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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
Have you ever witnessed (shared your faith, what you believed, etc.) to someone online (in an online game, instant messaging, email, etc)? If so, what do you think is the best way? |
TallBill Member Posts: 298 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: 11-22-2002 |
No matter whether you witness with your mouth or not, you do witness with your life. Be what God has made/is making you to be, and let His Spirit shine through. God lays claim to all the glory. For that to be just and righteous, should He not be doing all the work? Therefore, let Him lead, and you simply follow. Do not step out ahead of Him, but follow Him. ------------------ "...prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer---pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying. Sometimes when you have no sort of comfort in your supplications, it is then that your heart---all broken and cast down---is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High." |
Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
You can show by your actions. For example HanClinto is an example to me with his actions even if I never see it. He's willing to be wrong, and always kind. You can witness with your actions even online, other than that, idk. ------------------ |
Jari Member Posts: 1471 From: Helsinki, Finland Registered: 03-11-2005 |
Remember to pray because no matter how wise words we think we could say only the Holy spirit can save people. ------------------ [VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] (Contact) - Truedisciple (mp3) |
samw3 Member Posts: 542 From: Toccoa, GA, USA Registered: 08-15-2006 |
I guess I've mostly witnessed in forums. Personally, I think the best way is sharing yourself and asking deeper questions. Sharing yourself could be saying what God has done in your life. Someone at church this past Sunday encouraged me to consider *all* the things God has done for me recently.. even really small things. She said, maybe even keep notes for a few days. Its easier, I think, to talk about God's work in my life when I'm actually taking note of it. It's so easy to take things for granted. As for asking deeper questions, some situations lend themselves to deeper topics (i.e. christian/philosophy/religion-in-general topics in forums), while other's require the development of a friendship first so the person doesn't feel uncomfortable. Consider the difference between a friend and a complete stranger coming up to you and saying "Hey, I heard your dog died.. sorry to hear that." God Bless! ------------------ |
InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Preach the Gospel. 90% judgment 10% grace. Just throw that little zinger in there to get things riled up. ------------------ |
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TallBill Member Posts: 298 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: 11-22-2002 |
Actually, that's 100% judgment, 100% Grace. 100% certainty of hellfire and damnation on our own; 100% certainty of Heaven by God's Grace should we be chosen of Him. ------------------ "...prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer---pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying. Sometimes when you have no sort of comfort in your supplications, it is then that your heart---all broken and cast down---is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High." [This message has been edited by Tallbill (edited October 10, 2007).] |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Perhaps I should have clarified that the 9:1 ratio was in referenced to the preaching. I actually had a point to make with that statement that I was hoping people would question further on the statement of me saying that we should preach 90% judgment. I was hoping that would cause some curiosity in which I could further expound on serious points confronting modern evangelism. ------------------ |
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TallBill Member Posts: 298 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: 11-22-2002 |
It should be obvious that no one is going to accept the Gospel except they first accept the fact of their own depravity and that without God their ultimate destination is hellfire and damnation; that they have already accepted the import and the reality of that. How is it that such a thing will occur? Usually only through the mouths of preachers. The problem in this day and age—in this society—is that “preachers” rarely have the courage, and this tells me that very many of those whom we call “preachers” are actually only ear-ticklers and pontificators through whom the Spirit of God does not speak—no matter how eloquent they might seem to be because they lack the courage that comes from the Spirit of God. During His earthly ministry even Jesus Himself ripped people a new backside with His preaching. He called them slaves, walking graves, and children of the devil as well as many other unfriendly terms. He has the courage of the Spirit of God. Of course, if you're looking for people to “make a decision”, then this is not the way to go. But decisions do not save. God saves. It is in Jesus’ own name, which literally means, “Yhwh saves”. ------------------ "...prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer---pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying. Sometimes when you have no sort of comfort in your supplications, it is then that your heart---all broken and cast down---is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High." |
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InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Exactly. I once heard it described to me as such. A man goes to the doctor and the doctor tells him that he is fatally ill. The doctor goes on to describe the disease. The man grows ever more nervous. Sweat is visible on his brow. After a lengthy description of the disease the doctor says "but there is a cure" The patient immediately responds "give it to me" with NO hesitation. Today a lot of what is preached is a man-centered, ear-tickling false gospel which has nothing to do with Christ at all. ------------------ |
spade89 Member Posts: 561 From: houston,tx Registered: 11-28-2006 |
yeah about witnessing i have a question here many people(to the best of my knowledge) have heard the gospel(at least around here in houston) and the majority of the people i work with when i ask them if they are a Christian they say something like yes or sure or this lady even said to me "do i look like a muslim to you?" and some of them go to Church and those who don't if they have heard of the Gospel (i think most of them)they have rejected it. when i try handing some people Gospel tracts they won't even read it they don't even want to accept it. so i don't have an extended experience with this ... and about witnessing online when i go to Christian chatrooms most of the times what i find is some Christians and atheists debating agiainst the Christians. what kind of chatrooms do you witness at?i don't know how to witness at singles chatrooms and as far as forums go what kind of forums? ------------------ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [This message has been edited by spade89 (edited October 11, 2007).] |
ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
On the flip side, I had a guy randomly IM me and try to convert me to islam. who wants to see the chat log?
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spade89 Member Posts: 561 From: houston,tx Registered: 11-28-2006 |
then i must be a weirdo too,this one time i emailed random people whose email i found on forums and stuff and told them about the Gospel but i didn't get any replies so... but at least i wasn't trying to convert anyone to islam,could you post the chat log arch? ------------------ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. |
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ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
oooh... emailing random people. That's rough. In a sense, it's kinda an invasion of privacy. Sure, they're email might be up, but they never talked with you first, so it seems sort of an intrusion. My opinion, atleast. so, note, when I talk about the Goddess Ke Ala, it was in reference to a friend, Keala, to whom I was forwarding the entire chat, at the time. I also blanked out the guy's name. privacy issues. and yeah, I was kinda crude at times.
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steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
quote: Well, two out of three of those terms, "graves" and "children of the devil", were applied directly to the Pharisees and other religious leaders. Peter he called Satan. His disciples he called "little faith." When he preached to the rest of the world, he was much gentler, spending time to get to know them (even prostitutes!), and sharing the truth with love. The Pharisees, he accused of laying burdens on people without lifting a finger to help them. My question would be, if a prostitute or a drug dealer tried to start up a conversation with you, would you: I imagine B and C would be what most Christians would do. Jesus took the last option, and suffered the consequences and personal disgrace, including the fact that people got saved and turned away from lives of sin. I usually get stuck with B, because I am lazy and proud. Some Christians have pushed me toward C, but it is rarely effective. I can say that I've managed to become friends with numerous unbelievers, and I've had many opportunities to share my faith--at least once a week. I still "cross the street" to avoid prostitutes and drug dealers, but, I hope one day to get over my own hang-ups. I don't personally see how preaching to people online could work very well, unless you had somehow established that level of trust with a person. ------------------ [This message has been edited by steveth45 (edited October 12, 2007).] |
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samw3 Member Posts: 542 From: Toccoa, GA, USA Registered: 08-15-2006 |
quote: I believe the topic is about witnessing and not preaching. Semantically, witnessing is a lot different than preaching. Witnessing is giving a personal account of something that God did--like a passive observation. Preaching is proclaiming a message from God to someone--a bit more active and pointed and often less personal. Christianese sometimes tries to lump these two terms together, but they are distinct in the greek as well as in english. When Christ said "you shall be my witnesses", it was like the world was putting Christ on trial and the disciples were to testify to prove his validity by their own personal testimony--as witnesses. This is not to say we shouldn't preach. The gospel is good news! But why would anyone trust Christ if there's no one who gives a positive witness about him? You know--who give him props. Just some thoughts.
Check out my CCN SpeedGame 2 Blog [This message has been edited by samw3 (edited October 12, 2007).] |
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TallBill Member Posts: 298 From: St. Louis, MO Registered: 11-22-2002 |
quote: My question would be, if a prostitute or a drug dealer tried to start up a conversation with you, would you: I would treat them according to them. The arrogant Jesus treated as arrogant people who in truth knew nothing. Those who acted as if they knew the Law were exposed to the consequences of that Law without exposure to Grace until such time as they confessed that they did not know the Law (Nicodemus, for example). It wasn't just religious leaders that drew His ire; money changers and sellers of goods also drew His wrath, and, while He might have wept over it, those who were headed to hell were left to hell. Those whom He had chosen in eternity past were the ones that He guided to Heaven (the woman at the well, for example). Nothing I say or do will ever change anyone’s course to eternity. It is only the work of the Spirit of God that will change that destiny. Since I do not know who is chosen and who is not I simply do my level best to allow that Spirit of God to speak and to shine through me (praying at all times that I not be the one seen, but the light shining through me). It is up to me to be obedient. It is not up to me to convert. That is God’s job, not mine. ------------------ "...prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer---pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because you cannot pray, for it is when you think you cannot pray that you are most praying. Sometimes when you have no sort of comfort in your supplications, it is then that your heart---all broken and cast down---is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the Most High." [This message has been edited by Tallbill (edited October 13, 2007).] |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
quote: You are correct.
quote: I see where you're coming from. In the real world I think preaching to people isn't always as effective as knowing someone and witnessing to them in words and in actions. While the internet does have it's advantages, it's not nearly as personal as the real world. But on the internet I believe Samwe's method is a really good one, asking deeper questions, I don't think you need to know someone really well to challenge their beliefs. For me I try pointing people to Jesus, the best I can, in fact I think asking people what they think of Jesus himself is really interesting, it's amazing what people have tacked onto him. To me the internet and the real world is like a concert, as the real world is the concert and the internet may not be the real show or anything like it, the internet is a good tool for being a billboard to advertise or point people to the show. [This message has been edited by Lava (edited October 14, 2007).] |
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steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
quote: I don't feel that witnessing online is particularly effective, either. The same goes for testifying, sharing, or other semantically different terms for communicating our faith with others. ------------------ |
SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
quote: I'm late in this conversation and admit I have not read back too far. What is your defintion of 'effective'? Though I have not personally seen anyone come to Christ through the internet/web, I have seen people's hearts and attitudes change. I have seen this a few times over on CCGR. One guy in particular was a major troll and bad mouthing Christians and all sorts of stuff. We responded by simply loving him and didn't argue back. A few months later he came back on-line and apologized to us and told us how our behavior and attitude towards him helped him change and work through some tough isses. We have had other accounts of people coming on and saying a bunch of negative stuff, and then say, "Hmmm, you guys are different. Your reaction is not what I expected." I can't help but think we are being effective at some sort of level. We also have many regulars who are non-Christians...and they have a fairly firm stance against Christianity. But they do continue to hang out and talk. I honestly feel almost anything can be effective. That's because it's the Holy Spirit working within the person. Someone can trip over a rubberband and come to Christ. We just don't know how/when/where someone will come to Christ, but we can be a catalyst, a helper, a friend at any point. EDIT: As to the original question, I have witnessed to people many times over at CCGR. I have not been in those types of discussions for quite a long time, but I used be quite active discussing Christianity with non-Christians. I was also in a Jedi Knight clan which was made up of many Christians, although we were not a Chrisitan clan. Our goal was to accept anyone and if conversations happen, then they happen. Most of the non-Christians in the clan didn't really care to hear the Christian stuff, but I do recall one time me and another guy were online and some guy made some off color comment. We started asking the guy some questions and explaining our faith, but nothing came of it. I don't really know what the best way is to witness on-line. I guess, just learn and read. I find forums better because I can think through my thoughts and do research. I don't need to be ready for a speedy answer as when you are playing something online. But that's me. Maybe you do really well conversing 'on the spot'. Just know your bible, read your bible, and don't be afraid to look something up. [This message has been edited by ssquared (edited October 16, 2007).] |
