I was doing some shopping at my local Fred Meyer and as I left, I was greeted by a fellow handing out flyers, saying something about a “burger giveaway.” As a vegetarian, I’m not going to be interested, but rather than get into that, I took the flyer and dropped it into the cart. As it left my hand, I saw the word “baptist” and realized this was actually an invitation to visit a local church, burgers provided.
The early Christians were willing to face the lions or the griddle, any number of horrific fates, for their faith, while today’s evangelical Christians seem unwilling to risk a polite refusal or disapproving glance for theirs.
While some are reluctant to publicly profess their faith, others are assassinating their enemies and then fleeing, rather than standing up for their beliefs. I know of no recent violent acts, planned or committed, against religious leaders here in the US.
That seems hypocritical to me. It suggests a lack of real conviction: not that I condone or encourage killing doctors or blowing up healthcare facilities, but commiting the act as a declaration of your faith and then hiding is not the act of a true believer, merely a murderer, a criminal, and a terrorist.
Is the fellow hiding his church’s fellowship meetings behind free burgers evil? No, I don’t think so, but what is there to be afraid of? I suppose some could claim my reluctance to engage him on burgers and vegetarianism constitutes a lack of conviction on my part, but I’m not evangelizing. I could suggest pizza as a more ecumenical approach, food-wise, but that’s another matter. The bottom line is, I’d rather see someone be open about what he’s doing.