How do you justify the time you spend at EvC?

Primarily evangelising. Thus a job of work largelyToo much time spent at it though. The trap is to wander into argument and debate for its sake and forget the reason why I'm hereIt is a habit I would like breaking. Had a few weeks of very light (for me) use a couple of weeks ago and it was great. There is so much life out there.

1. it is part of your self-styled program of continuing education.I wouldn't have thought so initially but I do find that dealing with argument here helps in realworld evangelism. It can be much less agressive there because having dealt with issues in such width and depth here you tend to have analogies and counters so readily to hand that you don't have to cling to one idea which is being resisted. Just drop it and move to another angle of approach. Sounds very predatory but is really is just about being "cunning as foxes"2. given current circumstances, this is as close as you can get to a social life.It ruins social life.3. a paucity of good converstation and worthy debators in your non-virtual social circle.A touch of that. You might put this your list. "Have argumentitive nature". I have one and I know it. But if I'm going down I'l take a few EvC-ers with me!4. a desire to share knowledge and help others improve their understanding of science (or religion).Main reason5. Its become a virtual addiction.Second main reason.

No prob Lfen. Bags are packed, its a sunny day,cup of tea in hand and waiting for my lift to arrive... Needless to say its a larger subject that can fit in a post - and an off topic one at that. God is the one who saves alright. But he does so with a mechanism. The gospel. The gospel itself is the thing which has the effectual effect on people. Not just the acutal verses alone, but also things that derive from the gospel (eg: objective morality discussion). The gospel is the sword which (in inverse fashion), when it pierces a dead heart, brings it back to life. God is the one who made the sword, he is the one who aims it at the heart and he is the one who applies the force necessary to pierce hearts. This provided that the heart hasn't made itself too hard for the sword to pierce.Evangelists can be seen as the swords scabbard. An item which merely carries the sword.If you cast your mind back through the bible you will see that God has always dealth with man through man (men and women). Why precisely I do not know. Jesus was the ultimate example of God dealing with man through man but the theme runs throughout the bible. God > godly man > ungodly manAn example is when Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and bravely spoke of the good news, it wasn't his debating skills which caused the result, it was God working through the gospel thus delivered. It wasn't him that plucked up the courage in such a dangerous time - it was God who provided him with the courage ("oh death where is thy sting?")Its the same today: take U2 and Coldplay two of the biggest bands in the world: both singing of God and his gospel one song after the other. And folk listen. They are not forced to do so, they are drawn to it. Similarily here: folk don't have to read or listen to the gospel preached but they will nonetheless. God isn't interested in whether the motives are not directly that he be sought or not - he works around that. And calls through it.People can either reject it in their hearts (or knower) or accept it. Perhaps not here, this day but, over a lifetime they will hear the call and in their hearts decide. Its not an intellectual thing so one can intellectually fight the whole way. Its at the point of heart conversion that the whole person is translated into his kingdom: the intellect along with everything else - lock stock and barrelMaybe start a thread on the subject if you'd like. I've never seen one about the subject yet now that I think of it{AbE} to add to the sword analogy. Having a sword pierce your heart is a painful thing to have happen to you. Just like it would were it a physical sword pushed through your heart, so it is with a spiritual sword bringing you back to life. A person starts out dead and so feels no spiritual pain. "Life is fine who needs the gospel?!" But as it starts to push in the pain starts. A convicted conscience, increasing awareness of ones sheer badness, the feeling of being a rat trapped in a cage of ones own making etc. The final push might result in the most excruciating pain of all. So it was for me. I don't blame God for this - I was the one who hardened my heart resulting in extreme force being required. I thank him often that he didn't listen to my (not directed at him) desire that the pain would cease. (In "A road less travelled" M.Scott Peck opens with the line along the lines of "Its an inescapable fact that life is difficult" and goes on to explain that neurosis is the result of attempts to avoid this legitimate pain - which is simply Gods call)Not all are like me: the death row conversions, the dregs who have tried everything and only turned when it was patently obvious that there was nowhere left to go. Others have more sense and see they have no place left to go earlier in the proceedings Some medicine tastes bad. But the overall objective makes it worth it in the endThey say life begins at 40. Eternal life can begin anytimeThis message has been edited by iano, 28-Apr-2006 11:23 AMThis message has been edited by iano, 28-Apr-2006 11:25 AM