The Evengelical's view of the sin of Apostasy

Evangelicals, in my opinion, are, on a quintessential level, selectively in favor of apostasy. If not, their policy on how their members are to view former members is difficult to defend when analyzing what is entailed in their television/radio/door-to-door ministry. For in preaching to people who are of a different faith in an attempt to coerce them into committing what would be, for the Evangelical, a cardinal sin - I speak of apostasy- they unknowingly infer that "it" (apostasy) is in of itself, not a sin. Clearly this is the case, for if it wasn't, their leaders would permit them to change their beliefs as they saw fit. However, as with most evangelical sects who proselytize with the intent to convert, a paradoxical alternative expectation is assigned to their own members. As far as I know this mechanism is prevalent in most tightly knit affiliations that rely on social bonds to sustain their size, including some secular organizations. More exaggerated, though, are the effects with religions. A sort of double standard is implemented that members are expected to justify on their own terms. How they are able to overcome the incongruence of policy and practice I suppose is already widely documented in social psychology.

Among the feelings of botheration I had as a youth working out in service (e.g- prostituting my time and being terrified of actually having to defend a belief I intuitively sensed I wasn't capable of defending) I think most unsettling of all was the subconscious awareness of the aforementioned contradiction of policy and practice.For instance, when a Jehovah's Witness (the affiliation I was associated with) is visited at home by a person sharing their church's message, they ironically react no differently than the average non interested person they might encounter in their ministry. Moreover, if they encounter a householder who, during their call, offers their own literature, they will almost certainly refuse. To me, this action is extremely difficult to defend without uncovering a dishonest prejudice. Although, as Orwell wisely said, "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."