Have most people heard the gospel?

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Tacceus

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I remember reading somewhere that by a certain date christian missionaries would have been to every part of the globe. So what do you think? do people know about God and purposely chose to ignore, or are there genuine people out there that can claim to have never heard about the gospel.
 
Personally, I suspect the issue is more that people have a rough idea of a LOT of different religious concepts.

One thing I’ve told people is that, when I was an atheist, I could tell you “Catholics believe X.” But I didn’t have any particular reason why I ought to believe in that. I know of very many groups, all of which have very many different beliefs - I didn’t regard that Catholics had a particular set of beliefs as having any more relevance to my life than, say, the beliefs of Sunni Islam on depictions of people, or Hindu prohibitions on killing cows. And I didn’t see a particular reason why one ought to be more important than another.

I think that’s a common mistake people make. Simply “hearing the gospel” or “knowing about God” in the intellectual sense of knowing that some people believe certain things about God and Jesus, doesn’t do a whole lot. Especially in the modern age where people have access to so many widespread different viewpoints. What has to be added to that is why that specific viewpoint is one that needs to be listened to and is important to investigate out of all the many out there.
 
I think most secular folk in the UK would know a few of the stories from the Gospel but may not be able to identify them as being from the Gospel.
 
I think it really depends on where you are in the world. For instance, I’ve been reading about different countries of the world for the past few months so I can learn more about what it’s like in places other than the US and so that I can pray for the people in those countries, and I recently moved into Asia after finishing Oceania. Multiple countries I’ve read about have “religious freedom,” yet it is illegal to teach your faith to someone who holds to another religion and it is illegal to convert (this week I’ve read about Nepal and Bhutan, and this is true for both of those countries). I’m pretty sure it is also true of countries where communism took hold/still has control.
 
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I heard the Gospel and intellectually accepted it. But my understanding and love of the Gospel continues to grow. It is a simple message but very profound. I don’t think we’ll ever comprehend the greatness of God’s loving mercy towards sinners. The more I contemplate God, the more I love Him and the more transformative the Gospel becomes.
 
Jehovah’s witness do house to house witnessing in more than 210 countries.
And this is accomplished by volunteers. Even our elders are volunteers and are not paid for their hard work. They publish the Watchtower in over 200 languages, more that any other magazine in the world. The Watchtower shows us the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news of God’s Kingdom and promotes faith in Jesus Christ. Awake! shows us how to cope with today’s problems and builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world.
 
Brucejlb said:
Jehovah’s witness do house to house witnessing in more than 210 countries.

And this is accomplished by volunteers. Even our elders are volunteers and are not paid for their hard work. They publish the Watchtower in over 200 languages, more that any other magazine in the world. The Watchtower shows us the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news of God’s Kingdom and promotes faith in Jesus Christ. Awake! shows us how to cope with today’s problems and builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world.
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The JW movement is a cult.
They deny the Trinity.
They deny Hell.
They preach a false Gospel.
Their “Bible” is a false translation.
 
Saxum said:
The JW movement is a cult.

They deny the Trinity.

They deny Hell.

They preach a false Gospel.

Their “Bible” is a false translation.
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I was thinking the same thing I know it’s classified as a Christian missionary but they’re pointing people in the wrong direction.
 
Tacceus said:
I was thinking the same thing I know it’s classified as a Christian missionary but they’re pointing people in the wrong direction.
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It’s not Christian. God is not the author of falsehood. The JW movement keeps people away from Jesus Christ and his Church!
 
There are literally hundreds of millions of people across the globe - mainly in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia, India, and the Pacific Ocean, who have never even heard of Jesus or Christianity.

There are even isolated groups and individuals in North America, though these are exceedingly rare.

So, the MAJORITY of people have heard the Gospel (probably about 5.5 billion people) - but I wouldn’t be surprised if as many as 2 BILLION have not heard the Gospel.
 
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Spyridon said:
So, the MAJORITY of people have heard the Gospel (probably about 5.5 billion people) - but I wouldn’t be surprised if as many as 2 BILLION have not heard the Gospel.
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This is really surprising! We’ve got a lot of work to do! It seems like the Church has neglected her missionary mandate since Vat II. We need to take up where St Francis Xavier left off. We need to embark on a massive program of evangelisation. Evangelisation of all groups including Jews and Muslims.
 
I agree.

Especially in rural China and rural India, there are entire villages and towns of thousands of people who have never had the Gospel proclaimed to them.

Some have never even heard of Jesus or Christianity, but these are more rare than those who have never heard the Gospel.
 
Spyridon said:
Some have never even heard of Jesus or Christianity, but these are more rare than those who have never heard the Gospel.
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I’m going to start praying for a restoration of the missionary orders and for the methods of evangelisation in use before Vatican II.

I think Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue have caused widespread religious indifference. It has made people believe in salvation without Jesus Christ. I’ve heard priests and nuns tell people they don’t need to become Catholic. A nun tried to persuade my parents to stop me from converting when I was a kid. Crazy.
 
Not good.

The pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction.

Prior to VII extra ecclesiam nulla salus was taken in an overly strict and narrow way.

Now it’s become too broad and loose.

It needs to come to a balanced medium.
 
Outside the church, lack of opportunity to hear the Gospel is the obstacle. Inside the church, selective hearing of the Gospel is the obstacle.
 
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Spyridon said:
Especially in rural China and rural India, there are entire villages and towns of thousands of people who have never had the Gospel proclaimed to them.

Some have never even heard of Jesus or Christianity, but these are more rare than those who have never heard the Gospel.
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There are over 25 million Christians in India. I wish the Portuguese would have left the Church of St. Thomas alone
 
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Casilda said:
I wish the Portuguese would have left the Church of St. Thomas alone
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Me too.

It was a terrible sin to try to Latinise them or even force the Roman Rite upon them…

The Malankara and Malabar East Syrian Rites are some of the most ancient and venerable Rites in all of Christendom.
 
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