Christ Crucified

September 17, 2010

One of the five conversation topics at this year’s Lausanne Conference in Cape Town is Muslim Background believers.  Some articles in the discussion were alarming.  They deal with the question of whether a Muslim can follow Jesus without leaving Islam.  Some argued that Islam and Christianity belong to different cultures, and that a follower of Jesus shouldn’t have to leave one culture for another. 

Why do I find this position alarming?  First of all, I don’t believe that Christianity is tied to Western culture.  Western culture is deeply indebted to Christianity for many of its values, but Christianity does not “belong” to Western culture.  In fact, disciples of Jesus were first called Christians at Antioch—in present day Turkey near the border with Syria (Acts 11:26).

Second, Islam is not merely cultural.  Islam takes a position on the nature of Allah and on the nature of Jesus.  Allah, unlike the God of the Bible, is not a loving Father who sacrificed His only Son to take away the sins of the world.  The Koran teaches that Jesus was not the Son of God and that Jesus did not die on the cross.  (See Caner, Unveiling Islam.)  Many other teachings of the Koran are incompatible with the Bible.  When Jesus said to “make disciples of all the nations,” He also said to teach them to obey all He has commanded—His word (Matt. 28:19-20). How can we teach His word if we also accept a book that denies or distorts His word?  

“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” –1 Cor. 1:23

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Messianic Muslims & the Insider Movement

Submitted by Pilgrim. on September 22, 2010 - 09:45.

 It is no secret that reaching Muslims is a difficult task, but you're right - it's alarming when devout Christians start preaching a gospel that doesn't call for converts to openly repent and be baptized. The Insider Movement (also known as Common Ground, Common Word, Camel Method, and the C1-C6 scale of contextualization) has some positive aspects, but by accepting Islam as a "legitimate means of knowing Christ," it falls drastically short of Jesus' biblical example of sacrificial discipleship. The God of the Bible wants to his children to engage in a transformation of the community rather than conformity to the culture.

A good outline of the Insider Movement can be found at the Biblical Missiology blog - http://biblicalmissiology.org/2010/05/03/position-paper-on-the-insider-movement/

 

Thanks for the post!