A Code of Ethics for
Christian Witness
- As
Christians called by the Living God, we seek first of all to
honor Him and His ethical standards in all of our private
and public lives, including our efforts to persuade others
to believe the good news about Jesus Christ.
- As Christian evangelists, we seek to
follow the mandate, motives, message, and model of our God
who is always pursuing and reclaiming those who are lost in
sin and rebellion against Him.
- We believe all people are created in God's
image and therefore endowed with the capacity to be in
relationship with their Creator and Redeemer. We disavow any
effort to influence people that de-personalize or deprive
them of their inherent value as persons.
- Respecting the value of persons, we
believe all people worthy of hearing the gospel of this
loving Lord Jesus Christ. We equally affirm the inalienable
right of every person to survey other opinions and convert
to or choose a different belief system.
- We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and affirm the role and goal of the Christian evangelist.
However, we do not believe that this justifies any means to
fulfill that end. Hence, we disavow the use of any coercive
techniques or manipulative appeals which bypass a person's
critical faculties, play on psychological weaknesses,
undermine relationship with family or religious
institutions, or mask the true nature of Christian
conversion.
- While respecting the individual integrity,
intellectual honesty, and academic freedom of all other
believers and skeptics, we seek to proclaim Christ openly.
We reveal our own identity and purpose, our theological
positions and sources of information and will not be
intentionally misleading. Respect for human integrity means
no false advertising, no personal aggrandizement from
successfully persuading others to follow Jesus, and no
overly emotional appeals which minimize reason and evidence.
- As Christian evangelists, we seek to
embrace people of other religious persuasions in true
dialogue. That is, we acknowledge our common humanity as
equally sinful, equally needy, and equally dependent on the
grace of God we proclaim. We seek to listen sensitively in
order to understand, and thus divest our witness of any
stereotypes or fixed formulae which are barriers to true
dialogue.
- As Christian evangelists, we accept the
obligation to admonish one who represents the Christian
faith in any manner incompatible with these ethical
guidelines.
Copyright Information:
© 1989 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA |
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