Imagine waking up from a coma after 20 years and trying to grasp hold of the changes that have happened while you were unconscious. This happened to Sarah Scantlin in 2005 and during that time we saw major historical events and cultural changes take place including 9/11.
That’s kind of what I experienced last week when I read that Pope Francis said that Christians should never try to convert others to Christianity.
Now, the current Pope has said a lot of controversial things over the years, such as “Muslim terrorism does not exist”. He told a gay man that “God made you that way”, and recently called Christian fundamentalists as “a scourge”.
His latest statement however, is the proverbial “icing on the cake”. A high school student asked him, “If an atheist came to you and asked you a fundamental reason to start believing what would you answer?” His response? They should respect people of other faiths and not attempt to convert them to Christianity, insisting “we are not living in the times of the crusades.”
He continued by saying, “If someone says you are a disciple of Jesus and comes to you with proselytism, this is not a disciple of Jesus. Proselytism is not done; the Church does not grow by proselytism.”
Regarding people of other faiths or no faith, the Pope said, “we are all the same, all children of God” and that true disciples of Jesus do not proselytize.
And in case misunderstood his statement, he reiterated it again: “Football teams proselytize, this can be done. Political parties can be done there. But with faith there is no proselytism.”
So, in his Upside-Down World, Christians are never supposed to try to convert anyone with the message of the Gospel.
The problem with that position, however, is it directly contradicts the words of Jesus Christ! Just a few Scriptures are needed to disprove the Pope’s statement (though many could be cited):
Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.
Mark 16:15-16 - He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned.
These and other passages clearly state that the mission of the Church is declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples to His teachings.
As to the idea that Christians should never “speak” the Good News, then the Apostle Paul who wrote most of the New Testament, was in error. We are told in Acts 17:4, “As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.”
If Christians are not supposed to share their faith through words, then Romans 10:14 should be ripped out of the Bible. “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
One has to wonder “why?” anyone, least of all a church leader, would tell Christians not to “tell” people about the only path to hope and security that is attained only in Jesus Christ?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest news that anyone could possibly ever receive, and every person that professes to be a Christian, should be trying to share it with everyone that they can.
If the early church leaders were to look at the Christian Church today, they would surely think the world has flipped upside down.
I think it’s time to turn it “right-side up”!
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