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How to Put Yourself in Others' Shoes
By Darryl Record
Naturally, you are drawn to her. You become friends. You begin to talk to her about
deeper things. One day, she says she wants to share something with you. She reaches
into her pocket and pulls a small booklet. She begins, "Buddha loves you and has a
wonderful plan for your next life." "Humanity has done many bad things, and has brought
bad karma upon itself, therefore we can never experience Buddha's love and his plan for
our next life." "Following the Buddha's teachings is the only way to go to Nirvana and
avoid the pain of being something lower in the next life." "We must individually, follow the
Buddha's plan so that we can go to Nirvana." Between each statement she reads a
quotation from the Buddhist scriptures. Such as "For Buddha so loved the world. . ."
After twenty minutes of explanation time, she tells you her testimony. She was on drugs
and had a bad family but finding Buddhism had changed her life and had given her
self-control and peace. She states that she has a video on the life of Buddha if you would
like to see it sometime. After meeting with her to see the movie she asks if you are ready
to become Buddhist.
If the preceding story actually happened to you would you convert from Christianity to
Buddhism? What would converting to Buddhism cost you? Would it cause problems
with your friends and family? Even though your friend is nice and you like her, every
reason she has given for converting to Buddhism is subjective. (Personal testimonies,
religious doctrines, and relationships are often highly subjective because they are based on
feelings). If you had some problems that she could solve for you or if you were lonely,
you might convert based on the strength of your respect for her but if she disappointed
you, you would likely turn from Buddhism and return to your former ways.
Now, imagine if your teacher could give you logical evidence from history, science,
mathematics, archeology, and logic that Buddha was real and that Buddhism was true and
that Christianity was false. If you loved truth and truly wanted to know and follow the
truth you probably would be willing to risk everything to follow it even if it cost you
everything.
Interestingly, many Christians evangelize in the same way as the "Buddhist friend" who just
tried unsuccessfully to convert you to Buddhism. They live good lives that earn them the
right to be heard. They are kind and exhibit Christ's love to their students. They are
prepared to share the basic doctrines about how to accept Christian but they are afraid of
the critic and the skeptic and often flee from any objections or difficult questions. Yet,
they are often frustrated because the people that they witness to either do not accept
Christ, or are weak in their faith when faced with opposition from their families and
friends. Also, many Christians know they should be bolder in sharing with their friends,
co-workers, and families but are often afraid to share because they are afraid that they will
be laughed at or even worse that someone will ask them a question they cannot answer
and they will look dishonest or foolish. They are afraid of the science teacher, the skeptic,
and the cult member down the street. They only show their faith when they are
surrounded by believers but then quickly cover it up when they leave the church door. If
they do witness, it is often with great fear of being contradicted and is often done out of
duty more than a sense of excitement.
This is not to say that our witnesses and personal testimonies are not important, and the
ability to communicate the simple plan of salvation is not important. They are vital but one
leg is missing-evidence. Integrating evidence (apologetics) into the evangelism process
will help accomplish four things;
1) Open the seekers' minds as they see that there are some legitimate logical proofs that
support Christianity which their own belief systems lack.
2) Help the new believer to withstand any repercussions because their faith is based on
experience, relationships, and evidence. Experience is important but it can often become
clouded in the midst of difficult circumstances. Relationships to the body of Christ are
also vital, but if the new believer only believes in God because he/she trusts a Christian or
a group of believers, will she/he still believe if that individual or group disappoints or fails
them or will he/she fall away? However, if one's belief system is supported by experience,
relationships and evidence it will likely withstand the storms. In essence it is loving "the
Lord your God with your heart (relationships/emotions) soul (spiritual experience) and
mind (evidence) Matt. 22:37."
3) Give the believer more confidence in their own faith because they know that it is really
true and so they can more easily trust and apply the promises of God. If the emotions fade
and their relationships disappoint, they still have the evidence. 4) Give the believer more
confidence and boldness in witnessing because they are no longer afraid of the scientist,
skeptic, or cultist. In fact, they often seek out the most skeptical people and share with
them. Instead of seeing objections to Christianity as a closed door to evangelism, they
begin to see objections as open invitations to share. It is easier to reach the skeptical than
the apathetic. Skeptics do not believe, but if their objections and questions are answered
properly they will. The apathetic may listen politely but they don't think what you have to
say is important enough to question or object.
The problem with modern evangelism is that we tend to use "tried and true" techniques
with the assuming that a tract, video, or seeker study that worked in the United States
decades ago will work in today's post-Christian world. Although the "Four Spiritual
Laws" are a very clear and concise presentation of the plan of salvation they are based to
three assumptions: 1) God exists and is the creator of all. 2). The Bible is true and
infallible. 3). Jesus really came to earth, died, and rose again. These three essential truths
are no longer taken for granted as being true, evolution, secular humanism, secular
archaeology, liberal theologians, and the media have planted many doubts in the minds of
people through out the world. If we as Christians do not counter these often unspoken
obstacles to belief, our non-Christian friends will listen politely but will never truly make
the step of faith. This is precisely why I encourage my students to voice their objections.
I tell them, "During this study if there is something that you don't understand or don't
believe, tell me. I know that if you went to church you might be afraid to ask the pastor
because you don't want to be impolite, but with me there are no impolite questions." To
get the discussion going, I give them a list of difficult questions: "Does God exist?" "Is the
Bible fact or fiction?" "Is Jesus real?" and others.
Required Reading
Before you begin an apologetics-based study you need to be personally equipped to
answer objections from several directions. To answer these objections, there are three
books that you should read in addition to two more that you should use as a reference.
These books are all easy to read and are written in such a way that you should be able to
remember the arguments. The best book in the world will be of little use to you if you
cannot understand its arguments and use them effectively in conversations without notes.
Evolution/Existence of God.- Hank Hannegraff, The Face that Demonstrates the Farce of
Evolution.
Diety of Christ/Validity of New Testament- Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ
Church History- D. James Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?
Evidence for the Bible/Christ-Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict
Cults-Walter Martin/Hank Hannegraff ed., Kingdom of the Cults.
Beginning the Study
Using apologetics does not replace traditional evangelism materials. Instead, it provides a
factual support for them so that they are taken more seriously and are more important. In
other words, traditional evangelism is the nail apologetics is the hammer used by the Spirit
to drive the nail deep into the heart.
It is always good to begin with establishing why it is important for our non-Christian
friends to make their own decision about religion because it is the most important decision
they will ever make. Next, it is important to find out what your friend believes about the
basic questions of life: Were we created by God or merely the result of chance? Is the
Bible God's word or just a book? Is Jesus really God? Does your friend want to know
more about Christianity? After that, you should spend some time answering your friend's
questions. Finally, you can present the plan of salvation from creation to the cross.
Our non-Christian friends will pay a price for accepting Christ as their personal savior.
Some will lose friends. Others will have family problems. In extreme cases they could
face more serious persecution. We owe it to them to give them the best evidence for
Christianity that we can so that they can make an informed decision. The Golden Rule of
Evangelism is this: Before you share your faith, ask yourself, "What would it take for me
to be converted to my friend's religion or worldview?" Then work backwards.