You’ve seen them on our streets, received their knock at your door, listened to their pitches and gotten rid of them as fast as you could. Who are they? Door-to-door evangelists, that’s who. Their persistence, even their presence, makes many people uncomfortable, perhaps even angry and defensive.
Who are these people anyway?
In some cases they are representatives of one of a variety of Christian churches. However, these days, they are often representatives of organizations who subtly twist the message of the Bible to present a distorted view of the truth. In any case, they represent something most people don’t want to talk about, especially to strangers … religion. And strangers at the door evoke other fears in our increasingly distrustful age.
As a Christian minister, I wonder how it is possible to overcome these barriers. How is it possible to build some credibility with people in order to get an opportunity to have a conversation about spiritual things?
The reason that religious people have resorted to door-knocking is that there are some people who are interested in spiritual conversations, if you can find them. Door-knocking, though there are many negative reactions, does offer an inexpensive way to make many contacts in order to find those few who might be interested in talking. Thus, one way of looking at it is as a low budget advertising campaign. (Of course, it also tends to drive up the negative reactions of the vast majority, so it appears to be an investment of time that offers increasingly poor returns.)
Well, I am interested in finding folks in Greater Victoria who might be interested in having conversations concerning all kinds of subjects from a ‘religious’ or spiritual perspective. This web-site, religionvictoria.ca, is my attempt at creating a place where that can happen.
What I intend to do here is to offer weekly commentary – a blog – on various topics that might be of interest to Victorians. I may use local news items as a catalyst for starting the conversation. Some conversations may continue for several weeks … that would really be my ideal!
I would like to engage the people of Victoria in a forum like this where we can converse ‘at a distance’, getting to know one another and listening to contrasting points of view. My perspective will of course reflect my independent Baptist point of view. Your perspective may well be quite different. I welcome differing opinions, but I do ask that all who join in do so respectfully (please see my comments guidelines as mentioned elsewhere).
Where do we go from here? Well, your response will dictate the direction to some extent. The plan is to make a trial of religionvictoria for three months. Your interest and participation will determine how long we persist beyond the trial period.
Our lives are full of many ambitions, but the one thing most people think too little about is the spiritual dimension and the destiny of the soul. May this site have a part in remedying that.
Pastor Don
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