She was upset, no doubt about it. As a child she had been dragged to a church which preached the need to be converted. Now as an adult she had come to appreciate another religion which was more accepting, more tolerant and had it’s own beauty and appeal. In her letter however she made it clear that certain expressions of Christianity should not be tolerated because they actively tried to get people to leave their existing religion and come over into the Christian camp. She believed that those who would seek to change someone’s religious convictions exhibit an arrogance based on ignorance and prejudice, ignorant of all the wonderful ideas, customs and contributions that other religions have made to mankind and prejudiced against all that did not neatly fit into their own narrow worldview. Underlying her argument was an unspoken idea that in some way conversion violated the person who changed their convictions. Either by force, deception, or coercion the person sacrificed part of their personhood and heritage to embrace Christianity. By the end of the letter she had made her point crystal clear. Conversion is bad.

It’s not that simple. Not all conversions are the same nor do they require a violation of personhood. It is possible to be converted to Christ and not be brainwashed. Biblical conversion is more than adapting a new life style or being brow beaten into joining some church. It begins with coming to grips with the unique message of the Christian faith. The basic message of Christianity is not found in any other world religion. There are many ethical similarities that are shared among the major faiths such as a common emphasis on honesty, love, justice, personal integrity and goodwill towards men . In general, all major religions encourage people to adapt these values, and to try to implement them into their lives. There are various rewards that are held out towards those who succeed in doing good, some temporal and some having to do with an afterlife. Each in it’s own way says if you are able to live up to the standards whatever they may be you will experience some type of good. Christianity says you will never be able to fully live up to what you know to be right. We will fail profoundly to perfectly keep God’s law because their is something intrinsically wrong with mankind. For all the high ideals we may espouse there are corresponding propensities in each of us to do just the opposite. We fail to have proper heart attitudes of love , mercy and justice. Instead often we find ourselves filled with greed, bitterness, jealousy, envy, pride and selfishness. Many times we will not do the things we know to be right and do the things we know to be wrong. If we are honest most of us would have to admit that the above description is true but that we regularly try to out weigh our failures with acts of goodness to tip the scales of conscience. However trying to do what is right cannot overcome our liability to judgment. Who in a court of law can avoid rightful punishment by promising to do some good act to make up for a serious crime? The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (excellence and standards). It also says the wages of sin is death. In other words God must judge if He is to maintain His justice and credibility as the righteous and fair creator. Man’s problem is two fold, first he is morally responsible to God for his rebellion against what is right and good. Second, he desperately needs a change of nature that would add to his sense of ought ness a genuine love for what is right.

Now here’s the message that is found only in Christianity. God has provided a way that allows people to escape His judgment. God is love. This escape does not come by trying to be good or live up to God’s standards. Rather it comes by receiving from Him a gift, something that He has done on the behalf of people who have failed over and over again. God took on human flesh, became a man and experienced His own judgment of sin.

On the cross it is God and man in one, in the person of Jesus Christ suffering the penalty and inevitable consequence of sin. He takes the place of those who have broken His laws and rejected Him. Biblical conversion is when you stop trying to win God’s acceptance and the after life by being good. It occurs when you become personally convinced of your own inability to win or merit His favor and in brokenness turn from depending on yourself to depending on Him alone to rescue them from judgment and give you the gift of eternal life. It is in this act of turning and trusting that a great internal change occurs. Affections based on gratitude and thankfulness provide a new impetus for doing good.

True Biblical conversion is not accomplished through, coercion, force, or emotional manipulation. It is the result of God enabling a person to see their need for His forgiveness and help and gladly receiving the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through the person of His Son Jesus Christ.