EMQ » July–September 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 3
By Marvin J. Newell
“Islam is the most logical religion in the world,” declared the grey-bearded imam who was hosting my world religion class at his mosque. “No other religion is as rational as Islam,” he exclaimed. “Furthermore,” he added for shock treatment, “don’t let anyone ever tell you that someone else can save you. You must save yourself.” Right from the start, the imam wanted to make two points perfectly clear to my graduate students: (1) Islam is a religion that is cerebral and rational vs. a religion of faith that demands belief in the miraculous, and (2) Islam is highly auto-soteric, where good works and personal merit determines one’s standing before God (Allah). At once he took a swipe at two fundamental biblical teachings: the necessity of faith vs. works, and also the substitutionary atoning work of Christ.
Although there are points of similarity between Islam and Christianity, there are basic fundamental differences that make the two incongruent. The late Ravi Zacharias reminds us that the popular aphorism, ‘All religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different’ simply is not true. He says, “It is more correct to say that all religions are, at best, superficially similar but fundamentally different.”[1] This especially holds true when Islam and Christianity are compared.
However, theological and missiological arguments aside, we cannot help but have compassion and genuine concern for the lives and destiny of the 1.6 billion people who follow the teachings of The Prophet. Personal encounters with Muslims soften our hearts and draw us to want to share with them the message of hope and forgiveness that is only found in Jesus.
We are both encouraged and sobered as gospel witness to Muslims continues unabated. The encouraging facts include that: (1) Muslims today are being reached in more places across the globe than at any previous time in history, (2) Muslims today are more open to the Gospel than in any time in recent memory because of unsettling world events, and (3) Muslims today are being encountered by more streams of creative Christian witness, thanks in part to modern technology.
But there is also the sobering side of reality in outreach to Muslims. To quote Warrick Farah (pseudonym):
The world adds thirty-two million Muslims each year, mainly through high birthrates, but some by conversion. The number of Muslims coming to Christ in our time is indeed unprecedented, but we are only talking about thousands of new believers each year, while millions more are born as Muslims. With all the great things happening in mission to Muslims today, the world is actually getting more and more unreached. So not only do we need to do more, we also need to do better; and this requires fresh reflection on our missiology.[2]
Farah’s observation about the need for the Church on mission today to do more and better coupled with fresh reflection is spot on. Thus, the relevance of this issue of EMQ in which we present thirteen thought-provoking articles intended to stimulate thinking, reflection, and hopefully more and better outreach to Muslims. A special thanks goes to Dr. Roy Oksnevad, Director, Muslim Ministries, EFCA All People, who rallied a group of COMMA-related writers to provide many of the articles for this issue.
Because of the current global COVID-19 pandemic, we have included a bonus section with three thought-provoking articles addressing this distressing concern. Be sure to read what the authors have to say about the impact of the virus on global missions.
Marvin J. Newell, D.Miss
Editorial Director
Notes
[1] https://www.christianpost.com/news/apologist-debunks-all-religions-are-fundamentally-the-same-claim.html.
[2] Warrick Farah, “Adoptive Missiological Engagement with Islamic Contexts,” in Margins of Islam: Ministry in Diverse Muslim Contexts, ed. Gene Daniels and Warrick Farah (Pasadena: William Carey Publishing, 2018), 204–205.
