Proselytizing Is Not a Bad Thing

Jesus, Good Shepherd, salvation, evangelizing

As a Star Trek fan, I am fascinated by the faith of the Bajorans. If you’ve watched Deep Space Nine, you know the Bajorans are a race that lives on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy’s Alpha Quadrant, and they worship the Prophets–whom nonbelievers call “wormhole aliens”. Bajorans who believe in the Prophets, like Christians, have often died for their faith. Like Christians put their faith in God, Bajorans put their faith in the Prophets even when they don’t understand their will.

Kira Nerys, the main character in the series and a Bajoran devoted to the Prophets, said something in a Deep Space Nine episode that has bothered me ever since I heard it because it depicts a banal mentality that many Christians today have. Responding to someone who was trying to compel her to believe something contrary to her faith, she said:

 “I’ve always found that when people try to convince others of their beliefs it’s because they’re really just trying to convince themselves.

It sounds like a noble and wise thing to say, but when adhered to on a regular basis I’ve found that this mentality does more harm than good. It hints at a kind of repugnance toward proselytizing that is harmful to personal faith and the Catholic Faith at large. It also leads to a “live and let live” philosophy that causes one’s religious beliefs to wither, and it puts the souls of our neighbors in jeopardy. I couldn’t help but file away that quote from Kira, because it was so indicative of our culture’s attitude toward proselytizing that I found even I was tempted to believe it. Ironically, I was almost persuaded to believe that it was bad to try and persuade others to believe what I believe. Thanks be to God; I was onto the devil’s tricks here. If it’s wrong to try and persuade other people to believe the truth, all the devil has to do is convince someone of a lie and they’ll be offended whenever someone tries to convince them otherwise. 

Preach the Gospel

It’s important to define proselytizing here, because right off the bat many readers may think I’m talking about forcing someone to believe what you believe. But here I’m not talking about that. I’m talking aboutconverting or attempting to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.” If we truly believe that the Catholic Faith is the one true faith, proselytizing should not be something we shy away from. In fact, it is the loving thing to do.

Here’s a real-life instance of when someone seemed to shy away from proselytizing. Once I was editing an article from a college student who was studying at a California university. He was lamenting how Christians get criticized for their faith on Snapchat, an app where commenters can remain anonymous. In submitting the article, he subsequently asked to remain anonymous. This request may have been to keep the conversation the way it was on Snapchat, but I sensed that the writer may have wished to remain anonymous due to how people may take his outward expression of Christian faith.

The main point of the article was not that Christians need to express their faith more often. Rather, he just wanted to point out that Christians should be free to hold their personal beliefs as long as they don’t interfere with those of others. I found it troubling that this college student felt threatened for wanting to share his faith, but worse than that suppression was the deceptive culture that painted him as intolerant if he didn’t keep his faith to himself. This made me think, at least in California, many Christians must believe it’s virtuous to just keep their faith to themselves, similar to Kira’s mentality mentioned above. 

The problem with that approach is that the less we express our faith the more it wanes. We may think we are conserving it by keeping it to ourselves, so we don’t offend others and don’t put our faith through unnecessary trials. Or we may think ourselves magnanimous and claim to be living by the philosophy of “preach the gospe,l if necessary use words” (which St. Francis didn’t say, by the way). But keeping our faith to ourselves, I’ve found, does quite the opposite of conserving it. The less I jump out of my comfort zone to express my faith, the more it runs the risk of becoming nothing but a mundane appendix in my life. Moreover, if my good needs are not connected to the preaching of the gospel in some overt way, other people will likely just think I’m being philanthropic, altruistic, or compassionate. Those are good traits, but not exclusively Christian.

Pope St. Paul VI on the Matter

As Pope St. Paul VI made clear in his 1974 encyclical on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi:

“Witness always remains insufficient, because even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not explained, justified … and made explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus. The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life. There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed” (EN, 22).

Ironically, St. Paul VI said this in the same encyclical where he said the more popular words:

“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (EN 41).

Apparently many Christians, especially Catholics, have latched onto these latter words more than Pope Paul VI’s words on the insufficiency of witness alone. But given the context, it’s clear that the pope was just describing the current milieu, and not suggesting that we bypass teaching the Faith in favor of silent witness alone. We cannot just live a Christian life without ever proclaiming the gospel with our words, and hope people will just recognize our evangelization efforts in some telepathic fashion. A wordless witness is an effective first step, but it is still just a first step.

How Jesus Prosyletized

Charity and evangelization must never be separate. When Jesus did something charitable for a person in need, seldom did he just leave his deed at that. 

When he saved the woman caught in adultery from being stoned, he said to her, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). When he healed the paralytic, he said “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). When he washed his disciples’ feet, he said, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14) His acts of charity were partnered with a verbal gospel message. 

Opportunities to serve others must also compel us to share the gospel with them—and the gospel’s most fundamental message is to repent and turn away from sin so we can be everything God made us to be. This is what true love of neighbor demands. 

Evangelization for Introverts

You may ask, ‘What about those well-meaning Christians who consider themselves not eloquent?’ You don’t have to be eloquent to proclaim the gospel with your words. I suppose the days are gone when saying “Jesus” or “Oh my God” actually indicated that the person saying them was offering up a short prayer. Nonetheless, just sprinkle your speech with short prayers like this, and make it clear that you are being sincere and reverent in saying these short prayers. Or you can offer less common, but apparently more intentional, quick prayers like “Lord, have mercy,” or “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”. Just because our parents and grandparents did it doesn’t mean we have to stop doing it. Cross yourself when you pass a Catholic church or hear a siren–no matter who is with you–while offering up a short prayer for souls in need. People will start to get the sense that you often have the Lord on your mind. These small prayers and professions of faith are worthy testimonies and require no eloquence.

You can also share your faith by wearing a saint medal or Miraculous Medal, listening to Christain music, or wearing a shirt with Scripture or a religious image on it. Make your expression of faith unique to you, and people will notice while also appreciating your authenticity. 

Souls Are in the Balance

Evangelization, proselytization, and motives to convert someone are not always desperate attempts to confirm our own beliefs for ourselves, although that may sometimes be the case. If we feel compelled to convert someone to the Faith, it should never be out of a desire to solidify our own faith. It must be out of love, legitimate concern for their soul, and a desire for them to know the truth and be saved. This is a concern we should have for believers and non-believers alike. Most of all, the salvation of our own souls should concern us, and failing to stand up for the Faith when it is most difficult may put our own journey to heaven at risk. Christ said, “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

Keeping quiet about our faith in Christ is a short step from denying him. 

It’s time to recognize that we are putting souls in jeopardy when we do not share the gospel with them, because we may be their only chance to hear it. That’s much more serious than the fear of what others may think about us when we share our faith in Christ.

Kira’s faith in the Prophets is different from our faith in God in many ways, but the line in that DS9 episode was a slice of real-life sentiment. Let’s not give in to the lie that we are being more sincere and considerate toward others by keeping our faith to ourselves. Don’t be pressured into believing that you’re just trying to confirm your own beliefs when the Holy Spirit compels you to share your love of Christ. There is a higher cause at stake here- the salvation of souls.

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