An Atheist Speaks: "A Good Man Gave Me That Book"

I have a hang-up about the use of the word "witnessing" when it comes to evangelism.  To me, it distracts from our core responsibility to be witnesses to the truth ... to continually bear witness to what we have seen and heard.  

As those who have been redeemed from eternal punishment to a glorious hope, we are witnesses to the incredible grace of almighty God.  To speak always of "witnessing," however, seems to me to reduce our responsibility to the level of activity.  Now, I certainly admit that we need to be involved in acts of evangelism, but an overemphasis on activity can turn us into two-faced caricatures--Christian "actors" in the worst sense of the word.  On the other hand, an awareness that I am Christ's witness 24x7 should bolster an authenticity about me, and hopefully increase both the quality and quantity of my evangelistic activities.

I don't really know much about who this self-proclaimed atheist "Penn" is, but he gives a very stirring testimony below about the power of a loving, sincere witness.  People like Penn are clearly representative of "rocky soil," highly resistant to evangelistic methods.  They will likely never be reached effectively by people who merely "go witnessing."  

It strikes me also that Penn shared this testimony with his followers on YouTube, who are certainly highly resistant to the truth.  It's interesting how this unidentified witness' testimony has mutiplied exponentially through his simple and sincere act of love and obedience.

As a bonus, Penn also gives a rather shocking and surprising indictment of those of us who know the truth and don't "proselytize."  

Hat tip to  The Gypsy Road for digging this up!