missjanedoe on Nostr: There are some unbelievers who never embraced the faith (e.g., pagans and Jews). And ...

There are some unbelievers who never embraced the faith (e.g., pagans and Jews). And such unbelievers should never be compelled to embrace the faith, to believe, since belief is proper to the individual's own will. But the faithful should compel them, if possible not to hinder the faith, whether by blasphemies or wicked influences or open persecution. And so the Christian faithful often wage war against unbelievers in order to compel the latter not to hinder the faith, not indeed to compel them to embrace the faith, since unbelievers would remain free to decide whether they wanted to believe even if the faithful were to conquer them and hold them captive.
-St. Thomas Aquinas