The Bible says in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works…” Evidently, Christians are supposed to be courteous, respectable people in front of those that are not Christians.
So, my question to anyone who is not a Christian is how can a Christian show themselves worthy to bear the name of Christ? What make a Christian seem sincere to you? What makes a Christian annoying?
BTW, feel free to be as frank as you want to be. If you find me to be annoying, tell me so and why. <jenkinsfan can’t believe he just wrote that! :D>
I think it is all about picking your battles, and noticing social cues. A sentence here or there about Christianity is fine, but once it starts getting into “witnessing” I think most people get uncomfortable…unless they are Christian themselves of course.
In general, if you want to throw out a semi-inoccuous statement here or there is fine…but let the other person invite you to elaborate. IF they don’t they’re not interested and don’t press it. In general, on the airplane and in the middle of the street are both bad places (I have been accosted in both). And usually I would only approach those with whom you are at least acquaintanced (I do not take religious advice from strangers…candy either)
And lastly just pay attention to social cues. If they are answering with one word answers, looking at their watch, or just seem to be agreeing to what you say tacitly without actually adding any enthusiasm, don’t press it.
jf–the fact that you’re asking the question says a lot. As you know, I hang out over at the LBMB fairly often, and I spend my life around all manner of Christian, so I hope I can offer some insight.
The thing I find most annoying in a lot of Christians is the lack of respect for other beliefs. When you (the generic “you”, not necessarily you, jf) state your beliefs as indisputable fact, and declare that everyone who disagrees with you is wrong, it puts a lot of people off. It is also obvious when someone divides the world into “Christians” and “fodder for conversion”. Of course, Christians believe that they are right, and the Great Commission says that they should make believers of everyone. I would suggest that when you broach the subject with anyone, you should think about how you would feel if they started telling you that you were going to burn for eternity because of what you believe. (I would also say that most people you’re going to encounter know the story with Christianity, so even if you don’t bring up the whole “believe or burn” aspect, that’s often how it comes off.) Which brings up another point–many, if not most, of the non-Christians you’re going to run into have given the matter considerable thought already.
Another thing that a good Christian should understand (and that I hope you’ve come to understand, between here and the LBMB) is that there are plenty of good people who are not Christians, and plenty of bad people who are. Life is not a Chick tract.
I think that a good Christian should spend a good two or three days at the talk.origins archive before entering a discussion on evolution.
When I think of a “good Christian”, I think of my college roommate Lee, who is now off in grad school at Cornell. He was one of the strongest and most faithful Christians I’ve ever known. We lived together for two years, knew each other for a lot longer, and I can’t say that he ever once actively tried to “witness” to me or to any of our friends. He didn’t hide his faith, but he didn’t make a show of it, either–he simply lived it. If you knew him for any amount of time at all, you knew. We disagreed on many things, but it was in a context of “we disagree” rather than “I’m right and you’re wrong”. He didn’t see me as a project for conversion. I’d have to say that he left me with a better impression of Christianity than any other Christian I’ve ever known.
Never assume that the person that you are “witnessing” to has never heard your message.
I recall a minister of the Southern Baptist denomination, who felt that the golf course was an appropriate forum for a discussion of his beliefs.
I didn’t know him, but it was equally clear that he did not know me.
I was willing to let his arrogance go, but he was persistent. By the time he puttered off in his automobile, in the parking lot, he was more than just a little bit peeved.
I would have been much more impressed by him if he were to have introduced himself as a minister. He played coy for much of our discussion, and it was only after he was feeling pressed by my responses that he felt compelled to trot out the Doctorate in Divinity he held. Whoopee-de-doo!
Just ask me if I would enjoy participating in your church services and let it go at that. If you’re a nice person and I enjoy your company, I might just follow up on it.
People already made most of my points, but one other trait I find annoying is the inability of some Christians to separate their religious beliefs from science. Some have no problem. Others think that their interpretation of the Bible is the only way to go (this is not just creationism, but we have seen the same thing in a long discussion with dougie_monty about his version of Christianity and blood transfusions). Or, at least, if they feel they must use the Bible as a science text, recognize that it is a personal belief and allow others to teach and learn science properly – without religious interference.
I know the standard answer is that God/Jesus wants Christians to make it a full part of their life, or something like that, so I’m not trying to turn this into another creation/evolution discussion. But you asked.
DoctorJ - Your college experience is very similar to mine. My best friend (although not roommate) in college was a fundamentalist Baptist, now a minister. He conducted himself well as a devout Christian, and proudly exclaimed his beliefs when it was appropriate. My being an atheist, we often exchanged views on religious topics, and our religious outlooks on current events. But not once in four years of close contact did he ever make the slightest suggestion that I should change my views. What I found particularly admirable was his open contempt of the “Mad Max” type preachers that would sometimes pop up around campus. Not that he didn’t agree with their beliefs - he did agree with them, but thought their methods were making a mockery of those beliefs.
Scylla - excellent point, excellently stated.
Speaking of Mad Max, I could swear that one of the regulars who did this at our college in the early 80’s was named Mad Max. Has he been around that long? Whenever he came around, he had the same younger apprentice with him. (“Always two there are. No more, no less.”)
What college did you go to? Odds are, it’s the same Max. He’s been around forever.
Alphagene even posted a picture of him in one thread around here (I think it had “Max” in the title, if you want to do a search), but now that images are not allowed, I’m not sure if you can still see it or not.
Thanks to all who responded. I’ve always known there were a vairety of reasons people rejected Christianity, and it’s always been my prayer that I wasn’t one of those reasons. I will try to be very polite in my witnessing, and I hope that I never make anyone feel that I’m judging them just because I may disagree with them.
BTW, is “Mad Max” a phrase used to describe very zealous preachers?
I went to Trenton State College (Now TCNJ) in the early 80’s. If he’s been around that long it’s gotta be the same guy. I saw him on the OSU campus when I moved to Columbus in 85, so I figured he must be a national kook rather than a local one. A subject search for “Max” didn’t turn him up, and a message search gave too many matches to look through. Maybe it’s in a creationist thread; I’ll look for it when I have a few hours to get through the 3000 pages of them.
I never did get to see Mad Max in my college years, but I did get to see a similar bible-thumper named Brother Jed strutting his stuff on the UCLA Bruin Walk. To be honest, my favorite part of his appearances were the regular hecklers, a small group that knew all his tirades and had honed their making-fun-of-Jed skills to perfection.
I’d say that particularly around here, it’s safe to say that it has nothing to do with you. Some questions you might ask yourself: Why do you believe what you believe? Why is it that you reject, say, Islam?
Tracer–Brother Jed is a hoot. I have his famous “Parable of the Five Dormies”, if anyone is interested.
Jenkinsfan: Mad Max is a specific preacher named Max (who is quite Mad).
Tracer said:
That was me (for Max, not Jed). I actually scheduled classes around when Max would be preaching. If I arrived late, people would move out of the way to let me through to the front. It became really weird when people started not only chanting HIS lines along with him, but MY lines along with me!
Gilligan: It wasn’t some random creationist thread – it was one specifically for posting the picture. I’ll see if I can find it.
Gilligan, you gotta learn how to use the search. I got it on my first try.
I was wrong about who posted it, though. It was Omniscient. And the photo wasn’t there, just a link (which is better in this case). So to save you the trouble, here is the link to the photo:
The two kinds of witnessing that really annoy me are the ones where they bring their kids along, and the ones where they try to get in a parting shot (“You don’t have time for Jesus? He had time for YOU!”) when I tell them that I’m not interested.
In both cases, I typically begin cursing like a sailor until they leave.
There is one kind of witnessing that I will not abide–physical contact.
Once, after a heavy metal concert, some fanatic began screaming at me about God. He then grabbed me by the shoulders and started shaking me, still screaming about how I was worshipping Satan.
I smashed my half-empty beer bottle across his teeth, kicked him in the crotch, and was then caught in mid-pounce by my friends, who pulled off of him before I could kill him (and before the cops could show up.)
I would say that our own Polycarp is a mighty good Christian.
Yer pal,
Satan
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I see what I did wrong; I included Alphagene in the “user name” box. When I tried again leaving the box empty, the thread came right up. Anyway, that’s the guy. Or one of them. He wasn’t the one I was thinking of with the young apprentice. Max looks like a football coach, but the other two always wore three piece suits, and no caps. Possibly it was Brother Jed & kinfolk, but that name doesn’t sound familiar.
