RELIGION MAY SECRETLY WISH IT COULD FORCE THE UNCONVERTED TO LISTEN
TO ITS GOSPEL
Though believing that nobody can be forced to believe, a religion that believes
in the power of God to persuade people that his word is truth must agree with
forcing people to hear it so that the seeds that may produce faith can be
planted. It can force people to take the first step towards faith which is
agreeing that the Church is true – this is not faith by itself because faith is
committing your mind and will to God in trust (page 384, Handbook of Christian
Apologetics). You need to believe that there is a goal of faith before you can
make your way to it. God said, “My word…shall not return to Me void [without
producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and
purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
Force can convert if God gives grace to all to enable them to believe as
religions like Roman Catholicism say. The Bible says that Christ gives light to
every person (John 1:9). The Holy Spirit can convince the unbeliever. He is
omnipotent and can make conversion likely.
People force people to hear things all the time so they can’t disapprove of
religionists forcing a person to hear their gospel. Jesus forced the Jews to
listen to him when he hurled abuse and criticism at them in public.
Many refuse to listen when religionists try to get them interested in their
message. A rejection of what you do not understand is invalid for you cannot
really mean it. Religion must have the right to ignore it and force unbelievers
to listen for that maximises their chance of accepting the gospel while not
forcing is just abandoning them.
If unbelievers resent the pests it is their problem and they should be grateful
so there is no sense in arguing that coercing them to listen will deter them
from the truth. They show what if the ambassadors of truth are pests that truth
is still truth. Being held prisoner for the purpose of indoctrination will not
cause a person to be blinded against the dogmas by anger when it is done in
love. They have to be told that they are angry because they are uncomfortable
and not because of God or you. The person who is emotionally harmed by it is the
cause of her or his own harm and so the forcers should not worry about it. God
heals and she or he will be grateful in the end.
Religionists see that force works on getting children to accept secular facts so
they will succeed far more if they do it with religion.
Good religionists would capture sceptics, tie them up and then indoctrinate them
taking care not to brainwash them. If religion had the legal freedom today
to do that what would happen? Would it do it? It would consider it!