My parents are missionaries to Spain. Thus I have had significant exposure to them, other other missionaries, and conversion techniques in general. Far and away the most popular among those I have been exposed to is #3, with #1 coming in a far second, followed by #2 and then #4.
The one that got a conversion out of me, however, was #1. As a prepubescent boy, I was terrified of getting ‘left behind’ in the rapture and/or being eternally separated from all of my loved ones. (btw, I am now an atheist)
Anyway, probably the most important part of proselytizing is getting to the people who are interested in spiritual things. Door-to-door literature distribution, university campus flyers, open air evangelism, etc.; most of these done for the purpose of getting a handful of leads with which to develop a friendship and relationship with in the successive months.
One selling points of Christianity (specifically Plymouth Brethrenism) was a diligent search in the Bible (and only the Bible) to find spiritual truth. Missionaries would have been quite certain of their interpretations and quite able to back them up with scripture. People want truth and the my parents et al. did a remarkable job of chalking up their religion as truth.
Another was the promise of release from guilt preceded by the deliberate inculcation that one is a rotten sinner. This point centered mainly on the guilt itself, not the fear of punishment. The guilt was created by reflecting on the potential convert’s past life, whether full of actual sinfulness or self-righteousness instead (rarely is a person neither of these), and comparing that to God’s perfection. Usually, potential converts were individuals already of theistic or conversely ecumenical persuasions, so belief in a good God was present.
The argument was such that infractions require punishment and that God is perfect and cannot entertain imperfection. Everyone merits eternal punishment for their sin, yet no amount of punishment is sufficient to make them perfect. This should lead to a crisis where one becomes distraught and convinced of their inability to divert their fate: they are utterly helpless and vulnerable. At this point, the Savior enters the picture, asking for belief and acceptance in exchange for imputation of his sacrifice at Calvary to their account. God sees the convert as Jesus Christ, not as the sinner, and therefore as whole, sinless, and perfect. Guilt flees, and gratitude on the behalf of the convert seals the deal.
Another selling point which was never made explicit was the church as a social group. Of course, churches in general are known to be community gathering places. However, the Plymouth Brethren (aka Assemblies) are a tight lot. In Spain, and also in the US, there usually are one or two about 75 person assemblies per medium size city. Many friendships within the Assemblies are decades old, there is a high amount of intermarriage (marriage outside the Assemblies is generally frowned upon, but the spiritual commitment (and therefore born again status) of the potential mate is the necessary and sufficient condition for the families’ blessing), there are large families (6 children begins to be large--4 and 5 are very common) and practically no divorce, there are camps, retreats, and conferences for the Assemblies, there is at least one college (attendance at Christian colleges is smiled upon, but it is not necessarily encouraged). At any rate, the Assemblies form a small, coherent global network of people that I’m sure is very attractive to the normal human. I have yet to know of any other such community; please let me know if you know of one.
So, conversion works like this: establish the authoritativeness of the missionary, create an emotional crisis, provide the solution which is believed because of the prior establishment of authority, initiate the convert into a well-rounded Christian lifestyle and community.
My parents are missionaries to Spain. Thus I have had significant exposure to them, other other missionaries, and conversion techniques in general. Far and away the most popular among those I have been exposed to is #3, with #1 coming in a far second, followed by #2 and then #4.
The one that got a conversion out of me, however, was #1. As a prepubescent boy, I was terrified of getting ‘left behind’ in the rapture and/or being eternally separated from all of my loved ones. (btw, I am now an atheist)
Anyway, probably the most important part of proselytizing is getting to the people who are interested in spiritual things. Door-to-door literature distribution, university campus flyers, open air evangelism, etc.; most of these done for the purpose of getting a handful of leads with which to develop a friendship and relationship with in the successive months.
One selling points of Christianity (specifically Plymouth Brethrenism) was a diligent search in the Bible (and only the Bible) to find spiritual truth. Missionaries would have been quite certain of their interpretations and quite able to back them up with scripture. People want truth and the my parents et al. did a remarkable job of chalking up their religion as truth.
Another was the promise of release from guilt preceded by the deliberate inculcation that one is a rotten sinner. This point centered mainly on the guilt itself, not the fear of punishment. The guilt was created by reflecting on the potential convert’s past life, whether full of actual sinfulness or self-righteousness instead (rarely is a person neither of these), and comparing that to God’s perfection. Usually, potential converts were individuals already of theistic or conversely ecumenical persuasions, so belief in a good God was present.
The argument was such that infractions require punishment and that God is perfect and cannot entertain imperfection. Everyone merits eternal punishment for their sin, yet no amount of punishment is sufficient to make them perfect. This should lead to a crisis where one becomes distraught and convinced of their inability to divert their fate: they are utterly helpless and vulnerable. At this point, the Savior enters the picture, asking for belief and acceptance in exchange for imputation of his sacrifice at Calvary to their account. God sees the convert as Jesus Christ, not as the sinner, and therefore as whole, sinless, and perfect. Guilt flees, and gratitude on the behalf of the convert seals the deal.
Another selling point which was never made explicit was the church as a social group. Of course, churches in general are known to be community gathering places. However, the Plymouth Brethren (aka Assemblies) are a tight lot. In Spain, and also in the US, there usually are one or two about 75 person assemblies per medium size city. Many friendships within the Assemblies are decades old, there is a high amount of intermarriage (marriage outside the Assemblies is generally frowned upon, but the spiritual commitment (and therefore born again status) of the potential mate is the necessary and sufficient condition for the families’ blessing), there are large families (6 children begins to be large--4 and 5 are very common) and practically no divorce, there are camps, retreats, and conferences for the Assemblies, there is at least one college (attendance at Christian colleges is smiled upon, but it is not necessarily encouraged). At any rate, the Assemblies form a small, coherent global network of people that I’m sure is very attractive to the normal human. I have yet to know of any other such community; please let me know if you know of one.
So, conversion works like this: establish the authoritativeness of the missionary, create an emotional crisis, provide the solution which is believed because of the prior establishment of authority, initiate the convert into a well-rounded Christian lifestyle and community.