"The practice of proselytizing in public is as old as the New Testament. Jesus preached at public gatherings during feast times, and Paul preached openly in the marketplaces. So there seems to be a very old precedent for this kind of activity. Furthermore, Paul recognized that some preached Christ with good motives and some with bad; nevertheless, he was pleased Christ was preached at all. Perhaps here the question becomes more complex and must be considered along two different lines at least. The fact that people can preach Christ in an unsavory way would require that those participating in marketplace evangelism monitor themselves to prevent abuses. Plato noted in The Laws that 'an abuse does not nullify a proper use.' If we judged any segment of society by its worst examples, who could stand? Nevertheless, to legislate against the bad uses in a way that prevents valid uses is itself an abuse."