I’ve never thought the Great Commission was an order to force, coerce, manipulate, oppress, intimidate or otherwise impose Christianity on people who prefer eternal darkness to eternal life with God.

“John, you jerk! Then why did you say the Great Commission was Jesus telling us to IMPOSE OUR RELIGION?!!!”

I’m just using the language of the culture. Secularists shriek at me for ‘forcing my religion on them,’ when I make the slightest reference to faith. Simply quoting scripture causes outraged accusations of ‘imposing my views’ on innocent people who just want to be left alone to groom children or gleefully celebrate Pat Robertson’s death.

Anything other than complete silence is ‘hate speech.’ Complete silence is ‘condoning hate.’ I confessed my Christian beliefs a long time ago so literally everything I do or say is considered to be religious oppression. Rather than spending energy trying to teach godless lunatics the meaning of words like, “invite,” “persuade,” “share,” and “offer,” I’m using the pagans’ terminology. They don’t have a nice word for ‘evangelism,’ so ‘imposing my faith’ will suffice.

My fellow Christians are free to use any words you like to refer to the act of explaining your theology. I am not trying to impose my vocabulary on you. But when you’ve presented your case for Jesus in the most gentle, winsome, inoffensive way possible and the pagans still call you a Fascist, I’m going giggle.

(2 Timothy 4:1) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.