Thanks for this post Tony. You’ve quoted me, so I’ve gotta comment now!

This whole post is very, very helpful. I think the list of good things we urge people to do is a help in the discussion. Some of the categories you are introducing are pretty powerful.

A couple of reflections on your concluding paragraph:

There is still is a place for the distinction between, say, choosing to get married (a good thing in our good creation) and praying (a necessary and good thing). As a result, I don’t think this conversation is necessarily confused.

I doubt that the conversation leads to less evangelising necessarily. Pastoral situations differ, we mustn’t assume one outcome. I’d love a post on this -  Evangelical pastoral rules of thumb - in the future.

I like your ‘way forward’: “How could we encourage, inspire and equip more Christians to talk about Jesus with their friends?”

Thanks Tony. I too have shared your frustration at the sheer absurdity of the debate. This is by far the most sensible thing I’ve seen written on this topic.

The discussion may be worth having, Mikey, but my point is that the “Do we have to?”  question will not help us in the navigation. By casting the issue as one of obligation (or not), it skews both the direction of the discussion and its possible outcomes.

Asking the right question is often the key!

(In this connection, Stuart Heath’s article in the current Briefing on ‘Doing good: the shape of the Christian life’ is really worth a read.)

TP

Hi Mikey

Thanks for your interactions. I’m enjoying chatting this through.

To use a very old illustration: to ask ‘What colour is the equator?’ is to ask the wrong question.

And to point this out, and to suggest we move on to a better question is not to “beg the question”, but simply to recognize that the original question was built on faulty assumptions about the nature of the thing being asked about.

You’re quite right: the ‘do we have to?’ question is a distinct discussion. My suggestion is that it’s a not a very useful or helpful discussion, because it’s built on an inadequate ethical framework. So let’s move on to a more fruitful one.

TP