Christian are often heard speaking of 'non-christian.' For example: "Mr A is now a Christian but he comes from a non-Christian family"; "There are many millions of non-Christians in Asia"; "Marriage between Christian and non-Christian"; "Followers of the non-Christian religions"; "Pakistan is a non-Christian nation"; "Christian dialogue with non-Christians." (And there are even such expressions as non-Methodist, non Presbyterian, non Evangelical). Obviously this is a convenient distinction. We regard all those who differ from ourselves as nons. We look at humanity as a whole, and then classify all those who are not Christians under the heading "non-Christians." It is as comprehensive as the sweeping distinction between proletariat and bourgeois; free nations and the Communist world.
Who is a "non-Christian?" One who has not been converted, not baptized, not a member of the church. Whether he is a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Marxist, rich or poor is of no account; what classifies him is his relation to Christianity---he is a non-Christian.
"Non-Christian" defines a man in terms of what he is not, not what he is. The label "non-fat milk" on a can tells those of "heart-attack" age an important message. "Milk minus fat" is not a complex situation. By scientifically removing the fat from milk a product for the benefit of man is available. But labelling a person "non-Christian" is quite different. People are not produced and processed in a factory. Everyone is an individual with his own awareness of what he is---not what he is not. What he is is full of imaginative ideas and experiences.
When we label a person as a non-Christian, we are looking at him as an object, negatively and arrogantly. No one can appreciate being viewed in this way---it is certainly not a healing action, but opens the wounds of division. It negates the very inclusives Christian love we are trying to teach. Nor is there any such static condition as non-Christian or Christian, as there is fat and non-fat milk. All are in movement because God rules.
As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord: but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62)
This is directed at all, irrespective of a label---Christian or non-Christian.
Who is a "non-Christian?" One who has not been converted, not baptized, not a member of the church. Whether he is a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Marxist, rich or poor is of no account; what classifies him is his relation to Christianity---he is a non-Christian.
"Non-Christian" defines a man in terms of what he is not, not what he is. The label "non-fat milk" on a can tells those of "heart-attack" age an important message. "Milk minus fat" is not a complex situation. By scientifically removing the fat from milk a product for the benefit of man is available. But labelling a person "non-Christian" is quite different. People are not produced and processed in a factory. Everyone is an individual with his own awareness of what he is---not what he is not. What he is is full of imaginative ideas and experiences.
When we label a person as a non-Christian, we are looking at him as an object, negatively and arrogantly. No one can appreciate being viewed in this way---it is certainly not a healing action, but opens the wounds of division. It negates the very inclusives Christian love we are trying to teach. Nor is there any such static condition as non-Christian or Christian, as there is fat and non-fat milk. All are in movement because God rules.
As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord: but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62)
This is directed at all, irrespective of a label---Christian or non-Christian.
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