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Faith

Force-fed faith

violent-persuasionShould you ever force someone else to believe the truth? Is that even possible? Many people have tried it over the years. Many people, sincerely trusting that their own religious beliefs represent truth, have used force to try to get other people to accept those beliefs, attempting to spread a belief system by persecution rather than persuasion. Of course, force-based proselytising is usually accompanied by mixed motives such as a struggle for power or wealth.

In John chapter 16, Jesus warned his followers that they would be persecuted: “People will throw you out of synagogues. The time is coming when those who kill you will think that they are doing a favour to God. They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me.” The listeners might have anticipated persecution at the hands of synagogue rulers, but they might not have anticipated that many people claiming to be followers of Jesus would become persecutors.

True Christianity is not about political power. There may be times when people need to be asked to leave a church because they are harming the church community, perhaps by teaching things incompatible with the church’s beliefs or practices, but this must always be done in a spirit of love and in the hope of future restoration and reconciliation. The use of force in attempting to change a person’s beliefs is a flagrant contravention of the teachings of Jesus.