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.
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!
This video is making the run on many blogs. I too was impressed by it.
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful that he took the time to respond and create such a video.
He makes a great point, and the person who gave him the bible did a great job. We may never know who he is (unless the media digs him up), but his impact is inspiring hundreds if not thousands of Christians.
Chris W
EvangelismCoach.org
Great video. Thanks for sharing. FYI: This guy is Penn Jillette, half of the comedy magician team known as Penn & Teller.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey -- cool blog. I like this place.
And the glory now goes (drum roll, please) to the good man.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that salvation is not just a possibility.
It is a reality, and all the glory and honor belongs to Jesus Christ.
The atheist still missed the point.