There was a sign at the former Austin Battered Women’s Center which read:
“Love is when I want you to be who you are. Abuse is when I want you to be who I want you to be.”
I often think of that little sign when I hear people trying to force their religion on others and calling it “God’s love.”
My own Christian tradition says, “Love is patient, love is kind… it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Evangelism that does not seek consent is not an expression of spiritual love but of religious abuse. If your religion does not feel like love to the people you would help, it is not love at all.