Missiological Methodologies post 911

2006(Jay Smith)

PRESENT DAY CHRISTIAN METHODOLOGIES

There are a number of strategies, or models of evangelism in Islamic work which have been, and are being employed today.

Let’s look at the primary models:

[1] Proclamation/Programs:

• To proclaim Christ and the gospel publicly by speaking and/or preaching.

• Open-Airs, Public meetings…

• Using media, tracts, literature, TV, Radio, internet, etc…

• The Most Common form of evangelism.

• Also, using programs: Schools, Hospitals, Orphanages…etc…

Advantages:

• Easy to prepare

• Simple to Understand

• Lots of Examples to follow

• Sometimes Cheap

• Takes little time

• Presents your agenda

• Uses your background and experience

• Programs: Usually are more permanent

Problems:• Expensive

• One-way communication

• Few responses

• No rebuttals

• Few relationships

• Least effective way to win Converts

• Programs often leads to ‘Rice Christians’

[2] Irenic/Friendship evangelism:

• Coming together through shared relationships.

• Attending their meetings (Campus or Mosque)

• Mosque visits

• Home visits

Advantages:

• Easiest way to meet ‘cold contacts’

• Many times the only way to meet contacts

• Conducive to ‘Irenic’ relational cultures

• Little hostility

• Little persecution

• Good way to ‘set an example’

Problems:

• Takes time and energy

• Difficult to get beyond friendships– Due to fear of losing the contact

• Can cause jealousies

• Gospel isn’t always preached effectively

[3] Contextual Model:

• Breaking down any social barriers to the Gospel, by incarnating oneself in the local context.

• Became popular in the 1970s (i.e. Phil Parshall & Frontiers)

• ‘Walking, eating, dressing, living incarnationally, etc…

Advantages:• It helps you to become part of the culture and

adapt easily

• It makes it easier to gain relationships and trust

• People tend to be more responsive…initially

• The Church, and converts don’t stand out as foreign, or strange

• There is normally not as much persecution of converts

Problems:• Can lead to Syncretism

• Often seen as deceitful

• Can miscommunicate the Gospel

• Once they find out, there can be increased persecution

• The gospel becomes confused, especially to 2nd generation Christians

• Does not work always with Muslims who define themselves by external dress

[4] Gospel in the Qur’an:

• Finding Stories in the Qur’an as a Bridge

• Using these stories to introduce Gospel truths

• Once they believe these truths about Jesus, you can then introduce the Gospels

• Examples:– Sura 19:33 (&15) ‘Jesus did die on the Cross’– Sura 19:19 ‘Jesus was the only perfect Man’

Advantages:

• It begins with something they are familiar with…the Qur’an

• It doesn’t confront their view of ‘Issa’

• It makes it easier to make contacts

• It is not as threatening

Problems:• It is ‘eisegesis’ (reading into the Qur’an what is

not there)

• It can create anger in Muslims who know better.

• It can give authority to the Qur’an unintentionally

• It can easily ‘cheapen’ the gospel

• Once you start with the Qur’an, it’s hard to move on

[5] Dialogue:

• The art of learning how to talk or carry on effective discussions with people of other faiths.

• Presenting one’s own views and positions with the intention of coming to some sort of mutual understanding (i.e. MMUs = ‘Meetings of Mutual Understanding’).

• In a dialogue, each party may only talk about their beliefs, without criticizing the beliefs of the other

Advantages:

• It brings Muslims and Christians together

• It creates an atmosphere to talk about one’s faith

• It helps Muslims understand what we believe

• It is ‘politically correct’, and therefore acceptable to the world

Problems:

•Dialogue doesn’t go far enough

•There is no room for critical analysis

•Radical Muslims pay little attention

•Most Muslims cannot understand it

•It is a Western construct

•Thus, is there not a need now to move beyond its strictures, post 911?

[6] Debate/Confrontation:

• Openly challenging the beliefs of another person, using literature, media, etc...

• Using the conventional format of public debate.

Advantages:• Gets right to the ‘nub’ of the problem

• One of the few vehicles which confronts Islam publicly

• Is conducive to Muslims, as it fits their culture, and their form of communication

• Brings in the crowds

• Helps Christians feel confident

• Forces Christianity into the public sphere, where it belongs, but hasn’t been…

Problems:

• Can create tensions

• Goes against our cultural proclivities

• Few places to train, or practice

• Thus, not many good models today

• Consequently, not very popular

Criticism of Debate (Colin Chapman)

1. Attacks against Islam sometimes degenerate into polemics, resulting in nothing more than a ‘tit-for-tat’ criticism of Christianity by Muslims, and vice versa.

2. Debates appealed too much to the reason and the intellect, and not enough to the heart

3. Christian debaters are not aware of the latest Biblical critical research ongoing in the West, and so become helpless when Muslim opponents use them.

4. Debates are conditioned by the social and political context in which we work in the West, i.e. freedom to be critical.

5. We should question the validity of public debates which concentrate entirely on theological issues at the expense of the many social and political issues which both Muslims and Christians share in common

6. Responding in a polemical fashion merely mimics the agenda of the Muslim protagonist, which merely forces the Christian on to the defensive, and we fall into a scriptural paradigm we probably don’t even accept ourselves.

7. Chapman argues for a complete cessation of polemics itself, believing it to be not only disrespectful, but unloving.

Is there a place for Debate today?Is there a place for Debate today?

• YES!! Debates have proven to be the only way to deal with Radical Islam

• Radical Islam is Growing:Poll on radicalisation by Pew International (March 2004)

• Turkey = 31%• Morocco = 45%• Jordan = 55%• Pakistan = 65%

• (80 million out of 140 million!)

Radicalism is also growing in the UK• In 2001, 15% of Muslims were radical• In 2002, 25% of Muslims were radical• In 2004 (July 7th) Yusuf Qaradawi gave

impetus to radicalism by supporting suicide bombers, then echoed by Cherie Blair!

• In 2006, a recent ICM Poll revealed that 40% of Muslims want sharia law in UK!

• On top of that, 20% have sympathy with the 7/7 suicide bombers

• These statistics reflect increasing radicalism, a cause for concern…

Filed: 19/02/2006 at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/19/nsharia19.xml

So, what is the solution for Radical Islam?

• Radical Christianity!• Radical Methodolgy!!

Why? Because we follow the same Paradigm, and therefore can

understand them best!

• We also have Two Sources:

• 1) The Bible

• 2) Our Lord Jesus Christ

Since 911 there is a dilemma in missionary circles: What missiological methods should we use with radical Muslim groups?

• Two strategies:• Irenic Irenic (Dialogue, Friendship, Charities…(Dialogue, Friendship, Charities…DefensiveDefensive))

– Need for peace between faiths– Methodologically, only use Inter-faith dialogue– Apologetics alone– Traditional Method– Most popular Method

• Confrontational Confrontational (Debate, Internet, Literature…(Debate, Internet, Literature…OffensiveOffensive)) – Dialogue cannot cope post 911, can only go so far...– Methodologically, need to use debate– Apologetics & Polemics– Modern and Controversial

May we use Confrontation?

• Must look at:

• 1st Century: Model of Jesus, Paul, or the early church.

• 7th-9th centuries: Early Christian/Muslim polemics

• 19th century: Model: Dr. Carl Pfanders

• 20th-21st century: Models: Revisionists...

• Post 911 Model: HPCF...or SWAD?

1ST CENTURY CHURCH:

• StevenSteven, when challenged by members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, the Jews of Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, held his ground and returned their arguments; so much so that ‘they could not stand up against his wisdom” (Acts 6:9-10), and finally decided to execute him (Acts 7:57-8:1)

1ST CENTURY CHURCH: JesusJesus• Irenic:

– Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus at night (John 3)

• Mild Opposition:– rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16)– Pharisees and Herodians (Mark 12:13)– Pharisee host at a dinner party (Luke 7:36-50)– Samaritan woman (John 4)

• Confrontation:– Moneychangers at the temple (Matthew 21:12-13;

Luke 19:45)– Confrontational Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-33)

1ST CENTURY CHURCH: PaulPaul• Irenic:

– Diaspora Jews: Read Scriptures with them on their territory (Acts 13:13-15)

– Areopagus of Athens: Dialogued with the Stoics and Epicureans (Acts 17:22-31)

• Mild Opposition:– Reasoned with the Greeks, from within their

traditions (Acts 17:1-2, 17)

But, did he use confrontation?But, did he use confrontation?

Certainly!Certainly!

We must remember that before he was Paul, he was first Saul, a ‘Shamaite’…on his way to Damascus to arrest & even KILL Christians!

Then God met him in a dynamic way, and made him Paul

Yet he retained all his qualities as Saul…his passion, his intellect, and his knowledge of the Scriptures!

Paul often used confrontation:

• Paul went to Jews in their Synagogues, reasoned with them, using their scriptures (Acts 17:1-2)

• He went ‘outside’ to the Greeks in their territory, reasoning with them from within their traditions (vs.17)

• In Ephesus, a pagan city; he “argued persuasively” in the synagogue for three months (Acts 19:8)...

• The Jews finally disregarded him!

• So, he went to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, a secular institution, and for 2 years, debated with Jews & Greeks, until ALL had heard the Gospel! (Acts 19:9-10).

• In Rome, from morning till evening, for two years, he boldly “tried to convince” those who came to him (Acts 28:23-31).

(Paul cont.)In Athens (Acts 17:22-23):• learned about the Greek beliefs, • studied the objects of their worship.• knew their philosophies

(both Epicureans [remote God] and Stoics [Pantheistic])• quoted their writers [Epimenedes of Crete, and the poet

Arastus] (v.28).• After first understanding them on their level, he demonstrated

the inadequacy of their ideas (v.29).Result: 2 conversions:

Dionysius (from the Areopagus), bishop of Athens?, & Damaris (Acts 17:34)

4) In Corinth he chose a more spiritual strategy, but dealt with a largely Jewish convert church.

As a consequence, he obtained results using both irenic, and confrontational methods

(Acts 11:34; 13:32; 17:4, 32; 18:6)Otherwise, why did they

• put Paul in prison

• whip him

• stone him

• & finally kill him?!

7TH-9TH CENTURY7TH-9TH CENTURY CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DEBATESDEBATES

(Leo Levond, John of Damascus, al-Kindi, etc.)

Participants: (date of debates)Patriarch John I vs. ‘Amr al-‘As 639 ADLeo III vs. ‘Umar II 719 ADJohn of Damascus vs. Saracens 752 ADPatriarch Timothy 1 vs. Caliph Mahdi 781 ADReligious Dialogue of Jerusalem 800 ADal-Kindi vs. al-Hashimi 820 ADNicetas of Byzantium 875-886 AD‘Ali Tabari’s Book of Religion and Empire 855 ADAl-Jahiz’s Reply to the Christians 869 AD

Further Muslim Polemics:(Ibn Hazm) (1064 AD)(Al Ghazali) (1058-1111 AD)

What the 7th-9th c. debates tell us:What the 7th-9th c. debates tell us:• In the 7th century Christians and Muslims knew

little about each other.

• Debates were first used for the purpose of winning converts.

• Then moved on for the purpose of challenging the credibility of the other’s beliefs.

• Not used for better understanding.

• It is only with al-Kindi vs. al-Hashimi (820 AD) that we finally find a sophisticated polemic challenging the emerging Qur’an, and an emerging hagiography of the prophet.

Content of ideas 7Content of ideas 7thth – 9 – 9thth c. c.::• Evidences a progression in these dialogues. • Muslim challenge: From the outset is two-fold:

-Authority of ScriptureScripture, both the Torah and Injil (Amir, Umar II, Mahdi, and especially Ibn Hazm)

-DivinityDivinity of Christ (Amir, Umar II, Mahdi, al Hashimi, and Ibn Hazm)

• Christian challenge: when it was used:

-Authority of the Qur’anQur’an (Leo III, al-Kindi, and Nicetas)

-Authority of MuhammadMuhammad (Leo III, John of Damascus, and al-Kindi)

Methodology:

• Also a progression• Early Christians in Byzantium were firmer,

more forthright, and less inhibited in their presentations (i.e. John I, Leo III)

• Later Christians living under Muslim rule were more careful (i.e. John of Damascus, Timothy I)

• Muslims:

-Very few lived under Christian rule

-Thus were: Aggressive, and Dismissive

19TH CENTURY19TH CENTURY CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DEBATEDEBATE (Carl Gottlieb PfanderCarl Gottlieb Pfander: 1803-1868)

• Did face-to-face interactions, in the bazaars, letter writings, tracts, books, & Munazara - debates

• The Great AGRA MUNAZARA (Debate) April April 18641864

• Maulana Rahmat Allah & Dr. Muhammad Wazir Khan vs. Carl Gottlieb Pfander & Thomas Valpy French

• Debate was lost due to 1Jn.5:7-8, and French’s admission of 1000’s of copyist errors.

The Legacy of PfanderPfander• Maulawi Imad ud-Din

-Attended the 1854 munazara to give support to Rahmat Allah and Dr. Wazir Khan, converted after 1857, due to this debate

-For thirty years, from 1860s until the 1890s, became the Reverend of Amritsar, notable missionary-author, publishing over 20 publicationsin refutation of Islam, and participated in many Munazara confrontations (Zwemer 1941:223; Stock 1899:160- 171,562-

563; Powell 1993:288).

• Maulawi Safdar Ali-Due to the 1864 debate, converted to Christianity.-Became a member of the India Education Department, and one of the leaders in the ongoing Munazara confrontations with Islam. (Zwemer 1941:223; Stock 1899:160-171,562-563 Powell 1993:288)

So, can we use confrontation?

• 1st century we find it with JesusJesus, PaulPaul and the early Church

• 7th-9th centuries it was initially used, then dissipated, then renewed with al-Kindial-Kindi

• 19th century we find a good example in the CMS missionary, Dr. Carl Pfander….Dr. Carl Pfander….

• Thus, the answer is Thus, the answer is YES!YES!

Practical Applications for YOU!

1) Pray:

• This is a spiritual battle as well, thus we need to be equipped to face it.

• Pray, before, during and after…

2) Break down the barriers:

Bridge with them where possible, by:• Incarnational Life-style: Move into Muslim areas,

and open ourselves up to the Muslim community. -Be careful to:

• Respect cultural sensitivities with respect to alcohol, pork and ‘halal’ food.

• Handle the Qur'an (and the Bible!) with real respect in a Muslim's presence.

• Be aware of ritual observances (especially prayer, fasting at Ramadan and hand-washing etc)

• Be discrete in cross-gender relations (touching, dressing, witnessing etc). Refrain from eating pork or drinking liquor in their presence. Let our children go to their schools. These will open doors for us.

3) Train:

• Go to schools, (i.e. SOAS or Ealing), learn about Islam, from their perspective, make contacts with Muslim students, obtain credibility, and gain access.

• Learn Arabic, and brush up on Urdu, Bengali, or Hindi, to not only communicate, but be able to refer to the Qur'an directly during discussions. This helps to show them that we care, as we take the time and energy to understand them at their deepest level of communication.

4) Participate:

• Attend their meetings on campus, to find out what they think, hear their agenda, so that we can talk to them more intelligently, and better communicate the gospel within a context that they know.

• In witnessing it is wise not to initially attack Muhammad or the Qur'an directly (although in time this will be necessary at least by implication).

• We should also resist the temptation to 'be nice', as Europeans interpret it (Jesus wasn't!). When we are afraid to show passion or emotion in defending what we believe Muslims may interpret it as lack of conviction!

5) Build Bridges:• Most fundamentally we need to know why we believe

in the divinity of Christ and the resurrection and be able back it up biblically. To do that we need to:

• Establish common ground first; by asking questions and listening to the answers.

• Pray with Muslims (that God will reveal the truth) & constantly in prayer ourselves.

• Read the Bible together (Genesis, Proverbs, Luke); if need be read the Qur'an in return.

• Testify, verbally of answered prayer or of 'power encounter' with God.

• Support converts (MBBs); spiritually, physically, materially and emotionally.(1 Thes 2:8).

6) Help • Provide legal assistance• Convey information• Tutor in English• Teach correspondence courses • Assist in finding jobs, • Relieve the poor (showing the love of Christ in

practical ways). Certain Muslim groups tend to have high unemployment rates, particularly among the first and second generation immigrants. The 1991 census shows that for Pakistanis the rate was 28.8%, for Bangladeshis it was 31.7%, compared with 8.8% for whites.

7) 'Be all things to all men'Although the Gospel never changes our context does. Muslims

are not a homogeneous group so our approach must not be stereotyped.

• Nominal: like the woman of Samaria, worshipping God 'not in spirit or in truth' (Jn 4)

• Orthodox: Others are highly moral like the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30)

• Fundamentalists: While some are hypocrites like the pharisees (Mark 7:1-23)

• Seekers: There are genuine searchers like Cornelius (Acts 10)• Talibes: The majority are lost like the people in the crowd

(Mark 9:36). • Jesus responded to each differently and so should we.

Never “Either / Or” but “Both / And”.

Conclusion: What Methodologies can we use?

• Jesus, Paul, and the disciples used all of them!• Every form of evangelism has been exampled for the

last 2,000 years, so why don’t we do the same?• Find a Muslim…and find out ‘where they itch’, and let

them set the agenda of what you need to know…they are asking the right questions!

• Dovetail your responses, since ‘What is good for Ahmed, may not be good for Abdul’

• Use the Irenic, Contextual, Dialogue & Debate…It should never be ‘either / or’ but ‘BOTH / AND’

• Remember: LEAVE THE RESULTS TO THE LORD!