Seán's Update - 'Christ is the Answer MAHAFAKA!' and Evangelization, and current musings thereon

I've been doing some thinking, while I should have been doing some reading, about the nature of evangelization etc. We were talking on Thursday at Catholicism: Why? and I thought I'd share my views on it here.

I read somewhere a very wise thing. Can't remember who it was though. I'll paraphrase it in my usual way. They basically said that you can shout that 'Jesus is the answer!' until you are blue in the face - but if people aren't asking the question, they will just think that you're a nutter and walk away with a pretty negative view of Christianity.

So what is the question? Well, that's too big a question itself I reckon - and besides they don't always come in the form of questions. Perhaps things like 'how can we save the world - I feel shit, worthless and no-one appreciates me - why is it that the things that I am CERTAIN will satisfy me never do?' Things like that, you know them when you hear them.

The way I see it is that if you want to go out and evangelize using words (which I don't), you need to either wait until these questions are asked, or find some way to facilitate these questions to be asked. But I reckon it's important not to ask these questions yourselves, but rather let people ask them themselves. Else they'll think that the Church proscribes these problems in order to prescribe the cure Herself - which isn't true!

So in conclusion, don't force these answers on people until THEY start asking the questions! And even then, don't force them - offer them as your personal beliefs, the answers as you see them, and respectfully STFU n00b when they tell you that they are not interested.