The Global Conversation

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God Is Doing Something New

A Response to Joseph Cumming's 'Muslim Followers of Jesus?'

To facilitate a truly global conversation, we ask Christian leaders from around the world to respond to the Global Conversation's lead articles. These points of view do not necessarily represent Christianity Today magazine or the Lausanne Movement. They are designed to stimulate discussion from all points of the compass and from different segments of the Christian community. Please add your perspective by posting a comment so that we can learn and grow together in the unity of the Spirit.

For the past 2,000 years, the Kingdom of God has expanded as people groups representing the world's "minor religious traditions" (animistic and polytheistic) in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, among the major world religions, like Hinduism and Islam, relatively few have put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. As the gospel is now being shared in an unprecedented way with those of the world's major religions, discussion concerning new approaches is bound to occur.

Cumming mentioned that since the Wesleyan and Great Awakening revivals, evangelicals have emphasized that personal faith in Jesus Christ is more important than any particular religious affiliation. This is really at the heart of the C5 discussion. Can Muslims who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord remain Muslim or must they join a new religion? Can born-again Muslims, similar to Messianic Jews, live as "Jesus Muslims" remaining in their own community?

While the term C5 is relatively new, the basic concept is not. It was described in the late 1930s by missionaries working in the Middle East. Their reports mentioned that the term "Christian" in many Muslim lands had only an ethnic, political, or cultural association that was largely negative, with no implications of a spiritual rebirth. In addition, they noted that numbers of Muslims had become followers of Jesus Christ, yet refused to separate from the Islamic community, so that they could continue to live with their people and share their new life in Christ. In Lebanon in 1969, Baptist missionary Virginia Cobb emphasized that we are saved by Christ, not "religion." Cobb stated, "We are not trying to change anyone's religion. Religion consists of affiliation with a group … [a] dogma, structure of authority. … [T]he New Testament is quite clear that none of this saves. It is possible to change all of them without knowing God … our message is a person we've experienced, not a doctrine, system, [or] religion. … " In the following decade, mission leader John Anderson (1976) and missiologists Charles Kraft (1974, 1979) and Harvey Conn (1979) all encouraged the idea of groups of Muslim followers of Christ who would be salt and light to their own people. Each of these writings has engendered both enthusiasm and criticism.

What these missionaries described is exemplified in the life of Ibrahim, the Qur'anic scholar mentioned by Cumming. Ibrahim closely examined verses commonly understood to deny Christ and the Bible, and found alternate interpretations in line with the Bible. He concluded that he could follow Jesus and remain inside the religious community of his birth. Soon members of his family and community came to share his faith in Jesus. While many Muslims would not take the bold step to reinterpret aspects of Islam for themselves, some do.

Danny

March 22, 2012  5:55pm

Kindly would like to contact you, regarding professional work

Anonymous

August 17, 2011  1:17pm

if we read books of islam christianity &jews we can see similarities and can see someone behind the stage and we call him by different names a muslim cannot deny christ .quran is saying that god doesnt have offspring but every single human has a part his soul which we people inherit from adam and eve . Quran also says that christ will raise before judgement day and rule humans also will releve the truth that he was not the son of god and god is only one

Anonymous

August 17, 2011  12:40pm

Read quran it has answer why god choosed one more representative after christ (peace be upon him)

Peter, Australia

August 15, 2011  12:52am

This is a great read and I agree with it completely. I am a Christian and I believe we have been lied to by the media and our Christian leaders who have been lied to by the media and other Christians for years and they find it hard to see this as it has been going on for years and years and years. Muslems are terrorists! How wrong is this statement!!!!! God bless you all guys if you are a Christian or a Muslim believer. A pastor friend of mine once said, " There is no excuse for being an ignorant Christian" Research it with an open mind and heart.

David Emme

May 20, 2011  12:26am

I am in no position to judge anyone but hope this will make a differance. A young man who was Muslim had to leave home to get a job to help support his family.(this took place in an Asian country where there are Muslims and Christians.) He met a man from his country whom led him to the Lord. Eventually he went back home and began preaching the gospel. There was a contract on his life now. Someone tried collecting and he was shot in the stomach. As in this country, to say you had some family would be a gross misstatement. Many came-well over 100 came. As he was in pain and still alive-he led almost every single one of them to Christ including the woman who put a contract on his life-his own mother. The most interesting thing is I am a disabled vet because of Iraq and had the chance to meet his uncle who now was a pastor-he fought along side Al Qaeda and had the oppurtunity to embrace as brothers in Christ. God bless Dave Emme

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