Discipleship Is Messy
Having lost a connection to the wider church, many doctrines morphed. As the scholar Hayao Kawai noted, for the hidden Christians, "Mary ascended to heaven and became the intermediary, and Jesus, the savior," so that "the Trinity consisted of Father, Son, and Mother (Holy Spirit)."
So, yes, insider movements can go awry. But not if they stay connected to the global church. When Japanese Christianity came out of hiding in the mid-1800s, 30,000 secret Christians came out and the majority rejoined the church, renouncing unorthodox beliefs and practices.
How do we connect with, say, Muslim followers of Isa deep inside a Muslim culture? There are no easy answers—to reach out publicly would invite serious problems for the local believers. Here's where the missions community might give us wise guidance. One idea: Can some ministry organize mediators to connect by e-mail insider leaders with churches elsewhere to offer mutual encouragement? Surely in a digital age, there are ways to facilitate this type of fellowship.
God does indeed watch over his church, in its manifold expressions and during periods when believers are confused and immature. And he uses the global church, when we all stay connected, to help us "all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13, ESV).
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
The Latest in Movie News, May 20, 2013
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James B
"I can attest that the mosque is controlled by seducing spirits that keep its adherents in chains" Perhaps, but so is your local shopping mall Salaam. Its a temple to mammon and the liturgy is preformed at the till. Even staying home is dangerous - Just look what happened to King David when he prayed on his roof! Maybe we should hide under our beds? No, believers need not fear territories. Fear of territory belongs to the magic worldview not Christian. What we need to fear/avoid is walking outside of the Spirits guidance/God's will. That is something different altogether. I'm not saying one should wander willy nilly into a mosque, or that one should take part in all the worship, just saying lets not embrace unbiblical (magic) concepts of territory.
Salaam Corniche
Dear Editor: I too am disturbed that you seemed to choose sensationalism over solid theology. A former Muslim I know read the title of your journal and said, "If they have gone to the mosque to worship Jesus they are lost." Sadly your contributors Travis, and Daniels play on the ignorance of Westerners who think that mosque attendance and the like is neutral. From living in an Islamic context for more than a decade I can attest that the mosque is controlled by seducing spirits that keep its adherents in chains. This is not some cute missiological experiment. Unfortunately you did not mention those statistics in Bangladesh and in the Balkans where a sort of hybrid "Christian-Muslim" ritual was tried. Guess what? All paths led back to Islam. Why? The spiritual force. A French convert to Islam noted that all mosques are connected like a bicycle wheel to the Ka'aba which is the sacred building in Mecca. For good reason it is black, has a black stone, and is cubic in form."
DAVE COLES
It appears you failed to notice the vast difference between a person or group being a “religious” or “socioreligious” insider (Travis’ description) andbeing a cultural insider but not a religious insider (Abu Jaz’ description). Given the importance of this issue, I’m disappointed that you’ve blurred a vital distinction at one of the most crucial points of the discussion, making it appear that Abu Jaz and his movement illustrate a type of religious contextualization more radical than their actual practice. I hope you will rectify the confusion caused by the mixing of Abu Jaz’ contextual approach (cultural insider) and Travis’ approach (religious insider). Thank you.