If evangelists are making themselves feel good by making other feel good, is that really that big of a deal?

It is when evangelists utilize the weaknesses of others (addictions, poverty, lack of education) to sell their promises of happiness.

Religion preys and depends on one of the more interesting aspects of the human condition – that we love to “belong”. We are social creatures, and that can be a powerful motivator to join what is (quite literally) a glorified cult.

At the end of the day, I truly believe the world would be a much better and more enlightened place if we started allowing ourselves to do the “good” aspects that religions teach just for the sake of being good people, and chuck the bad parts because they are archaic fictions that were designed to control masses of under-educated people.

It really is not about the person. I have (very rarely, but occasionally) been thankful for a sales person that went out of the way to “evangelize” me. The product (software, in one case I am thinking of) ended up being great and solved a problem I thought was hopeless.

I just wish that all sales people would take the time to get to know me and my problems well enough to make a good suggestion, instead of just assuming I like skittles just because that is what they are selling.

Smart sales people spend their time getting to know the customer’s needs and then see if they have a solution. If they do not they either go to the next customer, or go back to their supplier and get a different product.

I don’t suppose Christians can go back and get a different religion to sell for each customer, but they could certainly learn a little from that (very rare) sales person who quickly recognizes that the potential customer does not need or want any of the available products and just go on to the next person.

As far as the “product” of Christianity, you state the results cannot be proved and could be false. But, for a lot of people, the feeling that things will be better after death makes life more livable. That feeling can be proved to exist. Of course, it only works if you completely believe the part about a better after-life, but if you do “buy” the system it makes you feel better. So you may not be able to test the big pay-off, but you can test smaller, immediate pay-off.

If evangelists are making themselves feel good by making other feel good, is that really that big of a deal? Of course, if you have a better way to make people feel good then you could start selling that idea. What do you do to make yourself feel better when things are just not going your way?

I am a business consultant (among other things). One thing, I encourage entrepreneurs to do is to focus how their product or services are better. Attacking your competitor will only send customers to a different competitor. To get people to buy from you (even if you are selling ideas) you need to focus on how your product can solve people’s needs. I would encourage you to do the same.

What are you doing to make the world a better place, and what are you doing to constructively encourage others to make the world better?

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I did not notice a way to follow/subscribe to comments here so if you reply to this comment would you chat me on my blog (or email me), so I can read your reply?

I speak the words of Christ and His apostles which were inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Almighty God has made a covenant with man throught His Son Jesus Christ. And God will pardon sin through faith in Jesus. The just shall live by faith in Jesus Christ.

1Co 1:18-31 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (19) For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (20) Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (21) For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (22) For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: (23) But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (24) But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (26) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: (29) That no flesh should glory in his presence. (30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

God chose the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.

e.m.

First, an analogy:
I bought an Abtronic once. You know, those stupid electro-pad thingies you stick on your tummy to zap the muscles into flexing – and in turn changing your keg into a six-pack. The advertisement did a great job of selling the ease and logic of the system and like magic I could have the body I’ve always wanted.

Of course it turned out to be complete bunk. The company, by court order, was forced to refund money to all their customers for selling a product that could not possibly live up to its promises.

So… lets switch in God for Abtronic and assume for a moment there is no heaven (despite this being the opposite of what you believe in the deepest parts of your well-intentioned heart). Missionaries sell a product they have absolutely no ability to prove works (salvation of ones soul is tough to market test), and do so, much like the Abtronic guys did, by marketing it specifically to those people that are most likely to have need for a ‘miracle cure’.

A missionary’s agenda, to convert the unconverted, is for the betterment of their own soul (and the sense of gosh-darn-goodness it brings them). This, sticking to the analogy, is the profits they make. So… by trying to sell your ‘product’ to a group of people who are largely in need of something that might give purpose to their rather craptacular lives is exploiting their weakness for your own gains.

I noticed more hits than usual this month and wanted to see where they were coming from. Your blog was one of the sources. I’m thankful to see my book receiving attention, even of the critical sort.
Leaving aside the many issues upon which you and I probably disagree and aren’t going to be too likely to change at this point…, I’m just curious about one sentence from your post. I might like to reply more to this sentence if given the chance, but first I want to seek some clarification. You said:

> Feeding off the poor and needy to further your own agenda is a flaw in humanity that shall damn thee to hell.

How have you seen missionaries in Suzhou “feeding off” the poor and needy to further their own agenda? What benefit to themselves do you think the missionaries are deriving which may be motivating them?

Thanks,
Zach

FYI – Obviously the BC/AD system was not in use at the time of Jesus. The Bible gives certain historical details about the time of Jesus’ birth which scholars have used to try to pinpoint the exact year of his birth. Since the BC/AD system was established more historical evidence has come forward so that most scholars now think Jesus was probably born between 6-3 “BC”.
In any case, the book was intended for Chinese people. Most Chinese, even Chinese Christians whom I have talked to, are not aware of the meaning of BC/AD and that the Western system for accounting years is set up to put Jesus Christ at the centerplace of human history. Saying that Jesus was born around 1 AD would be a silly thing to put in a book for Westerners, but it is helpful for Chinese who know so little about the life of Jesus.

You’re right about me being way off in the 2.1 billion Christians believing in a ‘young earth’, and I knew that when I typed it. I said it because I wanted a reaction to it… to prove this point: shouldn’t you believe it? This is where Christianity breaks down for me – cherry picking ideas.

I just wanted to respond to this briefly. My answer to your question would be “NO” you shouldn’t necessarily believe in a young earth because the Bible doesn’t say that the earth is young. This is the interpretation of a lot of people who want to take the Bible all too literally. They say that there actually was a dude named Adam and a chick named Eve… well, no one who actually wrote those stories down (Moses or whoever) was actually there to see it happen. It’s allegory based on oral traditions meant to express spiritual truths but not necessarily in a literal fashion. Most Christians don’t share this view because, for some reason I can’t figure out, it offends their faith to say that the Bible isn’t always literal. It doesn’t offend my faith, and I don’t think it’s “cherry picking”. Just because some theologian says that the Bible means this or that, I personally don’t take it as law. And that’s another one of the big problems with the church: people not thinking for themselves.

Interesting conversation here.