I don't know how many times you've heard this, but I've heard this far too many times:
"Follow which ever one you wish, just don't push anyone into believing as you do."
The problem of this statement isn't the statement itself, but what inevitably follows, which is some story about how some Christian was telling them how they should be a Christian. Why is this a problem? Because it shows a very basic lack of understanding of Christianity.
As a Christian, my belief system has two parts that these people find offensive. First of all, there is a belief in absolute truth. What is true is true. What is false is false. There is no such thing as "true for you but not for me". Something is either true or it isn't. So telling a Christian to treat your lack of belief as truth, or your beliefs that conflict with Christianity as truth is telling that Christian to stop practicing their religion. You are not going to get a Christian to say, "That's fine for you and I'm sure that you'll find your way to heaven." That is against our religion. And a non-Christian expecting me to follow that line of thinking is really just trying to force their lack of religion on me. Forcing their belief system on the Christians.
The other complaint that non-Christians always level against Christians is that they're trying to "convert" everyone. In most cases that I've seen where that charge is leveled against a Christian, what they really mean is that the Christian stands up for what they believe and won't just agree with their lack of conviction. In cases where the Christian really is evangelizing, they are doing it because that is part of our religion. The Bible tells us to tell the world about the truth of Jesus. So telling a Christian not to try to tell anyone else what they believe is really just telling them to stop being a Christian. It's the same as saying, "Go ahead and practice Islam, but just don't do any praying to Allah," or "You're free to practice Buddhism, as long as you don't meditate."
No one can ever "force" someone into believing anything. No Christian on earth has ever made someone else become a Christian. It's impossible. Christianity is a belief system, and a spiritual state. No person can cause spiritual change or belief in another person. So accusations of "forcing" a religion on someone else are always just a situation where a non-Christian is trying to make a Christian stop practicing their religion. And the really funny part is that the non-Christians never notice their own hypocracy. Whenever they tell a Christian to stop "pushing people into believing as they do", they themselves are trying to push the Christians into believing as they do. They are guilty of the very thing they accuse the Christians of.
And by the way, you can believe whatever you want. But believing whatever you want won't get you into heaven. Only Jesus can do that. I know that it is true, not because I'm better than you or because I'm smarter than you or any crap like that. I know that Jesus is the true way to heaven the same way that I know that I love my family. It's not something I can explain. It just is. I know that for a non-Christian it isn't like that. It isn't that simple. And I can't make it that simple for you. I just wish you could see Christianity from our side sometime. We aren't trying to hurt you or force you into something bad. We just want to give you the chance to have the peace and understanding that we've experienced. I love God, and I wish you could see Him the way I do because I'm sure you'd love Him too.
Alana
www.girlalive.com
