If they want to be biblical about it, Jesus said 'shout it from the
rooftops', NOT Get in peoples faces about it.
He also said 'The kingdom of heaven is within', but it's hard to park
a Ferrari up a Christian's ass, so they had to re-define that too!
The type of proselytizing that occurs in American 'Christianity' is
based on insecurity, self-talk, not spirituality, of which the North
American variety of christ-worship has none save ritual, pomp &
circumstance.
Leigh
On 4/7/07, Yoshie Furuhashi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
According to Albert L. Winseman of Gallup, "Americans appear to be
particularly willing to share their faith; a majority of Americans do
not seem to think religion should be a 'private matter,' at least when
it comes to encouraging others to believe in Jesus Christ. Fifty-two
percent of Americans say they have 'tried to encourage someone to
believe in Jesus Christ, or to accept him as his or her savior.' From
1976 to 1984, an average of 46% said they had tried to encourage
others to believe" ("U.S. Evangelicals: How Many Walk the Walk? Fewer
Fit Description than Claim to Be Evangelicals." 31 May 2005,
<http://www.galluppoll.com:/content/Default.aspx?ci=16519>)
In contrast, secular leftists in the USA seldom try to encourage
someone to believe in socialism or anarchism, or to accept either or
any other way as the way to go, aside from anachronistic ML groups
perfunctorily selling (or giving away) their papers at this or that
demonstration, sometimes to the annoyance of other demonstrators and
clean-up workers. The evangelical spirit is lacking on the Left. Or
perhaps we on the Left are unsure of our faith to begin with, so we
don't recommend it to others, or we fear rejections, repercussions,
etc., still victims of the legacy of the Red Purge. For most on the
Left, our secular religion is a "private matter" in much of our lives.
Moreover, Winseman finds in the same article: "The percentage of
Americans who say they have had a born-again experience, leading to a
commitment to Jesus Christ, has increased significantly now compared
to when this question was last asked in the late 1970s and early
1980s. From 1976 to 1984, an average of 37% of Americans claimed to
have had such an experience. In 2005, 48% of adults -- nearly half the
population -- say they have been born again."
How many Americans would say that they have had a born-again
experience, leading to a commitment to socialism or anarchism or some
other coherent worldview on the Left, through their participation in
strikes, union organizing, pro-choice rallies, anti-war
demonstrations, environmentalist organizing, etc.?
--
Yoshie
