I understand that Christianity was the first ‘force’ to successfully implement persuasion – through reason, rhetoric and experience – as its main method of conquest.
MAKING A POINT? If persuasion involves a sword, then it’s not Christianity, says Paul Clark. PICTURE: Henry Hustava/Unsplash
That is, virtually all other societies persuaded people to their point-of-view at the point of a sword. But the Christians? They loved, conversed and proclaimed people into Christendom.
They did this because they profoundly believed in a God who had not come to force His agenda upon humanity, but had come to woo them into His family – coming as a humble human, dying on a cross.
Unfortunately Christianity has too rarely lived up to these ideals. When it doesn’t, it isn’t Christianity.
The irony is, Christians were the first advertisers. Christianity invented marketing in its best forms!
So next time you’re annoyed by ads on TV, thank God they’re not trying to sell you stuff at the point of a sword!
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.