Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: jim35; EggsAckley; Texas_Dawg; im4given; Sunshine Sister; hope; hocndoc; VaBthang4
Hi Jim35, I am Christian and born-again, and i think what this pilot did was inapporpriate. Spreading the Good News is important, and a calling, however tact has to be used in how the message is delievered. For example if i am sharing with someone i would not go and tell him/her "you pathetic creature, you need to repent and be saved so you can be rescued from your filthy life and nature."

Why would i not do that? Because the delivery is almost as important as the message (in my opinion as important), and that methodology would probably work against me. We need to spread the Message in a manner that will cause people to not only hear us, but 'feel' the Word in their hearts. Listening is not the whole thing ....getting the message is!

Now, this pilot had just come from a missionary trip. He was fired up with the word, and he just had to share it. That is ok. What is not ok is that he did it in a plane, as its pilot, during a time where most people are apprehensive about flying and terrorism. Most people on that plane were frightened by it (they were showing that on Fox news). And to be honest with you i would not exactly be at ease if a pilot started asking passengers who was Christian, and that anyone who was not was 'crazy.'

The reason that would make me ill at ease is because i know of people who say 'God God' yet do terrible things (Jim Jones of the Jamestown mass suicides for example). The passengers did not know who the pilot was, they did not know he just came from a missionary trip, they did not know the intent of his heart. All they heard was a person saying that those who were Christians should raise their hands, and those who were not were crazy, and should listen to the Christians.

To be honest with you if i heard that one of my first thoughts would be that a Jim Jones clone is flying the plane.

Anyways what i am saying Jim is this ....most people would not be happy under such an arrangement. And it was not the right place to do that ...and definetely not the right way to do so. The airline company crackign down on him is not doing so because he is Christian ....but because he was a professional who should have acted in a professional manner but didn't, and caused a great deal of consternation among the passengers. Samething would have happened if the pilot was Jewish, Hindu or Muslim (actually if he was muslim he would have probably been arrested and his pilot's license revoked).

Hence do not get irate at the posters who say the guy was wrong Jim. Honestly the guy was wrong in his delivery. Right in the message (from MY perspective), but totally and unquestionably wrong in his delivery and choice of venue.

What the pilot should have done, if he wanted to share, would ahve been to wait until he LANDED in the DESTINATION and then tell the passengers to talk to him after EXITING the plane. That would not have scared people. However what he did was totally frightening (if you do not use hindsight but put yourself while it is happening).

Imagine if the pilot was muslim and asked all muslims to identify themselves, and that non-muslims were crazy! Pandemonium!

209 posted on 02/11/2004 3:27:21 PM PST by spetznaz (Nuclear missiles: The ultimate Phallic symbol.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies ]


To: spetznaz
Thank you. You said it better than anyone. I abandoned this thread because every one who said that the TIMING was inappropriate was accused of being a Christian hater. That was NOT the message.

Again, thank you for clearing it up for once and for all. And so eloquently, as well.
210 posted on 02/11/2004 4:14:05 PM PST by EggsAckley (..................**AMEND** the Fourteenth Amendment......(There, is THAT better?).................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 209 | View Replies ]

To: spetznaz
Good post.
221 posted on 02/13/2004 9:06:57 AM PST by Modernman ("When you want to fool the world, tell the truth." -Otto von Bismarck)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 209 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson