Afraid of discussing Christianity
So far, we've discussed that truth and the existence of things does not depend on our perception. Just briefly, I want to discuss a few reasons why discussing religious issues can be difficult. One thing people will say is, "How do you KNOW?" ... as if I should have all the answers in my back pocket. (yeeeeaaah, right) So we will get into that question next, but to start this topic off, I'd like your input.
I think there are a bunch of reasons why we are afraid to discuss various personal issues with people (such as politics and religion). But before I give my thoughts as to why people might be afraid of talking with others about religion, I'd like to hear what ideas you have.
Why do you think people get butterflies in their stomach when trying to share the gospel with others? And if possible, be specific. What do other people do that makes us nervous?
Labels: Apologetics Tools, General Life Issues
posted by Heather R. at 6/21/2006 02:24:00 PM
4 Comments:
hmm.... what any (and all of this) really comes down to is that people are afraid of other people. this society has gotten everyone so riled up on other people's opinions that talkign about anything controversial is taken way past the level of a simple debate. things get turned into such dramatic things, and others will take people's opinion so seriously that they will harm another being fro expressing their opinion, which in turn makes people afraid to express thier opinions. it;s a vicious circle, which leads to a lot of people not talking about God as it is one of the most controversial (and yet so simple) subjects out there.
6/21/2006 11:41 PM
Yeah, I totally agree with both of you. Talking about religion (especially Chrisitianity) is SUCH and emotionally-charged topic. Everyone has an opinion about it, and most are negative. Of course, we know that's what Satan's goal is. If people have negative opinions that are false about Christianity, fewer people will be interested in hearing the truth.
There are certainly tactics that I've learned from other Christian apologists that have helped me in being more confident when the topic of Christianity does come up with other people. Gee, the list of topics to discuss is growing! ... but one at a time, right? I certainly do plan on discussing some of the tactics I've learned (very easy tactics too) that help me in discussing Christianity with others. (And please don't think of "tactics" as being negative. What I'm talking about here is ways to make the conversation less emotionally charged and less "war-like".)
6/22/2006 1:26 PM
Here are a couple of other things that have made me afraid of sharing the gospel with others:
-I was afraid of not having the answer to every question. Being put in the "hot seat" is not fun (98% of the time).
-People would sometimes say far-fetched things such as, "well aliens could have made us as well. You just don't KNOW." Or... "The Greeks and Romans invented gods for their purposes and don't need them anymore to explain strange occurances. The same goes for your god." So basically they're saying, "I don't NEED God for anything right now, so, heh, I don't think God exists." (Do we have to feel a need for God in order for God to exist?)
-People would say that we can't PROVE that God exists. (The word "prove" is soooo vague and misunderstood in this context. I'll explain in the next blog.)
-They'll make accusations: "God is a crutch," "Christianity is oppressive," "Religion is responsible for most of the wars in history," "Whatever makes YOU happy," etc, etc.
-People would indirectly attack my character and intelligence... basically attacking ME rather than the issue being discussed.
What do you all think about these?
6/22/2006 1:44 PM
he he, i completely understand all of those things.
especially the last one, wher YOU are personally attacked instead of the issue.
another reason that people may find it hard to tell someone about god is that they might have to undo what someoen else has done. I know plenty of people who have been so pressured in christianity, and attacked in a sense because they can't follow up to all of the 'rules'.
sometimes you have to undo those kinds of things that keep peoples minds away from god, and you have to plant youru own seed of what is right.
for a small example, having more to do with church than god itself:
My neighbor has 4 kids, one who is 10 or 11, one who is 4 one who is almost 2, and one who is about 6 months old or less.
after finding out that we were of the same religion, she told me about how she stopped going to church because she has 4 kids to take care of and the people at her former church used to complain about how her kids were being too loud or other similar reasons.
i started telling her about how our church had places for the kids to go, that we were a very family oriented church, and that we even had a cry room for people who need to feed their infants or deal with a crying child. The fact that kids were not a problem really opened up her mind, she told me that she woudl talk to her husband about coming to church again.
all i had to do was take a little extra time with her to undo a former distress.
6/22/2006 6:20 PM
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