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Polanyi

God loves and reaches out to every individual person in God's unique and different ways. The son is the only way to the father, but there are many ways to Jesus Christ. (Fung, 2002:3)

It is the suggestion of Ambiguous Evangelism that the claims of Christ can best be presented playfully, through story, in an understated manner, and through dialogue. The claims of Christ can be presented:

* playfully because appealing to someone's imagination can be stronger than appealing to their intellect - initially, people will generally respond more to passion and feeling than to clarity and understanding.

* through story because the narrative forms an easy way for people to appropriate ideas and thoughts into their own context.

in an understated manner, where appropriate, in order to encourage people to come back and ask questions.

through encouraging a dialogue and exchange of ideas with the other person, because belief is not a subject that can be dealt with in one single conversation or presentation. Pp73

What this means in terms of evangelism is that priority needs to be given to acknowledging what someone has got right ahead of criticizing what they have got wrong. Pp76-77

The foundations of true dialogue are 'humility' and 'compromise'. The history of the word humility and the current usage of the word 'compromise' illustrate how people are not naturally comfortable with the idea of dialogue and listening to alternative points of view.

… The essence of a compromise, however, is when two people come together and each of them takes on board some of what the other person has said. This is a good and honourable thing, but there is no word in the English language that adequately describes the process.

Not a selling out or capitulation 89

David Attenborough - The essence of a compromise, however, is when two people come together and each of them takes on board some of what the other person has said. This is a good and honourable thing, but there is no word in the English language that adequately describes the process. Pp99

The fool is a character in whom seriousness of content and lightness of manner are found hand-in-hand. In the same way, the Christian point of view can be offered with lightness of touch - as suggestion or insight, rather than as direction or command. Pp 99

There is something deeply unappetizing about hard, granite-like slabs of Christian truth being thrown at people who are either unaware or uninterested. 120

if people were happy, how then could they be made to realize their need of forgiveness in Christ?

This raises the question of why the Church seems to expect, or even need, such a realization. I would argue that a presentation of the cross on the basis that someone should realize their need of forgiveness is an inadequate paradigm for mission. There are deep flaws within a pathological presentation of Christianity where the validity of the message is wholly dependent on the hearer realizing their need of salvation.

Pp123

1 also find it harder and harder to get anyone to disagree with me. However, this lack of disagreement is not an indication of agreement. People tell me that they find what 1 am saying interesting. They respect me for my convictions. They tell me that they are glad that 1 have got a faith, but it is not for them. It is not that people have rejected Christianity, but rather that they have never encountered it. People admire me for my faith as if 1 am a novelty, a rare species of being; they want me close enough to be interesting but not so close as to be threatening. 2

If 1 make a claim about jesus statement of choice rather than a truth claim. 54

ambiguity in evangelism... is not about having a vague message, but rather the confidence that no one model of person will suffice 142