How to spread the truth
Posted by Chris T. on Saturday, April 26th, 2008
I was trying to think how I might respond to this disheartening NYT article about the discrimination faced by atheist soldiers in the American military:
When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.
But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.
Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.
Then I was catching up on AKMA's blog and found this post with a short quote from the conciliar document Dignitatis Humanæ:
Truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power.
That just about sums it up, doesn't it?
That Christianity should never, ever be forced upon people through the coercive power of government should be axiomatic. And it's not just that it's disrespectful and spiritually violent to do so — the very act of trying to force the truths of Christian faith on others corrupts them. Christian truth cannot in any way be spread by violence and coercion.
No doubt we are prone to sin, and that's part of why we keep falling prey to this temptation. But why is this simple insight about how evangelism works not a part of the formation of every single Christian? It certainly was not part of mine — I had to discover it on my own, primarily by reading Roman Catholic theologians. This seems like a relatively simple problem to rectify.
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6 Responses to “How to spread the truth”
There’s also the fact that the officer was completely wrong about the founding fathers being Christian. The majority of them were actually deists. Thomas Jefferson published a version of the Bible called “The Jefferson Bible”, in which he removed all “supernatural” aspects of the four gospels because, apparently, he did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ.
I’m not saying the founding fathers were wrong or right in their beliefs, but I am saying that the idea professed by many conservative Christians that America is a Christian nation because the founding fathers were Christian is wrong.
I also agree with your point that any religion, including Christianity, should never be forced on anyone. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that most main-line Christians in America do not operate under this assumption.
Mary,
In my experience, mainline Christians are not heavily into prosyletizing or even evangelizing. Mainline Christians (generally meaning the presbies, methodists, etc) aren’t the same as the ones that make a lot of noise and get a lot of media attention. In fact, I have heard a lot of criticism about mainline denominations from more conservative Christians precisely because they aren’t out trying to convert everybody.
“Preach the gospel always, if necessary use words”–St Francis (I’m sure you know that one)
Are you referring to St. John Chrysostom? St John Vianney? Which are your favorites?
One of the issues facing mainline denominations, which I believe is a result of treating evangelism as though is it prosyletinzing. Thus giving evangelism over the to the right. I find that many of my mainline wondering why those other churches are growing and we are declining.
I believe that is similar problem for the IC/OC community. There two models of evangelism for local churches that are fruitful and doesn’t require that we reject our liturigical and theologicial hertiage. It does require that we accept that the idea of “Christedom” is past and we are offering to our communities the opporting to rengage or engage people to Christ, the Bible, Spiritual Practice and worship.
One is from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The Hourglass Model in which the steps are :
Attraction
Worship
Discovery
Intiation
Assimilation
Discipleship
The other comes from the United Church of Christ Church Vitality Services which a church focus on the vital few to create a congregation in serving the community through Worship, Christian Formation and Service and Outreach. Anthony B. Robinson written a few books on this model and I’ve been using it in my work with Sojourner Truth Ministries, a predominately African American Congregation serving the LBGT and Allies community. The introduction of the liturgical year and weekly community has help this congregation in Formation and grasping the scriptures more deeply. In six months we have brought in four new members.
One should never have to force their faith on someone, it tragic that our military of late has become a bastion of fundamentlism.
I believe that Mainline and IC/OC congregations can thrive and grow spiritually. We need to step forward to show the world that Christianity need not be coercive or lacking with invitations to follow Christ through worship, formation and service.
Peace,
+David
That reminds me of an older post of mine. The issue is actually a bit more intense. It’s not just atheists who face discrimination but non-Christians in general and even non-evangelical Christians.
http://planetgrenada.blogspot.com/2005/05/onward-christian-soldiers.html
http://planetgrenada.blogspot.com/2005/06/more-on-evangelicals-at-air-force.html
Daisy –
Thanks for stopping by! The first stuff I read that really started forming me on issues like this are the books about the Desert Fathers written (or translated) by Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton. After them I began reading a lot of Joseph Ratzinger’s theological work, which is good when he’s not talking about hot social issues. I also really love Archbishop Bruno Forte’s Lenten exercises, To Follow You, Light of Life, and Fr Vincent Donovan, CSSp’s memoirs about evangelizing the Maasai, Christianity Rediscovered. That last book is particularly powerful as Donovan writes about how he not only shared his faith with the Maasai, but had new dimensions of it opened up by the Maasai who became new Christians by looking at his faith through new eyes.
There is one Protestant book I read before much of those that was formative for me, too, though — Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited.
Abdul-Halim –
Yes, the problem is very widespread, throughout the whole military. If I recall correctly, just a few years ago the Lutheran chaplain at the Air Force Academy resigned because she was fighting against evangelical proselytizing to non-Christian students and basically got nowhere in that fight.