I saw him in the shadows eyeing passers-by for an unsuspecting victim, one he thought he could over-power and conquer. Approaching her, he engaged her in pleasantries of conversation designed to win her confidence. By skillful suggestion, he maneuvered her into an isolated place. Had she understood what was happening, she might have screamed, but the subtlety of his moves caught her off guard.

Soon he had over-powered her weak defenses, subdued her and effectively gagged her, disallowing any response. With disrespect verging on contempt, he tore away at her, exposing her with rapacious swipes at her character. Eventually he threatened that the only way she could save her life was to consent to his intents. Though not consenting, she merely acquiesced and went through the motions in order to preserve her life.

   Having penetrated the private reserve of her being, he left her wounded, demoralized and violated, reeling from this violent assault.

   The perpetrator of this crime abruptly ran off with a heady "rush" of conquest. He probably returned to his cohorts in crime, bragging that he had "scored" another "hit," for such is the statistical advantage that one gains in the gang of serial rapists with which these criminals associate.

   What was the victim to do now? Report it? Join a rape victims support group to seek catharsis and encouragement? Forget it? Impossible! Whatever she does, she will live with the painful consequences for the rest of her life.
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   Unsettling! Repulsive! Intolerable!

   The physical portrayal of a spiritual assault reveals it for what it is ­ "evangelistic rape!" Another person had been accosted, assaulted and violated by a religious rapist intent only on victimizing, on "scoring" to gain statistical advantage.

   So-called evangelistic methods often employed by over-zealous religionists need to be exposed for what they are ­ assaults! Their motivations are just as impure as the physical rapist: desires for dominance, power, conquest, self-satisfaction, a false sense of identity, statistical advantage, etc. They have no respect for personhood; they treat people as mere objects. There is no relationship established, just mechanical acts of self-satisfaction. There is no love, just violence, as they violate another's intimate spiritual privacy.

   Another person has been scarred for life, unable to enjoy God's intended blessings. What God intended to be so beautiful and beneficial has been befouled by this violent act.

   Evangelism must be the sharing of the love of the Evangel, Jesus Christ, and that within the context of genuine personal relationships. Christians must remember that the reproduction of spiritual life is never forced or coerced by "evangelistic rape," but is always a result of God's loving initiative to draw another to Himself by His Spirit.