employer to hire you. These are all an act of proselytizing in some shape or form. People are trying to send the message “Use our products! Use our service! Join our cause! We are better than the competitors! It is right! It will make your life easier! You will be happier!” Given the definition, you can see that everyone does some sort of proselytizing when they are trying to convince others of some belief.
Now that does not mean that all form of proselytizing should be encouraged. We want to discourage fake news, we want to discourage products that are scams, we want to discourage anything that is actually harmful, and we want to do it in a respectful way. So below are some rules I think will help us toward sharing of thoughts and ideas that are helpful:
- Be respectful, ask for permission to share, or share in a way that is not unsolicited.
- Do your due diligence in making sure what you are sharing is right, true, and will benefit the other.
- Be skeptical, and test what others says to you, and figure out if it really is true.
As a Christian I truly thinks that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good new of the world. I really want others to believe and trust in Jesus, in who He is and what He has done, and what He will do. But don’t just take my word for it I encourage you to go through the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and find out for yourself if Jesus is reliable and if He is trustworthy.
[!QUOTE] Rom 1:16 $^{16}$ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.