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Help from the past . . .
Compelled by love . . .
Our motive for mission can be as important as our
method. Wrong motives can spell trouble for the witness of the church down
the line.
The apostle Paul, whom most missionaries take as their
model for mission, revealed his motives in his letters to churches and
individuals. At one point he confided, “Christ’s love compels
us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Paul understood the death and resurrection of
Jesus to be historical events which brought great benefits to all of
humanity.
He believed that one of the purposes of Jesus’
death was that all people would live for him “who died for them and
was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). His motivation for mission
was the compulsion of Christ’s love.
It so happens that ‘compulsion’ is a
word that comes up in some discussions of mission activity.
When my wife Gwenyth and I were working in India, we
sometimes heard expressions in the public media that Christian evangelists
were using compulsion – allegedly forcing Hindus to convert to
Christianity.
It is an accusation that is frequently made without
substantiation. In October 2002, the government of the province of Tamil
Nadu passed legislation outlawing ‘forced conversions.’
The decree now requires all conversions from one
religion to another to be reported to the district magistrate.
‘Forcible means’ include allurement and even ‘the threat
of divine displeasure.’ And anybody found guilty of ‘forcing or
inducing people to convert’ faces up to three years in jail, or a
hefty fine.
Whether or not Christian workers are actually
using compulsion is not made clear by such authorities.
Christian leaders in India deny using compulsion in
their evangelistic work, and suggest that the accusation is a
politically-motivated attempt to prohibit faith conversions of any kind.
Indeed, the government of the province of Gujarat moved to do exactly that
just last spring.
These reports raise major questions about
freedom of religion, the caste system and other matters, which Indians are
presently debating.
As for Christian workers, the controversy gives them a
chance once more to check motivation and method.
Whenever Christian workers use compulsion – and
I did not see or hear of evidence for this in India – they show a
serious misunderstanding of mission.
The only compulsion we read about in the New
Testament is the compulsion of Christ’s love. This is a compulsion
which safeguards freedom in the witness encounter – because the only
true conversion is a free personal response to God and the work of his
gentle Holy Spirit on the human heart.
Any attempt to force the response would be out of
keeping with the love which motivates mission.
Gordon Nickel,
Assistant professor of Intercultural Studies,
Director of Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural
Ministries Program, ACTS Seminaries, Langley, B.C.
Summer/Fall 2008
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