Christians Trying to Convert Muslims and Jews to Christianity

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I’m not sure what to think of the newly-elected Rep. Madison Cawthorn. But I entirely agree with Harsanyi that his attempts to convert Muslims and Jews to Christianity sound perfectly legitimate. In Harsanyi’s words,

The investigative journalists over at The Daily Beast report that Madison Cawthorn, the North Carolina Republican who will soon become the youngest member of Congress in American history, “has admitted he tried to convert Jews and Muslims to Christianity.”

So what?

As a Jew, I’ve had a number of Christian friends try to turn me toward Jesus—Lutherans, Catholics, and Evangelicals. Though denominations seem to adopt different philosophies on how best to proselytize in a secular world, they have all been exceptionally polite about it.

My assumption is that they wouldn’t be very good Christians if they weren’t spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is, from what I gather, one of the central premises of the entire enterprise. To be honest, I’m often surprised at how shy Christians are at performing this task.

As a heathen, though, I am flattered by the attention. And as a person in possession of free will, I am also unconcerned. Never once have I found such efforts to be “anti-Semitic.” The very universality of the endeavor tells me it is not. I simply assume that my friends are troubled that I have forsaken salvation. Maybe they’re right. I’ll find out soon enough….

Well put, and as a nonreligious Jew, that’s my view, too. Of course, that’s also my view as to attempts by the irreligious to convert people of all religions away from religiosity, Muslims’ attempts to convert people to Islam, and the like.

Naturally, all of this could be done rudely, and sometimes could be done in a way that’s threatening (either of violence or of firing or bad grades or what have you)—as is also true of attempts to convert people politically or ideologically. But there should be nothing inherently troubling in people’s trying to change people’s minds (or people’s souls, if you prefer) on such matters, whatever the religions or ethnicities of the would-be converter or the prospective convert.

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