Muad'Dib

I've read things entitled "Why I am a Christian" (not necessarily a reference to the current EoG thread) that would be more correctly named "Why Everybody Else Should Be a Christian Too." I've also heard complaints from a couple of people that Bertrand Russell's "Why I Am Not a Christian" would be more aptly titled "Why No One In Their Right Mind Is a Christian."

My question is, to what extent is a person's testimony (1) an explanation of why they currently think what they do, and to what extent is it (2) an attempt to persuade others to think likewise?

Obviously this depends on the individual testimony, but I think this distinction has implications for the way testimony is treated.

Other than agreement, generally there are two responses to testimony from either side: "That is not sufficient for me to [dis]believe," and "That is not sufficient for you to [dis]believe." I suppose which response is chosen depends on the content of the testimony, too, but is there one that is more generally appropriate?

What do you all think?

Infidelettante

"We call that one, Muad'Dib." Great si-fi, great name.

In my experiance ones' testimony is always intended to win others to Christ. You never know who is listening or what the mind set of the listener is. Always go for the gold as we used to say [streets of gold that is]. Testimonies are always tweeked to fit the venue. It will be different on a park bench talking to a wino than in an auditorium before a thousand people or a church service before a hundred. As Paul said, be all things to all people.

This is interesting because the testimony is the primary tool of the soul winner. When done well it can produce an emotional response in even the hardest heart. Logic and reason have never won a soul to Christ. No doubt some theist here will deny that but I tell you it is so. It is emotion that brings the lost to salvation. A person who is confronted with their sinful nature, their separation from God bacause of that nature and the hopelessness of their condition will drop like ripe fruit into the palm of a skilled testifier. The emotions have been with us for millions of years, the rational mind only thousands and many soul winners are skilled manipulators who can play these ancient tunes of fear and desire in a performance of falsehood and deceit that is difficult for many to resist. This is also the reason the born again find it so difficult to grasp the illogical and irrational aspects of faith. They stand firmly on emotion and that is hard to shake.

JT