Interview with a Christian Evangelist

I chose Christianity as the religion to write about for a couple of reasons. The first reason is because the city in which I am from has a very high concentration of Christian men, woman, and children. The second reason I chose Christianity as my topic

is due to the lack of other religious entities where I am from. I researched other religions such as Buddhism, and Hinduism, however I came up short in finding people who follow that type of worship. And although I consider myself a Christian, I find myself to be ill educated in the proper following of that religion.

Christianity is the worship of a single God, and the following of God’s son, Jesus Christ. It is the belief of Christians that Jesus died for our sins, and rose from his death to lead us in life. During his life, Jesus was persecuted because of what some say was blasphemy. And as such he was considered an outcast by the Romans, as well as many other cultures. Christianity is also the most followed form of worship in the entire world with an estimated 2 billion followers worldwide. What follows is an interview with an evangelist who is completely dedicated to Christianity, and was willing to share his daily living, and worship rituals with me.

Northeast Church of God
John Doe Jr., Evangelist
Any town, USA United States
Interview Summary:

How long have you been a Christian?
About 10 years dedicated. I was saved or at least came into contact with Salvation at the age of 7. I really started my walk when I was 16 though, and I am 24 now. And it has been a long walk.

What prompted you to choose Christianity as your faith?

You mean, why did I choose Christianity? Yes. Ok…there is a difference. I didn’t choose Christianity, but Christ chose me. No one really wants to come to Jesus in a real sense, we just want to make ourselves feel better about all the bad things we do so we make religions to do ceremonies in which makes us feel better about ourselves. But I have a relationship with God and it sometimes isn’t comfortable. Just like being married, it has its good times but when you don’t do the right thing you get that look, and the conviction of sin, and I hate that…as all men do. The Bible says that no one comes to the father unless he is drawn and that we are enemies of God from birth because we love sin more than Holiness. But true Christianity isn’t about feeling good all the time.

Forgive me for sounding uneducated, but does the Bible really say that about no one comes to the father unless he is drawn?

Yes. John 6:44 says “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. And it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does well, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. That’s Romans 3:10.

This is the importance of Hermeneutics. It is the study of how to properly read the bible, to understand it not just at face value but the history and how it fits. People read the bible and take a verse and make it their own when it isn’t meant to be that way. This is why there are so many atheists. If Christians would really read and obey the Bible there would be no reason for them to doubt. Everyone says that Jesus is love and goes about sinning openly because He loves and will forgive, but they forget that He will judge every work of man.

What was the faith practiced by your mother, and father?

Well, none really. My dad claimed Baptist and my mother Christian Science. Neither ever went to church and would make most Baptist’s faint if they ever heard them talk. But, they were good people and sent my Sis and I off to church so they could have some quiet time. An excuse to sleep late, and not cook breakfast.

Ok you said you were an evangelist correct?
Yeah, sure, title me. I am just a Christian looking for truth and a better me. Not a convenient me, but a better, truly better, me.

Christian is good enough for me, I will profile you as you wish to be profiled, I simply thought you had mentioned that you were an evangelist. I honestly am not sure what that entails, so either way is fine by me.

An evangelist just talks to people about Jesus and shows them why the Bible is true and why you can believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, scientifically and historically and biblically and vs. other belief systems if needed

I understand. Ok let me ask you this. How long have you been an evangelist?

Like, really going out and talking to people, about a year, but I have been sharing with people since I was 16 or so. You choose. Some people go out and pass out tracts which are what I have been doing for a year now. Before I just talked to people I knew or family and friends, that sort of thing.

Ok, why did you, or do you desire to be an evangelist, and preach Christianity to others?

Honestly, I hate the idea… I find myself scared before I go out and afraid I might get in a fight or laughed at. It takes a lot of courage to tell someone about what God did for them by sending His son to die on a cross for our sins. Most people think they are perfect and don’t nee a savior, or that truth is relative. There are arguments and everything. There is no magic formula or word you say that makes one believe.

It is all in the Holy Spirit…back to the verse that no one comes unless they are drawn by God. People hate me telling them that they have been told a lie and that they might go to hell, that I’m judging them.

But they fail to see the fact that I believe what the Bible says to be true not on just an experience but on real facts, and that is so hard to do. Actually, it’s impossible. I have never once convinced someone of that fact. God had already prepared their hearts before I even spoke to them, so when the words leave my mouth it is not I who speak but the truth of the word of God speaking.

Does that make sense?

Yes actually it does make sense to me.

Good. I evangelize not for my benefit but because I owe a debt to Christ for all he has done. If a stranger took a bullet for you, wouldn’t you feel compelled to do whatever you could to show that person you were grateful? That is why I go, because he asks me to. And so I am compelled not for me but Him. That is why Apostle Paul said so many times that it is the Power if Christ that compels Him, the power of His Death for us compels him.
Ok I have to move on to another question or I am going to end up having to write a book.
Were you ever chastised because of your faith in God? And if so, how did you handle it?

In what way do you mean?

Made fun of, or put down basically because you believe in God.

Ah. Yes all the time. I chat frequently. Let me think of a good one. This is hard. My most unwelcomed criticism comes from my sternness in my belief that the “whole” bible is to be practiced. Mostly people who are agnostic who don’t believe in God are the hardest. They don’t believe in what they can’t see and that is the problem. Proving something you can’t see touch, taste, and smell or hear. That’s all I can say on that. I just get called an idiot and stuff. But that’s about all. I am grateful for that. No fights yet.

What do you believe are the defining points of your faith? In other words, what was it that made you say this is the faith for me?

Just the fact that the evidence so clearly points to a creator, scientifically, and the other religions just don’t line up right. There are too much in view if what’s best for “Man” and not what does God want.
What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?

Christmas, Easter, Good Friday …etc

How has religion shaped your life?

It has shaped my life to be more than I thought I could be, given me hope.

What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion?

I mentioned that at the beginning of your questions.
In comparison to another religion, I would have to say that similar instances occur both in Christianity, and in Judaism. Judaism does not characterize itself as a religion so much as a way of life. Thus, Judaism has also been characterized as a culture or as a civilization. To religious Jews, Jewish people hood is closely tied to their relationship with God, and thus has a strong theological component. This relationship is encapsulated in the notion that Jews are a chosen people. Christianity, on the other hand, is characterized by its claim to universality, which marks a significant break from Jewish identity and thought.

Christians believe that Christianity represents the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and the nation of Israel, that Israel would be a blessing to all nations. Jews and Christians seek authority from many of the same basic books, but they conceive of these books in significantly different ways.

Traditionally, both Judaism and Christianity believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for Jews the God of the Tanakh, for Christians the God of the Old Testament, the creator of the universe. Both religions reject the view that God is entirely immanent, and within the world as a physical presence, (although Christians believe in the incarnation of God). Both religions reject the view that God is entirely transcendent, and thus separate from the world, as the pre-Christian Greek Unknown God. Both religions reject atheism on one hand and polytheism on the other.

Judaism teaches that the purpose of the Torah is to teach us how to act correctly. God’s existence is a given in Judaism, and not something that most authorities see as a matter of required belief. Much of Christianity also teaches that God wants people to perform good works, but all branches hold that good works alone will not lead to salvation, which is called Legalism. In both religions, one’s offenses against the will of God are called sin. These sins can be thoughts, words, or deeds.
Both Jews and Christians regard pregnancy as a gift from God, and hold children to be miracles.
Differences between Christianity and Islam are noted below.

Islam’s do not believe in the Trinity, whereas Christians do. In Islam God has 99 different names, many of them depict His beautiful aspects (jamal), and some of them depict His power, authority and grandeur (jalal). Christians currently emphasize the beautiful aspects of God (i.e. God is Love)
The Quran teachings may be summed up as follows: (1) Christ was neither crucified nor killed by the Jews, notwithstanding certain apparent circumstances which produced that illusion in the minds of some of the enemies; and (2) Jesus was taken up to God. Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on a cross.

Closing:
Christianity is a highly diverse multicultural religion that spans the globe. And although there are many different religions, and many different practices, Christianity seems to be the mainstay of people all over the world. By interviewing an Evangelist, I have not only broadened my insight into Christianity, but I have also further cemented my belief in God, and what he stands for. But not only have I been able to further root myself into Christianity, I have also gained a new and profound respect for people who practice, or worship through other religions. Although I don’t believe in the religion, or religions that they may hold true too, I do have a broader respect for those who choose to take up another means of religion as their daily way of life. Interviewing, and completing this paper has given me more information than I could have ever possibly imagined, and I will use this information for the rest of my life for things that will not only benefit me, but others as well.

References:

http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html#differences_basic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_Judaism