International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012 79
The Ethics of Evangelism: A Philosophical Defense of Proselytizing and
Persuasion
by Elmer John Theissen
Reviewed by the Reverend Richard L. Dowhower, DD
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 2011.
ISBN-10: 0830839275 ISBN-13: 978-
0830839278 (paperback), $19.20, InterVarsity
Press $18.72, Amazon.com). 285 pages.
The term proselytizing may have pejorative
connotations to some people, but not to this
research professor of education at Tyndale
University College and Seminary in Toronto,
Canada. He wants to defend proselytizing and
evangelism, “the making of converts, those who
have come over from one opinion, belief, creed
or party to another,” as not only morally
respectable but to be desired and pursued.
In morally and ethically justifying efforts at
religious conversion, namely helping others “to
change their belief, behavior, identity and sense
of belonging,” Dr. Theissen uses the
controversial word proselytizing almost
exclusively, ignoring for the most part more
comfortable terms for missionary activity, such
as evangelization, witnessing, saving souls,
sharing one’s faith, recruiting, and so on. He’s
out to redeem and sanctify the dirty “p” word
and its practice.
While identifying his discipline and method as
that of a philosopher, he early on classifies
himself as a committed evangelical Christian of
the Mennonite tradition: “I believe in writing
(and teaching) from and for commitment … it
needs to be underscored that my presentation is
an exercise of advocacy, not of disinterested
neutrality.” The author's commitment to
exercising advocacy rather than disinterested
neutrality is shared by his publisher, the
InterVarsity Press, the publishing arm of the
well-known campus evangelism movement of
the same name.
By comparison, I, the reviewer, am a committed
Christian clergy (although retired) of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
having served for 2 years in my national
denomination’s Pastor-Evangelist corps. At the
same time, I have been a member of the
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)
and its predecessor organization for more than
30 years. (I frequently introduced myself as a
counter-cult missionary to the mainline churches
and a missionary for healthy religion to the
counter-cult movement.) At any rate, I
approached this book without an antagonistic
bias.
I did approach this book with two overriding
questions: Would Dr. Theissen address the cult
phenomena? And, if so, how would he treat the
ICSA?
Theissen states his intent as
…simply to illustrate that proselytizing
is often in the news, that it is most often
seen as a very controversial topic, and
that most often it is described in
pejorative terms, even as an immoral
activity. This book is an exploration of
the ethics of proselytizing. (p. 8)
He defines his objectives for this monograph as
to clarify the charges often made against
religious proselytizing and to answer these
charges, to defend the possibility of ethical
proselytizing, and to define and apply criteria for
defining moral and immoral forms.
The author’s most persuasive characteristics
begin with his acknowledgement and utilization
of ambiguity in dealing with proselytizing in
both its immoral and moral manifestations. He
addresses the excesses of evangelization, such as
arrogance, deception, coercion, and
inducements. He seeks to win the reader’s
respect by citing all the types of immoral and
unethical extremes in the history of proselytizing
he can find through his extensive research, and
The Ethics of Evangelism: A Philosophical Defense of Proselytizing and
Persuasion
by Elmer John Theissen
Reviewed by the Reverend Richard L. Dowhower, DD
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 2011.
ISBN-10: 0830839275 ISBN-13: 978-
0830839278 (paperback), $19.20, InterVarsity
Press $18.72, Amazon.com). 285 pages.
The term proselytizing may have pejorative
connotations to some people, but not to this
research professor of education at Tyndale
University College and Seminary in Toronto,
Canada. He wants to defend proselytizing and
evangelism, “the making of converts, those who
have come over from one opinion, belief, creed
or party to another,” as not only morally
respectable but to be desired and pursued.
In morally and ethically justifying efforts at
religious conversion, namely helping others “to
change their belief, behavior, identity and sense
of belonging,” Dr. Theissen uses the
controversial word proselytizing almost
exclusively, ignoring for the most part more
comfortable terms for missionary activity, such
as evangelization, witnessing, saving souls,
sharing one’s faith, recruiting, and so on. He’s
out to redeem and sanctify the dirty “p” word
and its practice.
While identifying his discipline and method as
that of a philosopher, he early on classifies
himself as a committed evangelical Christian of
the Mennonite tradition: “I believe in writing
(and teaching) from and for commitment … it
needs to be underscored that my presentation is
an exercise of advocacy, not of disinterested
neutrality.” The author's commitment to
exercising advocacy rather than disinterested
neutrality is shared by his publisher, the
InterVarsity Press, the publishing arm of the
well-known campus evangelism movement of
the same name.
By comparison, I, the reviewer, am a committed
Christian clergy (although retired) of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
having served for 2 years in my national
denomination’s Pastor-Evangelist corps. At the
same time, I have been a member of the
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)
and its predecessor organization for more than
30 years. (I frequently introduced myself as a
counter-cult missionary to the mainline churches
and a missionary for healthy religion to the
counter-cult movement.) At any rate, I
approached this book without an antagonistic
bias.
I did approach this book with two overriding
questions: Would Dr. Theissen address the cult
phenomena? And, if so, how would he treat the
ICSA?
Theissen states his intent as
…simply to illustrate that proselytizing
is often in the news, that it is most often
seen as a very controversial topic, and
that most often it is described in
pejorative terms, even as an immoral
activity. This book is an exploration of
the ethics of proselytizing. (p. 8)
He defines his objectives for this monograph as
to clarify the charges often made against
religious proselytizing and to answer these
charges, to defend the possibility of ethical
proselytizing, and to define and apply criteria for
defining moral and immoral forms.
The author’s most persuasive characteristics
begin with his acknowledgement and utilization
of ambiguity in dealing with proselytizing in
both its immoral and moral manifestations. He
addresses the excesses of evangelization, such as
arrogance, deception, coercion, and
inducements. He seeks to win the reader’s
respect by citing all the types of immoral and
unethical extremes in the history of proselytizing
he can find through his extensive research, and
