ST Francis Magazine Complete Dec 2011

St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 5 | December 2011
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM:

BEGINNING OF A PILGRIM MOVEMENT
PART 1

By Salaam Corniche
1

1 Introduction

exile is in itself sorrowful, and the sweetness of their native soil
holds nearly all men bound to itself. John Calvin

"And this is the glory of faith...after taking everything captive - percep-
tion and understanding, strength and will - to follow the bare voice of
God and to be led and driven rather to drive"
2
Martin Luther

The streams of providence never cease to amaze me. At about
the same time that I was listening to a series on the book of He-
brews by James Dennison of Northwest Theological Seminary, I
visited two churches and in each church the pastor preached on the
call of Abraham from Genesis 11/12.
3
That same week I happened
across a reference to Abraham in an article in the AFMI/ASFM
Bulletin.
4
Just what do all of these have to do with each other?
As we will detail in this article, Dennison suggests that Abraham
is a protological pilgrim--more on that later-- and each pastor tou-
ched on the fact that the call of Abraham was a radical call, with a
somewhat less than radical recipient. Finally, the article in the Bul-
letin by Daniel Shingjong Park suggests that beginning with
AbrahamGod reveals a model of contextualization for His king-
dom ministry among people groups of other religious traditions.
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1 Salaam Corniche is a career missionary in the Muslim World.!
2
Martin Luther, Luther's Words, Vol 29: Lectures on Titus, Philemon, and He-
brew (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968), p. 238.
3
James T. Dennison Jr. The Epistle to the Hebrews [audio lectures and handouts]
www.nwts.edu/audio/jtd/hebrews.htm (Accessed October 2011)
4
In his Contextualizing Religious Form and Meaning: A Missiological Interpretation of
Naamans Petitions (2 Kings 5:15-119) in Asia Frontier Missiology Initiative-
[AFMI]-Asia Society for Frontier Mission [ASFM] Bulletin, No. 7 (Apr-Jun
2011), p. 24. [This article was originally published in IJFM 27:4 (Winter 2010),
p.197ff]
!
2
Part 1 will examine the person and call of Abraham in some de
tail, looking at his context, at the exact wording of the call and the
response of Abraham to such. We will be conscious to avoid an
exemplarist or moralist reading, i.e. Aspire to be an Abraham, as
we do so. This will be done by accentuating the Great Keeper of
Promises, Faithful YHWH. Additionally we will use the pilgrim
motif from Biblical theology to demonstrate that Abraham set his
sights from afar on his final destination which he like all sojour-
ners already possesses in faith in all that Christ has done. The Bi-
blical data will be used to verify the validity of Parks statement. In
Part 2 we will continue the theme of sojourning that Israel was to
follow, and that the new covenant people of God also must follow in
the light of the last and greatest Pilgrim who has led many sons to
glory.

2 Abraham

The importance of Abraham to Islam, Judaism and Christianity can
hardly be overstated. Islam has been called the religion of the first
Muslim, Abraham the Father of the prophets. Judaism has adopted
Abraham as the patriarch par excellence and the paradigm of meri-
torious obedience; and Christianity sees him as the father of the faith
in a fully trustworthy God. Biblically he figures as the most promi-
nent human figure in the book of Genesis and multiple chapters
(11:27-25:11) detail his life.
5
Theologically, for Christians the life of
Abraham must be interpreted by the New Testament witnesses,
especially those of Jesus, Stephens speech in Acts 7, the writings of
Paul (especially Romans and Galatians), the Epistle to the Hebrews
(especially ch. 11) and James.
6
As much as the NT regards Abra-
ham as an exemplary father of faith and an example of obedience it
goes further than that. Abraham rejoiced to see Christs day (John
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5
Gen 22:20-24 is a brief genealogy and 23:1-25:11 could be called an appendix.
6
See T. Desmond Alexanders, Abraham Re-assessed Theologically: The Abraham
Narrative and the New Testament Understanding of Justification by Faith,
http://beginningwithmoses.org/bt-articles/185/abraham-re-assessed-
theologically-the-abraham-narrative-and-the-new-testament-understanding-of-
justification-by-faith (Accessed 2011/10/26).
!
3
8:56) and that is the call to modern day believers. In Christ, they
too can be counted or reckoned righteous due to their faith, as
Abraham was. In Christ, too they are blessed possessors of all the
benefits of Christs heavenly position, as Abraham was. The NT
describes Abraham as a pointer to a greater One, the truly Godly
seed in a royal line who will be the mediator of world-wide bles-
sings, namely Jesus ...son of Davidson of Abraham. (Matt 1:1).
!
3 The Call of Abram

3. 1 The cont ext i n Genesi s:
These are the generations (Heb. elle toldot) of Terah, reads the
section beginning Gen 11:2732 and which sets the stage for the
actual call of Abraham in ch. 12:1. Wherever this phrase occurs it
begins a narrative that traces what became of the entity or indivi-
dual mentioned in the heading.
7
Another way to read this intro-
duction is to read it as this is what became of Terah,however, with
Abraham at the center. The reader of Genesis would be well aware
that in the three previous(Gen. 5:1, 2; 6:9; 10:1-not including Gen
2:4) all start with new beginnings, i.e. creation, Noah, and the survi-
vors of the flood, and each ends on a negative note, i.e. with God's
repentance about ever having made humans (6:6-8); the curse on
Ham (9:29); and the Babel confusion which leads via Shem to Terah.
Thus the reader is primed for a new beginning, yet wary of another
crash and burn scenario. Thus in this section we are introduced to
Abrahams family relations, their movements, and the important,
yet understated detail about the sterility of this patriarch and his
wife.
William Dumbrell, the Old Testament scholar who has made
extensive studies of the concept of the phenomenon of covenant,
gives a very precise definition of the momentous nature of Genesis
12:1-3 in the context of the preceding chapters of Genesis and in the
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7
cf. Gen 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10 and 27; 25:12 and 19; 36:1 (and 9) 37:2. Comment
in Biblical Studies Press: The NET Bible First Edition; (Biblical Studies Press,
2006). Also M. H. Woudstra, The Toledot of the Book of Genesis and Their Redempti-
ve-Historical Significance, CTJ 5 (1970), pp. 184-89.
!
4
Biblical canon as a whole. In his work Covenant and Creation he
summarizes:

Gen. 12:1-3 is the rejoinder to the consequences of the fall and aims at
the restoration of the purposes of God for the world to which Gen. 1-2
directed our attention. What is being offered in these few verses is a
theological blueprint for the redemptive history of the world, now set
in train by the call of Abraham
8

The scope of this paper does not permit a thorough examination
of the wealth in vv 2 and 3. Suffice it to say, it will touch on many
vital aspects of this theological blueprint including: YHWHs self-
revelation as the God of glory, His gracious initiative in extending
his saving call to Abraham and by extension to his chosen people,
the exodus motif in the call, the requirement of the death of old
things and a subsequent resurrection in the movement from sterility
to fruitfulness or re-creation, the cost of obedience, the concept of
faith and the pilgrimage motif. The pain of separation will be
shown to be offset by the potential of great promises. This dynamic
is brought out by Franz Delitzsch in the words describing the pur-
pose of this call, namely the formation of a God-fearing family se-
parate from the heathen world, and the nucleus of a future God-
chosen people
9
and, we might add, who would serve as a conduit
for Gods blessings (cf. Is 51:2).
Similar wording has been observed between Gen 12: 1,3 and Gen
22: 2,18. It has been suggested that these form an inclusio (pair of
bookends) between which the major themes of the life of Abraham
are found. The texts read:
"Go (Heb. l!k l"k#) from...your father's household...to the land I
will show you" (12:1)
"All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (12:3)
"Go (Heb. l!k l"k#)...on one of the mountains I will tell you
about" (22:2)
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8
W.J. Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers
1984), p. 66.
9
Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Vol 2 (Edinburgh: T. &
T. Clark, 1874), p. 234.
!
6
ter of Sin. Finally, Laban (Heb. l!!n) means white, and le!n,
the white one, is a poetic term for the full moon.
11

Thus we can safely say that although the line of the godly seed
of Seth was to perpetuate that calling, they were well immersed in
the religious milieu of their surroundings, including the possession
of household gods and likely moon worship. One scholar went as
far as to say that it was natural to assume that the patriarchs were
actual worshipers of the [moon] deity.
12
Yet miraculously Gods
call to Abraham came to him in a rather dramatic way, in a fashion,
not unlike that of Saul of Tarsus.

3. 3 The verbal cal l
We are introduced to the chapter with the words, Now YHWH
said [or had said] to Abram, and grammatically this can indicate
the beginning of a new sub-narrative. The Biblical Hebrew Refer-
ence Grammar points out that this construction is usually accom-
panied by an introduction of the characters of the new story and a
change of location.
13
More than just a change of scenes is going to
occur as will become evident quite quickly.
It was YHWH himself who described his coming and speaking
to Abram as a call. In Isaiah 51:2 we read: Look to Abraham
your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I
called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. This call came
in the form of a verbal proclamation. It has the sound and feel of a
summons, but of a whole different genre, because it links obedience
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11
Victor R. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis Chapters 1 - 17. (Grand Rapids, Mich:
Eerdmans, 1990), p. 363. See also Andrew F Key, Traces of the worship of the
moon god Sn among the early Israelites, Journal of Biblical Literature, (84 no 1
Mr 1965), pp 20-26.
12
Andrew Key, (p. 21) suggests that this was the conviction of the scholar Julius
Lewy, professor of Semitic languages and biblical history at Hebrew Union College
and the Jewish Institute of Religion.
13
Christo Van der Merwe, Jackie Naude, Jan Kroeze eds. A Biblical Hebrew Referen-
ce Grammar. Electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), S.
166. This construction is known as a waw consecutive + imperfect or a prefixed
(imperfect) sequential. See fn #6 for details on the translation had said.
!
7
with the delivery of a repeatedly promised gifts.
14
The call is un-
anticipated, because as Nahum Sarna observes, it seemed to come
suddenly out of the blue after 10 generations of seeming silence.
15

It was also the same voice that spoke creation into being (10 x in
Gen. 1) and now is calling for a re-creation of a people of Gods
own, through Abraham. The theme of a new people of call owing
their existence to a gracious verbal call is found in I Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

In Gen. 12: 1-3 we have an interplay between God who fre-
quently says I will and Abraham who is commanded with
you/your. Clearly it is YHWH who is the initiator and Abraham
is to be the obedient recipient. Might we be so forward as to say
that this encapsulates the gospel preached to Abram which Paul
alludes to in Galatians 3:8? We see command and promise both in
Abrahams call and in the gospel. This passage also has echoes in
chapter 22 where Abraham again is given orders by YHWH with
the strong imperative: Go and I will show you. In chapter 12
we have orders to leave the past with family and familiar surround-
ings, and in 22 we have orders to eliminate the future possibility of
continuation of the family through the sacrifice of Isaac.

3. 4 The cal l and l ech l echa
The words of YHWH to Abraham start with a Hebrew alliteration
for effect and they read l"k l#k!, or lech lecha. Literally, this could
be rendered in older style English, Go, yea, you or in the King
James Version, Get thee out, or in more modern terms Go, you
by yourself/Get up and go/You, get going!
16
The apocryphal
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14
Hans Walter Wolff in Walter Brueggemann, and Hans Walter Wolff. The Vital-
ity of Old Testament Traditions. 2
nd
ed. (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), p. 47.
15
Nahum M. Sarna. Genesis: the traditional Hebrew text with the new JPS translation.
(Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989), p. 88.
16
Gordon J Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis 1-15 Vol 1. (Dallas: Word,
Incorporated, 2002), S. 267.
!
8
book of Jubilees 12:22 renders this order as, Get thee up from
17

This very small clause packs a powerful punch and formally it is so-
called ethical/reflexive/ centripetal use of the preposition
lamed" which some have called an ethical dative (or dativus
ethicus).
18
Simply put it places a particular emphasis on the sub-
ject.
19
Takamitsu Muraoka shows the effect of this construction as
having the effect of creating a self-contained little cosmos around
the subject. All fine and well, one may say, but what is the point?
Recall the posters, Uncle Sam wants you. The finger is pointed
at one person who is to receive orders for military service, namely
the one observing the poster. Similarly, YHWH says to Abram, I
want you. I want you to go. Thus the simple verb to walk/go
is changed into separate from/take leave of. Consequently Um-
berto Cassuto suggests that when the ethical dative is used with the
verb to go it suggests that the person mentioned is going alone
and breaks away from the community or group in whose midst he
was till that moment.
20
Elsewhere Muraoka states the case even
more strongly: This particular usage of the preposition conveys
the impression that the subject establishes his own identity, re-
covering or finding his own place by determinedly dissociating him-
self from his familiar surrounding. Notions of isolation, loneliness,
parting, seclusion or withdrawal are often recognizable
21
In a word,
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17
Robert Henry Charles, (Hrsg.): Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. (Bellingham,
WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), S. 2:32.
18
Muraoka Takamitsu, On the so-called dativus ethicus in Hebrew. Journal of Theo-
logical Studies, ns 29 (no 2 O 1978), p 495-498.
19
As Wilhelm Gesenius states: It emphasizes the significance of the occurrence in
question for a particular subject in his and George Wolseley Collins, E. Kautzsch,
and A. E. Cowley eds. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1898), 119s.
20
Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Vol. 2 (Jerusalem: Magnes
Press, Hebrew University, 1972), p. 310. cf. Gen 21:16, 22:2; Exod 18:27; Joshua
12:4; Cant 2:10, 13; 4:6.
21
Muraoka Takamitsu. Emphatic Words and Structures in Biblical Hebrew. (Jerusa-
lem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1985), p. 122. Although see Bruce K
Waltke, and Michael Patrick O'Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syn-
tax. (Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 1990), p. 208 who prefer to leave the preposi-
tion untranslated when used with the imperative as in Gen. 12:1.
!
9
YHWH is calling Abraham to break away and the text details from
what and whom.

3. 5 The cal l and t he sel f -di scl osure of YHWH
In Genesis 12:7 and 17:1 God appears to Abraham and speaks
words of command and words of promise. In Acts 7:3 Stephen uses
the same verb [as the LXX of the above] to describe Gods self-
disclosure to Abraham. Stephen describes not just a generic God,
but literally, the God who is characterized by glory as The God of
glory (cf. Ps. 29:3; Eph. 1:17).
22
The irony of a God who is
associated with radiance and light appearing in the darkness of a
pagan context is not lost to a number of commentators.
23
For
Abraham it is as if this radiance is the cause of his expulsion from
this context and he is told Get out from your land. (=LXX of
Gen. 12.1) The verb get out from from the Gk exrchomai is used
as a verb of self-movement signifying change of place from one
point of origin.
24
It can also refer to disembarking from a ship, de-
mons coming out of a person, demoniacs coming out of tombs, or
blood and water coming out of a person. The movement is singular
in direction.
Other instances of the God of glory appearing to people might
include the glory of Jesus that appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the
road to Damascus (Acts 9), John the Revelator (Rev 1), Isaiah (Is.6)
and Ezekiel (Ez.1). All, like Abraham are arrested in their steps,
and this Divine self-revelation, in a manner not unlike that of
Moses, marks a new beginning and a new commission in their lives.
Stephen, however, who finishes his mandate, as it were, is said to
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22
Joseph Addison Alexander elucidates further and suggests that the emphasis is
on the self-disclosure of God through his glory (e. g. Ex. 24: 16; Is. 6: 3; Ps. 24: 7-
10) more than on being simply denoted as glorious (Ps. 29: 1; Rev. 4:11) in his, The
Acts of the Apostles Explained. Vol 1, 3rd ed. (New York: Scribner, 1866), p. 256.
Note that each member of the Trinity has a name associated with glory: The Fa-
ther of Glory (Eph.1:17); Jesus as the Lord of Glory (I Cor 2:8); The Spirit of Glory
(I Peter 4:14)
23
F. F. Bruce. The Acts of the Apostles; The Greek Text with Introd. and Commentary.
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953), p. 192.
24
W. Shenk in Horst Robert Balz and Gerhard Schneider eds. Exegetical Dictionary
of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990-c1993), S. 2:4.
!
10
have looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56).

3. 6 The cal l s t hree mi ns :
homel and, ki ndred, and f at her s house
The Youngs Literal Translation is unique among English transla-
tions in that it carries the force of the repeated Hebrew word min,
or from. It reads: Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy
kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I
shew thee.
25
There can be no mistaking that this threefold repeti-
tion is for more than stylistic effect. It functions like the pounding
of a jackhammer and from and from and from. The
effect of the ethical dative re-enforces and the importance of each
item in the list is driven home (cf. Gen. 40:2, 2 S. 6:5, Hos. 1:7).
Abraham is given orders to make a decisive break from three impor-
tant spheres of security and influence in his life, namely: his land
[Heb. "ere#], his kindred/ people/relatives/place where they have
settled/neighborhood [ Heb. mledet] and his fathers household
[Heb. b$yi% &!%]. The possessive pronoun your that precedes each
category also re-enforces that these spheres are close to Abrahams
heart. We might also say that the spheres have increasing emotio-
nal value as they move from country, extended family to nuclear
family. Gerhard von Rad observes, "To leave home and to break
ancestral bonds was to expect of ancient men almost the impossi-
ble."
26

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25
Curiously Jubilees 12:22 reads almost the same with the repeated words from
Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy
father unto a land which I will show thee, and I shall make thee a great and nu-
merous nation. Robert J.V. Hieberts English rendition of the LXX of Gen 12.1
reads And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country and from your
kindred and from your father's house to the land that I will show you in Albert
Pietersma and Benjamin Wright eds. A New English Translation of the Septua-
gint and Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included Under That Title. (New
York, Oxford Univ. Press, 2007), p. 13.
26
Gerhard Von Rad, Genesis. (Westminster John Knox Press; [Old Testament
Library] rev.ed.1972), p. 161.
!
11
As an owner of considerable wealth, likely derived from the land,
Abraham is called to dissociate with the turf that gives him status.
Later on in life he reflects on this with the words in Gen. 24.7:

The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my fathers house
and from the land of my kindred [mledet], and who spoke to me and
swore to me (ESV)

In this verse he describes his departure, not on his terms of obe-
dience, but in terms of the person of YHWH. He, who is the One
who speaks and swears an oath is the same who took him from all of
these cherished kinship connections. Additionally Nehemiahs pray-
er (Neh.9:7) reflects the fact that Abrahams call was due to YH-
WHs sovereign choice and power: You are the LORD, the God
who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and
named him Abraham. This verse is a quotation of YHWHs direct
address to Abraham in Gen 15:7 with the words: I am the LORD
who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land
to possess. As we will observe later, this terminology brought out
will be applied to the people of Israel and the Exodus (Ex 3:10-12;
13:3; 20:2), and the new people of God and the new exodus (Col
1:13). Finally we note that Nehemiah reasserts the fact that YH-
WH gave him the name Abraham which would be equivalent to a
new identity.
27

There is no mistaking that order to leave the area where ones
relatives have settled (mledet), or we might say the neighborhood,
would have caused one to question the call.
28
The Targum Jona-
than makes that quite clear in its wording of: Go thou from thy
land; separate thyself from thy kindred; go forth from the house of
thy father; go into the land which I will show thee.
29
Seth Kunin
thinks that the use of this word goes even further, however. He
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27
Compare Stephens speech in Acts 7 which also demonstrates Gods sovereign
gracious initiative: (who appeared [v. 2], spoke [v. 3], sent [v. 4], promised [v. 5],
spoke [v. 6], and gave the covenant of circumcision [v. 8].
28
Mledet cf. Gen 24:4; 31:3; 32:10[EB 9]; 43:7; Nu 10:30; Est 2:10, 20; 8:6+
29
J. W. Etheridge The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Penta-
teuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, (New York,
Ktav Publishing, 1968, original 1862), p. 192.
!
12
suggests that because (mledet) has a Hebrew root meaning birth,
Abrahams divine birth is associated with a complementary denial
of natural birthAbram denies his father, his natural progenitor in
favor of his divine progenitor.
30
Curiously, Nahum Sarna who is
not an evangelical also makes note of the motif new birth by sta-
ting that Abrams immediate response marks the true beginning of
his life, his chronological age of 75 notwithstanding.
31
Additionally
Kunin observes a contrast between the sterility of Abrams family
by natural birth and the blessings of fruitfulness of a new family by
divine birth. Yet, as we will see, it was not without some difficulty
and, one might say, compromise that Abraham obeyed.
Finally, there is the order to leave his fathers household (b$yi#
"%#). Literally this means the house of the fathers and could be de-
scribed as his clan or a subunit of it. Normally this would include
parents, children, close relatives, also servants and those living in
relatively close proximity.
32
As we have seen, the pagan religious
associations with this family were very strong and God is calling
Abraham to break ties with them. If we were to use the language of
Paul, Abraham would be leaving the weak and beggarly elements,
(KJV) weak and worthless elementary principles of the world
(ESV) of his old life, (Gal 4:9) without a thought of return. The re-
sult for Paul, as for Abraham, is a dissociation with the familiar, the
resultant loneliness as Muraoka has shown, and the temporary loss
of identity. Paul put it this way, To the present hour we hunger
and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless (1 Cor 4:11 cf
Heb 11:3840).
The global cost of each of these spheres of the call of the God of
glory to Abraham is further delineated by Lyle Eslinger in his pa-
per, Prehistory in the call to Abraham. There he states the follo-
wing:
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30
Seth Daniel Kunin, The Logic of Incest: A Structuralist Analysis of Hebrew Mythol-
ogy. (Sheffield, Eng: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), p. 64.
31
Sarna, p. 88.
32
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew
(Old Testament). electronic ed. (Oak Harbor : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997),
S. DBLH 1074, #3 cf. Ge 7:1; 24:38, Ex 6:4
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13
Territory and human collectivity are the raw materials of a social net-
work that has insulated humans from natural perils foryears. In the
ancient social order, as for most humans who have ever lived, family
and territory were an individual's primary hold on life-sustaining re-
sources and a bulwark against adversarial encroachments. This is what
God asks Abram to renounce, no less.
33

But just in case we think this is the end of the story, this renoun-
cement must be balanced with the fact that promises - even interim
ones - were realized as we read in Joshua 21:43-45:Thus YHWH
gave to all the land which he swore to give to their fathers....Not
one of all the good promises which YHWH had made to the house
of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

3. 7 The dest i nat i on of t he cal l :
t he l and t hat I wi l l show you:
!
Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the
land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1); Go out from your land and
from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you (Acts 7:3).

Both the Genesis and Acts renditions show that there is no fixed
destination, only a fixed leaving point. This accords with Hebrews
which observes that Abraham left not knowing whither he went"
(Heb 11:8). What is fixed, is that the God who appeared to Abra-
ham is known as The God of glory (Acts 7:3); YHWH, the God
of heaven (Gen 24:7); YHWH, the God who chose (Neh 9:7), who
reveals himself, speaks, swears an oath on his own name (Heb 6:13),
is all powerful to execute His promises, and will cause Abraham to
see the land.
I will show you is a Hebrew verbal construction known as the
hiphil and often it has a causative aspect to it. In a word, YHWH
will open Abrahams eyes - those of faith and physical ones - to see
this land. Thus it could be rendered the land which I will cause
you to see (cf Is 30:30 ESV). This will prove to be true on two le-
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33
Lyle M. Eslinger, Prehistory in the call to Abraham, Biblical Interpretation, 14 (no
3, 2006), p. 196 in pp. 189-208. On p. 196 Eslinger observes: The iterative
[=repeated] rhetoric of God's demand focuses precisely on personal resource
divestment
!
14
vels: namely, he will be shown the physical land of Canaan, and will
have his spiritual eyes opened to see his true homeland, with the
better and permanent city in heaven (cf. Heb. 11:10, 16; 12:12;
13:14) built not with human-centeredness as Babel, but by God
Himself.
A Jewish Midrash or commentary on Genesis has a comment on
this aspect of suspense in the orders to go a yet undisclosed land
(Gen 12:1) and mountain (Gen 22:2). He whom the Holy One,
blessed be he, puts in doubt and holds in suspense, namely, the righ-
teous, he then informs, explaining his reasoning.34 John Calvin
sets it out in easier to understand word-pictures, as if God were to
say: I command thee to go forth with closed eyes, and forbid thee
to inquire whither I am about to lead thee, until, having renounced
thy country, thou shalt have given thyself wholly to me. An earlier
church father from Egypt from the 4th century, Paphnutius, said, It
is not a land that you can know or discover through your own ef-
fort, but is a land that I will show you, a land that you know no-
thing about35
The call of faith, i.e. the assurance of things hoped for, the con-
viction of things not seen (Heb 11:1) is further heightened by a nu-
ance in the wording of the Acts passage. As Joseph Alexander
points out, it would be better to render the land that I will show
you which he finds as too definite, as whatever land I shew thee
(or may shew thee) and which implies uncertainty.
36
This same
nuance is thus translated by Westcott and Hort: whichever [land]
I show thee and by Weymouth as into whatever land I point out
to you.
A number of commentators as well show that the words of Acts
7:3b and go into the land that I will show you can actually be
translated, and come (NET)/ hither (Lenski) to the land Lenski
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
34
Jacob Neusner, A Theological Commentary to the Midrash: Genesis Rabbah. Vol 2
Lanham, (Maryland, Univ. Press of America, 2001), p. 118 which cites R. Huna in
the name of R. Eliezer.
35
As cited by the church father John Cassian (ca. 360 435) in his Conferences
3:10
36
Alexander, p. 257.
!
15
thus translates this verse as follows: Go out from thy land and
from thy kindred and hither! Into the land which I will show thee
37

Hair-splitting? Perhaps not. What this construction could show is
that YHWH is already in the land to which Abraham would have to
go, and is beckoning him to come to it.
38

If we follow the logic of Kunin, we will observe that Abraham
had to die to all of the personal resources that came through his na-
tural birth, including land, kinfolk and even his fathers house. It is
for good reason then, that he is to leave one land (erets) which was
denoted as his with the possessive pronoun your and to move to
another land (erets) that he is no longer the proprietor of, let alone
has neven seen.
39
Yet as he is commanded to move by faith, those
things that he has left will be multiplied by Gods initiative and po-
wer, i.e. a great nationin quality and in quantity (v.2); a great
nameor reputation (v.2); and a great blessednessfor himself
and for the nations (vv.2-3).

3. 8 The response of Abraham t o t he cal l
So Abram went as the Lord had told/commanded him, and Lot
went with him. (Gen 12:4)and they set out to go to the land of
Canaan (v.5)

then he went out [Gk exrchomai] (Acts 7:4)
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out [Gk exrcho-
mai] to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went
out, not knowing where he was going. (Heb. 11:8)

God ordered. Abraham obeyed. It seems very simple. There is
a verbal parallel between the go of v. 1 and the Abram went of
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
37
R. C. H Lenski. The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. Vol 1 ch 1-14 (Min-
neapolis, Minn: Augsburg Fortress, 1961), p. 260; Also Joseph Fitzmyer notes that
this passage uses the adverb deuro as an imperative for come in his The Acts of
the Apostles. Anchor (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 370.
38
Cf the story of Lazarus and Jesus saying, Come out, (Jn 11:43) and angels beck-
oning John the Revelator to come: (Rev. 17:1; 21:9).
39
John B. Polhill states that Land is a major subject of the Abraham portion of
Stephens speech. In fact, the entire subject could be described as the promise
came, apart from the land in his Acts. New American Commentary Vol. 26 elec-
tronic ed. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1992), S 190, fn 44.
!
16
verse 4. This caused one commentator to gushingly state: "This
[grammatical/phonetic correspondence of the order in v. 1 and the
response in v. 4] teaches that he went in the paths of his Maker,
even more than his Maker had commanded him."
40
Even Cassuto
states He carried out what he was enjoined to do forthwith, wit-
hout any hesitation.
41
Yet the inclusion of the throw out phrase
and Lot went with him in v. 4 and repeated in v. 5 suggests a less
than perfect obedience on the part of Abraham.
Very likely Abraham is hedging his bets with Lot, just in case
YHWH is too impotent to follow up on his promises of extending
Abrahams family line. Verse 5 gives us a further glimpse of what
Eslinger called a hedging pragmatism.
42
Andrew Vaughn closely
analyses vv 1-4 and observes that the verbs and suffixes in v. 4 indi-
cate that there are two households traveling in tandem. He thus
entitles his paper, Abrahams disobedience in Genesis 12:1-4a.
43

Could it be that Abraham had inherited some of his fathers inc-
redulity? With jarring words, Cassuto observes that Terah left the
moon cult behind him in Ur only to come back to it in Haran and
states: Where he halted he also died.
44
There had been no decisive
break with idolatry and consequently he fell back into its spell.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brothers son, and all their
possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acqui-
red in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. (v.5)

Instead of leaving and cleaving solely to the sufficiency of
Gods promises, part of Abraham left, but also cleaved to the things
that gave him security, namely his possessions, people, and exten-
ded family. Yet inspite of this weakness, it was the hand of God
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
40
M.M. Kasher in the Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation (New York: Ameri-
can Biblical Encyclopedia Society, 1995), p. 119 citing Yelamdenu as noted by Es-
linger, p. 196, fn 15. Also Gerhard von Rad approvingly states, Abraham obeys
blindly and without objection.
41
Cassuto, p. 316.
42
Eslinger, p. 197.
43
In Bernard Frank Batto, Kathryn L. Roberts, and Jimmy J. M. Roberts eds. Da-
vid and Zion: Biblical Studies in Honor of J.J.M. Roberts. (Winona Lake, Ind: Eisen-
brauns, 2004), p. 121.
44
Cassuto, p. 283.
!
17
that was stronger, and likely for good reason, Gen 15:7 and Neh. 9:7
describe YHWH as having brought out Abraham.

3. 9 Abraham s reset t l ement
The saga continues with a feeble, yet obedient faith on the part of
Abraham who continues his west-ward march to Canaan. Yet the
powerful hand of God to cause this move was never far away. In
Acts 7:4 Stephen tells his audience that God removed him [i.e.
Abraham] from there [i.e. his homeland] into this land The
words have a somewhat jarring ring to them. Removed? Literally,
it could be said that God transferred [Gk. met'kisen auton eis] or
resettled him in the land. Another way of saying this would be
that God has caused Abraham to change ones habitation, move
from one habitation to another, migrate.
45
The verb metoikz' is
derived in part from the word house [Gk oikos] and one could say
that God caused Abraham to change houses, which ties into the fact
that he was commanded to leave his fathers house in Gen 12. 1
[LXX=oikos]. Additionally, the Septuagint uses this verb used to
describe the action of God sending someone into exile (1 Chr. 5:6;
Amos 5:27) by a forcible deportation.
46

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
45
Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. electronic ed.
(Chattanooga, TN : AMG Publishers, 2000, c1992, c1993), S. G3351. A very inte-
resting study is the synonyms and the antonyms for this verb: Examples included:
Syn.: metaban! (3327), to pass over from one place to another; methst"mi
(3179), to cause to move; metatth"mi (3346), to move a person or thing from one
place to another; paraphr! (3911), to take or carry away, bring to or before;
apoch!rz! (673), to separate, remove; ar! (142), to lift, take up; kin! (2795), to
move; astat! (790), to wander about, to lack a fixed dwelling place.
Ant.: mn! (3306), to abide; katamn! (2650), to stay in one place; paramn!
(3887), to stay continuously; diatrb! (1304), to stay; oik! (3611), to dwell;
katoik! (2730), to dwell continuously in one place; paroik! (3939), to reside as an
alien; sk"n! (4637), to pitch a tent; katask"n! (2681), to lodge in a tent.
46
Flavius Josephus uses a similar construction to describe the exile as Nabucho-
donosor removed our people entirely out of their own country, and transferred
[metoikz!] them to Babylon; when it so happened that our city was desolate
in his and William Whistons The Works of Josephus : Complete and Unabridged.
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1987, S. Apion 1.132.
!
18
The old Israel who will also become a pilgrim people, are said to
have been brought out of the house of bondage and the new people
of God are said to have been delivered from the domain of darkness
and transferred [Gk methist"mi] to the kingdom of his beloved
Son. (Col. 1:12)
47
The pattern of out of moving to in to is repe-
ated in each instance.
In effect, God has exiled Abraham from his former land, into the
new one. The disjunction between the old and the new could not be
clearer. Abraham is now an exile or might we say a sojourner?

3. 10 A resul t of t he cal l : Abraham as a soj ourner
A wealthy man leaves his country of origin, the bulk of his family,
and likely a good part of his status, all in response to the self-
disclosure and orders of YHWH. Is this lunacy or is this something
else? Why leave the comforts of being a permanent resident and
become a resident alien or a sojourner.
48

We recall that the story of the call of Abraham is set in purpose-
ful contrast to the story of the human-engineered, human-centered,
human attempt to form their own society and reach god on their
terms. The making of a name for ourselves stands in contrast
toYHWH who will make a great name for Abraham; as does the fact
that the inhabitants of Babel, found a plain in the land of Sinar and
by inference, it was their effort that located the place. Additionally
we read in (11:2) that they settled there. Abraham neither finds a
place nor settles down.
When Abraham is about to purchase some land from the Hittites
in Hebron to buy a burial plot for Sarah, he describes himself as be-
ing a sojourner (Heb. g"r) and a foreigner (Heb. !"=#]$4%))
among them (Gen 23:4). He uses two words rendered by the LXX
as proikos and parepd"mos. The latter is found in Heb. 11:13
1 Pet. 1:1; 2:11. It could also be rendered, a foreigner who has sett-
led down. These same words are found in Psalm 39:12, Hear my
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
47
methist"mito cause to move from one place to another
48
See Moses Chin, A heavenly home for the homeless: aliens and strangers in 1
Peter Tyndale Bulletin, 42 no 1 (My 1991), pp. 96-112 for a thorough treatment
of OT backgrounds of this concept.
!
19
prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my wee-
ping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers
were. In all these cases it is assumed that this resident alien status
with all of its implications of transitoriness is a given, one might say
a permanent state of affairs.
This rootless existence was attested to by a list of name places
where Abraham was said to have sojourned: Egypt (Gen. 12:10);
Gerar (20:1); the land of the Philistines (21:34); Kiriath-arba/ He-
bron (35:27); as well as, by the descriptor, that he lived in tents.To
live in a tent, as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did, (Gen 26:17, 25; Gen
25:27; 32:25, 3334; 33:1819; 35:21) conveys much more than no-
madic pastoralists on the move. It was a theological statement that
they were not prepared to settle down, as they had a more perma-
nent city and permanent citizenship in their sights. As William La-
ne suggests, it is a sign of refusal to establish a permanent settle-
ment in a culture devoid of the presence of God.
49
This theme is
picked up in the book of Hebrews 11:9-10 which reads:

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, li-
ving in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose de-
signer and builder is God.

Stephen in Acts 7:5 comments as well on this alien status with
its tension of living between promise and realization with the
words:

Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foots length, but pro-
mised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him,
though he had no child.

The lack of property ownership and the living in temporary shel-
ter points us as well to the greatest Pilgrim of all, namely him who
said,!Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son
of Man has nowhere to lay his head. (Mt 8:20 ESV)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
49
William L. Lane, Word Biblical Commentary: Hebrews 9-13. Vol 47B (Dallas:
Word, Incorporated, 2002), S. 350. It should be noted that in the same breath that
the patriarchs are described as living in tents, the author of Hebrews describes
them as a group of fellow-heirs. (11:9)!!
!
20
3. 11 Abraham s accept ance of hi s cal l i ng:
Just as Abraham had declared his residency status to the Hittites as
a stranger and exile, the book of Hebrews (11:13) declares that
among the heroes - note the plural - of faith, he acknowledged the
same:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but
having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowled-
ged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

The word translated acknowledged (Gk: homolog"santes) is a
key to comprehending that Abraham accepted his resident alien sta-
tus. The word can also be rendered confess, confess publicly, admit-
ted openly (GNT), acknowledge openly, profess, admitting (LEB),
agreed (CEV), to speak the same, owning (Moffatt). Obviously the
connotation is an open acknowledgement and personal ownership of
a truth (cf John 1:20; Acts 24:14; 1 Tim. 6:12; 1 John 4:15 etc.). The
author of Hebrews also pastorally exhorts his audience to let us
hold fast to the confession [same root - homologa - 4:14; 10:23].
Likely this confession included the fact that Jesus (3:1; cf. 13:15) is
the apostle and high priest and the Son of God. The pastoral ap-
peal is also to ask his audience to hold on tenaciously to what Dun-
ning calls their social identity as outsiders.
50
They can find va-
lidity in their own marginalization as they look to examples of Mo-
ses, Abraham and Jesus as other outsiders. The converse of such
would be to deny or refuse to admit their status as such.
This acknowledgement has two practical consequences. First,
they habitually make it clear (11:14) [Gk. emphanz$ - to manifest,
make known, declare, show] or plainly declare by their speech that
the driving desire of their allegiances lies elsewhere than the father-
land of their birth. There is no hidden agenda here. Secondly, their
acknowledgement translates into an attitude of there is no going
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
50
Benjamin H. Dunning, Aliens and Sojourners: Self As Other in Early Christianity.
(Philadelphia, Pa: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009), p. 53. See also Wisdom
18:13 where after the destruction of the first-born, the Egyptians finally overcame
their disbelief and came to accept and comprehend the truth that Israel was Gods
son.
!
21
back. This is shown in v. 15 where the heroes of faith, although
they might have been tempted to return to their land of origin could
not consider that a viable option when compared to the better coun-
try, namely a heavenly one (v.16 cf. 12:2224; 13:14). It was on that
better homeland that they set their strong desires or earnest ex-
pectations, due to their hope in Gods promises.
51
Thus we read:

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a ho-
meland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had
gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they
desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. (Heb 11: 14-16 ESV)

To close out his argument the writer of Hebrews appeals a se-
cond time to the fact that God is not ashamed to be associated with
those who as pilgrims fix their eyes on the destination, rather than
on their surroundings or from where they have come. Their hori-
zon is what is ahead of them, not what is behind them. Therefore
[or because of this] God is not ashamed to be called their God (v.
16b cf. 2:11). In effect God is saying that they will not lose out re-
gardless of peer pressure or their own perceptions. This was cer-
tainly a fear that Abraham must have had as well, and which was
responded to by, I will make for you a great name, nation etc.
Thus to both Abraham and the audience of the book of Hebrews
God identifies as their God.

3. 12 The why of t he cal l
As much as we have examined the how, when, where, who of the
call, one question remains. Why would YHWH demand such a radi-
cal separation from family, language, food, the familiar - all those
things of ones culture - and the like? The answer must be influen-
ced by the facts that have been observed, namely that this call is
initiated, orchestrated, and sustained by YHWH. In His sovereign
grace, YHWH chose Abraham inspite of his context. That is to say,
only YHWH could get credit for that. Secondly, YHWH has a plan
of gargantuan proportions for Abraham and his life as 12:2-3 de-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
51
The Gk. org!ntai literally means "to stretch out especially with the hand, and
metaphorically to eagerly desire to accomplish some goal or purpose, so to strive
to attain, to aspire to, to eagerly long for!!
!
22
monstrates. It is as if Abraham is a second Adam and so a clean
start for a new people of God must happen: and this is through a
man as good as dead (Heb. 11:12). Additionally it could be said
that the execution of the plan through Abraham and his descendants
is linked to his leaving. Some translators render the beginning of v.
2 to read, in order that, i.e. leave in order that he will be in a posi-
tion to receive what YHWH will do both for him, his offspring, and
to the nations.
52

As well, in strongest terms, YHWH will arrange this exodus, as
he does all subsequent exoduses to have it said at the end of the day
that it was He and He alone who could execute such. There can be
absolutely no glory for this plan shared with Nanna the moon god
and his consort Ningal, nor the household gods of the family. This
will also permit YHWH to identify himself as the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Abraham too must be stripped of any and all re-
sources to which he could derive credit for this divine undertaking.
This pattern will reappear in the exodus of the children of Israel
from Egypt, and in the new exodus of new covenant children from
the dominion of darkness. All of them must and will say, Salvation
belongs to the Lord.
53

4 Abraham as the protological pilgrim:

In order to make linkages between this paper and the following,
prior to examining the statement of Park in light of some summary
observations about Abraham as we have gathered from the text, we
will look at some of Dennisons categories. Recall that James Den-
nison is a lecturer on the book of Hebrews who is convinced that the
pilgrim motif is one of, if not the dominant theme of that epistle.
54

To set the groundwork for his teaching he distinguishes between
four types of pilgrims, namely:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
52
William Yarchin, Imperative and Promise in Gen 12:13, Studia Biblica et theo-
logical 10 (1980), p. 169.
53
See Vaughn, p. 122.
54
See his To the Hebrews: A Narrative Paradigm in Kerux: The Journal of North-
west Theological Seminary 26/2 (2011), pp. 30-33."
!
23
A. Abraham as the first or protological pilgrim.
B. Israel as the pilgrim people between the exodus and the
Promised Land who could be called sojourners of the for-
mer times.
55

C. The church as semi-eschatological pilgrims between the
new exodus and the promised land of heaven which could be
called the sojourners of the last times (Heb 1:2)
D. Jesus as the Eschatological or last Pilgrim (Heb 12:2).
Dennison thus observes that there is a strong linkage between
the fact that Abraham was the first to be called a Hebrew (Gen
14:13) while he was a sojourner. This makes him the first of such a
line and becomes the father of the household of faith. Secondly, he
marshals adequate Biblical evidence to show that the children of
Israel were known as Hebrews and they follow Abrahams example
of being sojourners, although in the wilderness they were more cha-
racterized by hard and unbelieving hearts than those of faith. Using
the book of Hebrews with its multiplicity of pilgrimage related
words, he then shows that the church is also called to look back re-
trospectively at the examples of Abraham and the children of Israel
in terms of their responses, or lack thereof to the Great Keeper of
Promises, YHWH, in order to learn valuable lessons.
These lessons are designed not to fix eyes on Abraham as an
exemplar, but rather be an inspiration to also see from afar that
which Abraham saw with eyes of faith, and also to eagerly desire a
better city as he did. Lastly he shows that Jesus as the eschatolo-
gical or last Pilgrim functions as a forerunner for the Christian
community in a journey that involves both humiliation and eventual
exaltation. By placing their trust in Him, they live in a now and
not yet state of presently owning all of the promises of future sal-
vation encapsulated in the heavenly Jerusalem to which they have
already come (Heb 12:18, 22 with the verb prosrchomai in the per-
fect tense); and yet not realizing them all in the present, in a fashion
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
55
In Leviticus 25:23 YHWH address his people concerning their pilgrim status:
"The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but
aliens and my tenants.
""
!
24
not unlike Abraham died without having physically possessed the
land, but who owned it fully by faith.
Summary observations regarding Abraham:
1. Although a member of the godly line of Seth, Abraham and
his family were well implicated in the worship of gods other
than YHWH.
2. The use of the ethical dative in Gen 12:1 stresses the perso-
nal costliness of the call as well as the radical nature of the
extrication of Abraham from things familiar. In a word: se-
paration and marginalization.
3. The use of min with concentric spheres of relationship de-
monstrates that the call of YHWH is a high call to dissocia-
tion of personal resources.
4. Obedience to the call has a response to divine initiative at
its root.
5. Abrahams obedience has human frailty mixed into it.
6. The status of being deported has the potential to engender
shame
7. The status of living as a resident alien who lives in a state of
transitoriness has the potential to engender shame
8. Regardless of both of these shame producing elements, God
is honored to associate with this pilgrim who takes Him at
His word.
9. The temptation to return to the familiar is mitigated by so-
mething superior seen yet invisible. There is no going back.
10. Abrahams resident alien status requires a coming to terms
and acceptance of it.

5 Analysis of Park

Daniel Shingjong Park begins his article defending the integration
of Naaman into his local life and religion (2 Kings 5), with the fol-
lowing statement: beginning with AbrahamGod reveals a mo-
del of contextualization for His kingdom ministry among people
groups of other religious traditions. The statement is not further
qualified other than serving as an introduction to the story of
!
25
Naaman. Yet, based on the Biblical data just examined, we must ask
the following questions:

1. Beginning with Abraham. What does God begin? Accor-
ding to Dumbrell - a theological blueprint for the redemptive
history of the world. The Biblical text shows that begin-
ning with Abraham we have the start of the Hebrew/pilgrim
line which, as we have seen and will see, implies anything but
contextualization as it is defined by moderns. Abraham can
not be used as the fore-runner or champion of some kind of
20-21st century model of ministry anachronistically applied.
2. God reveals Is it a model of contextualization?
No. First and foremost, as Stephen pointed out, God reveals
himself as The God of glory. Listen to what Hugh Martin
wrote concerning this revelation and Abrahams response to
it:

What could make him a stranger on the earth? "The God of
glory appeared unto him." That would do it. From that mo-
ment he was alienated from the world. Formerly he had been
at home in the world and a stranger to God. Now he is at
home with God and a stranger on the earth. Formerly the
world had "appeared" to him - and God was not in all his
thoughts. Now "the God of glory" has appeared unto him,
and the world disappears and fades from view. The "appear-
ance" of God he beholds as real and glorious.
56

The LORD appeared unto Abram reads Gen 12:7. Here
and in other subsequent self-disclosures, YHWH reveals
Himself to Abraham.
3. for His Kingdom ministry This term can have as many
meanings as authors, but to give Park the benefit of the
doubt, yes, we can see Abraham as a type of a king who will
have a multitude of subjects, a great reputation; be the media-
tor of blessings for other nations; and have the ability to have
judgment inflicted on them by YHWH, per their response to
him. He will take up Adams abdicated role of having domi-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
56
Hugh Martin (1822-85), Joyous Spirituality of Christian Pilgrimage
!
26
nion once again and always point forward to a greater King.
Both Abraham as a king and Jesus the King are the fathers of
the faithful and in assembly, they are known as the church,
not just an amorphous kingdom ministry.
4. .Among people groups of other religious traditions
What is being suggested? There are two choices. Either Park
is suggesting that Abraham would continue to live and work
in the context of his old religion, which the text very clearly
suggests could not be the case, or that he would do so in the
context of the religion of the Canaanites [who] were in the
land (Gen 12:6). What is clear from the text is a radical dis-
sociation from his old religious context, and the formation of
a radically new religion if we can call it that, i.e. of serving
YHWH, while living in the context of Canaanite religion. It
is more than just living in that context, however. Cassuto
shows that Abrahams construction of altars to YHWH at
strategic centers of Canaanite worship signifies the procla-
mation of the supremacy of YHWH the God of Abram, over
the gods of Canaan.
57
This kingdom ministry then is the
declaration of the Kingship of YHWH and a corresponding
declaration of war over these resident gods. This separa-
teness will later manifest itself in the attempted curse by Ba-
laam over Israel, where it becomes a blessing instead and he
describes Israel as a people who live apart and do not consi-
der themselves one of the nations (Num 23:9).

Taken as a complete phrase, then, Parks assertion seems to ap-
peal strongly to using the historical precedent of the weighty figure
Abraham as a means to prepare his reader to accept his interpretati-
on and consequent application of the Naaman story. Rather than
listening to the text itself, Park, I would suggest, has illegitimately
searched for a legitimization for a current methodology which is all
about staying in ones religious context.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
57
Cassuto, p. 306"
!
27
6 Conclusion

The Biblical text demonstrates that the call of Abraham is a call
from sterility and death in his old context to fruitfulness and new-
birth in his new context. Based on the gracious self-disclosure of
YHWH with His promises, it facilitates a life of vulnerability, loss of
identity, and loss of secure status. It casts Abraham fully on the
veracity of YHWHs promises in Christ and in the better city
which he had to see from afar and welcome through God-given
eyes of faith. It is no less than the call of Jesus to take up ones in-
strument of crucifixion and follow him. Abraham well could have
written the words of the Welsh hymn which reads:

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.

For further reflection

1. Extraction - or taking someone out of their familiar context -
has been described as the cardinal sin by some working among
Muslims. What principles, if any, can be gleaned from the call
of Abraham?
2. William Dumbrell encapsulated the impossible cost of leaving
for Abraham with these words: The call was to abandon all na-
tural connections, to surrender all social customs and traditi-
ons, to leave land, clan and family. These were the very areas of
strong attachment which in the ancient world would have been
thought to provide ultimate personal security."
58
Was this true
only for Abraham or could it apply to modern day disciples re-
gardless of context? Consider Martin Goldsmiths description
of the challenge facing a Muslim in his society: Islam is within
the whole warp and woof of society - in the family, in politics,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
58
Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation, p. 57.
!
28
in social relationships. To leave the Muslim faith is to break
with ones whole society. Many a modern educated Muslim is
not all that religiously minded; but he must, nevertheless, re-
main a Muslim for social reasons, and also because it is the ba-
sis for his political belief. This makes it almost unthinkable for
most Muslims even to consider the possibility of becoming a
follower of some other religion.
59
Two contexts, same call,
same God: are they incompatible?
3. Cassutos description of Terah being wooed back to the idolatry
that he never really left ends with the chilling statement,
Where he halted he also died. Can modern day applications
be made of this statement?
4. The potential shame of rootlessness and lack of social status has
been said to be avoided at all costs. What can we learn from
Abraham and other heroes of faith in Hebrews 11?
5. Self-determination, i.e. I call the shots as to where I live, with
whom I associate, and how I worship. This has been said to be
the clarion call of much of North American evangelicalism.
How does this square with the story of Abraham, and how
might this attitude find expression among missions to Mus-
lims?
6. The story of Abraham is replete with verbs of movement. What
do the directions of these movements suggest? How do they
square with other modern movements?
7. In the call of Abraham promises outnumber commands 2:1 (i.e.
2 verses of blessings and 1 verse of command). How might this
be of pastoral use to those who fear shame or loss?
8. Joseph called his first Gershom: for he said, I have been a
sojourner in a foreign land (Ex 2:22 RSV). John Bunyan in
Pilgrims Progress had a character named Obstinate who, when
faced with leaving his friends and family said, I will go back to
my own house. Which name would your disciples have?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
59
Martin Goldsmith, Community and controversy: key causes of Muslim resistance.
Missiology, 4 no 3 (Jl 1976), p 318.

WHEN MY BELOVED BECAME TRIUNE:
ENCOUNTERING IBN ARABI IN THE RELIGION OF LOVE

By Timothy Abraham
1

My Beloved is my Lord and my Lord is my Beloved. He is the
starting point, the Alpha and the Omega. All creatures seek Him
and praise Him everyday and hundreds of millions praise him eve-
ryday in thousands of languages. Nobody can monopolize Him to
himself and say that He is for me and no one else. God is for every-
body and loves everybody, and so He had to be triune in three per-
sons so that I may be privileged to know Him. For if He remains
one and only in His heavens and not reaching out to me or running
out to meet me in His incarnation, what good does His monotheism
do for me? In what way do I really benefit from theoretically con-
crete monotheism such as that?
Believing in the unity of God is a de-facto matter, acknowledged
by all including the demons. James says in his epistle You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe thatand
shudder. (2:19). However, we need more than belief in one God.
We need for this one God to become flesh with us, reach out His
hand to us in His Advent. We need more than the doctrine of
monotheism as strictly dry as it is. Therefore, our Lord comes, will-
ingly motivated by intense outpouring love for our sake. He, then,
becomes triune without having any qualms about it. At the same
time He is the Lord who is One and there is no other. Receiving
such a spiritual matter occurs on the level of Faith not the abstrac-
tion of ideas, or otherwise we are watching from a distance and re-
main detached by a big chasm from our God. All that we know
then, is that he is just one God. This is like going to the beach,
watching the water from a distance and not allowing our feet to get
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
"Abraham was born into a Muslim Egyptian family. He is married with two chil-
dren and is now living in the USA. His interests are languages, notably French
and Syriac, and exploring the intersection of church history, Islamic history and
the Churchs witness to Muslims today. His testimony can be read at Answering
Islam: www.answering-islam.org/authors/abraham/testimony.html."
!
30
wet. We have to plunge into the water of divine love where there is
a deeper level. It is the level of the trinity.
Within the Muslim world there has been a voice that has pro-
claimed an intimacy with God that goes far beyond the traditional
Islamic understanding of God and the Muslim relationship with
Him. Ibn Arabi (1165-1240 AD) was a poet, a sheikh of Islam and a
lover of God. He was endowed with spiritual insight as well as
beauty of soul in order to see some things, while still remaining in
Islam. This Muslim mystic was able to spot such a significant spiri-
tual truth as the Christian doctrine of Trinity in that he ties it in
with Gods unconditional love. In a famous poem in his Turjuman,
he proceeds to proclaim his love for his God and to commune with
Him in affectionate, flirting, poetic verses, even though his religion
does not allow for such romance with God. Admittedly, the Quran
does not state clearly that God is love or that God is our Beloved or
the Lover. Never does the Quran state that the Lord will reach out
to humanity in his initiative of love, as is the case with Christianity.
Yet Ibn Arabi transcends the obvious cruel, customary rigidity ac-
companying the Quranic text and proceeds to love with his God.
His God is his Beloved; no wonder he is enormously comfortable
around Him. No wonder most of the Arab world is universally
drawn to Ibn Arabi and chants his romantic poetry and sees it as a
divine gift. We also see how much his heart was vastly big and tol-
erant so as to include all people of religions and non-religions,
which is in itself incongruent with the spirit of Islam. He showed
that he wanted to break free of the restrictions of Islam and love like
God loves,loving everyone.
Isnt every true love emanating directly from the bowels of
God?
-Yes, of course!
And do we have any love in us that came from within us ourselves
-Of course not! For how did we learn to flirt or how did we learn
the art of love? And how do our hearts beat with that thrill? Of
course this is from our maker, the Lord God Himself! Any love that
is not rooted in God or does not come from the heart of God is plain
deception for its self-seeking nature. True love seeks what is the
others. This means that I get out of myself and pour all my at-
!
31
tention on that individual and seek that persons ultimate good.
Often a man loves a young lady because he simply sees his image in
her. He sees himself in her, and loves her for the things that she
does for him. Such love is narcissism, as when Narcissus saw him-
self on the face of the water. But when I love someone this should
be for her own sake. I should seek with all my energy to make her
happy without expecting something in return. Utilitarianism and
love do not go hand in hand.
Because we think about love, sex and romance apart from God,
we are haunted by the mentality of halal and harram, which are
what is lawful and unlawful in Islam, the dos and donts. With this
taboo mentality, everything is liable to become unclean because the
mind is measuring things in a utilitarian, objectifying light. For
them, lovemaking has become a legal right governed by the mar-
riage contract, hence the phrase `Uqdad al-nikah (Intercourse con-
tract). This phrase describes marriage, on the one hand, as nothing
more than a contract and, on the other hand, it is this contract that
modifies the act of Nikah (intercourse in marriage). The focus of
Islam, here, would be on the idea to have a contract to have the
right to have sex.
Ibn Arabai saw that Christ was the seal of the Saints while
Muhammad was the seal of the prophets. He doesnt place Christ
on the same level as ordinary prophets, who according to Islamic
theology merely convey the message of God passively. He sees
Christ as an intimate saint of God, about whom the Hadith qudsi
says, Whoever becomes an enemy to a wali (saint) I have launched
war on him. Ibn Arabi brings to mind the people who come to Je-
sus under the cover of darkness as they felt and knew deep within
themselves who Christ really was. One such person would be
Nicodemus. It is no surprise that Christ speaks to him from the
heart with impatience, You are a teacher of Israel and you dont
know this? (John 3:10) Likewise, Ibn Arabi has his own high es-
teem as an Imam in Islam, in the same fashion that Nicodemus held
a place of reverence as Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin.
!
32
Our honored shiekh, Ibn Arabi, a Nicodemus in his own Islamic
way, has his masterpiece of poetry, Turjuman Al-Ashwaq.
2
In poem
12 he says communing with his Beloved:

My beloved has become triune while He is still One,
In Him the Persons of Trinity have become a Being.

The Beloved is one, indeed, in his personhood and, so, we might
wonder, how does trinity get to him, our sheikh Ibn Arabi? Ibn
Arabi would tell us, It is Love! It is by love and for the sake of
love that He becomes triune, otherwise he is closed in upon himself
in dire detachment. He is not arrogantly peeking from his heaven
on his slaves, as Islam would inform us. The trinity is contrary to
being closed off. For if God becomes veiled from us, this would be,
indeed, hell in itself. May He never hide His face from us! Love
was, and still is, His initiative, not ours. We might ask Ramon
Llull, who was one of the earliest Christians to take the Gospel mes-
sage to the Muslim world in the 13th century, about paradise and
hell. In his book he states: They asked the Lover, What is the
greatest darkness? He replied, The absence of my Beloved.
3
Para-
dise is that of the closeness of the Beloved and hell is that of the ab-
sence of the Beloved. True divine enlightenment is that of the
closeness of the Beloved.
As long as we talk about the Trinity or Christianity at large, it
cannot be done apart from the encounter of the loving God that we
experience. For He is the Beloved who cannot be absent, or else life
would be miserable hell as a result of His absence. The Gospel al-
ways presents the doctrine of the trinity in light of the God who is
only love. Without talking about the Beloved, and here I mean my
Own Beloved, I have no way of talking about the Trinity at all. In
the Gospel of Luke Chapter 3 there is elucidation of this concept in
the baptism of Christ.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2
Edited by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson and published by London Royal Asiatic
Society, 1912
3
The Book of the lover and the Beloved; Translated from the Catalan of Ramon Llull
with an introductory essay, 1923.
!
33
When all the people were baptized Jesus was also baptized.
While praying the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came in the
form of a dove and said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am
well-pleased; listen to Him!" (Matthew 17:5).
In this incident the Father who sends His Beloved Son for the
salvation of the world is present. So is the Son of God, and the Holy
Spirit also. As the Spirit comes upon Christ he announces that
Christ is, indeed, Gods Beloved Son. In this verse, there is the
beautiful presence of the three persons of the Trinity, the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. This Bible passage powerfully and
clearly explains the doctrine of the Trinity for our Christian wit-
ness. We cannot talk about what is between the Father and Christ
the Son without addressing the relationship of love that they have
between the two of them. This is the only way to present the doc-
trine of the Trinity. In talking about the Beloved who has capti-
vated us by His love, what further proof for Christianity do we need
than His own love? They ask for a sign, and yet the sign of love is
the only thing offered for them. According to the Bible this doc-
trine of the trinity has been present from the beginning; it isnt an
invention of a church council, as some claim in order to justify re-
jecting the triune God of Love. Whenever God the Father and
Christ are present in some place, with the Holy Spirit operating in
the hearts of people, then you are, indeed, addressing the Trinity.
Call it whatever term you wish, for it isnt about the terminology
but the profound theological content that it denotes. It is all about
the relationship between God the Father and Christ working to-
gether in our hearts and renewing them by the Holy Spirit of God.
That is why they call Christianity the religion of Love.
Therefore, I am inclined to go with Ibn Arabi when he says in
his Turjuman, The religion of love shall be my religion and my
faith, wherever God's caravans turn. Today, still, Ibn Arabi comes
again in the person of an enlightened, open-minded Muslim scholar
such as Dr. Mohamed Kamel Hussayn in his literary masterpiece.
He is appalled by the hardness of hearts that handed Jesus over to
the cross. One of his characters in the novel is mouth-pieced as say-
!
34
ing, Would you ever kill a man that says that God is love? No
criminal would utter such a thing! God is love.
4
This kind of love
was, indeed, the message of Christ who went about proclaiming it,
leaving no room for divisive arguments. With love, you simply cant
argue. Love always wins. It is such love that is the most prominent
dogma of Christianity, and it is for its sake that Muslims, Hindus,
Buddhists, etc., leave everything behind and walk with Christ hand
in hand.
There was a Sikh by the name Sadhu Sundar Singh who had de-
cided to follow Jesus. He was asked once by a Hindu professor what
it was that he had found in Christianity that he had not found in his
old religion. I have found Christ, said Sadhu Sundar Singh. Oh
yes, I know, said the professor rather impatiently. But what par-
ticular doctrine have you found or principle that you did not have
before? The particular thing I have found, replied Sadhu Sundar
Shingh, is Christ! It is this Jesus Christ that Ibn Arabi found as
precisely characterizing the religion of love in his poem, and yet
he could not give up all and follow Him. Sadhu, on the other hand,
made a different choice and decided to be cleansed in His heart by
His redemptive love. We may wash the outside as much as we want
in ablutions, and all that we are doing is washing the outside of
the pot. Sadly, the inside of the pot is still dirty (Luke 11:39). It is
where Love Divine comes in and purifies us; not a long list of dos
and donts, that strict Islamic mentality of the taboo. That Trinity
of Love is what it takes to purge our souls of its ills. What people
need primarily is not rigid, dogmatic beliefs, but a Person, the
Liberator of the souls, Jesus Christ. On his account, things are done
out of deep, compelling love of Christ, not out of fear.
When the holocaust occurred, people were still dressed in civi-
lized clothes and acted refined. The heart, sadly, still had it own
disease, the disease of sin. Western secularism in all of its glory
never daunted people from the barbarism of the holocaust. What
was and is still needed is not an ideology but definitely a change of
heart, a heart made once again in the image of God in the religion of
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#
"The City of Wrong by Kamil Hussein, Dar Al Shuruq, Cairo, Egypt, p. 19. Avail-
able in English in the translation of Kenneth Cragg."
!
35
love, of which Ibn Arabi speaks. Love alone can eradicate evil from
mans heart, and man is no longer as Hobbes once claimed - a wolf
hunting his own brother. Love, beauty of God, will redeem our
souls; no more hunters, but instead achieving the highest potential
of the humanity of God in Christ and appropriating it to our beings.
We have seen and heard the terror of Islam on every side. Its peace
is nothing more than a lip service as it is more of an ideology than a
spirituality of sorts.
For this reason my God who is omnipotent chose also to be all-
humble, all-love in the Trinity. Without the Trinity, he is just a
generic deity, direly detached and remote, peeking in from heaven
with his severe edicts. In the Trinity, he reaches out both hand and
heart to embrace me. He is no longer an idea to be proven or dis-
proven, but a person to choose or to reject; a God to experience per-
sonally as Lord and Savior, but not a concept that inferentially
prevails upon our minds. His is the love story that Fanny Crosby
beautifully chants,
Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus,
Sang as they welcomed His birth.
Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.
5

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5
Complete lyrics available at www.scrollpublishing.com/store/Fanny-
Crosby.html.
!
36
A CRITICAL DISCUSSION OF INFLUENCES ON THE IDENTITY
CHOICES MADE BY BELIEVERS WITH A MUSLIM BACKGROUND
IN THE UK

By David Combes

Abstract
Identity has been seen as one of the major challenges BMBs (Believers in
Christ with a Muslim Background) face as they progress in working out
their new faith.
1
In order to better understand this complex issue and the
relationship between experience and subsequent choices of identity, four
BMBs who all attend one church in England were interviewed. Through
the inductive process of a naturalistic research approach these case studies
were explored in light of the nature of identity, culture, and community.
The culmination was in three proposed hypotheses which investigate the
influences of attitude towards Islam, persecution, and community acceptan-
ce. Some understanding was achieved in the variety of identities chosen.
One unifying element was that all, despite these variables, had chosen to
lose their Islamic religious identity in favour for either a Christian label or
neutral equivalent. A critical factor in cultivating this change was seen to
be the influence of the post-modern pluralistic English society in which they
now live. Although generalised rules for identity construction were not
formulated, it was possible through the use of sociological and theological
insights to understand the challenges faced by these BMBs. The findings of
this research are seen as paving the way for future research into the chal-
lenges faced by BMBs living in the UK today.

1 Introduction

1. 1 BMB Reserach
Over the last twenty years the issues surrounding how a Believer in
Christ who has a Muslim Background (BMB) should live and ex-
press their new devotion has been under great scrutiny and debate
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
"See footnote 2 for an explanation of the term BMB, 4
!
37
within the missiological world.
2
From this hive of activity has
sprung, in some circles, new fervour for the BMB to continue identi-
fying with and integrating into their existing culture and religious
society as advocated by the Insider Movement (IM).
3
Other Chris-
tian practitioners within the Muslim world have seen weaknesses in
this view and swung to an opposing method of extractionism out of
Islam.
4
Yet within these discussions there continues to be a central
concern of identity which remains as significant today as it was two
decades ago. In 1998 John Travis wrote:

If perhaps the single greatest hindrance to seeing Muslims come to
faith in Christ is not a theological one (i.e. accepting Jesus as Lord) but
rather one of culture and religious identity (i.e. having to leave the
community of Islam), it seems that for the sake of Gods kingdom
much of our missiological energy should be devoted to seeking a path
whereby Muslims can remain Muslims, yet live as true followers of the
Lord Jesus.
5

Today a BMBs primary concern once they commit to following
Jesus is often more related to issues of identity and community ra-
ther than style of worship.
6
This dilemma has been echoed in the
limited but significant Islamic ministry I have had the privilege to
experience. Therefore, the aim of this research is to probe these
concerns of identity and community and their mutually dependent
relationship. This is not with the desire to produce a fundamental
or generalized solution, but to assist in the researchers and readers
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2
BMB will be used as the most current term for a Believer in Christ with a Muslim
Background. However, much of the literature from the last twenty years uses an
alternative form of Muslim Background Believer (MBB).
3
The Insider Movement is essentially a believer who remains within and identified
with their Islamic community, see, Kevin Higgins, Inside What? Church, Culture,
Religion and Insider Movements in Biblical Perspective, St Francis Magazine, 5.4
(August 2009), 74
4
An advocate for extractionism is found in, John Span, The Outsider Movement of
Hebrews 13, St Francis Magazine, 6.4 (August 2010), 716
5
John Travis, Must all Muslims leave Islam to follow Jesus?, EMQ, 34.4 (October
1998), 414
6
Green, Tim. Forthcoming. "Conversion in the Light of Identity Theories", in David
Greenlee, (ed), Longing for Community, Pasadena, Calif., USA: WIlliam Carey
Library
!
38
appreciation of the complex nature of the issues faced by a BMB
today.
The structure of this thesis is different from the conventional so-
cial science model and is more akin to the naturalistic and inductive
style within qualitative research.
7
By utilising this approach the
structure mirrors the same research process as conducted by the
researcher where field work and literature study happen simultane-
ously. The aim is to give the reader a similar discovery moment to
that experienced by the researcher as the BMBs experiences and
choices are unpacked.
8
To this end the Chapter structure closely
follows that advocated by John W. Creswell for a naturalistic case
study thesis.
9
This introduction is followed by the research ap-
proach and the results summary, Chapters 2 & 3. Then the primary
focus of the paper follows as each BMB story is unpacked and com-
pared to others and contemporary literature, Chapters 4 & 5. The
culmination of this process is seen in Chapter 6 where I propose
three hypotheses which are evaluated against the experiences of the
BMBs interviewed.

1. 2 Li nki ng Research Wi t h Cont emporary Li t erat ure
This research focuses on examining the identity choices of BMBs
who now live in the UK. However, it is important to note that there
is very little literature available on the experiences and theology
associated to BMBs in this context. The focus over the last twenty
years has been with those who remain within their Muslim majority
countries and subsequently which identities they chose. However,
this research will still utilise the literature available despite this dis-
parity, but will attempt to explore how these assertions and pat-
terns translate to the UK setting. It is my hope that through this I
will be able to add to the ever growing depth of resources available
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7
Bill Gillham, Case Study Research Methods, Real World Research Series, London:
Continuum, 2000, 96
8
Ibid.
9
See section 2.1 for further justification for a naturalistic case study approach, 6,
John W. Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among five ap-
proaches, 2
nd
ed., London: Sage Publications, 2007, 80
!
39
to those who have the opportunity to witness and disciple Muslims
in this country.
10

2 Research Approach

2. 1 Research Phi l osophy
The goal of this research is to understand from the BMBs perspec-
tive what identity choices they face today and what contributes to
their decision making. Therefore, the best match to this orientation
is the case study as written through the naturalistic approach.
11

This gives greater opportunity to reconstruct in detail the BMBs
experiences and understand their choices at a level which a widely
focused quantitative survey may not offer. Supporting this ap-
proach are the foundational assumptions of qualitative research and
ideographic knowledge. Qualitative research is concerned with un-
derstanding the individuals perceptions of the world around them.
12

Indeed the fact that individuals look for meaning as they interpret
these interactions lies at the heart of this research approach.
13
The
individuals story of how they became a believer and what reactions
they perceived from those around them is an important source of
information for us. Judith Bell writes:

It is therefore not enough simply to naively observe what a person is
doing or how they are behaving within any given situation. In order
to understand what is actually going on within that situation it is ne-
cessary to understand the meanings of the actions, the way the situati-
on is being interpreted by those performing within it and the reasons
behind the ways individuals and communities act in the particular ways
that they do.
14

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10
Horst B. Pietzsch, Welcome Home: Caring for Converts from a Muslim Background,
Nairobi: SIM, 2010, 61
11
Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon G. Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry, London: Sage Publi-
cations, 1985, 359
12
Judith Bell, Doing Your Research Project, 5
th
ed., Maidenhead: Open University
Press, 2010, 5
13
John Swinton and Harriet Mowat, Practical Theology and Qualitative Research,
London: SCM Press, 2006, 29
14
Ibid., 38 (emphasis original)
!
40
As the BMBs share their story they are incorporating their un-
derstanding of meaning and purpose into their experiences, and it is
the responsibility of the researcher to listen and unpick this mea-
ning in order to formulate research data.
15

The second foundation is ideographic knowledge. Unlike quan-
titative research, which relies on provable and repeatable experi-
ments in order to make generalizations, this qualitative research
embraces the concept that meaningful knowledge can be discovered
in unique, non-replicable experience.
16
Through the BMBs story
we are able to better understand the world and how God reveals
himself, sometimes uniquely, to individuals. Fitting with these re-
search philosophies a semi-structured interview technique was
adopted for this study.
17

Within the naturalistic approach chosen for this research are a
few more important characteristics which have been incorporated;
the principles of inductive analysis and constant comparison. There
was no overriding theory or hypothesis which was externally
brought to the table at the start and then subsequently tested, but
through analysis one was inductively formed.
18
This does not deny
that any researcher approaches their study with previous knowledge
or opinion, but importantly these do not govern the course of the
research.
19
As the research was conducted each case study was
compared to the others and to the growing literature study which
developed as the researchers knowledge in the topic increased. As a
theory emerged and became delimited a series of proposed hypothe-
ses was constructed against the BMB case studies, see Chapter 6.
The desired impact of this research is to inspire change from the
reader through a wider appreciation of the complexity of BMB life
through their resonance with the experiences described.
20
As the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
15
16
John Swinton and Harriet Mowat, Practical Theology and Qualitative Research, 43
17
See section 2.3 for a further discussion, 9. See John Swinton and Harriet Mowat,
Practical Theology and Qualitative Research, 63
18
Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon G. Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry, 333
19
Louis Cohen and Lawrence Manion, Research Methods in Education, 6
th
ed., Ab-
ingdon: Routledge, 2007, 173
20
Ibid., 47
!
41
reader appreciates the stories of each BMB they might identify with
a particular circumstance or issue which either provides some help
or comfort for their situation.

2. 2 BMB Group Sel ect i on
In order to gain focus a selection of BMBs were chosen for inter-
view who are attached to one particular church in England. It pro-
ved difficult to reach this goal as many other churches around the
UK were reluctant to release their BMBs to external parties over
fear of confidentiality and security.
21
However, despite this challen-
ge a sympathetic church was located.

2. 3 Int ervi ew Et hi cs
2.3.1 Sampling method
From this group of believers a selection according to purposive
sampling was chosen who would provide some level of diversity.
22

Rather than accepting any BMB who was available for interview,
the group was reduced using a series of criteria to both protect them
and the integrity of the research.
23
This can be found in full in Ap-
pendix A, but here is a summary of some of the key points. Firstly,
all the interviewees must have been born and raised as Muslims
within a Muslim dominant country before they came to live in the
UK. This ensures that their Islamic heritage had sufficient time to
permeate their behaviour and worldview. Secondly, their English
language ability must be sufficient so that they can understand the
researchers questions and formulate answers which express their
stories and emotions. Thirdly, the church worker would vouch that
their professed faith was genuine and would be a link for the re-
searcher.
24
The next set of conditions allowed for some controlled
variety.
25
Firstly, either men or women were considered; secondly,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21
See section 6.2 for some discussion around the issues that contribute to these
fears, 29
22
Ibid., 69
23
See Appendix A for a summarised list of the Sampling Criteria, 43
24
Speaking with one experienced asylum worker false conversion for the sake of
enhancing their asylum case is common.
25
With data collection being focused to four BMBs the extent of variety is admit-
tedly limited in itself.
!
42
the BMB could originate from either Iran or Afghanistan;
26
thirdly,
they could be from either Sunni or Shia branches of Islam;
27
and
fourthly, the length of time in being a BMB could vary.

2.3.2 Suggested interview questions
Before the interviews took place, in order to ensure informed con-
sent, the Interview Outline sheet was sent electronically to each
volunteer.
28
This introduced the researcher, the research goal, le-
vels of anonymity, and suggested topics for the interview. These
topics were carefully designed to remain as open as possible, not
leading or presumptuous.
29
In following the approach of inductive
research these topics had the primary aim of sparking discussion
about the BMBs life story. At times these prompts were either not
needed or were followed in a different order just as the interviewee
wished.
The level of power held by the interviewee was an important
consideration. To follow a naturalistic case study approach it was
important to allow them freedom in describing their experiences in
a way that seemed both natural and helpful for them. This follows
the focused interview technique described by Judith Bell and relies
on the researcher to judge when to listen and when to probe
further.
30
This was found to be very successful as it allowed the
BMBs to decide the level of detail to provide given the sensitive na-
ture of the subject.
31
For example, Jon found discussing his family
life from when he was a child too painful and after some time decli-
ned to comment further. Professionalism was maintained as much
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26
These countries are of personal interest to the researcher.
27
See section 6.1 for a discussion of the impact the Shia background had on three of
BMBs interviewed, 25
Throughout this paper Shia will be used as it is the original Arabic word, but
alternatives are Shiite or Shiah, see Ian Richard Netton, A Popular Dictionary of
Islam, rev ed., Richmond: Curzon Press, 1997, 230
28
See Appendix B for Interview Outline sheet given to each volunteer prior to
discussion, 44
29
30
Ibid., 165
31
See section 2.3.3 for a discussion on confidentiality, 11
!
43
as possible during the interviews and the temptation to fall into a
counselling role in situations like these was avoided.
32

2.3.3 BMB Confidentiality
Another important aspect was in agreeing to sufficient confidentiali-
ty with the interviewees. For many BMBs their past association to
Islam can cause great suffering for both them and their families if
identified by fellow countrymen even in England.
33
Therefore, en-
suring they cannot be sufficiently identified throughout this paper
was essential for their peace of mind. To that end each BMB chose
a false name at the start of their interview which they are thence-
forth referred by. Even though two were happy to be identified as
living in the particular town, others were not, and so all are identi-
fied as simply residing in England. All were happy for their ethnic
and Islamic heritage to be identified given that the above two condi-
tions were met. It was the original intention that the interviews
would be recorded, audio only, and subsequently destroyed. Howe-
ver, when permission was requested all declined for fear of future
identification. Despite this, sufficient notation was made to enable
subsequent analysis of their stories.
34

3 Results Summary: BMB Profile Table
!
Figure 1 BMB profile summary from interviews
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
32
John Swinton and Harriet Mowat, Practical Theology and Qualitative Research, 66
33
See later discussions in section 6.1 and 6.2 regarding the impact of persecution
on identity, 25, 28
34
See Appendix D for the notes taken during each interview
!
44
Figure 1 is a summary of the key aspects of the background and
chosen identities of the BMBs interviewed as understood by the re-
searcher.
35
They display an interesting amount of variance between
their experiences and subsequent choices. They will now be discus-
sed further in the following sections focusing on aspects of identity
and culture (community).

4 Case Study Exploration: The Nature Of Identity

4. 1 Level s And Types Of Ident i t y
We will now begin to unpack aspects of each case study and compa-
re them with the findings and assertions found in literature. This is
with the desire to improve our understanding of the challenges fa-
cing BMBs in England today.
At a spiritual level the identity of believers is rooted in their cre-
ator God and with Christ the head of the Church.
36
However, despi-
te each BMB being on their own individual journey in discovering
this reality, the concept of identity this paper examines is more rela-
ted to social science. With many variations of definition available a
social-psychological understanding has been adopted due to its par-
ticular relevance for Islamic religious and cultural identity. Under
this definition, identity results from a combination of psychology,
the individual personality; and sociology, the label others place upon
you.
37
The interaction between these occurs when a person looks
both internally and externally in asking the question, Who am I?.
Their internal opinion is influenced by how they understand the
people around them, and also how these people in turn view the in-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
35
See Appendix C for the full table and Appendix D for the researchers interview
notes, 47, 48
36
For examples of a spiritual source of identity see, Martin Lloyd-Jones, Children of
God, Life in Christ: Volume 3: Studies in 1 John, Nottingham: Crossway Books, 1993,
9-20; and, Selwyn Hughes, Christ Empowered Living, Farnham: CWR, 2002, 27-42,
and 173-191
37
Greenlee, (ed), Longing for Community, Pasadena, Calif., USA: WIlliam Carey Li-
brary
!
45
dividual.
38
This interaction is also influenced in how individual uni-
queness is matched against collective similarities. The differences
an individual has would naturally produce a unique self-identity if
left unchallenged. However, the bonds shared by a community who,
for example, are all Muslim provides a connection which unites
them under one group identity.
39
Through this we can see that self-
identity is made not given, constructed not simply passively absor-
bed.
There are different ways of describing the concept of self-
identity, two of which are presented here as most relevant for
BMBs.
40
Giddens and Sutton separate identity into primary and
secondary levels.
41
The former is constructed in early life as they
socialise and create identities of gender and ethnicity, and they be-
come quite rigid. The latter is formed further on in life and is built
upon their primary identity but linked to social status, job, or achie-
vements and therefore is more fluid. From the interviews, see Figu-
re 1, ethnic (not Islamic) identity in each case was retained to some
degree, even in Paulines case where she has lived in England for
thirty two years and still considers her identity to be part Afghan
and part English.
42

Although religion is not mentioned in Giddens and Suttons
model whilst ethnicity is, when examining the identity of a Muslim
religion it would seem to be an important consideration for their
primary identity.
43
Constructed from birth surrounded by their
Muslim family and society it is likely to become at least as funda-
mental to them as their nationality, proving perhaps a challenge to
change. However, despite this convincing logic, all the BMBs in-
terviewed had in a substantial way chosen to change their religious
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
38
Anthony Giddens and Philip W. Sutton, Sociology, 6
th
ed., Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2009, 256
39
Ibid., 257
40
For a survey of a variety of approaches to self-identity which are not presented
here see, Harold W. Noonan, Personal Identity, 2
nd
ed., London: Routledge, 2003
41
Ibid.
42
See Appendix D, section 3.5, 53
43
Damian Emetuche, The Challenge of Discipling Muslim Background Believers,
Global Missiology, 2.7 (January 2010), 4
!
46
identity to become more Christianized or alternatively neutral, see
Figure 1. For James a complete shift has occurred towards the for-
mer, perhaps influenced by his decision to never return to Iran and
hence distance himself from his Islamic roots.
Tim Green adapts a three tiered model of identity from work by
Beit-Hallahmi, see Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 - Model of Identity
44

Helpfully Green goes on to apply this model for Muslims.
45
The
collective identity is that shared by the worldwide ummah of Islam
which they were born into, a type of primary identity.
46
The social
level is lived out in daily life and can include religious customs
which the community shares and which create a strong bond.
47
Fi-
nally, the ego-identity is found in the personal commitment and
emotional attachment the Muslim has to their faith.
48
This can be
subconscious in early life and evolve into a more purposeful and
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
44
Library
45
Ibid
46
Ummah is the Islamic term for their united global community.
47
Library
48
Ibid., reference located under the The "Ego Identity" Layer section
!
47
chosen attitude later. Greens model has proven to be particularly
helpful in understanding the challenges faced by the BMBs inter-
viewed. Aspects from both models will be discussed further in the
proceeding sections as we continue to explore the case studies.

4. 2 Conversi on As a Ti me Of Ident i t y Transi t i on
49

According to Greens model in Figure 2, religious conversion nor-
mally begins by the Gospel targeting the ego-identity of a Mus-
lim.
50
This was certainly the case for the BMBs interviewed, but
equally seen at the social level when they emigrated out of their
mono-religious Islamic society and into the multicultural atmosphe-
re of the UK. Both James and Steve, who became believers once
they entered England, described how their religious identity drasti-
cally changed after this move. James is happy to be identified as a
Christian, but Steve adopted a more neutral concept which I liken to
a Heaven Foreground Believer (HFB) as described by John Span.
51

It is an inclusive label for all believers worldwide irrespective of
ethnicity or previous religious association. Steve wanted to drop his
identity and association with Islam but equally was not comfortable
to adopt a Christian label which he associates with Western society
and the negative history of Christianity.
52

Research by Lori Peek into religious identity formation of se-
cond generation immigrant Muslims in the USA has offered a useful
three stage process which is applicable to the BMBs interviewed.
53

117 out 127 Muslims interviewed grew up in a Muslim family in the
USA and had a Muslim identity ascribed to them.
54
However, they
passed through a choice stage as they grew up and became aware
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
49
For the sake of simplicity conversion is understood here as the BMBs accep-
tance of Jesus as their Saviour, and their on-going commitment in following his
teachings.
50
Library
51
John Span, The Outsider Movement of Hebrews 13, 716
52
53
Lori Peek, Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity, Sociology of
Religion, 66.3 (2005), 223
54
Ibid.
!
48
of the options but decided to remain Muslim.
55
Finally, as they be-
gan to feel secure in their choice they would openly declare their
religious identity when asked.
56
The interviewed BMBs underwent
a similar process within their own context, but they resulted in a
variety of external religious identities.
57
Steve became a believer
after he had moved to England, but he did not tell anyone of this
change for some time. Even if he was asked he was not happy to
advertise this change.
58
Only after several months once he had be-
come comfortable in his HFB self-identity did he move to this third
stage. Interestingly, from the interviews there does not seem to be
a clear correlation between the length of time in being a BMB and
their stage of identity development. Pauline, a BMB for thirty three
years, developed a strong Christian religious identity with a well-
established hybrid cultural identity blending both Afghan and En-
glish aspects.
59
However, a similarly strong religious identity is
expressed by James, a BMB of only two years. For him his attitude
and experience of Islam in the past were very negative and so per-
haps he was more ready to lose them.
60
However, I also feel that the
freedom associated with the post-modern culture in which they now
live has provided the cushion they needed to progress to this final
declaration stage. Jon remains the exception who has lived in Eng-
land for four years and been a BMB for six but still refrains from
admitting this change to strangers.

5 Case Study Exploration: The Influence Of Culture

5. 1 Pl ural i sm And Post -Modernt i t y
The Western culture in which the BMBs now live is dominated by
aspects of pluralism and post-modernity.
61
Radically different to
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
55
Ibid., 226
56
Ibid., 230
57
See Appendix C for a summary of their identities, 47
58
Steve translated the persecution he thought he would have received from Mus-
lims onto people living in the UK which also kept him silent.
59
60
61
Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love, Grand Rapids: Discovery House Pub-
lishers, 2001, 18
!
49
their mono-religious Islamic culture they are now faced with a vari-
ety of religious and cultural options which are generally acceptable
to the majority of English society.
62

Post-modernity resulted as a reaction against modernity and its
trust in science and the set knowledge of reality. Because truth is
individual and subjective, there is no aim for consensus.
63
Everyo-
nes opinion is just as good as everyone elses; what is important is if
you are satisfied with it. Due to this lack of universal truth Western
society has seen the rise of post-modern pluralism.
64
Through this
no faith can have the absolute truth, and so all are tolerated as equal
within a diverse community of race and religions. Gary Philips ar-
gues that society has always had this diversity within it, but that in
recent times the magnitude of these divergent worldviews present
in one culture is unprecedented.
65

To understand Philips opinion we must consider the concept of
globalization. A difficult term to define, Jeannine Fletcher offers
useful phrases like compression of the world, and the intensificati-
on of consciousness of the world, all driven through the explosion
of media and migration.
66
Prior to the end of the twentieth century
religions were considered to be bounded sets defined through race
and geography.
67
But since then, globalization has threatened these
neat identities as people of many different cultures migrate and in-
termix. The result is hybrid identities where the culture, religion,
and associated identities of an individual are fluid and change as
they move within a multicultural society.
68
This impact of globali-
zation challenges the rigid definitions of primary and secondary
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
62
Islam as both culture and religion has not been hugely impacted by modernity or
post-modernity, see, Mark Sedgwick, Islam & Muslims: A guide to diverse experi-
ence in a modern world, London: Intercultural Press, 2006, 38
63
Gary Phillips, Religious Pluralism in a Postmodern World, in David S. Dockery
(ed.), The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement, Grand Rap-
ids: Baker, 2000, 255
64
Ibid., 258
65
Ibid., 259
66
Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Religious Pluralism in an Era of Globalization: The making
of modern religious identity, Theological Studies, 69 (2008), 395
67
Ibid., 401
68
Ibid., 407
!
50
identities which Giddens and Sutton offer. The town where this
research was based is a typical contemporary British town which
has become increasingly multicultural and multiethnic in the last
century. Today BMBs regularly mix with a variety of nationalities
and religious groups.
69
For example, Jon and James, who are full
time students, have many friends consisting of English and non-
English people.
The impact of post-modern pluralism provides BMBs with the
freedom from external expectation to choose a particular identity.
70

Previously in their Islamic community changing identity would ha-
ve been unthinkable, but living in England they are faced with un-
told opportunities and a society which generally avoids judging
change.
71
The community which the BMBs now live in is a strong
contributing factor in choosing an external Christianized identity.
An exception is found in Jon who became a believer whilst living in
Afghanistan but still prefers not to externalise a Christian identity
in the UK. He is still influenced heavily by the fear of persecution
which he avoided at all costs in Afghanistan.
72

5. 2 Isl ami c Communi t y
It is important to understand the difference between community
found in Islamic countries and England. We shall be discussing in
more detail within Chapter 6 the impact this difference has on iden-
tity.
Belonging to the global Islamic community is as important to
the Muslim as their religious doctrine.
73
Members of the ummah
consider themselves distinct from other communities around the
world through following the way of life which Allah endorses.
74

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
69
Nicholas Abercrombie, et al., Contemporary British Society, 3
rd
ed., Cambridge:
Polity Press, 2000, 226
70
Peter Sedgwick, Who Am I Now? - Theology and Self-Identity, Theology, 104.819
(May/June 2001), 197
71
The exception is the portion of society which consists of orthodox Muslims.
72
See Appendix D, section 1.3 and 1.4, 48, 49
73
Phil Parshall, Beyond the Mosque, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992, 26
74
See Sura 3 ayah 110, You are the best community that has been raised up for
mankind., Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran,
rev. ed., Birmingham: I.D.C.I, 2004, 43
!
51
This fuels their incredible sense of collective identity which is not
restricted by race or ethnicity, see Figure 2. It is a collectivist socie-
ty where group identity is considered an important part of everyday
life, whilst in contrast Western culture is more individualistic. Da-
mian Emetuche writes:

Both the family and society serve to give identity to a Muslim. It is
almost unthinkable to do anything without the sanction or approval of
the community or to take an action that will bring disrespect to ones
family or community.
75

As a new believer wrestles in deciding to remain within their
Islamic community they enter a difficult liminal stage full of confu-
sion and doubt.
76
Jon faced this when he became a believer through
his mother and an American missionary whilst in Afghanistan.
However, all of the BMBs experienced some liminality caused by
the immigration process and associated change of community.
77
It
is understandable that their sense of identity was deeply shaken.

5. 3 Isl ami c Rel i gi on And Cul t ure
5.3.1 C-Spectrum and Identity
The on-going discussion surrounding the Insider Movement (IM)
has produced some well needed analysis on the nature of culture and
religion in relation to theology.
78
Both impact behaviour and provi-
de input to a persons worldview.
79
Some argue they are so inter-
connected that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to separate one
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
75
Damian Emetuche, The Challenge of Discipling Muslim Background Believers, 4
76
Edward Evans, Discipling and Training for Muslim background Believers Part 1: A
Growing Need, St Francis Magazine, 2.3 (September 2007), 3
77
Adis Duderija, Factors Determining Religious Identity Construction among Western-
born Muslims: Towards a Theoretical Framework, Journal of Muslim Minority Af-
fairs, 28.1 (December 2008), 372
78
Rebecca Lewis, Insider Movements: Honoring God-Given Identity and Community,
IJFM, 26.1 (2009), 16-19
79
Kevin Higgins, Inside What? Church, Culture, Religion and Insider Movements in
Biblical Perspective, 82
!
52
from the other and so a complete change is necessary.
80
However,
not all agree with this, Timothy Tennent comments:

Those who say that Muslims cannot separate religion and culture are
ignoring over thirty years of successful C4 contextualization throug-
hout the entire Islamic world which has proved that BMBs new identi-
ty in Christ is so powerful that it does, in fact, provide a new religious
identity without one having to sever their former cultural identity.
81

C4 is part of a spectrum, depicted in Figure 3, which contrasts
the types of Christ-centred communities observed in the Muslim
world and can be closely associated to the social identity layer in
Figure 2. It was originally published by John Travis in 1998 but
has since been eagerly utilised as evidence for those endorsing the
IM.
82
The critical difference between C4 and C5 is that of identity
and this is the real advantage of using this model within this re-
search.
83
Both retain cultural expression of their faith, but with C4
they identify themselves as a follower of Isa.
84

Muslims view C4 believers as a strange kind of Christian and C5
followers as a strange kind of Muslim; there is a danger that neither
is accepted by either community. For Steve and James, who became
believers whilst in the UK, they have never needed to face these
challenges set in a Muslim dominant community. However, for Jon

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
80
John Span, The Critical Kingdom Question: Can one be identified with the Kingdom of
God and with Islam at the same time? (Part 1 of 2), St Francis Magazine, 6.2 (April
2010), 324
81
Timothy C. Tennent, Followers of Jesus (Isa) in Islamic Mosques: A Closer Examina-
tion of C-5 High Spectrum Contextualization, IJFM, 23.3 (Fall 2006), 106
82
The terms C5 and Insider Movement (IM) are considered by most to be inter-
changeable. For original article see, John Travis, The C1 to C6 Spectrum, EMQ,
34.4 (October 1998), 407
83
For an alternative model of cross-cultural church which does not emphasise iden-
tity see Saturation Church Planting (SCP), Jim Montgomery His Glory Made Visi-
ble: Saturation Church Planting, in Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne (eds.),
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A reader, 4
th
ed., Carlisle: Pater-
noster, 2009, 660-662
84
John Travis, The C Spectrum, in Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne
(eds.), Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A reader, 4
th
ed., Carlisle:
Paternoster, 2009, 664
!
53
Figure 3 - C1 to C6 Spectrum: Christ Centred Communities

and Pauline who did, both decided to initially keep their new faith a
secret (C6).
From a cultural perspective, all the BMBs interviewed made a
distinct break from a cultural identification with Islam. They all
emphasised their ethnic identities and associated cultural practices
which has subsequently become blended with English habits.
85
This
disparity between these observations and Travis model might be
because it attempts to generalise trends over a wide variety of ex-
pressions of Islam across the world. But, as the BMBs interviewed
come from such a focused ethnic group and being primarily Shia, it
is perhaps understandable why they do not easily correlate.
86

5.3.2 Assessing Culture and Religion
Once a Muslim becomes a BMB they can react in three ways in how
they choose to continue with their Islamic cultural and religious
practices. They can completely reject them, attempting minimal
contextualization and usually adopting the culture and religious
practice of a foreign missionary, typically characterised as C2.
87

Conversely, they can uncritically accept and continue with their Is-
lamic practices believing that there is some good in them, but run
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
85
See Appendix C for a summary of the BMBs cultural identities, 47
86
See section 7.1 for a further discussion surrounded further research opportunities
which include expanding the ethnic and religious scope, 35
87
Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries, Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 1985, 184
!
54
the risk of falling into syncretism.
88
Paul G. Hiebert describes the
best option to be critical contextualization of their practices and re-
tention of what they consider to be biblically appropriate.
89
Only
one BMB interviewed seemed to have maintained any of his Islamic
religious heritage.
90
Steve held his Bible whilst praying, kissed it,
and placed it on his forehead in a ritualistic manner.
91
It is unclear
from the interview if this practice used a local form and local mea-
ning from Islam, or if he has changed the meaning to be Christi-
an.
92

5.3.3 Biblical Worldview and Culture
Supporters of the Insider Movement utilise the Jerusalem councils
verdict (Ac 15) and relate BMBs with Gentiles saying, Not only are
Gentiles not required to become culturally Jewish, they are not re-
quired to become religiously Jewish either.
93
Rebecca Lewis, an
advocate for the IM, claims that a persons religious and cultural
framework into which they are born is not random but divinely
appointed (Ac 17 v 26), and therefore they can and should remain
within it once they become a believer.
94
However, critics like Dick
Brogden offer an interesting response by interpreting the verse to
confirm God only as the creator of culture.
95
Both opinions are
fraught with difficulties.
96
For Lewis view many, like Brogden, feel
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
88
Ibid., 185
89
Ibid., 186
90
It is recognised that the limited amount of time during an interview is not evi-
dence of an absence of Islamic practices from the other interviewees.
91
92
Kang-San Tan, Can Christians Belong to More than One Religious Tradition?, ERT,
34.3 (July 2010), 262
93
Kevin Higgins, Acts 15 and Insider Movements among Muslims: Questions, Process,
and Conclusions, IJFM, 24.1 (Spring 2007), 32
94
Rebecca Lewis, Insider Movements: Honoring God-Given Identity and Community,
17
95
Dick Brogden, Inside Out: Probing Presuppositions among Insider Movements,
IJFM, 27.1 (Spring 2010), 34
96
The meaning of the Greek used in Acts 17 v 26 is under on-going debate and
proves to be inconclusive, see I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction and Com-
mentary, Leon Morris (general editor), Tyndale New Testament Commentaries,
Nottingham: IVP, 1980, CD edition
!
55
she is advocating Islam as a value neutral religion and culture, and
hence it does no harm remaining within and being identified with it.
Lewis responds by saying that all culture is equally fallen; Islamic,
the West, even Christian culture has syncretism.
97
Conversely, for
Brogdens interpretation of Acts 17 v 26 we need to be careful not
to place too much weight on God as the creator of all culture if in-
deed we understand all religions, even pagan, to be part of that cul-
ture. A solution is proposed by Rick Brown. He defines culture as
those social conventions which are specific to and shared by the
society.
98
Worldview however is related to the core beliefs and
values a person has within the society, which can vary from person
to person.
99
He asserts that the purpose of the Gospel is to change
the worldview of an individual to become Biblical and theocentric
whilst equally supporting diversity in cultural expression.
100
At the
heart is the assumption that there is good within each culture which
can be retained without conflict with the Bible, a similar un-
derstanding to IM supporters and the Lausanne movement.
101

However, the opinions of all the BMBs interviewed were that the
Islamic portion of their culture and religion contained no good to
retain. For all of them it was associated with persecution and suffe-
ring in varying degrees, and hence they chose to relinquish it.

6 Proposed Hypotheses

Through exploring the BMBs stories and identity choices I now
propose three hypotheses which attempt to illustrate the relations-
hip between them and the key factors of worldview and community.
Each hypothesis utilises assertions found in literature and were
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
97
Ibid., 33. It is worth noting that Lewis appears to come from an inclusivist out-
look as she frequently asserts that the Gospel can and is indeed designed to save
people within any cultural and religious framework. See, Rebecca Lewis, The In-
tegrity of the Gospel and Insider Movements, IJFM, 27.1 (Spring 2010), 44
98
Rick Brown, Contextualization without Syncretism, IJFM, 23.3 (Fall 2006), 127
99
Ibid.
100
Ibid., 128
101
See item 7 in the Cape Town 2010 Commitment, The Lausanne Movement, The
Cape Town Commitment, http://www.lausanne.org/ctcommitment, accessed on
12 Apr 11
!
56
identified to a greater or lesser degree within the interviews. But
this literature is based on studies from Muslim dominant countries,
and so a secondary aim is to shed light on the relevance and power
of these writings to the BMBs interviewed in the UK.

6. 1 Hypot hesi s 1: Past Associ at i on And At t i t ude To Isl am
If a BMBs past association and attitude were lax or negative to-
wards Islam they are more likely to relinquish them and become
more Christianized in their religious and cultural identity.
Joshua Massey has proposed a chart examining Muslim attitudes
towards their faith; see Figure 4. Despite the variety found within
Islam, Massey believes that all Muslims can be located within three
major groupings: Disillusioned, Ambivalent, and Content. Within
his chart he also places some ethnic groups, but he admits they are
only applicable at the macro level and freedom must be given to in-
dividual variance.
102
He created this chart from his extensive know-
ledge and experience working as a cultural anthropologist in the
Muslim world. I have found little evidence of this model being used
or evaluated in literature, yet I believe it to be extremely useful. His
goal is to move beyond merely understanding the Muslim, but to
link their attitude to an appropriate Christ centred community.
103

Again, Massey admits this correlation is a generalization.
For disillusioned Muslims, Massey argues they are ripe for con-
version to Christianity and desire to be extracted from their
Muslim communities.
104
Therefore, a highly decontextualized form
of Christianity would appeal to them. Christ centred communities
in the C1 - C3 range have varying levels of imported religious ex-
pression normally from a foreign source, but importantly their iden-
tity both internally and externally is understood to be Christian.
105

Massey argues from his contact with Iranian BMBs that their expe-
rience with Shia Islam has been so negative due to fanaticism that
they do not understand why any BMB would want to hold onto
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
102
Joshua Massey, Gods Amazing Diversity in Drawing Muslims to Christ, 13
103
See Figure 4 where Masseys correlation to the C-Spectrum has been added, 26
104
Ibid., 13
105
See Figure 3 for a summary of C-Spectrum groups, 21
!
57
it.
106
Therefore, not only are they motivated to change their reli-
gious practices to become more Christian, but they also no longer
wish to be identified with Islam. This strong motivation for a
Christian identity was seen with James during the interview, but
not with Steve.
107

C1, C2, C3 Any
level -
not
many
Muslims
convert
C4 and C5
Figure 4 - M1 to M9 Spectrum: Muslim attitudes about Islam
108
(adapted to in-
clude corresponding C-Spectrum groups as described by Massey)

Both Jon and Steve (ex-Shia Muslims) have had considerably bad
experiences with their Islamic family and friends which seem to ha-
ve pushed them away from their Islamic identities.
109
Jon expresses
multiple religious identities as he is hesitant to incorporate a full
Christian identity either internally or externally. He prefers the
internal label Follower of Jesus which straddles both Christian
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
106
Ibid., 13
107
Both James and Steve originate from Iran, and reasons for their disparity will be
discussed below.
108
Joshua Massey, Gods Amazing Diversity in Drawing Muslims to Christ, 12
109
See Appendix D sections 1.2 and 2.2 for a description of their individual stories
explaining this hatred towards Islam, 48, 50
Corresponding C1-C6 scale which
is appealing to Muslim
!
58
and Muslim labels and can be associated closely with C4. Howe-
ver, his external identity is more fluid as he switches between a
Muslim label amongst Afghan Muslims out of fear of persecution,
and Christian when amongst English Christian friends. To this ex-
tent he demonstrates a basic characteristic of multi-religious belon-
ging.
110
This flexibility is not dissimilar to that observed by Ber-
nard Dutch, a church planter amongst Muslims, where BMBs ex-
pressed a multi-faceted concept of identity, one which Dutch says is
hard for Western people to understand.
111
A similar neutral label
has been chosen by Steve as he prefers both internally and external-
ly to be known as a true follower of God.
112
However, James close-
ly followed Masseys disillusionment correlation as he quickly relin-
quished his Islamic heritage and adopted an English Christian
identity.
113

Pauline (ex-Sunni Muslim) falls under the Ambivalent category.
Interestingly, after being a secret believer (C6) for a while she quic-
kly developed a full Christian identity both internally and externally
after immigrating to England.
114
It is probable that as she moved
out of her Islamic community and into a post-modern pluralistic
culture she found it easier to project her new faith via a label which
is already in use by the English Christians she met.
None of the BMBs interviewed fell into the Content group or C4
- C5 range. John Span, a critic of C5, presents a convincing argu-
ment to those who believe it is possible to remain in practice a
member of the Kingdom of God and the community (or kingdom) of
Islam.
115
He argues that both kingdoms demand complete loyalty
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
110
Multi-religious belonging - where individuals publically identity themselves as
followers of more than one religion, see Kang-San Tan, Can Christians Belong to
More than One Religious Tradition?, 252
111
Bernard Dutch, Should Muslims Become Christians?, IJFM, 17.1 (Spring 2000),
15
112
For explanation of the HFB identity see, John Span, The Outsider Movement of
Hebrews 13, 716
113
114
115
It is worth noting that Span seems to come from an exclusivist understanding of
salvation and ecclesiology. His preferred Kingdom analogy has the Church as a
fundamental prerequisite and therefore must influence his Outside approach. See,
!
59
and have similar goals in global mission. As such it is impossible to
be a patriotic citizen of both at the same time.
116
His choice of
words is interesting as it suggests that it is possible to feign loyalty
to both, as a BMB might if they were C6, but crucially in their
hearts there can only be one master (Mt 6 v 24). For this reason
Span endorses lower spectrum expressions of faith which incorpo-
rate a distinct Christian identity. Although this argument sounds
viable on paper it does come in direct conflict with other missionary
experiences.
117

What we have seen by exploring the relationship between past
association and attitude towards Islam and BMB identity is that
Masseys chart, although useful in theory, does not always follow
the patterns shown by the four interviewees. Despite this, an influ-
ence does seem to exist and it is a useful aspect to consider in any
future Islamic ministry.

6. 2 Hypot hesi s 2: Isl ami c Communi t y React i on To The BMB
If there is a strong negative reaction by the Islamic community
against the BMB after their profession of faith in Christ, it is more
likely that they will embrace and even seek out a new identity and
sense of belonging amongst Christians.
As a development of Hypothesis 1, this section will examine the
specific influences of persecution, loss of community, and extractio-
nism over a BMBs identity.
Once a BMB starts to externalise some change in their faith
Muslims can react very negatively. This is primarily due to the Is-
lamic teaching of shirk (idolatry through polytheism) and ridda
(apostasy from Islam) as being terrible sins which bring great sha-
me not only to their family but also the whole community.
118
A key
factor is the misunderstanding of the Christian label as being nega-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Span, The Critical Kingdom Question: Can one be identified with the Kingdom of
God and with Islam at the same time? (Part 1 of 2), 316
116
Ibid., 326
117
For example of testimony supporting C4 communities see, Timothy C. Tennent,
Followers of Jesus (Isa) in Islamic Mosques: A Closer Examination of C-5 High Spec-
trum Contextualization, 106
118
Ian Richard Netton, A Popular Dictionary of Islam, 214, 231
!
60
tive and relating only to the lax morals witnessed in the Wests me-
dia.
119
Bernard Dutch observes from his work in the Middle East:

To the average Muslim here, Christian means someone who
worships three gods, believes Jesus is the product of a sexual liaison
between God and Mary, drinks wine, eats pork, defiles himself with ri-
tually unclean habits, betrays his cultural heritage, and uses religion to
procure assistance from Westerners.
120

There is no divine mandate for believers to use the Christian la-
bel, but it was originally adopted by society as a nickname for the
first believers (Ac 11 v 26).
121
Dutch continues to argue that if ac-
cepting the Christian label results in rejection and suffering, why
do it?
122
But this is exactly what John Span would encourage any
BMB to do. In his counter offering to the IM
123
entitled the Out-
sider Movement, Span utilises the example of Christ to signify the
importance and even requirement of persecution as part of our iden-
tification with Christ (Heb 13 v 12 14).
124
He spends considerable
time carefully relating these verses to the Old Testament sacrificial
system which was enacted through Jesus being crucified outside the
city gate just as animals were. He writes:

Just as Jesus had suffered outside of the city gate with a purpose, now
his followers are also called with a purpose to leave their campground
of comfort, the place of privilege, the security of their old religion.
125

It is certainly probable that the original readers of Hebrews were
in need of escaping their moral lethargy, but Spans ideology needs
further assessment if it can be universally applied as he claims.
Firstly, he does not engage in a comparison with the remainder of
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
119
Phil Parshall, Muslim Evangelism: Contemporary Approaches to Contextualization,
Waynesboro: Gabriel, 2003, 177
120
Bernard Dutch, Should Muslims Become Christians?, 16
121
I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction and Commentary, CD edition
122
Bernard Dutch, Should Muslims Become Christians?, 16
123
See footnote 3 for explanation of the IM term, 4
124
John Span, The Outsider Movement of Hebrews 13, 726
125
Ibid., 724
!
61
scripture in light of these few verses as he creates his theology.
126

His scriptural focus in the article is particularly limited which he
then proceeds to apply universally to modern day Islamic contexts.
Secondly, it is reliant on forging a link between Christs purpose on
the cross, as he understands it, to the BMBs need to leave their old
religion and identity. This link does not seem to tally as neatly as
he would like. The purpose of Jesus death was primarily propitiati-
on which, Span infers, meant he needed to be crucified outside Je-
rusalem to parallel Old Testament law. However, the BMBs pur-
pose in leaving the city of their old religion in order to identify
with Christ seems not to be equally related to the Old Testament
sacrificial system. A BMB does not have to leave his Islamic religi-
on and culture in order to experience suffering.
127

None of the BMBs interviewed had directly received persecution
as a result of their new faith. For Jon and Pauline, who became be-
lievers in their Muslim homelands, they kept their faith a secret to
avoid such suffering. However, Pauline is a good example of how
the development of a mature faith can help produce a secure Chris-
tian identity later in life. She has since been back to Afghanistan
and visited family in Pakistan, and at each time she declared that she
was a Christian irrespective of what their reaction could have
been.
128

A second element to consider is the relationship between identity
and community. As already described in Chapters 4 and 5, self-
identity is strongly rooted in the relationship the person has with
their community, something which is especially important in Isla-
mic societies. If the Muslim community reacts very strongly
against the BMBs new faith, it is likely that the believer is rejected
from that community. This happened to Mazhar Mallouhi, a fa-
mous writer in the Arab world, as he chose to become religiously
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
126
Example passages which the IM often use and would be useful for Span to en-
gage with are 2 Kings 5, Acts 17 v 26, Acts 15.
127
See the example of Mazhar Mallouhi who received just as much rejection from
Christian circles and Muslim circles when we was an outsider then an insider re-
spectively. See Paul-Gordon Chandler, Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Ex-
ploring a New Path Between Two Faiths, Plymouth: Cowley, 2007, 107
128
!
62
and culturally Christian after his conversion. As he e became alie-
nated from his family and all his former friends, he faced a profound
crisis of identity.
129
This is typical of a rejectionist approach to
conversion from Islam where none of the old religion or culture is
considered good enough to retain (practice or identity) and hence a
foreign expression is adopted.
130

The impact of community towards the BMBs identity should
not be underestimated. Once rejected by one community it logically
follows, according to a social-psychological understanding of identi-
ty, that they should want to join another community in order to re-
tain their self-worth and identity. For BMBs in Muslim countries
an alternative community may not be available or may have to be
sought in secret, as was the case for Jon. His mother secretly met
with Western Christians who helped them through the early stages
of their faith. But for Pauline in Afghanistan no such support was
available. It was not until she emigrated to the UK and joined a
local church that she was able to forge her Christian identity.
131

We have seen through exploring the impact of rejection by the
Islamic community how the BMBs identity can be affected and in
some cases pushed towards a more Christianized label.

6. 3 Hypot hesi s 3: Accept ance Int o The Chri st i an Communi t y

If the Christian community accepts and nurtures the BMB it is mo-
re likely that their identity will become more Christianized both
internally and externally.
Again this hypothesis is a development from Hypothesis 2, but
shall specifically examine the response of the Church community in
the UK towards BMBs.
From Kathryn Krafts PhD study exploring the influence of
community on Arab BMBs, it is interesting that not all churches
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
129
Paul-Gordon Chandler, Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring a New
Path Between Two Faiths, 105
130
Duane Alexander Miller, Reappropriation: An Accommodationist Hermeneutic of
Islamic Christianity, St Francis Magazine, 5.3 (June 2009), 6
131
!
63
welcomed them despite the BMBs specifically seeking them out.
132

It would seem that within churches in the Arab world there still lies
a distinction between believers who are born Christian, and those
who covert from Islam.
133
However, in the church where this re-
search took place this certainly does not seem to be the case. All
were welcomed in despite them being immigrants and Steve is an
asylum seeker.
Public opinion of immigration and asylum seekers has continued
to deepen in the last thirty years in the UK, becoming a hot topic in
any political debate.
134
Numbers of asylum seeker applications rose
from 4,223 in 1982 to 110,700 in 2002, with over half of new appli-
cations being from Muslim countries.
135
This dramatic increase in
the numbers of Muslims entering the UK is likely to cause some
backlash in public opinion regarding Islam in general.
136
However,
it does not seem to have significantly impacted the particular church
where this research is based. The parameters of this study did not
allow for an investigation into the attitudes expressed directly by
church members, but through the BMBs testimonies we are able to
understand the general situation. All of them felt welcomed into the
church despite the fact that the ethnic makeup of the congregation
is overwhelmingly white-English.
137
In fact, Steve has been given
the task of helping to serve drinks at the end of church meetings,a
sign, for him at least, that he has been accepted into the church com-
munity. This churchs attitude supports Peter Riddells opinion that
the general view of Christians in the UK has swung since World
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
132
Kathryn Kraft, Faith is Lived out in Community: Questions of New Community for
Arab Muslims who have Embraced a Christian Faith, St Francis Magazine, 6.6 (De-
cember 2010), 964
133
This is Krafts opinion, Ibid, and is also echoed by Mazhar Mallouhis experi-
ence. See, Paul-Gordon Chandler, Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road: Exploring
a New Path Between Two Faiths, 107
134
For examples of the current attitudes towards immigration and asylum seekers
see blogs on, The Guardian Newspaper, Immigration and asylum, The Guardian,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/immigration, accessed on 05 Jan 11
135
Home Office statistics quoted in, Peter G. Riddell, Christian and Muslims: Pres-
sures and potential in a post-9/11 world, Leicester: IVP, 2004, 55
136
Ibid., 55
137
This is how the BMBs described the makeup of the church.
!
64
World War II, and under the influence of globalization they are be-
coming more inclusivist than exclusivist.
138
They see more in com-
mon with those who follow a religion, particularly a monotheistic
faith like Islam, and hence are more sympathetic to converts.
Krafts comments on the influence community has over identity
were strongly echoed in the interviews:

As people join Christian groups, they find their new identities reinfor-
ced in community. People who have close regular contact with other
converts find this to be especially true, and they work hard to reinforce
their identity by seeking opportunities to be with people who share
their background and their faith.
139

For Jon, Steve, and James, the home group which the church
runs specifically for international believers remains their favourite
meeting each week. There they are able to socialise amongst a vari-
ety of nationalities and believers who have a range of religious
backgrounds. In fact, James was introduced to the church by Jon
whilst he was a Muslim, and they have since become great
friends.
140
Through her research Kraft recognised a connection
between BMB identity and the person who led them to Christ. If
they were led by a foreign missionary it is likely that their chosen
identity will mirror that of the missionary; they would join a C2
church and leave their Islamic community.
141
However, we must be
careful to clearly discern in each situation what influences the BMB
to make this choice. In the past missionaries have commonly ex-
pressed an exclusivist view and encouraged the BMB to step out of
their Islamic heritage.
142
In this research when asked if any expe-
rienced this influence directly all the interviewees said no. It would
seem that as they now reside in the UK they feel the freedom to
choose for themselves an English church with which to be identi-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
138
Peter G. Riddell, Christian and Muslims: Pressures and potential in a post-9/11
world, 33
139
Kathryn Kraft, Faith is Lived out in Community: Questions of New Community for
Arab Muslims who have Embraced a Christian Faith, 958
140
141
Ibid., 963
142
Damian Emetuche, The Challenge of Discipling Muslim Background Believers, 7
!
65
fied.. Perhaps this is because there are no C4 - C5 options for them,
or perhaps it is because they view joining a white-English church
as a step towards becoming more culturally English.
143
This cer-
tainly seems to be the case for James who commented that he is
consciously attempting to do this.
144

Through this section we have explored how acceptance into a
church community can influence the construction of a new identity
for BMBs. However, it is not a guaranteed catalyst for a Christian
identity. Although it seems to have this effect on Pauline and Ja-
mes, Jon is decidedly mixed in his internal and external identities
despite being accepted into the church. The desire to retain his Af-
ghan cultural identity, in contrast to James, has perhaps limited how
much religious identity he adopts as Christian which he associates
so closely with the West.
145

7 Conclusion
We have seen through this paper that the concept of religious and
cultural identity is complex and often results in a variety of expres-
sions. With the BMBs interviewed there seems to be a distinct mo-
tivation to lose as much as possible of their religious and cultural
association to Islam. This desire spans those who did express signi-
ficant negative associations with Islam, but also those who were
indifferent about their Muslim faith. It would seem that a critical
influence on the development of their new identity has been the
freedom associated to living in a post-modern pluralistic society.
Within this society individual expressions of religion and culture
are not judged harshly or interpreted as an insult, unlike their pre-
vious Islamic communities. The acceptance into the Christian
community, which is predominantly a white-English expression,
has helped to reinforce their new faith and provided a support struc-
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
143
This pattern seems to contradict the popular Homogenous Unit Principle which
would assert that the BMBs would prefer a church containing other BMBs. See,
Donald A. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, 3
rd
ed., revised and edited by
C. Peter Wagner, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990, 163
144
145
!
66
ture for some to alter their religious identity to become more Chris-
tian, and over time their cultural identity to become more English.
Although it must be asserted that theologically Muslims are not
required topass through a foreign religious or cultural expression of
Christianity in order to receive their salvation, it is certainly an op-
tion for them if they would desire it post conversion. Therefore,
according to this research, other white-English dominated chur-
ches in the UK need to ensure they are consciously open to integra-
te BMBs into their community, rather than assume they would pre-
fer a different expression of Church.
This small scale piece of research has only provided a window in-
to understanding the challenges faced by the four BMBs. There is
now a great impetus to continue onto further study and aspire to
create a more generalized model. The first exciting step could be to
begin with the three hypotheses proposed in this paper and engage
in a more widespread study perhaps utilising both qualitative and
quantitative data collection techniques. This could be centred on
BMBs from different areas around the UK, perhaps those who live
in a more Muslim dominated community. It would be interesting to
explore if this situation would result in a greater reluctance to ex-
ternalise a Christianized identity amongst this majority. Other
areas for consideration could be to further isolate one particular
branch of Islam or even one particular ethnic group. Massey, as
discussed from Figure 4, proposes some distinct correlation between
ethnicity, attitude towards Islam, and their subsequent new faith in
Jesus. Further research could investigate if this correlation is valid
within the diverse ethnic BMB population living in the UK. A final
development could be to expand the investigation to include Mus-
lim converts who were born and still live in the UK. As the popula-
tion of Muslims in the UK ever increases they are an important pool
of potential BMBs who hold perhaps a unique challenge regarding
their future identity choices.
It has been the goal of this paper that through the exploration of
sociology and theology the BMB case studies might have resonated
with the reader, and thereby provided some knowledge or wisdom
for todays ministry amongst Muslims and BMBs in the UK.

!
67
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Appendix A - Sampling Criteria
1. They must be linked to this particular church in England.
2. They must be born and raised as a Muslim in a Muslim domi-
nant country before they came to the UK.
3. They must be able to speak and understand the English lan-
guage sufficiently, to be judged jointly by the church worker and
the researcher prior to the interview.
4. They must show genuine faith in Jesus, to be judged by the
church worker prior to the interview.
5. They can be either man or woman as both will provide a differ-
ent perspective to the research question.
6. They can be from any Muslim dominant country in the Middle
East or Southern Asia.
7. They can be from either denomination of Sunni or Shia within
Islam but not Sufi or other splinter groups.
8. The length of time being a BMB can vary in order to illustrate
any impact on identity development.

!
71
Appendix B - BMB Cultural and Religious Identity
Interview Outline

Who I am
My name is David Combes. I am final year undergraduate stu-
dent at Moorlands Bible College in Dorset studying a degree in BA
(Hons) Applied Theology, specializing in Cross Cultural Studies.

What is the purpose of this interview?
As part of my final academic year I am undertaking a dissertati-
on research project which aims to investigate the complex issues
involved in a Believer with a Muslim Background (BMB) working
out what cultural and religious identity they should adopt whilst
living in the UK. Specifically, how much of their Islamic practice
and identity have they chosen to retain and how much has changed
to become more Christian, and why. After studying the available
academic literature available on this subject my aim is to see how in
practice this issue has been resolved, for better or for worse, in real
life situations through interviewing a selection of BMBs.

Interview Confidentiality
I understand the sensitive nature that this research presents to
any BMB who is willing to participate. I would like to record the
interview, audio only, only for my personal use whilst I am writing
up the report. All recordings will be deleted once this has been do-
ne, by May 2011 at the latest. However, if you specifically do not
wish to be recorded we are still able to continue with an interview,
but please inform me beforehand. I will ensure that nobody will be
able to identify you, by using a pseudonym and, if you wish, I will
not be referring to personal information, such as where you are
from or where you have studied.

Suggested Interview Topics
The interview will be semi-structured allowing for free discussion
about any relevant issue the BMB feels is important to their situati-
on. However, to assist with the development of the conversation I
!
72
have compiled a list of topics below which can act as a guideline or a
prompt to ensure that all the main issues identified from my litera-
ture research have been covered in some way.
Confirm level of confidentiality the BMB is happy with for the
written report and if audio recording is possible during the in-
terview.
Details of the BMB
o Which area of the UK do you live in?
o How long have you been in the UK?
o How long have you been a BMB?
o What were the circumstances of your commitment to Isa?
MBBs previous Islamic life
o How would you describe your Islamic religious commit-
ment before becoming a BMB?
o Was this previous Islamic lifestyle similar to that of your
family or community?
o What were your impressions / feelings about Christian-
ity before you became a believer?
New religious identity of the BMB
o What do you call yourself now - for example: a Christian,
a Muslim, a Follower of Isa, or another?
o Why did you choose this?
Challenges the BMB faced after becoming a believer
o What difficulties did you face once you became a believer?
o How did your family and the surrounding Muslim com-
munity react to your new belief?
Cultural or religious changes made
o Was there a sudden change in your lifestyle, or a slow pro-
gression, or nothing?
o Did you continue attending the Mosque? Do you still
now?
o Did you start attending a Christian meeting - for example
a church or specific BMB group?
o Did you start to eat pork? Do you now?
o Others...
o How did you come about to make these choices?
Support and Advice from other Believers
!
73
o Did you have regular contact with other believers after
your commitment to Isa?
o Were they BMBs or English Christians?
o What advice did they give you in regard to changing or
keeping your cultural or religious identity?
o Did you find this useful or confusing?
Thoughts about English Christian practices and beliefs
o Have you attended an English Church since being a
BMB?
o What were your feelings regarding the style of Church
this is?
! way of singing and the music
! mixture of men and women in the Church building
! the way the Bible was used
! Communion / Lords Supper / Eucharist
! Baptism
o Were you accepted by this English Church?
Any other factor or detail the BMB wishes to contribute
!
74
Appendix C - BMB Profiles

name
ApproxlmaLe
Age
CounLry of
Crlgln
LLhnlclLy
revlous
lslamlc
branch
revlous
ALLlLude as
a Musllm
!on 19 yrs AfghanlsLan Pazara Shla
PaLred of
lslam
SLeve mld 30s lran erslan Shla
PaLred of
lslam
aullne mld 30s AfghanlsLan 1a[lk Sunnl
lndlfferenL,
noL sLrlcL
!ames 19 yrs lran erslan Shla
ulsllke of
lslam, sLrlcL
follower
!

name
Chosen
lnLernal
8ellglous
ldenLlLy
Chosen
LxLernal
8ellglous
ldenLlLy
Chosen
CulLural
ldenLlLy
LengLh of
Llme
belng a
8M8
CLher
!on
lollower of
!esus
varlous
dependlng
on slLuaLlon
Afghan wlLh
some
Lngllsh
culLural
pracLlces
6 yrs
lull Llme
sLudenL
SLeve
Peaven
loreground
8ellever
(Pl8)
Peaven
loreground
8ellever
(Pl8)
lranlan,
'member of
planeL
LarLh'
2 monLhs
Asylum seek-
er
aullne ChrlsLlan ChrlsLlan
Pybrld of
Afghan and
Lngllsh
33 yrs
Llved ln Lhe
uk for 32 yrs
!ames ChrlsLlan ChrlsLlan
MlxLure of
lranlan and
Lngllsh
2 yrs
lull Llme
sLudenL
!
75
Appendix D - BMB Interview Summaries

Section 1

Name - Jon
Age - 19 years old
Ethnic Origin - Afghanistan, Hazara people group

1.1 Length of time living in the UK
4 years living in the UK, since the age of 16 years
Came to UK to flee from the violence and trouble in Afghanistan,
not specifically because he is a BMB, but this did contribute

1.2 Attitude and Practice of Islam previously
Shia branch of Islam, as are 90% of Hazara people groups in Af-
ghanistan
o religious practice was more lax than an orthodox Sunni,
for example they prayed only 3 times a day not 5
o as Shia, community expectations are they dont need to
attend Mosque weekly unlike the Sunni members of his
society
Islamic hypocrisy
o He believes that Muslims in fact do not love their neigh-
bour as they claim
o Sunnis kill Shias
o Shias do not look after other Shias, they are all selfish
o Family branded by Sunnis as Kafir or infidels for being
Shia - this means not a Muslim, loose morals, a real in-
sult
The Taliban (Sunni) killed his father for being a Shia, so Jon hates
Islam as it seems to advocate such behaviour and division

1.3 Circumstances of their conversion
Became a believer whilst in Afghanistan through Western aid
workers who were Christian
!
76
His mother became a believer first, and then she shared the Gospel
to Jon and his siblings
His mother secretly worked in the aid workers office and they
kept their belief a secret for fear of persecution or death
They secretly attended an underground church run by the aid
workers. They were the only non-Western people there
Was secretly baptized by aid workers whilst in Afghanistan

1.4 Changes in their religious practices and identity
Previously labelled as a Kafir or infidel by the Sunnis for being a
Shia
o This is the same label given to apostates, so he already
had it
A secret believer with his family in Afghanistan from both Sunni
and Shia for fear of persecution and rejection
As Shia they werent expected to attend the Mosque regularly.
Therefore as believers in Afghanistan they stopped going with
the exception of community wide festivals which would expose
their absence if they didnt go
Not told Afghan friends in the UK that he is a believer
Self identity - very much a Follower of Jesus rather than Chris-
tian
o he knows English people understand what the term
Christian means, but for him it relates too much nega-
tive understanding from his past
External identity - various
o amongst his Afghan friends in the UK he remains a Shia
Muslim (expected as he is ethnically Hazara)
o amongst English Christian friends or other BMBs he is
happy to say he is a believer, but always cautiously

1.5 Changes in their cultural practices and identity
Cultural identity will always be Afghan even if he gets a British
passport
o born an Afghan, so always one
Considers England to be his home now, no intention to return to
Afghanistan
!
77
Current identity - a mixture of Afghan and English as he grapples
to keep hold of Afghan (e.g. food), but cant help but absorb
some English customs, e.g. music, language, clothes
Is happy to separate Islamic and Afghan culture as he attempts to
hold onto Afghan part

1.6 Support and acceptance of the Christian community in the
UK
Attends particular church in Southern England
Happy in this church, was accepted by members and feels welcome
there
Goes to Sunday services, but prefers the house group style meet-
ings held during the week
o member of the particular house group which specialises in
multi-cultural believers
Does not know of any other Afghan BMBs, so all of this Chris-
tian discipling done by English people
!
Section 2

Name Steve
Age - mid 30s
Ethnic Origin - Iran, Persian people group

2 years, travelled to the UK in 2008 as an asylum seeker

2.2 Attitude and Practice of Islam previously
Shia Muslim
Raised by very strict Shia parents, considered fanatical Muslims
Abused as a child by a Muslim and is now homosexual
Family found out about sexual orientation and attempted to kill
him; he fled home at the age 21 years old
As a result he hates Islam
!
78
o generally, because of the fanatical attitude of his parents
which he likened to the Taliban with whom he didnt
agree
o specifically, their unloving attitude to his abuse situation
Admits that most Shia Muslims in private still sinned by having
alcohol, illicit sex
Very cautious about making friendships with Muslims in UK

It is fair to say that Steve gave up his Muslim identity whilst in
Afghanistan after he fled from his family. Then he had a period
of liminality where he had no secure identity
In October 2010 he met the church worker in this particular town
who showed Christs love to him
He received a Bible in Farci, his native tongue and so read about
Jesus
Considers now Mohammed to be a good teacher, but a liar
Became a believer through the work of this particular church
Relies heavily on Jesus provision for his food and accommodation
each day
Pursuing healing from the abuse of his past

Wanted by Iranian community as an Apostate from Islam and as a
homosexual (considered a great sin)
Self identity - doesnt like being labelled as a BMB, or as a Chris-
tian.
o He is just a true follower of God like all other believers
across the world
o The term Christian is too heavily linked to Western be-
lievers, and BMBs are associated too much with Islam.
He prefers to lump everyone together in one unified
identity - is he trying to replicate the great ummah
identity he felt as a Muslim?
o I have likened this identity to Heaven Foreground Believ-
ers (HFB)
!
79
External identity - Since being the UK he knows many Iranian
and Libyan Muslims, but avoids religion and is a secret believer.
An Islamic religious/cultural form retained
o When praying together at the end of the interview he in-
sisted on having his Farci Bible in hand, kissed it and
pressed it to his forehead, a- sign of respect as shown in
the Islamic religion and culture. However, interest-
ingly, he was happy to store the Bible on the floor going
against Islamic tradition in this way

Conscious effort to give up all Islamic culture as it is all related to
Islamic religion which he considers stupid
He considers that anyone can become a believer from any culture
or religion - a radical change from previous attitude whilst he
was a Shia
Self identity - very much Iranian, however prefers to consider
himself a member of planet Earth
o a similar attempt by him to unify all peoples under one
identity, to link himself to everyone so as not to be di-
vided
Practically however he seems to have given up most of his cultural
practices since being in the UK, e.g. food , clothes
o Food example - linked to new religious understanding
that God has made all food clean including pork

UK
Attends particular church in Southern England
there
Helps out in serving drinks and setting up chairs in church meet-
ings
!
80

Section 3

Pauline
Age - mid 50s
Ethnic Origin - Afghanistan, Tajik people

First visited in 1976 but settled in 1978, so 32 years

3.2 Attitude and practice of Islam previously
Sunni Muslim
She and her family were Sunni, but were not fanatic or strict in
their observance
As a result it was common for her and her family to not attend the
Mosque each week
o this was accepted by the local community as specific to
her family, not a general expectation of the whole Sunni
community
Indifferent attitude, neither love nor hate, just the way of life she
was taught as natural
Did think that Islam was the only true religion

Whilst attending University in Afghanistan she met an American
couple who sowed the seeds of the Gospel message
She then visited UK for the first time during her course in 1976
and attended a Catholic church for the first time
When she returned to Afghanistan in 1977 God worked in her
heart so that she became a believer. She says it was all God and
not people who guided her
She was given a Bible of her own and the Spirit spoke to her
through particular verses.
In 1978 she moved to live in the UK and has been here ever since
She kept it a secret from her family until 1992
She has been a believer for 33 years

!
81
Once she had become a believer in Afghanistan she kept it a secret
o she was still living with her parents who were from a
well-educated and respected family
o she feared if they found out they would have married her
off quickly to a Muslim and her new faith would have
died
o motivation of parents was rooted in shame
After she became a BMB in Afghanistan, she no longer partici-
pated in the shrine prayers in the street which is normally ex-
pected - after Gods prompting for her
Other Islamic practices she didnt perform anyway, so it was eas-
ier for her new faith to go unnoticed
She kept her conversion from her family for some years believing
it was Gods will
Eventually in 1992 she returned to Afghanistan to visit her family
and told them she was a Christian
o The familys reaction was not too negative as the country
was at war and their concern was more on survival than
shame
o She had to explain what the label Christian meant as
they understood it to relate to Western values and infi-
dels
Paulines understanding of the label Christian changed after she
was living in the UK and met some good Christians. She was
then happy to use it as a label
External identity - now it is fully Christian, but this has taken
time to develop
Self identity - fully Christian
Rejected all Islamic culture and religion in order to avoid syncre-
tism

Despite living in the UK for 32 years, she still has a mixed cul-
tural identity of Afghan and English
o she picks the best of both to create a hybrid
She has kept her native language, and eats both types of food
!
82
Self identity - she still considers herself to be Afghan when people
ask her where are you from?
o So within this hybrid identity, internally her Afghan part
is dominant, whilst externally it is more of a mixture
o She considers her Afghan cultural identity to be God
given (like Rebecca Lewis)

UK
Importantly, she married an English Christian man which has
helped her considerably in feeling secure in this identity
Before coming to the particular church in England, she attended
other churches in the early part of her BMBs life
o no mentor during this phase; she just passively observed
o she did have a stable environment as several churches
welcomed her in
Now part of the researchs churchs life, she has been welcomed
and accepted for some years

Section 4

James
Age - 19 years old
Ethnic Origin - Iran, Persian people group

Two and a half years as a full time student
Reason for coming to the UK is unclear, but his father is a Mullah
and wanted him to study the Quran in order for him to become
one also. James did not want this.
He fears for his life if he should return to Iran now

4.2 Attitude and practice of Islam previously
Shia Muslim
His father is a Mullah and wanted him to study the Quran in or-
der for him to become one also. James did not want this.
!
83
Hypocrisy he saw this in the lives of Muslims around him -
mostly in the lack of love
o his father divorced his mother and they all got socially re-
jected
o his father regularly beat him, not showing any kind of
love or mercy

After being the UK for a short while a BMB invited him to this
particular church where they prayed for him to stop having bad
dreams (traumatised from the beatings by his father)
He was healed and saw the power in God
Was baptized soon after by the church and felt a real sense of
cleansing

Previous understanding of Christian label was very negative as
fuelled by Islamic teaching
When arrived in UK this label was reinforced by English society,
but eventually challenged when he visited this particular church
He has given up most of the Islamic religious and cultural past as
closely associated to his father
Self identity - Christian
External identity - Christian, even with Muslim friends in the UK
o he is happy to use the Christian label externally as he
knows that in the UK people understand what it really
means
Actively witnesses to Iranian and Muslim friends telling them
about his healing and inviting them to church

He has given up most of the Islamic religious and cultural past as
closely associated to his father
Iranian cultural identity still very strong in him
If he gets a British passport in the future he might consider calling
himself English
!
84
o ultimately, he is happy to and considers it possible not to
be Iranian, but English
Considers Christianity to be the English religion, and so he is
one step closer to becoming culturally English
Now enjoys a mixture of international foods and music
Importantly - he has a stable English girlfriend
o although not a Christian, she is interested after James in-
troduced her to Christianity
o this relationship provides a link with English culture

UK
Attends particular church in England
there
!
85
INTERVIEW WITH FATHER ZAKARIA BOUTROS

By Bob Blincoe
1

Bob Blincoe, Ph.D., interviewed Father Zakaria Botros in May 2009.
Father Botros is a Coptic priest who became an expert in Islam. He uses
his television show, books, and website to answer questions about Islam
posed by Muslims and Christians.
What follows is a live interview; only repetitions and minor grammatical
errors have been edited. Bob says, The Kurdish believers in northern Iraq
hold Father Botros in high esteem. Noteworthy is Father Botros surpri-
sing opinionBe as you areto Muslims who put their faith in Jesus
Christ.

Bob Blincoe: We are with Zakaria Botros, our honored guest. You
are our teacher and the subject is Islam. This mornings newspaper
has an unpleasant article.
2
It says, Saudi girl, 8 years old, was mar-
ried to a 50-year-old man. Recently she was granted a divorce
from him. I quote: An 8 year old Saudi girl has divorced her mid-
dle-aged husband after her father forced her to marry him last year,
her lawyer said Thursday. Saudi Arabia has come under increasing
criticism at home and abroad for permitting child marriages. Of
course we are all more than disturbed by this story. We are disgu-
sted. Its an outrage to every sensible person. But is child marriage
a fundamental principle of Islam or is there the possibility that Is-
lam could turn its back on this terrible practice?

Fr. Zakaria: Thats a good question. You know that for twenty-
five years Mohammad was married to only one wife. She was called
Khadija. She was older than he by about twenty-five years. And
she was very rich. He was married according to the Christian law of
marriage one womanbecause a priest of Mecca was a Christian
but adhering to a cult called Ebionism, performed the marriage for
Muhammad and Khadija according to the Christian law.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
"Bob Blincoe served overseas in Thailand (two years) and the Middle East (seven
years). He became US director of Frontiers in 2000."
2
http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/652415""
!
86
But after Khadija died, Mohammad married thirteen wives some
died, some he divorced. In all he had 66 women, and one of them
was a young child - Aisha. She was six years old when he married
her. Six years old, and he had sexual intercourse with her after she
became nine years old. So, like prophet, like people. They are fol-
lowing his steps. So that is very shameful, very shameful.

Bob: The next question I want to ask is about the Islamic teaching
about al-dhimmi. This is the practice of treating Christians and
Jews as second-class citizens. Is this a permanent unchangeable
doctrine of Islam, and what has been the Coptic experience
of dhimmi in Egypt?

Fr. Zakaria Its very generous for Muslims to treat Christians and
the people of the book Jews and Christians as second-class
citizens. Its very generous because the Quran Sura 9:5 says,Kill
them. In their translation in the Quran to English they choose
some beautiful words instead of the hard words. But the Arabic
says, Slay! Slay those people who do not believe in God and
Muhammad and his prophet/message. But when they translate it to
English they say Fight. But, in Arabic it means, Kill! because it
is from the verb qaatilu, Kill!, not fight. So they have this verse
to kill the people of the book who do not believe in Allah and his
messenger Muhammad. But the verse says, Kill them until they
pay heavy taxes (jiziyah). If they pay, leave them and treat them as
second-class citizens.

Bob: Id like to ask about the Shia doctrine of temporary marriage,
al-mutah.

Fr. Zakaria: Yes. Actually, this is a verse in the Quran. Give
them (women) their wages while you enjoy sex with them. And
Mohammad applied this to himself and all of his followers. But the
third caliph, Omar, stopped this. But the Shia do not follow the
Caliph Omar, so they did not abrogate the verse. Who is the Ca-
liph Omar, to cancel the word of God? But in Sunna, there are
about 17 kinds of marriage. A male writes a female privately a pa-
per, I give myself to you. And she the same; that is a marriage
that lasts for ten minutes or half an hour. And he agrees to pay a
!
87
certain amount. And this is zawaj al-urfi, a paper marriage. Ano-
ther kind of marriage: when you are on a holiday and you find a
woman there, a man can marry her for a month, or any length of
time, and marry her on paper. There is more about this on my web-
site.

Bob: Honor and shame are important principles in the Arab cultu-
re. Can you help us to understand honor and shame in the Arab
culture?

Fr. Zakaria: Honor is like pride in the Arab culture. It is like
when a man has a daughter, when his daughter is unmarried and
has sexual relations, her father is ready to kill to restore his honor.
The society will allow the killing in order to restore his honor.

Bob: When you lost your brother, what helped you to love and ho-
nor Muslims instead of fearing and despising them?

Fr. Zakaria: That is a good question. When I lost my brother, I
was not a true believer; I was overcome with sadness and grief when
Muslims tore out his tongue
for preaching the gospel. But
when I became a Christian, I
discovered that these people
are victims of the doctrines of
Mohammad, who told his
followers to kill Christians.
So I had pity on them, and I
began to pray for them, that
they be delivered from their
satanic religion. And in time
God gave me a ministry to rescue them from darkness and bring
them to Christ.

Bob: In this office, our ministry is praying to God to send out labo-
rers into His harvest. Our message is that Americans should sell
their possessions and leave all that they know to make disciples in
the Muslim world. What advice do you have for us to prepare us to
go?

!
88
Fr. Zakaria: We have to follow the example of our Lord Jesus
Christ. When God wanted to save people, He came as a man to live
among us, to feel what we feel, to share life with us. So, if any per-
son wants to serve God and reach Muslims, he should incarnate as
a Muslim. He should adopt his language, his culture, his way of
thinking. He should learn the lifestyle; speak Arabic to Arabs.
Arabs have a stumbling block; they hate the foreigners, because it
reminds them of the invasions of the West; the French into Syria
and Lebanon, Italy into Libya, the British to Iraq and Egypt and
Jordan. Islam is not just a religion; this is a misunderstanding in
the West. You think that Islam is like Judaism or Christianity or
Buddhism, so we give Islam lots of opportunities to grow in the
West. No, Islam is a State, and religion is a factor to establish this
state. It is a Kingdom, the Kingdom of Islam. Non-Muslims in
their country are invaders. The invaders brought missionaries with
them.
So, if you want to reach Muslims, its a very hard thing, but we
are obliged to do that. We are obliged to learn their habits and
their language and to adopt their culture, as God did, when He came
as a man and spoke as a man, and lived among them, and behaved
like them. So I think any missionary should know that he is not
preaching his culture, but He is preaching Christ. Samuel Zwemer
wrote a book analyzing why the West failed in its mission to suc-
ceed among Muslims. He said that we have too much preached our
culture and too little preached Christ. St. Paul said, I became a Jew
for the Jews, a Gentile for the Gentiles, in order to win them.

Bob: We look at Matthew 10 and Luke 10 where Jesus sent out His
disciples, and sent them out to find the man of peace. Jesus said,
When you find the man of peace, stay with him. We are trying to
understand what Christ means to find the man of peace or the
woman of peace in the Muslim world, that is, to find the influenti-
al believer through whom many, many more Muslims will come to
faith. Would you comment?

Fr. Zakaria: Yes. This is Biblical teaching. Its good. Its right.
But all missionaries have to learn the right words in order to reach
!
89
Muslims. It is good for Americans to go and preach, but success
depends on learning, learning, learning.

Bob: Our ministry at the US Sending Base is praying to God to
send out laborers into His harvest. Our message is that Americans
should sell their possessions and leave all that they know to make
disciples in the Muslim world. What advice do you have for us to
prepare us to go?

Fr. Zakaria: It is good for Americans to go and preach, but success
depends on learning, learning, learning.

Bob: We believe in starting churches of Muslim Background Be-
lievers (MBBs). That is, we accept a cultural difference between
historical churches and Muslims, and we promote the gathering of
Muslims, after they believe and worship God through Jesus Christ,
with like-minded people, based on the decision of the Jerusalem
Council, Acts 15:19, Lets not make it difficult for the
Ethne/Gentiles who are coming to faith. What do you think of
starting churches of Muslim-Background believers, with elders ap-
pointed from a Muslim background, elders who see their identity as
people who are culturally Muslims?
!
Fr. Zakaria: Yes. This exists. I want to say that there are MBBs
in every Arab country. And this idea is a good idea; I know many
MBBs in Arab countries and here in the West. I think this is very
important because Christian churches are afraid to accept MBBs
into their congregations. The churches are afraid of the Muslim
governments. The church leaders will whisper to the MBBs, Dont
make trouble for us; dont come back.
The only thing that I want to say is that we have to take care not
to divide the body of Jesus Christ: These are MBBs; those are Pro-
testants; these are Catholics; those are Orthodox. We need to
be united. Yes, it may be that there are many denominations, but
we have to be united in love, together, because we are the spiritual
body of Jesus Christ. We are one. So it is good to make local chur-
ches of MBBs; only take care not to divide the body of Jesus Christ.

!
90
Bob: And this problem of unity is one we have yet to solve in our
movement; we have not thought through how to make true our faith
in the one body of Christ.
I want to ask you ask you about using the Quran in order to
bring Muslims to the truth of Jesus Christ. Some of us are open to
using the Quranic references to Jesus and the Bible and to people
of the book in order to find common ground. What is your opin-
ion of this approach?

Fr. Zakaria: It is good to take this approach. We have to start with
what they know and what they will accept, and move them gradu-
ally to the full light. So I use that style and method. I take some
quotations from the Quran or the hadith in order to reach that per-
son. So, that is good.

Bob: In the Quran we see that Jesus disciples are called Mus-
lims. Is it possible that Muslims, after coming to faith in Jesus
Christ, and submitting to the Bible, will still refer to themselves as
Muslims?

Fr. Zakaria: This is a good question. I encourage that in my minis-
try. Why? Because Muslims dont care if any Muslim becomes an
atheist, or denies God, or undermines Mohammad. They dont care.
But if any Muslim becomes a Christian, ah! No! They kill him.
Why? Here is an example from the soccer clubs of Cairo. There are
two main soccer clubs, Al-Ahli and the other, Zamalik. They
dont care if a member of one club changes to another club, but if
one from Al-Ahli goes to Zamalik, then they want to kill him. These
are the enemy clubs. Muslims look to Christianity as their enemy.
Better to become an atheist! But dont convert to Christianity.
What do I do in order to avoid this? And how have we reached
many Muslims with the gospel? I tell them, Be as you are! Mus-
lims! Or remain Buddhists! Or what you are! We are not preach-
ing a religion, or Christianity. We are preaching a man: Jesus
Christ. Be a Muslim, and accept Jesus Christ only; he will lead you
in the way.

!
91
Bob: Muslims oppose the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, but in
your book God is One, you refer to the Quran to support the Chris-
tian Trinitarian belief.

Fr. Zakaria: Yes. There is one verse in the Quran that says Jesus
Christ is the Word of God and the Spirit of God (Surah 4:171). So,
this is our key. God has a Word and has a Spirit. It is also true, as
the Muslims say, that Jesus is a messenger from God, and this
speaks of Jesus humanity. But then we have this reference in the
Quran to Jesus as the Word of God and the Spirit of God, so you
can use this verse.

Bob: Few of your Muslim listeners know their religion as well as
you do.

Fr. Zakaria: Even if the Muslim has no formal knowledge of Islam,
he knows many things about the differences between Christianity
and Islam. He knows that Christians are infidels. So I simplify
my words, to tell the truth simply, so that any Muslim can come to
the truth. Even the poor Muslims have satellite dishes on the roofs,
and they can follow our lessons.
!
Bob: What truths about Islam help wake up the Muslims? What
are the most surprising, shocking teachings in Islam that make
Muslims want out of Islam?

Fr. Zakaria: As we have experienced our ministry over the years,
the most effective thing is the Islamic doctrine of breast-feeding
adults. What! they react, No, we dont have this doctrine. But
they do, and we show it to them in their books. On a television
show, a sheikh of al-Azhar admitted that this teaching is valid in
Islam. That is, it is legal for a woman to breast-feed any man, in
order to sit privately with him. This was a shock for all Muslims.
So we send inquirers the TV episode of the sheikh of Al-Azhar.
One story: A young man came to talk about this story. His fa-
ther was a sheikh in Sweden. The young man went to ask his fa-
ther.
Why do you ask? said his father.
There are people who say that we have this story.
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92
Dont listen to those people.
But I want to understand my religion.
The father denied the story. But the father went to his room to
study, and closed the door, and stayed two weeks, and studied for
himself. His wife brought him food and water. And after two
weeks, he opened his door. The father passed by the son, who
watched as his father threw all his books into the trash. Then the
father came to the son, and hugged him.
Thank you, my son. And the father and mother and their son and
others in the family were all baptized on one day. And they bought
some cakes to celebrate. But the fathers brother heard of this, and
challenged him.
What did you do?
We were baptized.
You became a Christian!
Yes, today.
The fathers brother took a knife and killed his brother on the spot.
The killer was arrested and jailed. The dead mans son visited his
uncle, the killer. I forgive you, said the nephew. My father is in
heaven, but I pray that you will not go to hell. In time the uncle
too was baptized in prison. Praise the Lord.
!
Bob: Thank you. We will close the meeting here.
!
Fr. Zakaria: God bless you and bless your ministry. Jesus Christ is
very happy that many workers are preaching the gospel to lost peo-
ple. God bless you more and more.
!
93
THE HADITH:
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW
ABOUT THE ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

By Edward J Hoskins, MD, PhD

1 Introduction

Twenty years ago my wife and I drank tea with a Muslim couple.
The topic turned to the number of cups a guest needed to drink to
be polite. The answer was an odd number; one, three, or five, but
not two or four. I mentioned to my friends that I believed this came
from their Islamic traditions, the hadith (ha-DEETH). Earlier that
week I had read the tradition dealing with this. Although the wife
said, No, thats not possible, the husband corrected her, stating
that I was correct. Following that incident I wondered if the hadith
might provide answers to other quandaries in understanding my
Muslim friends.
I started reaching out to Muslims sharing the hope of Christ
more than thirty years ago. Since that time I watched as western-
ersincluding myselfmade many errors in relating to Muslims.
In my opinion, the majority of these were due to simple misunder-
standings. Unfortunately, what we dont understand we fear. And
what we fear we try to avoid. If avoidance is impossible, then con-
flict becomes inevitable.
So what is the cure? We must travel to a Muslims core beliefs.
Although core beliefs may not always match exactly with specific
actions, they will always provide the framework for a persons deci-
sions and ultimate goals. If we are to understand Muslims, we must
know what they believe at the center of their being. Is Islam really
a religion of peace? Do women have to wear the veil? What do
they believe about heaven and hell, terrorism, freedom of speech, or
the state of Israel?
The answers to these tough questions are not, as commonly sup-
posed, found primarily in the Quran. In fact, many of them are not
found in the Quran at all. If we rely strictly on the Quran for in-
formation, we will find verses that support both sides of these many
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94
coins. Coming to firm conclusions is like trying to nail Jell-O to the
wall. Most Christians and other non-Muslims studying Islam have
relied almost exclusively on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, as
well as other books written about Islam by non-Muslims. When
discussing this uniform reliance on the Quran, a close friend com-
mented, Ed, weve only been playing with half a deck.
Years ago I felt slightly myopic regarding Islam. What do Mus-
lims believe? How do they think and why do they do what they do?
Studying the hadith was like putting on a pair of prescription
glasses; everything became clear. I want it to become clear for you
too.
My source of information was the other half of the deck, the
hadith (the Islamic traditions). These are their major books of relig-
ious instruction. I read the complete works of Bukhari, Muslim,
Abu Dawood, Ibn-Majah, Nasai, Tirmidhi, and Maliks Muwatta.
In addition, I read through two of the most respected books of Shi-
ite traditions, Kitab al-Kafi (Part I, Usul al-Kafi, online) and Kitab-e-
SulaymIbnQays al-Hilali, for a total of more than 37,000 Arabic tra-
ditions. The foundation of this article is that these traditions the
hadith - complete the deck and answer most of the difficult ques-
tions non-Muslims ask about Islam. They helped answer my own!
I hope they do the same for you too.
As I studied, I prayerfully kept my eyes, ears, and heart open for
those topics that tend to cause difficulty for non-Muslims. For all
hadith presented in this article, the translations from the original
Arabic are my own and were checked against existing English
translations of respected Islamic translators. For any mistakes in
my own translations, I take full responsibility.
By way of clarification, note that the Arabic word hadith is offi-
cially singular in form. The plural is ahadith or hadiths if Angli-
cized. However, much common usage today by both scholars and
laymen, both Muslims and Christians, use hadith as a collective
noun with the number being determined by the context. For this
reason, as well as for the sake of readability, that is how it will be
used in this article.
In addition to relating to hundreds of Muslims over the years
other questions arose from my study of the hadith. Is knowledge of
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95
the hadith limited to educated Muslims? Are men more likely than
women to know the hadith? How about geographical differences?
That is, since the hadith were written originally in Arabic, are Ara-
bic-speaking Muslims more likely to be familiar with them? In ad-
dition, from the valuable informational aspect, a delightful surprise
was finding many examples where their prophet evidently borrowed
freely from the Bible. As a result, I wanted to see if the hadith could
be used as conversation-starters with my Muslim friends, i.e.
bridges to real Gospel truth. In order to answer those questions I
spent the last five years field-testing what I learned from the hadith
with Muslims from at least 30 different Middle Eastern, African,
Asian, and Far Eastern Islamic countries and all walks of life.
These dear Muslims have been my real teachers.
In the paragraphs to follow I present my boiled-down findings
for your benefit.
The purpose of this article is threefold. The first is to introduce
you to the Islamic traditions the hadith. The second is to give you
a taste of how the hadith provide answers for the difficult questions
non-Muslims ask about Islam. The final goal is to show how I used
the hadith in relating spiritual truth to my Muslim friends.
As a final introductory note, in this article there is not time nor
space available to give detailed answers to the previously mentioned
difficult questions. Those are available in the book, A Muslims
Mind: what every Christian needs to know about the Islamic tradi-
tions.
1
But concerning those questions I must warn you - not all of
the answers will be popular or politically correct, but they are there
in the hadith and they are clear.
And now on to the hadith!

2 What are the Hadith?

Muslims believe the Quran is the mechanically dictated, verbatim
word of Allah delivered from the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) to the
prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. It concluded with
his death.
Muslims also agree that because the Quran is heavenly; it is also
mysterious and it does not completely address every minute aspect
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96
of life. It can only be fully understood by Allah himself. Therefore,
the most complete way to know, understand, and apply the Quran
to daily life is to scrutinize every word, gesture, and deed of their
prophet. Muslims believe Muhammad was the only man to perfect-
ly live out the Quran. If the Quran is the skeleton, then Muham-
mad is the flesh on the skeleton, which puts all of Islam into action.
The introduction to the Mishkat al-Masabih states, In the
Quran Muhammad was given the actual words of God; in the tradi-
tion the words used were his own but they were uttered under divi-
ne guidance.
2

One Muslim told me, The Quran tells us to pray, but it doesnt
tell us how. The hadith gives us the details of how to do it.
From the early seventh century A.D., every word and deed of
Muhammad was chronicled and memorized by his immediate family
and close friends (companions), then told to others (followers) who
related them to still others. These stories include everything
Muhammad did, from dressing to dining, marrying to mating, and
details of birth and death. It encompasses dreams and visions, crime
and punishment, as well as buying and selling. It even includes
sneezing and passing gas. There is no aspect of Muhammads per-
sonal life left untouched. Muslims believe that Allah, through his
prophet, provided for every situation.
Because these stories were related from person to person over
many years, each hadith consists of two parts: an isnad (iss-NAAD)
or chain of transmitters, and a matn (MA-tin) or main text. The
chain appears something like this: I heard so-and-so mention that
he heard on the authority of so-and-so, who related to him that he
heard such-and-such companion say that the prophet said . . . .
For ease of readability I have put all hadith used in this article in
bold print. I have also included the first and last names of each
chain transmitter in the endnotes. In addition, some of the hadith
presented in this article contain the initials pbuh following the
name of Muhammad. This stands for prayers and peace be upon
him, the typical Islamic words of respect Muslims apply to the na-
me of their prophet. Whenever they occur in the original text I ha-
ve included them in my English translation.
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97
More than a thousand collections of hadith existed by the begin-
ning of the ninth century A.D. These were filtered down to the Si-
hah as-Sittah (si-HAAH as-SIT-tah) or the authentic six, and are
the collections of the following six Imams (ee-MAMs), or religious
teachers: al-Bukhari (810870 A.D.), Muslim (819875 A.D.), at-
Tirmidhi (d. 893 A.D.), Abu Dawood (817888 A.D.), IbnMajah
(825887 A.D.), and Nasai (831916 A.D.). A seventh collection is
also considered next to the authentic six, Imam Maliks Muwatta
(712796 A.D.). Because they are the most respected hadith collec-
tions throughout the Sunni Muslim world, these are the ones I cho-
se to survey comprehensively.
Even among these seven works there is a gradation of acceptan-
ce. The most respected collection of all is the Sahih (sa-HEEH, for
sure) al-Bukhari. The second most respected is Sahih Muslim.
The next four are still considered good and authentic but are called
sunan(SUU-nan), plural for sunah or practice. One reason Bukharis
collection is considered preeminent is because three of the other au-
thentic six were his pupils (Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, and IbnMajah). I
have never met a Sunni Muslim who did not accept the Sunnah (col-
lection of hadith) as authentic and authoritative for practical living.

3 The Hadith Shedding Light on Islam

The premise of this article is that the hadith clarify questions non-
Muslims ask about Islam. Even though there is not time nor space
for a comprehensive review, I still want to give you a taste. In or-
der to do that I selected a few representative (and hopefully balan-
ced) topics: Muhammad, Islamic Potpourri, Women, Jews & Chris-
tians, Jihad, and finally Jesus. Here goes!

3. 1 Muhammad
Most people know Muhammad as a lawgiver, a statesman, and the
founder of a new world religion. Its not hard to find answers to
many of the basic questions about his life: Where and when was he
born? How did his ministry begin? When did he die? But, if youre
like me, the easy answers arent sufficient. The hadith give
surprising insights into his life and fill in the white spaces on the
page, the gaps between the facts.
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98
3.1.1 His generosity
According to the hadith, one hallmark of Muhammads character
was his generosity. How did he respond when others came to him
with requests?

The messenger of Allah (pbuh) was never asked for anything and he
said, No.
3

3.1.2 His courage
The following episode shows how Muhammads courage turned the
tide of battle:

The messenger of Allah (pbuh) got down from his mule. Then he
grabbed a handful of dust from the ground and threw it in their faces
and said, May their faces become ugly! And there were none of those
whom Allah created but had their eyes filled with the dust from that
handful and they fled.
4

3.1.3 His violence
Muhammad did not shy away from violence.

Then he [Muhammad] killed their men and divided their women, chil-
dren, and property among the Muslims, except for some of them who
joined the messenger of Allah (pbuh). He kept them safe and they be-
came Muslims.
5

3.1.4 His care for the poor, widows, and orphans
He was concerned for widows, and the poor.

The prophet (pbuh) said, Caring for a widow or a poor person is
like a fighter in the path of Allah or standing [in prayer] all night
and fasting all day.
6

3.1.5 His position on the Day of Judgment
He saw himself in an exalted position.

The messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, I am the Lord of the descendants
of Adam on Resurrection Day, and the first who will be taken from the
grave, and the first to have the right of intercession, and the first to in-
tercede.
7

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99
3.1.6 Was he truly illiterate?
Muslims believe the Quran is miraculous. One reason for this is
that they teach Muhammad was illiterate. The tradition below sug-
gests an alternate view. While negotiating a written treaty,
Muhammad was asked to agree to a title for himself other than
messenger of Allah. His companion and scribe flatly refused and
urged Muhammad not to agree.

So the messenger of Allah (pbuh) took the document and wrote, No
arms will enter Mecca except in their scabbards and no one of the peo-
ple [of Mecca] will be allowed to go with him [Muhammad] even if
they want to follow him and he will not prevent any of his companions
from staying [in Mecca] if they want to remain.
8

3. 2 Isl ami c Pot pourri

3.2.1 The Five Pillars of Islam
Many have wondered where the Five Pillars of Islam come from.
Now you know from the hadith.

The messenger of Allah said, Islam is based on five [pillars]: testify-
ing that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messen-
ger of Allah; to offer prayers; to give charity [Zakat]; the Hajj [pil-
grimage]; and fasting during Ramadan.
9

3.2.2 What about the 99 Names of Allah?
With lots of work the 99 names of Allah can be ferreted out from
the Quran. Wouldnt it be nice to have a composite list?

The messenger of Allah said, Truly, Allah has ninety nine names, one
hundred less one. Truly He is odd [in number] and loves odd numbers
[witr]. He who memorizes them enters paradise; and these are . . . [a
complete list of the ninety-nine is given, including merciful, generous,
just, and ninety-six others].
10

3.2.3 How was the Quran collated?
By the time of Muhammads death, many individuals had
memorized the entire Quran. The Quran also existed in numerous
fragments which were written on parchment, flat bones, and animal
skins. After a battle in which many of the Quran memorizers
were killed, Uthman, the third Caliph after Muhammad, made it his
goal to unify and preserve the Quran from loss.
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100
Uthman sent a message to Hafsa, Send us all the copies [of the
Quran] so we can transcribe them into one copy. Then we will return
it to you. . . . Uthman ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin az-
Zubair, Saeed bin al-As and Abdur-Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to
transcribe them into [perfect] copies. . . . [Uthman] sent to every
province a copy of what had been transcribed and ordered all the rest,
whether whole copies of the Quran or fragments, to be burned.
11

3.2.4 Fighting against other Muslims
Is it any wonder that Muslims hesitate to join efforts to fight other
Muslims?

The messenger of Allah said, A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. Do
not oppress him nor hand him over [to an oppressor].
12

3.2.5 Admitting mistakes/confession of sin
Being able to say, Im sorry or I was wrong is almost unheard.
This is one reason why.

The messenger of Allah said, All my followers sins will be forgiven
except those made public. That is, when a man commits a sin at night
and then makes it known during the day, even though Allah has
screened him at night.
13

3.2.6 The Law of Apostasy
Isnt the law of apostasy just something fabricated by radicals? Un-
fortunately, the punishment for leaving Islam is unequivocal.

According to the statement of the messenger of Allah saying, Who-
ever changes his religion, kill him.
14

3. 3 Women

Muslims tend to see people not as separate individuals but as mem-
bers of a larger group. As a rule, societal rights of the larger group
are not voluntarily sacrificed in favor of a single member. Addition-
ally, one of the most important commodities in this culture is honor.
Female modesty and morality rank near the top of the list. Keep
that in mind as you read the following.

3.3.1 Do women have to wear the veil?
While the Quran does not absolutely command the veil, the issue is
clearer in the hadith.
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101
O messenger of Allah (pbuh), righteous as well immoral people come
in on you. So command your wives to wear the veil [al-hijab, hi-
JAAB]. Then Allah revealed the verses of al-hijab.
15

3.3.2 Why might marital age differences mean less than in the
West?
Even today, having Muslim marriages with this much age gap is
rare.

The prophet (pbuh) . . . married Aisha when she was six years old and
cohabited with her when she was nine.
16

Before we label the above hadith as distasteful we must
remember that Muslim girls are eligible for marriage as soon as
they start having menstrual cycles.

3.3.3 Could they have a greater fear of hell?
This one must be especially discouraging for women.
The prophet said, I was shown the fire [hell] and behold, most of the
occupants were unbelieving women.
17

3.3.4 The best in character
The wives he admired were those who were practical, affectionate,
and responsible.

I heard the messenger of Allah (pbuh) say, The Quraishi women are
the best women. They ride camels, are affectionate with their children
and watch over their husbands wealth.
18

3.3.5 Parts of the body to be covered
In conservative Muslim families it is common to see nothing but
face and hands:

The messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, When a woman starts menstruat-
ing it is not proper for her to expose more of herself than this and this.
He pointed to the face and the hands.
19

3.3.6 Treat them well!
In this hadith Muhammad encouraged kindness to women.
The messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, Treat women well. A woman is
made from a rib and the highest part is the most curved. If it is
straightened it will break. If you leave it alone it will remain curved.
So be nice to them!
20

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102
3. 4 Jews and Chri st i ans

What do Muslims think about Jews and Christians? Another
question logically follows: What do they believe about Jesus and the
Bible? It only takes a quick glance at the days headlines to see that
there is much tension between Jews & Christians, and Muslims.
Many Muslims see Jews and Christians as destabilizers and
usurpers who stole the land in the Middle East that rightly belongs
to them. Often the U.S. (which they consider a Christian nation)
is seen as the modern exploiters and colonizers of the world, much
as England was during the height of the British Empire. Lets see
what the hadith has to say.

3.4.1 How far back do problems go?
In my comprehensive survey of the hadith the overwhelming majo-
rity of hadith I found were decidedly negative and similar to the one
below.

When the messenger of Allah was dying he said, May Allah curse the
Jews and the Christians . . . for they make places of worship out of the
prophets graves.
21

3.4.2 Has the Bible been changed?
Some Christians believe that Islam supports the authenticity of the
Christian scriptures. In places, the Quran does appear favorable to
the Bible. But the hadith makes it clearer. Muhammad categori-
cally stated that Jews and Christians distorted the Bible.

Allah has told you that the people of the book [Jews and Christians]
distorted Allahs book and changed it.
22

3.4.3 OK to tell their stories
Here is one of the few positive hadith I found.

The prophet said, Tell the stories of the people of Israel for it is not
sinful to do so.
23

3.4.4 Respect for their souls
Here is another one of the few I found. It shows respect for Jews.

A funeral bier passed in front of him [Muhammad] and he stood up.
He was told it was a Jew. He said, Wasnt he a soul?
24
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103
3. 5 Ji had

3.5.1 Has Islam been high-jacked?
Is it possible that violent radical fundamentalists are interpreting
the hadith in a more literal fashion than their peaceful counterparts?

The messenger of Allah said, I have been commanded to fight people
until they say, There is no god but Allah.
25

3.5.2 The tangible benefits
This promise here is an immediate ticket to paradise.

The messenger of Allah said, To the one who fights in Allahs path
and who goes out for the sake of jihad and belief in His words, Allah
promised to admit him to paradise or return him to his home with the
booty he has earned.
26

3.5.3 Non-violent Hadith Performing the Hajj
Out of the many thousands of hadith I read I found only four that
could be considered non-violent. Three of them dealt with perfor-
ming the hajj for women, the weak, and the elderly. This one con-
cerns women.

I (Aisha) said, O messenger of Allah (pbuh), shouldnt we fight and go
on jihad with you? He said, the best and most beautiful jihad is the
hajj, the righteous hajj.
27

3.5.4 Non-violent Speaking truth to an oppressive ruler
Here is the fourth one and deals with courage.

A man asked the prophet (pbuh) as he put his foot into the stirrup,
Which jihad is the best? He said, A word of truth before a tyrannical
ruler.
28

In these final examples lets prime the pump for redemptive ana-
logies as we segue way into the last section - using the hadith to
build bridges for the gospel.

3. 6 Jesus

3.6.1 His uniqueness
I love this one. It can generate great discussions with my Muslim
friends.

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104
The prophet (pbuh) said, At birth, every son of Adam [human] is
touched by Satans two fingers except Jesus, the son of Mary. Satan
tried to touch him but failed. He touched the placenta instead.
29

3.6.2 The bridge to heaven
This hadith played a part in my Iranian friend coming to Christ.
His grandmother told him only a lamb could lead people across the
bridge. Ive heard this same story more than once.

The messenger of Allah said, When the believers safely pass over hell
they will be blocked by a bridge separating paradise and hell . . . and
when they are cleansed and purified from their sins they will enter
paradise.
30

3.6.3 Assurance of salvation in Islam
The prophet said, There is no one who will be admitted to paradise
based only on his deeds. A man said, Not even you O messenger of
Allah? He said, Not even me, except that He [Allah] wraps me in
mercy.
31

3.6.4 Jesus His return
Like us, Muslims believe Jesus will come back at the end of the age.
But the manner of his return will surprise most Christians.

The messenger of Allah said, By Him in whose hand is my soul; the
son of Mary is at the point of descending among you. He will judge
justly. He will break the cross and kill the pigs, establish jizya [JIZ-
yah, a tax on non-Muslims] and wealth will pour forth until no one
will accept it.
32

4 Using the Hadith to Build Bridges for the Gospel

One of the best ways to build rapport with someone is to share a
common interest. Asking about something important to a person
works, whether the individual is a Chicago Cubs fan or likes to ride
motorcycles. If its important to a friend and I ask about it, Im
building rapport.
This is also true with Muslims. Over the past five years, by as-
king a few simple questions, I field-tested several hundred hadith
with Muslims from at least 30 different nations. With one excepti-
on, every Muslim I talked to smiled and wanted to talk about the
hadith. Even more important, in nearly every case they felt free
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105
enough to open their hearts and allow deeper discussion. Using the
Islamic traditions built instant rapport. Why? Because the hadith
are near and dear to the heart of every Muslim I have ever met. In
fact, the word hadith is best translated as narration or story and
is related to the Arabic word for conversation muhaadatha.
Everyone likes stories, especially those with which they are already
familiar.

The prophet (pbuh) said, None of you has faith till he wishes for his
brother what he wishes for himself.
33

The first time I read this hadith I was struck by how close it was to
what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12So in everything, do to others
what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and
the Prophets. I thought, I wonder if this could be used as a point
of spiritual contact with Muslim friends?
The answer is yes! I have seen this over and over again. When
these hadith are understood and appreciated, they can lead to natu-
ral bridges to conversations about the Gospel.
When I speak with a Muslim friend about the hadith, I like to
take along a small notebook with a few of the Islamic traditions I
have collected. I have one or two hadith printed on each page with
an accompanying Bible passage where I have found a similarity.
Each sheet is in a plastic page protector. I pull one out when I sit
with my friend and let him read the tradition and accompanying
Bible verse. After this I ask a few questions. One or two usually
suffice. Here are a few questions I have found useful:
o -Have you heard of this tradition before or something like it?
o -How does this hadith practically influence your life as a Muslim?
o -What does this hadith tell you about the character of God?
o -What does it say about the condition of man?
o -Does it suggest a possible way to bridge the gap between the
two?
o -Do you recall a personal story where you saw this hadith illustra-
ted, either as a child or as an adult?
When Im done I always ask if they have any questions they
want to ask me. These questions often produce the most fruitful
discussions.
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106
A Bangladeshi Muslim friend sat at the next table in a coffee
shop. He noticed my notebook of hadith. He came over and asked if
he could look at them. As he turned the pages, he commented, Ive
heard that one before. Flip. Yes, Ive heard of that one, too!
Smiling, he continued turning pages. Two other Muslims wal-
ked by. He called out to them, Look, Dr. Ed is studying the ha-
dith! and asked them to join us. He saw one tradition about Gods
judgment and said, Dr. Ed, I think Easter should be a more signifi-
cant holiday to Christians than Christmas. You know, with the re-
surrection of Jesus and all. I read this book about Lazarus. I was so
impressed with this one sentence (John 11:25)I am the resurrec-
tion and the lifethat I memorized the whole thing. He quoted
the whole verse and ended with and will never die.
Dr. Ed, when I first read that sentence it felt so powerful and
awesome! Then he realized where he was and who was with us.
He added in a subdued tone, But . . . in Islam we have the same
thing too.
Below I share three more instances where I used hadith and a
similar Bible verse as segue ways to Biblical truth.
I discussed the following hadith paired with an accompanying
Bible passage with a South Asian Muslim:

The messenger of Allah said, The one Allah wants to do good for He
afflicts him.
34
Job 5:18For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but
His hands also heal.

Yes, he had heard this hadith before. He then told a story about
his uncle who was an engineer. His uncle was fired from his job in
Pakistan and then went to Canada to work. His uncle said that be-
ing fired was a turning point in his life. It made him to work har-
der. It made him stronger and more compassionate.

My friend then turned to me, Dr. Ed, I have a question for you.
If Allah made me a Muslim and you a Christian, which religion is
correct?

The hadith had served as a bridge to share Gospel truth. I sha-
red an illustration with him about Gods kingdom and ended with,
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107
Jesus the Messiah told us specific ways for how to enter Gods
Kingdom. Next time Id be happy to share some of those with you.

I visited an African friend and asked if he had heard the follo-
wing hadith:

I heard the messenger of Allah (pbuh) say, Allah made mercy into one-
hundred parts and He kept ninety-nine parts and sent down on the
earth one part, and because of its one part creatures are merciful so that
even the mare lifts up its hoofs from its foal so as not to trample it.
35

He also read two verses from the Bible, found in Lamentations
3:2223Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great
is Your faithfulness.
Yes, my friend was familiar with this hadith. He then explained
the importance of showing mercy on Judgment Day: Allah will say,
I was hungry and you did not feed me. I was thirsty and you gave
me nothing to drink. I was sick and you didn't take care of me. He
shared all this without prompting.
This opened a door to share Jesus words from the New Testa-
ment. He asked to see it and together we read Matthew 25:3140 -
the parable of separating the sheep from the goats on Judgment
Day. My friend laughed with pleasure at the words of Jesus.

The messenger of Allah said, Truly Allah does not look at your ap-
pearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.
36

Compare that with 1 Samuel 16:7The Lord does not look at
the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks at the heart.
A friend from Yemen and I discussed this tradition and the Bible
verse. He said, One time I was driving in a storm with other cars.
I stopped because the road was blocked by flooding. There was lots
of thunder and everyone was afraid, except for one man who looked
to be a beggar approaching. This man was very calm and not afraid.
He tried to calm us down and give advice. I realized we had been
looking at his outward appearance.
Suddenly, my friend looked as if someone had flipped on his po-
wer supply. With tears in his eyes, he began quoting hadith after
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108
hadithI kept track; nearly 20 in alland two verses from the
Quran. This opened a natural opportunity for me to share more
Scripture and my personal faith story.
To Muslims, the hadith are familiar stories that play explanatory
and practical roles in their daily lives. Making use of these, we have
a bridge that makes spiritual conversations relevant and accessible.

5 Conclusions

Our brief journey through the hadith has come to an end. But
though youre nearly finished with this article, the real journey has
just begun. It begins in earnest when we sit down with Muslim
friends and have heart-level conversations based on our newfound
understanding of their culture and beliefs. I end with five broad
conclusions plus two cautions:

1. The hadith fill in the gaps of understanding left blank by the
Quran. As Christians, we can abandon the idea that the
Quran will give us most of the answers we want about Is-
lam and Muslims. As valuable as the Quran is to help us
understand, it leaves many wide gaps. We get a more com-
plete picture of a Muslims heart and mind by becoming as
familiar with the hadith as we are with the Quran.
2. In my field-testing research I found essentially no gender,
geographical or language ability differences. Men or wo-
men, Arabic speakers or not, whether from Asia, Africa or
the Middle East, well over 90% of all Muslims field-tested
were familiar with my randomly-selected hadith.
3. Knowledge of the hadith can give greater understanding
and compassion for our Muslim friends and acquaintances.
My own were challenged and increased. May it be the same
for you.
4. Using the hadith builds near-instant rapport and facilitates
deeper sharing. People talk easily about things most near
and dear to their hearts and the hadith are precious to every
Muslim I have ever met. Each time I mention one to a
Muslim, I get a smile. Thats rapport. And rapport opens
the door to greater sharing.
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109
5. Bridges for communicating Biblical truth abound in the ha-
dith.
6. During my study of the hadith, I found many with signifi-
cant similarities to our own Bible. The hadith are jam-
packed with topics like the golden rule, control your
temper, God looks at the heart, blessed are the merciful,
feed the hungry, and many, many more. As of now, I have
38 single-spaced typewritten pages of these. Not even a left-
brained introvert like me could miss the significance and
spiritual potential of these nuggets.

Finally I share two cautions. First, with further study you will
discover that many hadith portray Islam and their prophet in less
than positive terms. Frankly, many are embarrassing. Out of re-
spect for my Muslim friends I have chosen not to include any of
those in this article. When you come across these, please, please do
not use them as weapons to bludgeon Muslims. They are definitely
valuable for increased personal information, but I have found them
hurtful to my friends feelings and overall non-productive.
Second, in our desire to seek commonality and relate with our
Muslim friends we can wind up giving away what is most precious
to us the centrality of the person and work of Christ.
Twenty-five years ago, I was on duty as an ER physician when
paramedics brought in a gunshot wound victim. A bullet had
pierced a womans heart, but she was still alive. A leak in the heart
wall was partially sealed by clotted blood, allowing the heart to
keep beating. I knew that at most, she had a few minutes to live. I
also knew if her blood pressure could be maintained, there might be
time for the surgeon to arrive, get her to the operating room, open
her chest, plug the leak, and keep her from dying. I realized that
only one thing could keep her alive for those precious few needed
minutes: giving her lots of oxygen-carrying whole blood in a hurry.
My patient was still conscious and able to speak as I was preparing
her intravenous access. She said slowly but clearly, Doctor, you
can give me any type of fluid or medicine you want except for
blood. I explained, Maam, you only have a few minutes to live.
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110
The only thing that might keep you alive long enough for the sur-
geon to arrive is blood. She refused, and we couldnt save her.
Every person who has ever lived is dying from a diseased heart.
The disease is sin, and that separates us from God. It is a vicious
disease that causes terrible bleeding. There is only one treatment
the life-giving blood of Jesus. It would be wonderful if other treat-
ments were sufficientthings like greater compassion, cultural un-
derstanding, or a guaranteed land-for-peace proposal in the Middle
East. But that would be false. We need Jesus. Whether we are
born Muslim, Christian, Hindu, or Jew, our disease demands the
oxygen-rich whole blood of new life in Christ. Nothing else will do.

Soli Deo Gloria

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111
Bibliography and Endnotes

Sections of this article were adapted from A Muslims Mind: what
every Christian needs to know about the Islamic traditions (Dawson
Media, 2011)

All Bible passages used are from the New International Version.

All hadith passages were taken from:

Al-Bukhari, Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn
al-MughiraibnBardizbah al-Jafi. The Translations of the
Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari.Arabic-English, Volumes 1
9. Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Islamic
University, Medina al-Munawwara, Kingdom of Saudi Ara-
bia. Dar AHYA Us-Sunnah Al-Nabawiya, 1991.

Al-Qazwini, Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad binYazidIbn-e-Majah.
SunanIbn-e-Majah. Arabic-English, in five volumes. Trans-
lated by Muhammad Tufal Ansari. New Delhi, India: Ki-
tabBhavan, 2000.

An-Nasai, Imam Hafiz Abu Abdur-Rahman Ahmad bin Shuaib bin
Ali. Sunan an-Nasai.Arabic-English, in six volumes. Trans-
lated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia: Dar-us-Salam Publications, 2008.

Bin Anis, Imam Malik.The Book of al-Muwatta.Arabic. Sidon,
Lebanon: NajibMajidi, 2005.

Imam Abu Dawud al-Sijistani.Sunan Abu Dawud. English, in three
volumes. Translated by Ahmad Hasan.New Delhi, India: Ki-
tabBhavan, 1990.

Imam Muslim. Sahih Muslim: Being the Traditions of the Sayings
and Doings of the Prophet Muhammad as Narrated by His
Companions,completed under the title Al-Jami Us-Sahih.
Arabic-English, in eight volumes.Translated by Abdul
Hamid Siddiqi. Lahore, Pakistan: Sheikh Muhammad Ashraf
Book Sellers and Exporters, Ashraf Islamic Publica-
tions,1990.
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112

University of Southern California Center for Muslim-Jewish
Engagement
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/
texts/muslim/search.html

Parshall, Phil: Inside the Community: Understanding Muslims
through Their Traditions. Published by Baker Books, Grand Ra-
pids, Michigan, 1994.

Endnotes

1. A Muslims Mind: what every Christian needs to know about the
Islamic traditions: Edward J. Hoskins, MD, PhD (Dawson Me-
dia, 2011).

2. Mishkat-al-Masabih. By Abu Muhammad al-Husain bin Masud
bin Muhammad al-Farra al-Baghawi. Translated by Dr. James
Robson. Published by Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf Publishers,
Booksellers,and Exporters, Lahore, Pakistan, 2006.

3. Sahih Muslim, Volume 4A, Number [2311], page 35 (Book 30,
Number 5726 in English-only version); chain: Abu Bakr bin Abu
Shaiba narrated that . . . Jabir bin Abdullah said:

Number 4392 in English-only version); chain: Zuhair bin Harb
narrated that . . . Eyaas bin Salaama said:

Number 4364 in English-only version); chain: Qutaiba bin Saeed-
narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

6. SahihBukhari, Volume 7, Book 64, Number 265, page 202; chain:
Yahya bin Qaza narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

Number 5655 in English-only version); chain: Al-Haakim bin
Musa Abu Salih narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

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113
8. Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 49, Number 863, page 536; chain:
Ubaidalla bin Musa narrated that . . . Al-Baraa said:

Ubaidullah bin Musa narrated that . . . Ibn Umar said:

10. SunanIbnMajah, Volume 5, Number 3861, page 221; chain:
HishamibnAmmaar narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

11. Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 510, page 478;
chain: Musa narrated that . . . Anis bin Malik said:

Yahya bin Bukair narrated that . . . Abdullah bin Umar said:

Abdul-Azia bin Abdullah narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

Abu Nuamaan Muhammad bin al-Fadl narrated that . . . Ikrima
said:

chain: Muhammad bin Minhaal narrated that . . . Ibn Umar said:

chain: Ubaid bin Ismail narrated that . . . Abu Hishaam said:

Abdullah bin Maslama narrated that . . . IbnAbbaas said:

18. Sahih Muslim, Volume 4A, Number [2527R2], page 151 (Book
31, Number 6139 in English-only version); chain: Harmala bin
Yahya narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

19. Sunan Abu Dawood, Number 4104, page 578 in Arabic-only
version (Volume 3, Book 32, Number 4092, page 1144 in English
version); chain: Yaqub bin Kaab al-Antiqi narrated that . . . Aisha
said:

chain: Abu Kuraib narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

!
114
21. Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, N umber 427, page 255; chain:
Abu al-Yamaan Abdullah bin Abbaas narrated that . . . Aisha
said:

chain: Musa bin Ismail narrated that . . . Ubaidulla bin Abbaas
said:

chain: Abu Asim al-DahhaakibnMakhlad narrated that . . . Ab-
dullah bin Amr said:

Number 2098 in English-only version); chain: Abu Bakr bin Abu
Shaiba narrated that . . . Ibn Abu Laila said:

Number 30 in English-only version); chain:Abu al-Tahir nar-
rated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

26. Sahih Bukhari,Volume 9, Book 93, Number 549, page 413; chain:
Ismail narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

Musaddad narrated that . . . Aisha said:

28. Sunan Nasai, Volume 5, Book 39, Number 4214, page 140; chain:
Ishaq bin Mansur narrated that . . . Abu Abdullah Tarik bin Shi-
haab said:

chain: Abu al-Yamaan narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

Number 287 in English-only version); chain: Qutaiba bin Saeed

31. Sahih Muslim, Volume 4B, Number [2816R2], page 303 (Book
39, Number 676 in English-only version); chain: Qutaiba bin
Saeed narrated that . . . Abu Huraira said:

!
115
Number 287 in English-only version); chain: Qutaiba bin Saeed

33. SahihBukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 12, page 19 chain -
Musaddad narrated that Anis said:

34. Maliks Muwatta Book 50, Number 50.3.7, page 524 chain -
Malik narrated that Abu Sasa said:

35. Sahih Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 29, page 20 chain
- Al-Hakim bin Nafia narrated that AbuHuraira said:

36. Sahih Muslim Volume 4A, Number [2364R2], page 174 (Book
32, Number 6221 English only version) chain - Amru al-Naqid
narrated that Abu Huraira:
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TOWARD PRAYER:
REFLECTIONS OF A COPTIC MONK

by Abouna Seraphim el Baramosy

We cannot speak adequately about prayer because words cannot
convey intangible facts. For the word is the implement of this
world, that interprets its facts; but prayer is a way of living life and
an experience tasted by the heart the instrument of Eternity
that can express, in silence, matters unseen.
In this way, we are endeavoring here to draw near prayer while
in the formidable and awesome Presence of God, clothed with silen-
ce, appropriate for approaching His Presence.
We walk in its horizon, and feel the rays of light emanating forth
from it, while a halo of light surrounds it.
When we approach prayer, its flame warms us and nourishes in
us a desire toward God, Who is the subject of our prayer.
Prayer is not an aimless scream in a heart of a valley, neither is it
a crying out in a desert; nor does its echo fade into the horizon as
the sun sets, vanishing with the disappearance of word and voice.
Prayer is not an obligation fabricated by religion or created by hu-
mankind speaking to emptiness, imagining in it the god of rescue
and help. It is not a necessity of a sick imagination, escaping to talk
with himself, visualizing in this other self, a listening god!!
It is not an alter-ego or a shadow chattering words to itself, nor
a wine on which the soul becomes intoxicated and blindly turns
away the facts of reality, departing from the rationality of earth, bo-
dy and time.
But prayer is a necessity of life. It is a deep action that touches
the divine immortal part of the human being, his spirit, which is the
gift from God to us and in us.
Prayer is not about consuming time and wasting that which will
not produce tangibly; but it is transforming time into eternal value
and intensifying time to embrace its purpose and its end, which is
Eternity and timelessness.

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117
Prayer is the water that nourishes the tender plant of Eternity
deeply rooted in our hearts, implanted by God Himself when He
brought us from emptiness and meaninglessness to make us masters
over Creation and sons of Himself; and without this pure and flo-
wing water prayer this tender shoot will wither, shrivel, and die
while its young shoot was eager for life and light.

Prayer in my opinion
is being twenty-four hours in communion
with the commandment of Jesus
by living for Him, with Him, and in Him.
Mother Theresa

Prayer is putting the Bible into action and transforming it from
written papers into life, engraved on the tablets of the heart; as the
commandment lives only when it becomes a prayer and an applica-
tion, it will not be transformed into effective action until it passes
through a heart, poured out in prayer. For prayer is a fount of life,
that Jesus brought to us, rather than the concrete letter of the Law,
and the stony heart used to performing repetitive religious practi-
ces.
Prayer is the main entrance into the essence of Christianity, be-
cause without prayer, Christianity is just a remarkable mental the-
ory or a unique collective social behavior with amazing communal
status!!
Prayer is a laboratory where the soul interacts with the Holy
Spirit to produce a mystical meeting with God, wherein the human
soul witnesses the truth of the Incarnation and the Mystery of Life
poured out as a Sacrifice of Love. Through prayer, the soul can also
witness the pain of death, the joy of resurrection and the departure
of Christ from the Mount of Ascension, to inherit what He had of
glory, where the whole redeemed humanity will join Him.
So, all Christs movements on earth and in time which occurred
historically, develop into actions, transcending time and touching
the reality of humanity, each day. Christs deeds become the power
of life from which the soul derives its sustenance while facing the
world, with its deep passion and true desire for Eternity. And pray-
er becomes our companion through the journey toward Eternity,
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118
holding us through the stresses of life, pressures of daily living, and
the pain of the moment, to deliver us to this One who is limitless in
His existence and pure in His presence, who feeds the soul with the
actual Bread of Life which is Love. Then, the soul descends with a
renewed vision and a fresh power as an invigorated being, allowing
those living in the desert of life to discern who the God of Love tru-
ly is.
Prayer is an abundant desire to meet Jesus, a desire that takes
the soul, and inflames the longing heart every moment; and this
longing intensifies, as the soul prays, as the yearning to meet Jesus
does not stop or cease or extinguish, for prayer kindles and ignites
the fire of longing, and the spirit becomes vibrantly alive and joyful-
ly ablaze in each moment of prayer. The Holy Spirit pours into the
soul this feeling that it needs Jesus, as if prayer serves not to quench
the thirst of this encounter, but to deeply intensify it, so that the
soul can be in communion with Jesus while its tongue utters wit-
hout ceasing:

Sir, we wish to see Jesus. John 12:21

Moments of prayer become marks in time for the destined mee-
ting during which the soul waits in eager longing and anticipation;
for prayer in these moments moves as the inner leaps within the
depth of the individual toward this Infinite Being, whom we behold
as Jesus of Nazareth. And these leaps are not hindered by place or
time, for they are leaps of the spirit toward God, just as a child
who springs towards his mother, freely stretching his hands to
reach her, tugging at her and ignoring the distance that might be
separating them, is unmindful that he might fall, for he desires the
embrace of his mother where he feels safe and comforted.
Those are the souls who experience the presence of the Savior.
They cannot be patient while separated from Him, even for one
moment; and they ask with boldness and humility of prayer, that
His Image be imprinted on their hearts and in their lives as well.
They desire to be His light flooding to others from His loving heart;
to be His salt melting within the world and creation, saturating it,
and returning to it the taste of Life in the Spirit and the beauty of
the unique relationship with God.
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119
The warm comforting bosom, on which the soul rests while
praying, becomes its longing that draws it back from the midst of
the world into its chamber of prayer. It desires to be sent out to the
world, yet not to be separated from the precious holy intimacy of
the prayer chamber.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark
16:15

The soul feels as if it is pushed by another force, after experien-
cing and tasting the Presence of the Savior, for it cannot enjoy the
glory of life with God, alone, amidst a world that is dying, for the
experience of prayer is indelibly imprinted on its heart. It can do
nothing but proclaim what it has glimpsed; and the transfigured
God on Mount Tabor becomes its subject of preaching and crying
out to the world.
It experiences Him every day, renewing mortifying the old
man, and dressing the soul with the new man. For this new man,
born in the shadows of Light, is the one who is fitted for the Eterni-
ty of Light and sonship of Light.

Believe in the Light, that you may become sons of Light. John 12:36

In this moment, prayer is no longer a mystical action, but beco-
mes a blend of deep need and longing. Thus the soul inhabits this
sphere between deep hunger and yearning, swaying between them,
and when it recognizes its own counterfeit image, it turns toward
the scream of need It screams for deliverance from the cruelty of
the world, the lies of the devil and the pressure of its own fleshly
carnality.

Your prayer will not be, mostly,
anything but a deep scream
it will be like a modest
and silent expectation,
but it is an expectation of longing!!
Renee Voyaom

Where were You, O Lord,
when I was screaming to You?
In your heart,
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120
says the Lord,
or you wouldnt be able to scream
to Me.
St. Catherine of Sinai

This Prayer develops into an aching desire in those moments
when the soul leaves its ego and its self-centered existence by mel-
ting into the Infinite Divinity. It melts as if it is a flying spirit wit-
hout body, without needs, without lusts, tasting a little of the Glory
which is hidden and predestined for those who climb hills of Life
along with the Lord, stepping over the mountains of this world,
waiting for the Chariot of Fire to take them into Eternity, the true
indwelling of humanity.

whether in the body I do not know,
or whether out of the body I do not know,
God knows!!
II Corinthians 12:2

The habitation of the longing, the meeting, the screaming and
the tears is the heart, the wide place, in which God loves to dwell
more than His own heaven. It is that sacred place wherein soft and
gentle knocking is always heard; it is the place where Almighty God
refuses to enter by force, because on its steps the freedom of Love is
experienced. On its steps there is another departure (kenosis), not
from the glory of Divinity, as in the Incarnation, but from using the
power to impose His presence; for He will not allow Himself to
break into the heart of man, unless this man genuinely and willfully
opens his heart, earnestly desiring His Presence.
Those knocks of love, heard on the human heart become a risk
that God would go through, in His love a risk carrying the possi-
bility of freely choosing even to refuse God Himself!!

Open to Me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my spotless one,
for I am wet with the heavy night dew,
and my hair is covered with it.
Song of Songs 5:2

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121
Christ is the only truth in life that enlightens all matters, illumi-
nating its essence. He is the only One in this universe Who is
Omniscience; and He is the only One who opens the eyes of the soul
to comprehend the meaning of the Invisible Eternity, for which all
intellectual and academic knowledge is inadequate to move yet one
step forward in this journey toward enlightenment and illumination.
But when the soul stretches forth its hands and bends its knees, it
will receive the actual truth from its Original Source, Lord Jesus
Himself.
So prayer is a conscious savoring of the truth declared in the
awesome Divine Presence. This truth would not be revealed apart
from the prayer chamber inside the heart.

and when I became convinced that all the humanitarian efforts,
which we try in order to understand
this eternal truth,
are insufficient
and they will not lead me to a unity
with the truth
and owning it as if its mine,
I turned into prayer
Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov

The importance of insight in the spiritual life as spoken of by St.
Antony, is simply about, owning Jesus, the Precious Jewel, in our
depth, to enlighten our inner man (the invisible essence of the hu-
man being), as expressed by St. Antony (in his sixth epistle), to be
able to discern the truth from falsehood. And this can only be dis-
covered in those times when we are veiled from the world, wherever
we might be, in the world or in a desert.
In prayer we taste the eternal truth in accordance with our own
limitation to receive, as finite human beings.
And when we touch the depth of this truth, the real prayer will
be unveiled in us; the prayer which grows and nourishes, not by ex-
panding superficially, but through deepening inside.
At this point prayer will not be a matter of time, but a profound
and conscious awareness of the Presence of Gods love outpoured
from the depths of His heart. And if we allow time to participate in
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122
such a deep and inner activity, it will be measured in the time spent
away from prayer as Love requests a continuous and permanent
meeting.

What makes the Presence of God continuous in our lives,
is not our instant feeling,
but the Consciousness of love
Renee Voyaom

Prayer is the perfect response of the one who feels within, the
sonship he has received from Jesus as a gift, this sonship which is
the delectable fruit humanity picked from the Tree of Incarnation.
And the one who fully understands kenosis, incarnation, and the
dwelling of God amidst a created humanity, imitating their lives
without sin!!will find in this realization no other response for this
Indescribable Love, than prayer, praise, thanksgiving, confession
and kneeling, as the Divine Incarnation has brought us adoption
and we become sons through grace.
So those who were sons of darkness and under the wings of dea-
th have become, by grace, members of the household of God, heirs
with Christ, our First Fruit, our Priest and our Sacrifice.

The Son of God became the Son of Man
to make sons of men, sons of God.
St. John Chrysostom

Therefore, our relationship with God develops so intimately, as
that of a son and his father in natural and spontaneous relationship,
deeply rooted through continuous communication. This relations-
hip raises us above the emotionality of prayer without abandoning
emotions in prayer! We can say that we are born in the New Cove-
nant, once again, from the Water and the Word, and become car-
riers of the Divine genome which leads us as a compass toward God
as our Father, and sweeps off the dirt of transgression from the
image, fulfilling in us the likeness which was the aim of our creation
when the hands of the Creator fashioned us.

Man has taken the honor of the image in his first creation,
but the fulfillment of the likeness of God will be given to him,
only at the end of ages. Origen
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123
God gave us the gift to unite with Him spiritually through the
Eucharistic table, and He gave us also the ability to touch Him in
the poor, the sick and the hungry so our prayer cannot be com-
pleted unless we serve His body that is in pain.
So, how can I declare that I am praying to the Lord with longing
and honesty, while not hearing the crying, mourning and groaning
of those who are in need!!

Poor people are our prayer
Mother Theresa

It does not mean, of course, that serving the poor replaces pray-
er, but when the prayer of the lips ceases and the mind is engaged in
other activities, then God is transfigured in the poor, the needy and
the those who are in pain; so every activity in this sphere, of freely
given love to them, is a complete prayer in its fullest meaning.

You can find this altar (suffering people) every day
standing in the streets
and you can always offer on him,
your sacrifice.
St. John Chrysostom

So, we cannot taste the freely given Grace through prayer apart
from serious listening and participation in the needs of the Body of
Christ which is suffering. For our hearts will not be able to receive
the Heavenly Light until we are free from our selfish ways, moving
toward the other, with abundant and sincere love, not cloaked with
the garments of superficial practices called worship and attending
services, while ignoring the needs of those who are in pain

They filled the air
with praises and hymns
so they are not able to hear
the calling of the orphans
and the sighing of the widows!
Kahlil Gibran

The Desert Fathers worked with their hands and gave the poor
of their own necessities and from their daily food, that was their
prayer during their labor, as one of the Desert Fathers responded,
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124
countering those who adopted the idea of the Messalians !"#$%&$.3
Prayers of the Desert Fathers were kindled by the joyful Spirit
dwelling in their hearts, as a pushing force lifting them up to the
heavens, while loving every single person on this earth with practi-
cal and sacrificial love. Without such love, prayer loses its power
and is transformed from sweet incense rising up to the Holy of Ho-
lies in Heaven, to sheer black smoke, separating humanity from
God.

By this we know love,
because He laid down His life for us.
And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoever has this worlds goods,
and sees his brother in need,
and shuts up his heart from him,
how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children
let us not love in word or in tongue,
but in deed and in truth
I John 3:16-18

The Paradise of the Fathers tells us about St. Serapion who was
perfect in worshiping God, as the book records; he sold everything,
even his robe which provided him warmth in winter and

Sat naked with the Bible in his hand

And when one of his disciples asked him the reason for that, he
responded with those famous words and pointed to the Bible, and
said:

That is what unclothed me

And even that was not enough for him, he sold his Bible, the
source of his comfort, and when he was asked about the reason, he
replied:

The Bible was telling me every day;
sell all that you have
and distribute to the poor,
so I sold it.

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125
This relationship between the Bible and prayer is essential, for
prayer inspires the ability to fulfill the calling of the Bible. It un-
leashes the words of the Scripture from limitations of paper and ink
by intangibly etching and inscribing them deeply into the real life of
mans existence; for it is this calling in prayer which enables the Ho-
ly Spirit to provide day by day from the Priceless Treasure which
Christ left us.
So we can say that we feel burdened by the commandments of
Scripture in our daily lives only when attended by poverty of prayer
and lack of the daily gift of the Holy Spirit, when we close the door
of communication with Heaven by ceasing to pray.
Prayer becomes a channel through which our needs are heard in
Heaven, and in turn Divine gifts are given, only with surrendered
pure prayer, hoping but still submissive, requesting and yet not im-
posing.
Surrender here is a positive action, which means asking without
childish nagging, receiving the Divine gift with mature and thankful
acceptance. And this requires trained senses to understand the
depth and the full meaning of the gift. These senses grow in dis-
cernment through Biblical praying and prayerful reading of the
Word of God. As the reading of the Bible must be in the spirit of
prayer, the prayer itself should originate from the thought of Christ
inscribed in the Word of God.
As the full understanding of the will of God in our lives, the se-
crets in His dealings with us and the value of the gift given to us, do
not come from Heaven as a fleeting instantaneous inspiration upon
us; nor by devoting some moments for prayer, dwelling in darkness
prior to, and living in darkness after they end!! But the will of God
is declared in our natural day when it is full of the incense of prayer
and the fragrance of obedience to His commandments - every mo-
ment and in each situation.
The will of God is not only concerned with big decisions before
which we stand in a quandary, fainting, but it encompasses the enti-
re life in all its small details, for experiencing God every day in
prayer is the only way to own such knowledge.
The will of God for some is a mystery that involves searching
everywhere and anywhere, asking for an answer; yet the answer is
!
126
within us if we live by the Spirit and for the Spirit.
The real crisis is that we want a computer-like God to whom
we give some information in what we call a prayer, and then wait
for the answer, after which we shut down until there is another
need!!! But prayer is more than a temporary tool used to impose our
will over God and then imagining an answer through signs and
tests put to Him.
By such means we are only found dampened through the dew of
prayer and not found immersed in it. So our conscience is anesthe-
tized while waiting for those imaginary signs imposed over God;
then we thank Him for what we have imagined as an answer!!
When we wake up from our sedation, we find ourselves in a tra-
gedy after which we scream, Where were You God in all this?
Wasnt this Your will? Wasnt it Your answer? And God
stands in front of us and He is broken over mans rephrasing of His
commandment, when he distorted the channel of communication
and love between the heart of God and the heart of man, into a devi-
ce for begging and persisting to get what he wants, when he wants
and the way he wants.
And thus, by doing this we reject the concept of a life surrende-
red to the Lord by asking only for an approval to accomplish our
desires.
It is as if we are the ones who control the helm of a craft. Yet we
ask God to put His hands on the helm, without giving Him any aut-
hority to change the course of the vessel of our lives which sails
throughout the world.
So some may wonder, isnt it God who says seek and you will
find? (Matthew 7: 7) Wasnt He the One who gave Gideon signs on
the fleece, once to be damp with the ground dry and once to be dry
with the ground damp? (Judges 6: 36- 39) In order to comprehend
those verses, we have to understand some facts of the spiritual life:

We should differentiate between asking for what is personal
and appealing on behalf of the others, for most of the re-
cords of the Old Testament were about the nation of Israel
as a whole, the revealing of Gods presence to His people
and victories achieved by His hand.
!
127
There is a marked difference between the one who comes to
prayer only in the time of need, and abandons it after the
fulfillment of his needs, and another who lives in a conti-
nuous attitude of prayer, and his demands are a part of his
steady relationship with God. When the books in the Old
Testament focused on answers for material needs, this took
place because the Jewish people required what was tangible
to believe in Him who is Invisible, and to comprehend that
all their needs are met in God, not in the gods of the nati-
ons.

So there is always a background for every Biblical situation,
and the circumstances behind these situations also require a
life filled with prayer and surrender.

There is a distinction between the ways of God in dealing
with the people of the Old Testament and the ways of God
dealing with the people of the New Testament. For we in
the New Testament receive the Holy Spirit with complete
indwelling. This Spirit guides us when facing any situation.
In the same way, the signs and symbols were the manner in
which God dealt with the people who had not yet received
the complete indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But one who
has the Holy Spirit and requests outward signs, insults and
misunderstands the role of the Holy Spirit and His effect in
our hearts.

We must realize that the asking Christ demanded from us in
Matthew 7: 7 is:

Asking for what is for God,
asking for the virtues
of the Holy Spirit,
asking for the Kingdom of Heaven,
asking for the kindling
of the Holy Spirit in our hearts,
asking to be rid of the darkness,
asking for one last exodus from sin

!
128
Yet the Lord speaks quite obviously about earthly material
things, that they shall be added to us (Matthew 6: 33).
Although we cannot stop asking for the material things because
of our continual needs, our demands must be sealed with true and
honest surrender for such things, because paramount in our lives is
the need to discern the will God with an open heart and enlightened
insight.
Finally, if we cannot reach the Prayer of Life, we will not be able
to realize the will of God in our lives

we will not see His Light that penetrates our selfish fog

And we will walk round and round in empty circles to the un-
known

Running in vain

!
129
BOOK REVIEW: INDONESIAN REVIVAL:
WHY TWO MILLION CAME TO CHRIST BY AVERY WILLIS, JR.
(WILLIAM CAREY LIBRARY, 1977)

By Duane Alexander Miller
Duanemiller.wordpress.com http://duanemiller.wordpress.com/

I believe that this book is the single best case study on conversion
from Islam to Christianity ever written. Willis is better known for
his work with the popular Masterlife series; this was his 1974 dis-
sertation for Southwestern Baptist Seminary, which was subse-
quently published in book form.
He has many advantages that other scholars do not have: his ob-
vious ease with the local languages and many years of living in In-
donesia as a missionary mean he is able to use indigenous sources
extensively. He is deeply conversant with important aspects of Ja-
vanese historypolitical, religious, cultural, ritual. Also helpful is
that his sample is quite sizable500 interviews. He is studying
Javanese converts, so the limitation to one ethnicity in a diverse and
populous nation like Indonesia is also a plus.
Perhaps his greatest strength is that, while writing from an
avowedly confessional point of view, he is able to appreciate the
complexity of conversion, how it almost always comes about
through a combination of different factorsspiritual, yes, but also
sociological and political. His detailed use of the records of five de-
nominations, and his awareness of the different ethos and history of
each one, shows his ability to appreciate the diversity among con-
servative evangelicals, a group which many secular academics simp-
ly lump together without justification. His years of missionary la-
bor in Indonesia appear to have paid off, as he is able to marshal the
research aid of numerous indigenous pastors. It is hard to picture
research of this depth and quality coming about from a handful of
field research visits, even lengthy ones.
That his volume was published in 1977 begs for a follow-up from
some ambitious researcher (or, more likely, team of researchers).
His final analysis of the hundreds of interviews performed yields the
following list of reasons for conversion, in order of how many peop-
!
130
le mentioned them: Spiritual need, Government, Protection, Church,
Family, Society, Christian Life, Gospel, Reaction, Service, Miracles.
He explains that the Islamist violence directed at suspected Com-
munists after the attempted Communist coup in 1965 was the occa-
sion for the conversion of many Indonesians who were put in a place
where they had to choose a religion (to prove they were not godless
Communists). The Javanese were nominally Muslims, though they
tended to practice a form of Islam which had syncretized numerous
elements from the traditional, pre-Islamic religion. Confronted
with the revenge killings exacted by Muslims and the need to choo-
se a religion, a significant number chose Christianity. He spends a
full three chapters giving the political background and also lets us
know about the nature of Javanese society, and proposes a list of
reasons why Javanese culture (as opposed to other Muslim cultures
in Indonesia) appears to have been more disposed towards conversi-
on to Christianity. Finally, he is refreshingly frank about the failu-
res of his own community (Baptists) and their short comings at dif-
ferent timesboth among the missionaries (and he was one of
them) and the Indonesian leaders. The scope and depth are com-
mendable; if there is one drawback it is that among his interviews
there is a disproportionate number of church leaders and pastors,
and fewer regular church members than one might hope.
The most unfortunate thing about this book is that in the field of
conversion studies it appears to be relatively unknown. Even a me-
ticulous scholar like Lewis Rambo, who delved deep into this litera-
ture for his ground-breaking 1993 volume Understanding Religious
Conversion (Yale), does not mention Willis important contribution
in his bibliography. There is much here for the scholar, confessional
or secular, to analyze and contemplate. This book will be of interest
to historians, missiologists and anthropologists, and scholars in the
fields of politics and religious studies.

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