Sign up for our
free e-newsletter

Send us your latest local news and events

The challenge of being contagious Christians

Regular Network Norwich and Norfolk columnist James Knight looks at how we can communicate both the attraction and the reality of what it means to be a Christian in the fourth part of his series on Spreading the Good News.

There are, I would say, two ways to approach the subject of Christianity and argue in its favour - the intellectual appeal and the emotional appeal (with much overlapping between the two).  And the one to which you give the greater focus depends largely on with whom you are speaking and the conditions under which such a conversation occurs. 

You will meet many people who find that a good solid debate is a refreshing novelty to them, but equally, you will find many people who consider debates about theology rather unimportant in their lives.  It is certainly true that there is room for the emotional arguments and the intellectual arguments in spreading the good news to both kinds of people, but one thing we must never do is dilute Christianity in any way.  Our intellectual appeal is the part of our witnessing that shows Christianity is based on solid, logical foundations, and our emotional appeal is how we show that we care, and that Christ’s love will touch any heart that searches for Him and is ready to receive Him.  A good mixture of both kinds of appeal is usually what is required.

A good or bad decline?

We think that Christianity has been declining in the West for many years, and we are right.  But judging by the books written in the nineteenth century, it was not much better then.  There is at least one sense in which we should not be too perturbed by this decline; after all, it is not really Christianity, as such, that has declined (in the proper churches, I mean), it is all those diluted theistic philosophies and strict dogmatic ideologies. 

In some ways, or at least in one way, the decline of Christianity is not a bad thing.  I am talking about the identity that Christianity has regained from all the people who used to go to church out of obligation; for the social cachet, for respectability, and because they were pressurised by external forces.  If we can say that Christianity has claimed back its place in the domain of society - if we can say now that the people who go to church are people who have given, or want to give, their lives to Christ, then we can say that there is at least one advantage from the decline of ‘Christian’ numbers.  When I say all this I am, of course, referring to the real, true, vibrant, healthy Christianity - the one that Christ Himself intended to proliferate - not all those tawdry belief systems that are tarnished by hegemonic institutions, and the many sub-Christian groups and organisations that have been blighted by fraudulence, myopia, delusion, greed, fanaticism, fideism, gnosticism, and crackpot leaders. 

Although I have said that in ‘wholesome’ Christianity we have now a strong foundation for reaching out to the masses, and that churches nowadays consist of these types of Christians, this does not mean that people should feel uncomfortable about giving church a try, or that they have no place in the church if they have made no commitment to Christ; for it is a good thing if non-believers have an association with Christians and/or the church and always feel that they belong whenever they are a part of, or associated with, either.

It is true that there is, to some extent, separation between Christians and non-Christians, but I think it is useful to engage properly with non-believers and see things from their point of view, always with a readiness to engage and forge relationships.  You do not help an unhealthy man by showing him where his pain is, but by taking him to the doctor.  If our present climate is, to many, one which demands that the world offers reasonable alternatives to Christianity or secularity, it is equally one which should tell a man he does not have to make straight choices between two alternatives every time he is in our company.  We must help him find harmony between what he imagines his future as a Christian will be like, and what his emotions tell him about how his life is now; for in doing this we will give him something tangible to aim for - he can learn to appreciate what he has now but also he can press forward with greater goals in mind.  If one presses too hard straight away then people are often put off, and as Christians we should always be mindful of this, however great the message.

Christianity insists that we must take up our crosses and follow Christ.  Most people in our great nation do not consider such a claim as worthwhile or beneficial.  They prefer the comfort zone; thus, if men see becoming a Christian as something that will cost them dearly, they will have no more warmer an emotion towards it than they will have towards divorce or unemployment.  On the other hand, we must not make it sound too unrealistically alluring - we must find the right balance - we must tell them that it will be tough and glorious, painful and beautiful, challenging and enlightening – after all, most men and women have tasted pain and love, hardship and comfort, despair and glory - all diluted, all transiently teasing with undulation – they have been given many brief hints that the world is more glorious than it seems on the surface, and with much help from us they can put everything in the right context and observe the big picture for themselves.

We believe Jesus is the Son of God, but we do not think that He is to God what we are to our own parents.  The reality of God and His Son is something that exists beyond that which we can possibly imagine, yet through the pictures and impressions we can absorb from the Bible and His words, we can then locate fully our true desire for His being; for then we are able to, in a limited way, experience something that is not fully God but not fully ourselves either. 

The obvious problem for sceptics is trying to differentiate between things that are natural and things that are supernatural.  And without any experience of the latter, it is easy to see why they do not understand.  Just as the nature of, say, true amorous adoration, can only be experienced fully by two lovers, the nature of a Divine impartation can only be experienced by those who know God.  Christ said it was hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven, but this statement, while it covers riches in the financial sense, has other implications as well.  All the things that one covets can, if obtained in abundance, cause a barrier between man and God.  People think that earthly things are enough for them, but God wants to give them an eternal blissfulness that is, thus far, beyond their comprehension.  Moreover, it should be remembered, of course, that although we can make the most of our earthly lives (and as Christians, we have a duty to Christ to do so) we were not created to achieve the fullest sense of happiness in this world - this life is a precursor to Heaven, in which God has His greatest plans and blessings for us.  We are only trainees, being moulded by God into what He requires for us.  I think people who hold a realistic view of this world, that is, they see the bad things for what they really are, will, in the end, become optimists.  And equally, those who are unrealistically optimistic, who enshroud every problem with a wave of illusory hope will, in the end, become quite pessimistic.

The challenge of being contagious Christians

We do, of course, have plenty to learn ourselves from trying to be contagious Christians.  I think we can have a more positive ministry if we are able to treat every encounter as a challenge - not just for helping others but a challenge for helping ourselves.  In the many conversations and many witnessing opportunities we will, ourselves, constantly find great opportunities to learn a bit more about grace, and humility, and understanding, and patience; for in my experience, growth in Christ involves not just the self and Christ, it involves everyone you meet, growing in Him through our experiences with others. 

Every friendship and every human encounter can be used as an agent for building up our own character to be more like Christ.  St Paul says that we are to regard no-one from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16) and I think that instruction is twofold.  In the first place, we should, when thinking of others, think of the Heavenly considerations rather than purely human considerations; that is, we should care deeply for others regarding their earthly existence - and most important, help them to assure a Heavenly future.  In the second place, we should treat everyone the way that Christ treated each one of us.  There is no greater love than the love God has for man, and we help greatly our own spiritual growth in Christ when we love others in the same way that He loved us - overlooking human faults and idiosyncrasies, and seeing the best that is in them.  It is much harder for us to do the same; harder because we have most of the same faults that we dislike so much in others.  But if we continue to do our best, spreading the good news of Christ with warm enthusiasm, grace, love and understanding, we shall make an impact wherever we go. 

And remember when doing all your good work not to become too frustrated or impatient if you cannot see positive changes or if you think you’re not having the impact you hoped you would; for I can assure you that there are great things going on behind the scenes that you do not even know about.  You are probably having an impact and being influential in ways that you cannot even imagine - therefore do not worry too much if there seems to be a conspicuous absence of outward signs, because much of your best work will occur in areas that your eyes cannot possibly see and your ears cannot possibly hear.

Next week we will look at some more practical advice in helping non-Christians with self-awareness.