THE ETHICS OF EVANGELISM
A philosophical defence of ethical proselytising and persuasion
By Elmer Thiessen. Paternoster. 304 pages. £10.99
ISBN 978 1 842 277 243
The apostle Paul was concerned with the ethics of evangelism and a theologian would probably have started a book on this subject by examining passages like 2 Corinthians 2.17. But Dr. Thiessen is a philosopher and intends this book not just for Christians, but as an apologetic into the non-Christian and anti-Christian world that, while claiming toleration as its highest virtue, is opposed to evangelism which it describes with the pejorative term ‘proselytising’.
This book has the aim of giving a philosophical defence of ‘proselytism’, but at the same time raising questions for all Christians who are involved in evangelism.
The first section of the book is Thiessen’s engagement with secular views on proselytism, which will provide some arguments for those who engage at this level. More useful for many will be the second section where he sets out criteria for what he regards as ethical evangelism.
He picks examples from both cults and evangelicals of what he regards as false manipulation of people. While we would decry the examples of military conversion that took place in parts of Latin America, questions about the nature of our friendship evangelism are rather more unsettling. Are our methods of evangelism always characterised by true love for individuals which respects them as people and not just objects of our desire for converts?
This is not a book for everyone, but it should be read by pastors, evangelists and missionaries who need to evaluate their evangelism against Thiessen’s criteria. It would be a good study book for a ministers’ fraternal or a missionary candidates’ course. It would have been a stronger book if Thiessen had linked his arguments explicitly with scriptural standards of evangelism that look upon conversion as a supernatural act of God rather than the product of human manipulation of people’s minds and emotions. Paul’s eschewing of the rhetorical methods of his time need to be matched by our rejection of everything that detracts from the real power of God in conversion.
Ray Porter,
member of OMF International & Director of World Mission Studies at Oak Hill Theological College, North London
