Gunpoint Conversion |
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THE MYTH: One Sunday, in the middle of a worship service, two strangers walk into the church with guns. They order everyone to line up against the wall.
"We hate Christians," one gunman says. "We're going to kill everyone here!" He raises his weapon.
But the other gunmen intervenes. "Maybe they aren't all Christians," he says. "Some of them might be just visiting. Let's give them a chance."
"Fair enough," says the first gunman. "Everyone who doesn't really believe raise your hand and you will be free to go."
Every person in the room raises their hand except the pastor and one other man. True to their word, the gunmen release all the unbelievers, and they flee quickly from the church.
Once they are all gone, the gunmen suddenly put down their weapons. "We want to give our lives to Christ," they explain. "But we know there are a lot of phonies in the church - people who say they believe, but aren't really committed. We want to be sure that we are talking to the real Christians."
The gunmen then kneel at the altar and pray with the only two real Christians in the church. VARIATION #1: The gunmen are not interested in becoming Christians, but also aren't interested in killing people. They just want to show that Christians are hypocrites. After all the 'unbelievers' leave, the gunmen just say sarcastically, "There's your Christianity!" and walk out of the church, having made their point.
VARIATION #2: The gunmen are already Christians, but are new in town and looking for a church. They want to be sure that the church that they choose is real and not full of hypocrites. COMMENTS: These bizarre stories (none of which make much sense) are generally told in the context of an 'are you really 100% committed to Christ?' altar call. The stories challenge the listener to try to discern in their own hearts whether they would be one of the many that denied Christ under the threat of death. The implication, of course, is that, if you are not totally sure that you could face down a gunman threatening to murder Christians, then you are not a true believer, and thus not truly saved. It is maddening introspection, because it is almost impossible to be convinced beyond doubt what one would do under that kind of pressure, and it teaches people to trust in themselves and their own courage, rather than trusting Christ for their salvation.
There have certainly been many occasions in history when Christians have faced persecution and even death for their faith. However, the 'gunpoint conversion' myths are wildly implausible. After all, holding people at gunpoint does not seem like the appropriate actions for someone who really is looking to repent of their sins, nor of Christians looking for a good church. And it is difficult to believe that anyone would risk a lengthy prison term merely to prove that some Christians are hypocrites.
The ending of the stories seem, in all cases, mostly intended as an embarrassment to those that think they might not be able to stand up to gunmen. After all, if the story ended with 'true' Christians being murdered, then some in the audience might wonder (even if it goes unsaid) whether they had really made the wise decision. But, in the story, the danger turns out to be an illusion, and the 'true Christians' are recognized as the heroes of the story and permitted to live and gloat over those that gave in to their fear.
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