Perhaps you are aware that [i]insecurity[/i] and [i]fear [/i]are two of the motivating forces which underlie the evangelical Christian's attempt to convince other people about the 'truth' of his religion. Perhaps you are also aware that the evangelical Christian's insecurity and fear stem from the [i]doubt[/i] which afflicts him about his [b][i]own religion[/i][/b] at an unconscious level. After all, the evangelical Christian knows in his heart of hearts that because his religion is only a matter of [b][i]faith[/i][/b] there is every possibility that it is utter nonsense, that it may be nothing more than a childish delusion, a form of self-deception.

Needless to say, the doubt which the evangelical Christian feels towards his own religion is too painful to be allowed to enter his conscious awareness and so some of it becomes repressed deep in his psyche and some of it is projected onto others. By projecting this doubt onto others the evangelical Christian can avoid having to confront it in himself: thus, once this defence-mechanism is up and running, once he has shifted his own doubt about his religion onto others, once he has made his mind lighter in this way, the evangelical Christian gushes to himself with relief: [i]"I am not the one who needs to be convinced about the truth of my religion. Absolutely not. It is [b]them[/b] - the infidels, the heathen, the unsaved ones who need to be!"[/i] Therefore, when the evangelical Christian attempts to persuade others about the 'truth' of his religion what he is really doing is attempting to persuade [b][i]himself[/i][/b]. As the English psychiatrist and author, Anthony Storr, observes:

[i]The religious evangelist is usually convinced that he has discovered 'the truth' and the fervent certainty with which he proclaims this accounts to a large extent for his ability to persuade others of it. However, we should suspect that the conviction expressed by the evangelist is less absolute than it appears in that his apparent confidence needs boosting by others. There is reason to think that all evangelists harbour secret doubts and that this is why they are driven so strongly to win converts.[/i]

It can be said, then, that the more fervently the evangelical Christian proclaims his religion to be 'true' the [b]more severe[/b] are the doubts that he secretly holds about it.

Regards

James