Bad news: Only 19% want to know about Jesus. Good news: 19% want to know about Jesus!

Finally some evidence to back up our silence,

The Church of England is set to signal to members that speaking openly about their faith could do more harm than good when it comes to spreading Christianity.

Stark new research findings being presented to members of the Church’s ruling General Synod suggest that practising Christians who talk to friends and colleagues about their beliefs are three times as likely to put them off God as to attract them.

The numbers confirm it,

Non-believers were asked if a practising Christian had ever spoken to them about their faith. Of those who said yes, only 19 per cent said it made them want to know more compared with 59 per cent who said the opposite. While 23 per cent said it made them feel “more positive towards Jesus Christ”, 30 per cent said it left them feeling more negative.

If only Jesus had known these facts, he would never have spoken to the rich young ruler, or preached in the synagogue at Nazareth. Think of all the Pharisees he upset! Peter and John would have saved themselves imprisonment and a beating. Paul would have avoided all the damage he did in Arabia, and on Mars Hill, and the riot he caused in Jerusalem which led to his arrest and ultimate execution.

If only Jesus, Peter, Paul had had the advantage of opinion polls to guide their mission. Instead they went looking for the 19% who wanted to know more.