Pagans QUESTION from Helen Gilmour February 1, 2000 Re your answer to Douglas on December 29:
I used to be a pagan. Christians can't convince a pagan by preaching or 'bible thumping'. Many pagans were once Christians, and they have become pagans in reaction against their experience of 'church'. But God Himself can cut through that, and He does. It's like being seized by the scruff of the neck from a swamp, and dumped - all wet, muddy and miserable - in the sheep-fold! I think that praying for the people we know is the most important thing we can do.
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on February 6, 2000 Dear Miss Gilmour:
Yes, the main thing we can do and ought to do is pray for them.
However, we do have an obligation, according to the Bible and the Church, to speak the truth. If we have the opportunity to speak the truth to a pagan, we should and must.
That does not mean a knock-out, drag-out fight. It means expressing the Truth of God and the Gospel and letting the Holy Spirit do the rest.
We must always remember that no one comes to the Father but that the Father draws them to Himself.
We are not the convincers. We are merely messengers. The Holy Spirit is the convincer.
Thus we don't have to argue with a Pagan trying to convince him. We just need to be able to express the faith as accurately and convincingly as we can and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
God Bless.
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