Bold Anglican Sounds the Call for Fearless Evangelization in the UK

(Photo: BBC News)

UK Evangelism(UK)—Paul Eddy, a priest-in-training and current lay member of the Anglican General Synod, has so much support among clergy for his call to evangelize the lost—whether they are atheists or of non-Christian faiths—that his motion, calling for the Church to stand by its claim that Jesus is the only way to salvation, is set to be debated at the next Synod's meeting. Some church officials worry that proclaiming the Gospel publicly and boldly will alienate non-believers and create a backlash.

Though to American Christians the concept of evangelization is a Biblical

mandate that is unquestioned, in Europe, where the avoidance of confrontation via inclusion has reached its limits, many Christians there are saying, "enough is enough."

According to a report in the BBC, Eddy was quoted as saying that the Church can no longer avoid hard questions about its beliefs and that in its effort to be inclusive and inoffensive the Church had lost its nerve and was not doing what the Bible says. The danger of continuing this mode of operation, he adds, is that it would eventually create "no-go areas for the Gospel."

"Both Christianity and Islam are missionary faiths," says Eddy. "For years, we have sent missionaries throughout the whole world, but when we have the privilege of people of all nations on our doorstep, we have a responsibility as the state church to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Continues Eddy: "Most Muslims that I've talked to say, 'I really wish that Christians would stop watering down their faith and expecting us to do the same.' Until we start really saying what we really believe in our faith, there will be no respect. Actually, to present to a Muslim that we believe Jesus is the only way to God, they'll say, 'We know that'. They will expect us—if we're true Christians—to try to evangelize them, in the same way they will expect us, if they're true Muslims, to adopt their faith."

Source: Staff - BBC