What do you think about altar calls?
Some altar calls may be quite different than those I experienced so I'll be referring to the altar call as described below.
Typically the altar call I experienced is not something like "Some of you are not saved, come up to the front if you want to give your heart, etc." Instead it is something that applies to any Christian in the room like "If you want to dedicate your life to the Lord today..." Or "If you'd like to say 'I want to give my life to the Lord again..." As a result any "true christian" should come up and those who didn't were looked down upon by those who did. So the preacher would finish some emotion-evoking sermon, then soft music would play in the background, a touching and emotional altar call would be given, and 4/5 of the school or more would come up.
I think such altar calls were despicable and that even Christians should think so. The first problem I have is that the entire thing is a heat-of-the-moment, extremely emotional decision. It's having someone make a decision at their most emotionally vulnerable.
Aside from that, it also forces a lot of peer pressure on everybody. The speaker would always say not to come up just because your friends are, but people will do it anyways. After all, nobody wants to be stuck with the 'delinquents'.
Overall I see it as a very damaging psychological experience, and puts a lot of harmful pressure on people. I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.
Some altar calls may be quite different than those I experienced so I'll be referring to the altar call as described below.
Typically the altar call I experienced is not something like "Some of you are not saved, come up to the front if you want to give your heart, etc." Instead it is something that applies to any Christian in the room like "If you want to dedicate your life to the Lord today..." Or "If you'd like to say 'I want to give my life to the Lord again..." As a result any "true christian" should come up and those who didn't were looked down upon by those who did. So the preacher would finish some emotion-evoking sermon, then soft music would play in the background, a touching and emotional altar call would be given, and 4/5 of the school or more would come up.
I think such altar calls were despicable and that even Christians should think so. The first problem I have is that the entire thing is a heat-of-the-moment, extremely emotional decision. It's having someone make a decision at their most emotionally vulnerable.
Aside from that, it also forces a lot of peer pressure on everybody. The speaker would always say not to come up just because your friends are, but people will do it anyways. After all, nobody wants to be stuck with the 'delinquents'.
Overall I see it as a very damaging psychological experience, and puts a lot of harmful pressure on people. I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.
