Street Preachers: Good or Bad?

[St Leo]

I've never seen a street preacher and I live in a city of 4.5 million people. Bah.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Lincoln


I used to live in Pensacola. Are you in the Navy?

I guess you missed my "Stoopid Ensign" thread.

Yep, I'm a CTMSN, although I'm going to get frocked to 3rd in a month.

[*End Is Forever*]

Most of the time, they're an annoying irritant. Occasionally, however, they can be fun to shout back at...

[Lincoln]

Thanks Lonestar. I guess I forgot about your ensign thread. I even posted on page one.

[Rogan Josh]

Bad: They generally just put people off, making them harder to convert - not easier.

Harvesting of souls has to be done more subtley

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Starchild
Hey Agathon, ever watch the guy who stands outside the Eaton's Centre on the weekends who goes on and on about evil gay people?

No, I hardly ever go there, and never on weekends. I'll keep an eye out for him if I do.

[Lincoln]

Street preaching is OK if it is done with consideration for other people in the area. No one wants to hear loud noise all day. I have heard some nuts and some that were quite convincing. I would hate to see the day when people were not allowed to express their oinions in public.

[Ben Kenobi]

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:5-6

Cinch:

Problem with this is that Jesus is talking about prayer directed to God. Preaching on the streets has an entirely different purpose, to reach out to people who might not otherwise hear the word of God.

Now, I have met a street preacher, and I spent most of an afternoon talking with him. His problem is not where he preaches, or how loud, just what he preaches. He does not know what he is talking about, and in this sense he will only make things harder for the other evangelists.

However, I do respect the fact that he's out there on the corner, preaching what he believes is right.

Rogan:

There are definitely subtler methods to evangelism, you don't need to be the loudest voice to be heard.