Is this proselytising?

[Eddi]

It’s “mild” proselytizing. But, a conversation could turn it “hefty” depending on the pressure put on a person to convert. But, it seems you don’t plan to apply pressure. So, it sounds cool.

You're absolutely right

I would never pressure anyone or anything like that

 

[SalixIncendium]

I should imagine that the reading material would be set out on the table, plain to see

And I would only offer it having conversed and established some kind of rapport

If I approached you and had a conversation with you, and from that conversation you had a clear understanding that I was Hindu, would you offer me the material?

 

[Eddi]

... but here's the only test that matters: is this something you would be doing with the intent - or hope - of bringing new converts into your church? If so, then it's proselytizing.

It would be nice if people would join us but if they were to just want to pray with us and decline our literature then that would still be good

We want to be a Christian presence in our community - more so than arses on seats

But I think we want people to come to us out of interest, the aim of my stall is I think to encourage such interest, if people already have it to a small degree

 

[Altfish]

Is this proselytising?

• Set up a stall on a relatively busy pedestrianised street
• Have a sign offering prayers to people who are interested - offering to either pray for them or pray with them (or both)
• Just sit there, waiting for people to approach
• Have reading material available for those who approach us and engage us in conversation

I have designed this to be as un-intrusive and inoffensive as possible

I want my freedom to religious expression to be respected and in turn I want to respect peoples' freedom from religion as I recognise that respect is a two-way street

Well it is proselytising but of the type that I have personally no problems with.

 

[Eddi]

If I approached you and had a conversation with you, and from that conversation you had a clear understanding that I was Hindu, would you offer me the material?

I think I'd say "OK, then you'll probably not be interested any of these leaflets" - leaving the option open for you to express an interest in reading them if you did happen to be curious, whilst respecting your faith

Would that be acceptable to you?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It would be nice if people would join us but if they were to just want to pray with us and decline our literature then that would still be good

We want to be a Christian presence in our community - more so than arses on seats

But I think we want people to come to us out of interest, the aim of my stall is I think to encourage such interest, if people already have it to a small degree

"Encouraging such interest" sounds like proselytizing to me.

Being "a Christian presence in the community" doesn't necessarily sound like proselytizing.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I think I'd say "OK, then you'll probably not be interested any of these leaflets" - leaving the option open for you to express an interest in reading them if you did happen to be curious, whilst respecting your faith

Would that be acceptable to you?

Yes.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

How would you feel if you saw our stall?

Personally, I would avoid it.

There are two possibilities for a booth offering prayers:

- I'm not the intended audience.
- I am the intended audience.

The first possibility does nothing to draw me in. The second possibility would actively push me away.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

We want to be a Christian presence in our community - more so than arses on seats

Out of curiosity, why did you choose this plan as a way to be "a Christian presence in the community?"

My grandmother's church participated in the Out of the Cold program (a network of churches that would feed and house the homeless in their church basements and parish halls in the winter).

There are churches that run food banks. Some do Habitat for Humanity builds.

Heck - your church could even sign up for a charity 5K run and solicit for donations. You could even wear shirts that loudly proclaim what church you're from.

Just sitting at a booth praying for people strikes me as one of the least beneficial ways of creating "a Christian presence in the community."

 

[Vinayaka]

I always have to go back to the root of the problem, as a I see it, and that is that the outcome of conversion is debatable as to whether or not it's doing the individual any good. Of course, all proselytizers believe that the outcome of conversion makes that individual a better person. But does it?

I once had a nice friend. He came to my old house to help with redoing the shingles. We had a couple beers afterward, and ordered pizza. It was a fun couple of days, joking around, working together. Later, he went back to his hard-core evangelical upbringing. He became a condescending jerk instead of a fun-loving man. I ended the friendship. Who wants to be preached at continuously?

In India, many men take jobs overseas, in the middle east, in Europe, etc,. as temporary foreign workers, usually seeing it as temporary, a way to get enough money to maybe buy a plot of land back home. While they're gone, the Christians pounce on their lonely wives. Then, when the man finally makes it home, his wife is new person, and the trouble starts. The christian could have easily provided company for the woman, without the faith, but no they didn't.

There are so many downsides to conversion. That's why I'm against proselytizing, in all directions. Generally, when I bring this factor up, it's just sloughed off, as 'You're exaggerating' or 'That doesn't really happen.'

I think we all know folks who've had big changes in their lives. Marriage to a dominating spouse, religious conversions, changes in lifestyle, etc. I don't like the recently converted vegan preaching at me either. They go on about how much they feel better about helping the planet, and such, but because they wear it on their sleeve, it gets really annoying.

So I would urge anyone engaging in the act of proselytizing to take a real hard look at the outcome of a few friends. Just because they've learned to agree with you doesn't make them better people.

 

[Kenny]

Interested in what?

In what Eddi is offering.

 

[Kenny]

How do you figure?

By saying "you shouldn't do this" and, if possible, "you shouldn't be allowed to do this".

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

By saying "you shouldn't do this" and, if possible, "you shouldn't be allowed to do this".

And you think that saying "this is proselytizing" implies all that, do you?

 

[SalixIncendium]

In what Eddi is offering.

What is @Eddi offering? On the surface to a passerby, it would appear Eddi is only offering prayer.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

What is @Eddi offering? On the surface to a passerby, it would appear Eddi is only offering prayer.

And unspecified "reading material," according to the OP.

 

[firedragon]

Is this proselytising?

• Set up a stall on a relatively busy pedestrianised street
• Have a sign offering prayers to people who are interested - offering to either pray for them or pray with them (or both)
• Just sit there, waiting for people to approach
• Have reading material available for those who approach us and engage us in conversation

I have designed this to be as un-intrusive and inoffensive as possible

I want my freedom to religious expression to be respected and in turn I want to respect peoples' freedom from religion as I recognise that respect is a two-way street

It maybe not be intrusive or offensive whatsoever. But it is proselytising. I dont see anything fundamentally wrong with the concept, but I think it is still proselytising. If someone made you feel by nature this proselytising is offensive, I think you should not take those things seriously. But you should also not be in a position to not accept the obvious. No offence.

 

[HonestJoe]

Is this proselytising?

If you're seeking to convince people to join or convert to your religion/church (even if they initially approach you) then, yes, is is proselytising by definition. Maybe the question should be whether that is a bad thing or not.

I have designed this to be as un-intrusive and inoffensive as possible

Well technically not, since you could not do it at all.

I want my freedom to religious expression to be respected and in turn I want to respect peoples' freedom from religion as I recognise that respect is a two-way street

Unless your religion is an entirely personal and internal matter, I'd suggest you're always going to hit contradictions between those two positions.

 

[PureX]

I think it's good that people share their truth with each other even when those truths conflict. Everyone learns from it. But I find the idea of promoting one's truth a bit weird. I don't really get the motive of it. It's like having become a cult of one, I now seek to add members. Why? What does anyone gain from that? It just seems to be an obsession with righteousness rather than truth.

 

[Kenny]

And you think that saying "this is proselytizing" implies all that, do you?

Let me ask you a question... what is the difference between proselytizing and sharing our difference on abortion? Do they both try to convince the other to think differently?

 

[Kenny]

What is @Eddi offering? On the surface to a passerby, it would appear Eddi is only offering prayer.

When someone has a booth and says "I want to test your water"... on the surface of a passerby, are they just wanting to test your water.