Tomorrow is the beginning of Atheism for Lent 2023. I woke up this morning with a little passionate rant on my heart that I wanted to release. It reminds me of one of last year's AFL inspirations: Jean Meslier. I downloaded his book, and he could rant. I don't know if I can rant like Jean Meslier, or another one of my Canadian rant heroes, Rick Mercer, but I'll give it a shot. Here goes.
* * *
Christian Evangelism is like… selling garage heaters to people who don't own a house.
Let me explain… My husband has a company that started the year we got married. We had met at Calcana, a factory that manufactures infrared heaters. These tube-like heaters have many purposes, but our biggest market is selling garage heaters. They are great units and use less gas then the forced air units and have better recovery. After thirty years of selling the product and thirteen years doing it through his own company, my husband is the best at what he does. He owns a garage heater, he believes that his line of garage heaters is the best, and his knowledge about the product outshines everyone else. I used to work in the factory and it was my job to build the units. I also believe they are the best infrared heater. They outperform the competition. They are the "Mercedes" of the Infrared Heater world.
I adore my husband's passion. He is not only good at what he does, he gets joy from seeing satisfied customers. He believes he has helped them and that means the world to him. I wish everyone could find something to be passionate about something and promote it the way Manfred promotes infrared heaters.
Manfred doesn't sell heaters to everyone, because everyone doesn't need heaters. He sells heaters to people who have garages, sheds, barns, patios that need heating. It wouldn't make much sense for him to sell a heater to an apartment dweller. This fact doesn't bother Manfred. He has a lot of customers, he doesn't need to promote his product to the whole world, he only needs to provide it to the people who need it.
Christian Evangelism exists because of a belief system that everyone needs the Christian product. EVERYONE! But the sad part is that the message doesn't sell because of how great the product is for the application, the message sells because people have been CONVINCED they need it.
To convince people that they need a "Saviour", a Christian evangelist get to tell them that they are sinners. Most of the time, it works. Add a little shame into anyone's life and they will look for a better way out. It's like telling someone they need a heater in their garage, but first one has to convince them they have a garage, even if they don't have one.
If the message of Christianity was "the best", would it really need shame to sell it's message? Is there nothing "redeeming" about who Jesus was that can inspire a person to be a better human being? Why must we throw the shit of shame on a person first?
What if a Jesus follower really believed that Jesus was good for someone based on who they believed Jesus was, not on what they thought the person wasn't. And even understanding the benefits of Jesus, wouldn't it make sense to find out if the person could benefit from such a connection? Maybe it's time that we go the person's house and see if they actually have a garage, before we try selling them a heater.
