You hate me cause I'm right...right?

[squigglylineinmyeye]

Most of these protests drive people away because the protesters are fulfilling the "nut-job Christians" folks are used to seeing. Someone said earlier that this kind of protest would make the people walking by less receptive to the message they were trying to get across. I think the reason is because of that stereotype I mentioned earlier.

Not to be judgmental or anything, but I think these peoples' time would be better spent informing rather than scaring. It's as if they don't want to do real work, so they stage these things, make people barf, and think they've gotten their message across. Wish someone would tell them they're wrong.

 

[Dread_Zeppelin]

I think that bad experiences in church are the number one reason people are opposed to Christians, second only to stereotyping. I agree squiggly, after texting my friend about the whole thing the first words she wrote back were "Man these Christians, hey give us all a bad name.

Maybe one day I'll share my personal testimony but its not so far off a reason why I turned away from Christ for 2 years.

 

[Walt]

I don't think its such a bad idea to take a shock-and-awe approach. Their #1 goal that day was obviously to stop abortions, and not convert unbelievers. Pictures like that stick into your mind and don't go away for a long time. Maybe if someone is considering an abortion, they will remeber that picture that distrubed them so much and decide not to have the abortion. I think its a much better tactic than simply handing out flyers, I've probably thrown away 100's of flyers without even looking at them in my college carrer.

 

[Matthew]

I don't think its such a bad idea to take a shock-and-awe approach. Their #1 goal that day was obviously to stop abortions, and not convert unbelievers. Pictures like that stick into your mind and don't go away for a long time. Maybe if someone is considering an abortion, they will remeber that picture that distrubed them so much and decide not to have the abortion.

I can understand the logic of the approach but I remain convinced it is fundamentally flawed because while thier aim may not have been to convert that day it is always an aim of any christian to bring others to Christ so me must consider how every action we take affects the chances of that happening.

Maybe they shocked a few people in to thinking twice about abortion, I think for most women it's not a choice they make lightly anyway considering there is also a risk to themselves when they undergo that procedure.

So they might have given a few people pause for thought, but they still likely sent away many people feeling bad once again about christians and how they practice, I know I am making that assumption but they have managed to alienate a young christian women who already agrees with them, if you can't keep your own team onside I think the approach is fundamentally flawed, but that's just me.

I generally think shock tactics are highly ineffective for the most part, they work well on children but the vast majority of young adults are sadly desensitised to things like that and just ignore it, other ways are harder, but much more effective in the long run.
It's like the 'shame' tactics of shouting at guys going into a strip club with a megaphone, I've seen the amateur street pastor vids and not one guy stops except to argue with the guy, they all just kept on going, my view is it doesn't work.