Are Catholics Chicken or Something?

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Reposting an old, but interesting, article…

Jimmy Akin

Recently I was getting into my truck, and a gentleman I didn’t know came over to talk to me.

He wanted to talk to me about Jesus and the end of the world.

Now, he wasn’t one of the Family Radio people who think that Judgment Day is going to occur May 21, 2011 (just watch; Harold Camping’s prediction will turn out to be wrong again), but he was—if I understood him correctly—a Calvary Chapel Evangelical who, like many in that community, think the end of the world is near, that people will be suddenly raptured away before a thousand year earthly reign of Christ, etc.

His primary interest in talking to me, though, wasn’t to swap views on the end of the world. Instead, he had something else in mind.

He didn’t actually use the following terms—our conversation took another path—but translating from Evangelicalese to Catholicese, he was concerned that I might not be saved (i.e., in a state of grace) and wanted to make sure that before I die I got to know Jesus (i.e., experienced a conversion to Christ), so he wanted to witness to me (i.e., evangelize me) so that I wouldn’t go to hell (i.e., hell).

That was right nice of him!

Turns out I was already full-up in the witnessing department—what with being an apologist and all that—but the sentiment was very much appreciated, he was a really nice guy, and we had a delightful conversation.

I hope we can chat again in the future!

I couldn’t help admiring about the gentleman the fact that he was bold enough to go up to a total stranger and start talking about sensitive personal things like whether the stranger has a properly configured relationship with God.

That’s one of the more sensitive and personal topics that can be broached, especially in a one-to-one conversation—as opposed to preaching to a big group of people and asking them individually to consider their relationship with God. The latter is peanuts. Any decent public speaker could do that. Going face-to-face with a single person and making the rectitude of his relationship with God the topic, that requires courage!

I could tell that the gentleman was nervous at the beginning of our conversation, so I did my best to set him at easy and signal that I wasn’t threatened or put off. While I didn’t have a lot of time (I was, after all, getting in my car to go somewhere), I engaged the subject with him happily and enthusiastically, and we had a great (if brief) truck-side conversation.

It brought back pleasant memories of my own time as an Evangelical.

And as I drove away, there was a prominent thought in my head: Catholics almost never do what he just did.

Why?

Why Catholics so seldom work up the courage to approach a total stranger with the message of Jesus.

One might think it’s because Catholics are chicken, that they’re afraid to do so. And of course they are. Evangelicals are, too! You have to screw up your nerve to do this kind of thing. That’s only human!

Yet Evangelicals do it and Catholics—for the most part—don’t.

Why is that?

What are your thoughts?
 
One could easily say that the streetside form of evangelization is useless and not taken seriously in today’s world.
 
I know many people (coworkers, friends, family) who would react to this form of evangelization by it firming their desire to stay away from religion in general. They would find it annoying but tolerate the encounter if they were in a good mood and rude and presumptuous if they were in a bad mood. Either way they would walk away from the encounter not wanting to deal with or be associated with people who do such things. Though there are probably places where this could work, the attitude of my limited acquaintances and the general atmosphere of the area where I live would not welcome it.

I tend to see such encounters as wonderful examples of others being concerned for me even though I don’t agree with them. It’s very touching. I always make sure to thank them and try to be pleasant.
 

Sometimes, perhaps, but if used by the Holy Spirit as a fulfillment or confirmation of an earlier prayer or preparation, it can be all that the person needs to lead them to Christ. Check out this video from catholic apologist Steven Ray where says his father prayed to God to show him if He was real and 12 hours later a Baptist “street evangelist” came up to him and told him he needed Christ in his life (he got saved).
 
His father was already pre-disposed to being open to some sign or words from the Lord. The people around me have been beat over the head so much with it in their youth that they’ve decided to avoid it all because of how much they hated the experience. Having a stranger come up to them to discuss their salvation is the last thing they need.

Instead they just need an example of living in faith and the joy that comes with it and simple word of saying that you’re open to discussing any questions they have about your faith (the whys, hows, and whats) and just how it effects you personally. I’ve had more success with the people around me allowing them to feel comfortable just asking random things that they’ve always wanted to ask but were too afraid it would offend someone instead of me bringing up topics.

Like I said, it depends on the situation on whether it works or not. In the end the Holy Spirit can work in multiple ways. I’ve found that the way He works through me is a more quiet way.
 
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Catholics don’t do this in USA because the vast majority of people, even if they believe in Jesus or are open to the idea of believing in Him, find it annoying, intrusive, and are alarmed at being approached by a stranger on the street. I can remember this happening to me once in college and it really wasn’t pleasant, especially since the guy doing the witnessing and approaching started yelling at me when I said I was Catholic. We had another guy and his wife in my hometown who used to run a bar for years but then “got religion” and would be stopping people on the street downtown, including minors from the nearby junior high school, and basically harassing them about Jesus and trying to hand out Jesus flyers that ended up littered all over the street. People were totally put off by this and a couple of them, including the mom of a young girl who was harassed, were calling the cops.

We don’t like JW’s going door-to-door, and that’s far less scary than a perfectly strange person coming up to me on the street and trying to talk to me about Jesus. I would be looking for whether the person had a weapon or whether they were trying to pick my pocket or whether they hit me up for money or a place to stay.

I’m certainly not going to inflict that on other people. If I had an urge to pray on the street, I’d pray. If I had an urge to get up on a soapbox and preach, I’d preach. But I’m not going to get in people’s faces.

If somebody I actually know shows an interest in Catholicism or religion discussion, I’m happy to have it, but that’s different because it’s someone I know and they actually want to discuss. I’m not imposing on them.
 
Mostly if you see a marketing tool in constant use you can be assured that it works, at least some of the time, and produces results considered worthwhile by those using it. Someone trying to ‘save’ others might consider one should a lifetime to be a good return. But I think the results are probably better than that. Greenpeace uses similar techniques which suggests they are successful. I once watched an evangelical street preacher training a shy and embarrassed your man in the art. I was impressed by the courage of the young man and the empathetic, even loving, coaching of the older man. He knew the pain the trainee was going through! So while as an unbeliever the message did not impress, the commitment did. Don’t know if that was among the desired marketing outcomes.
 
It has been my experience that Catholics have no interest in discussing their faith. I’ve never had a Catholic approach me, nor do I find the Catholics in my life care to discuss their religious convictions. I’m apt to believe that the average Catholic is not desperate enough for the salvation of my soul into the one true church.

Jesus said to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 ESV

If that message doesn’t convict your heart to preach His name then I don’t know what will. Perhaps excuses that “some people might be mildly annoyed” are enough for ones conscience but not mine. Any fear in me is a result of sin. When I discuss my faith I look to be loving and kind and look for signs of genuine interest.
 
observer333 said:
Why Catholics so seldom work up the courage to approach a total stranger with the message of Jesus.
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The embodiment of the Gospel is more important than a lot of words. What people need is love, and though we must always be ready to give an account of our faith, what matters is that faith working through love.
observer333 said:
Yet Evangelicals do it and Catholics—for the most part—don’t.
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On the contrary, Catholics are all over the world serving the needs of the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned, etc.

" But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves[h] in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing… 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1
 
dronald said:
It has been my experience that Catholics have no interest in discussing their faith. I’ve never had a Catholic approach me, nor do I find the Catholics in my life care to discuss their religious convictions.
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This is a sad commentary. I do think that many Catholics have never been taught how to talk about their faith to others. It is something we can learn from our evangelical brethren.
dronald said:
I’m apt to believe that the average Catholic is not desperate enough for the salvation of my soul into the one true church.
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We are not taught to have 'desperation" about salvation, but rather, to live our lives in such a way as to demonstrate faith, hope, and charity so that persons who see our lives will be interested to ask or to emulate.
dronald said:
Jesus said to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 ESV
Click to expand...
“Preaching” or asking others to “get saved” is a far cry from making disciples. I do agree that people will not hear without a preacher, but the step that is after that - becoming a disciple - takes much more than a prayer and a promise.
 
This well intended nonsense could only make some sense in mid/south America perhaps?
To most other cultures outside of the US this is is not evangelisation but inappropriate and a turn off…unless you are terribly lonely.

So no, we are not chicken, we are reasonable … at least re this sort of thing.
 
I’m chicken.

The thought of trying to talk to passers by in the street about our faith frightens me.

Every time my priest dismisses me with the words “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” I feel inadequate. I’d love to spread the gospel of the Lord but I would find it excruciatingly difficult.

Also people could ask me some very difficult questions, about our thoughts on all the usual emotive things like, homosexuality, abortion, chastity and celibacy. Not an easy task at all and perhaps that’s why I was never approached by a Catholic myself in sixty years. We seem to let people come to us willingly and having had some prior knowledge of the Church’ position on these subjects. That is of course a lot easier.

When I’m asked privately about various things I do try to talk about it enthusiastically of course and I may even mention my faith in passing to start a conversation. That may be to a plumber, I can handle a plumber, he’s alone and struggling with a tap, how bad can it get…also he must listen and be polite to ensure payment!
 
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God hasn’t given me the gift of one to one witnessing. He has given me other gifts/talents. I use those to share Him with others.
 
Back in 1975 a Jesus Feak came knocking on my college dorm room door. That was probabaly the beginning of my conversion.

Now we seem to be inundated by evangelists wanting us to believe AS THEY BELIEVE. Some even invite to their church. Not much room for Christian diversity. I think effective evangelization and initiating that conversation with strangers takes skill and humility. And practice.

The gentleman who came up to you was imposing his beliefs on you, These days that can be considered insensitive. I think what we do is look for opportunities to witness our faith. Maybe vein create them in subtle ways.
 
When out in public, I will (very rarely) go up to a person who really seems to be suffering with some obvious physical infirmity, ask them about it, and ask if I can pray for them then & there. But of course I spent years as an evangelical, so… If compassion pricks my heart for a stranger like that, it just might be the Holy Spirit encouraging me to show them some love and concern. Even to tell them, “God sees you, you matter to him, and as soon as I leave you I’m going to pray for you” could really touch their heart. St Francis’ prayer says make me a channel (a conduit) of not just Gods peace, but also of his love and a whole list of beautiful God-good things. It’s not about witnessing a message. It’s about pouring out Gods love. We can each find ways to do that. But for me at least, there is always some initial fear to push through, for sure!
 
Just a few days ago I read in a British blogpost about something that happened, back in the 1970s, to a former prime minister, Sir Alec Douglas Home, who at the time held the post of Foreign Secretary, equivalent to Secretary of State. At the Conservative Party’s annual conference one year,

… he was ambushed by an ardent Christian lady. Sir Alec had a deep faith and he was on the evangelical wing of the church. The lady had got wind of this so she cornered him with a most intrusive question: “I hear you’ve been saved Sir Alec. Is this true? Have you been saved?”

The Foreign Secretary looked like a rabbit caught in the beam of a searchlight. But being a truthful man he took the lady aside and said to her sotto voce : “Well, yes, I believe I have been saved.”

This sent the lady into orbit. “Hallelujah!” she shouted, raising her arms above her head. Then she asked: “But Sir Alec, why are you not proclaiming your salvation from the rooftops? The Foreign Secretary nervously replied: “Madam, in my case, it was such a close-run thing that I thought I had better keep quiet about it.”

My question is this: When someone does what the woman in that story did, when they accost a stranger in a public place and ask him point blank, “Have you been saved?”, what kind of answer are they expecting? Some possibilities that occur to me:
• “I don’t know but I hope so.”
• “Yes, thank you, I have been saved. How about you?”
• “We’ll all find out the answer to that question when the time comes, won’t we?”

If somebody I’d never met were to come up and ask me that question out of the blue, my inclination, I think, would be to go for option #3.
 
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This cold call method of approaching strangers with the intention to evangelize wouldn’t have worked on me when I was an atheist. It seems like Jesus is being sold like a used car. Believe me, Evangelicals have tried that and frankly I was repelled.

Personally I prefer the method Catholics use. A lot of Catholics I know from all over the world work with charity, building schools, feeding the hungry, filling in needs both here and abroad. We take the time to know and care for people as individuals. That is not being chicken. That is showing our faith and light. This is what attracts people. Being a salesman doesn’t.

I know an Evangelical couple, who ministered to poor people in Japan. Now Japan is a first world nation but the poor exist there. They did not try to evangelize at first but got to be a part of the community, knowing and caring for the people first. They were able to build a church that still flourishes to this day. A lot of the locals had told them that if they tried the cold call approach they wouldn’t have been successful.

It’s a matter of approach. So not cold calling strangers is not a mark of cowardice.
 
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Desperate?

Why should we be desperate? Despair is not of God.

We as Catholics should practice the virtues and engage in corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Preaching to any stranger is not it.
 
Evangelization always speaks to a person. It’s not just a matter of having the courage to spit out the subject matter. We are speaking to people.

You have to start with that premise.
When you wish to communicate with someone, what are some basics?

1 speak a language the person is receptive to and can understand

If a person does not understand the language of salvation, you are just talking at them, not communicating.
It seems like a cliche, but many times the most effective communication consists of
1 eye contact
2 a smile
3 simple hello
4 how are you

Please consider, there is so little of these basics in our culture, that to bypass the interpersonal basics and go directly to arcane “church” language is not only ineffective, it is in fact rude and counterproductive. It pushes people away,

People respond to people. Kindness, peace, joy and personal concern are indispensable to evangelization. These are all part of friendship.
No one knows a person as a friend immediately. It takes time. If we are willing to invest time in people, evangelization can take root. It’s good to remember that God is the converter of souls, it doesn’t happen by our force of will. We co-operate.
 
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