Selwyn Duke Responds to Critics of Conversion Article

By Selwyn Duke

My recent piece about how we should react to those who pray for our conversion evoked a greater response than I had supposed it would.  (I expect Howard Stern, rap stars and all other things scatological to attract attention, but not something frivolous like philosophy).  Most of the emails were positive; however, I received a number from Jewish people who, in varying measures, objected to my defense of prayer for conversion.  One reader wrote:

As a Jew, my hackles are raised by those who want to convert me because that intent has led to so many rivers of blood.  You mention Communism, but this is another messianic religion which demands allegiance, just as Christianity did though most of it's history. 

As I pointed out in the article, man has never needed such an intent to visit horrors on others.  But I'll cut to the chase.   You have only two choices: Have people embrace the Truth (or what they believe is such) and accept all that this implies, or have them deny its existence and accept all that that implies. 

If the former, there are two possibilities: The people will either be correct or incorrect in their conception of Truth.  If they are incorrect, then, yes, it's entirely possible that the misconception they've fallen victim to will allow for or even prescribe your persecution.  If, however, they are correct, such a thing won't happen because the Truth dictates that we must treat our fellow man with dignity.   Of course, another thing implied under a scenario in which people believe they have a grasp of Truth is that they may desire that you have it, too.  It comes with the territory, as it is only human to desire that people should have good things that you yourself enjoy (this is true regardless of whether or not they believe that your acceptance of their beliefs would bring salvation). 

On the other hand, if they deny Truth -- if, as I said in the piece, they become moral relativists -- things will be quite different.  One might be tempted to say that, since they'd supposedly believe in the equality of all beliefs, they wouldn't desire that you embrace their world view, yet this isn't the case.  On the contrary, relativists make for some of the most intolerant people I've ever met.  They often cannot abide the violation of the unwritten secular code of conduct I spoke of; as to this, I once met a man who was offended that I held my beliefs to be absolutely true (in other words, I had to accept his doctrine of relativism).

Regardless, the more ominous implication of relativism is that people will have no reason not to persecute you or anyone else.  Remember, relativism both condemns and prescribes nothing (making it perhaps the most difficult world view to live down to). Thus, while such people would have no reason to pray for you, they also would have no reason to not prey on you. 

In other words, there really is no choice.  People cannot be good if they fall victim to misconceptions about Truth (Islamists); they cannot be good if they deny Truth (secularists); they can only be good if they know the Truth and strive to live it.  And when people believe they know the Truth, like it or not, they will tend to want you to know it, too. 

In a nutshell, many are afraid that if others believe they know the Truth but are misguided, they will persecute unbelievers in its name.  Their remedy is dousing this passion in the lukewarm extinguisher of relativism.  But this is a cure worse than the disease; the only remedy is to pray that people will know the whole Truth.

By the way, more than one respondent mentioned that Judaic teaching does not prescribe that adherents should pray for others' conversion.  I was aware that this was not a Jewish practice.  However, something occurs to me.

Given how Israel is imperiled by hostile Islamic countries, are you going to tell me that there are no Jews who would prefer that these  neighbors were Jewish?  C'mon, let's not fool ourselves.

As for Christianity, you have nothing to fear from its diligent practice.  As G.K. Chesterton said,

"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult, and left untried."

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Comments

I think that regardless of what we read about truth, throughout a persons life, they observe things around them and inside them starting right when there a baby. To me, this is the truth and when something like a piece of doctrine, fairy tale or word of mouth issues forth for them to absorb, they compare it all instinctively to what they always felt was true from their own observations and experiences.

This in extent, means that when they are shown things that conflict with 'their' personal idea of what truth is, their thinking naturally becomes abstract and these doctrines are relative to their initial truth (from when they're a baby through childhood especially). Even if over time they believe the stuff that they read and perhaps what others say and forget about their old way of viewing things, it is still a part of them throughout their entire life. Afterall, the doctrines are written initially from how the original writer perceived things and we can read them in interest but we shouldn't abandon our own common sense and instincts and reasoning in favor of someone elses no matter what other people might think.

I think that regardless of what we read about truth, throughout a persons life, they observe things around them and inside them starting right when there a baby. To me, this is the truth and when something like a piece of doctrine, fairy tale or word of mouth issues forth for them to absorb, they compare it all instinctively to what they always felt was true from their own observations and experiences.

This in extent, means that when they are shown things that conflict with 'their' personal idea of what truth is, their thinking naturally becomes abstract and these doctrines are relative to their initial truth (from when they're a baby through childhood especially). Even if over time they believe the stuff that they read and perhaps what others say and forget about their old way of viewing things, it is still a part of them throughout their entire life. Afterall, the doctrines are written initially from how the original writer perceived things and we can read them in interest but we shouldn't abandon our own common sense and instincts and reasoning in favor of someone elses no matter what other people might think.