Testimony from Algeria
Tonight was Bible study, which we have on every Thursday night. It's normally a bunch of college students meeting the youth pastor and discussing the ususal topics, love life, God and which drummer/singer/sports player is the best. Pretty much the same thing that happens in bible study groups across the nation. Today got to be a bit different though, we had two missionaries and a bunch of elders from the church show up. Seems some of the elders had been doing short-term missionary work last year and met two ex-Islamic Christians doing some pretty amazing things in the missionary field. They happened to be coming to our area and were invited to speak. Algeria is a ex-French colony that is heavily Islamic, with some catholic holdouts. Both shared about their testimony and answered some questions of Western world view Vs. Islamic world view. It was a pretty amazing session.
I won't say too much about the testimonies as those stories belong to the men who lived them and them alone. Both had met God in France (amazing given how much under fire Christianity is there right now). Both also had many initial doubts about God but had come to see how the God of Christians makes more sense then the God of Islam. Both work in Africa, where Christian power is weakest, but growing quickly. (second only to the Christian movement in Indian Dahlits) Both have also specialized a technique of befriending Muslims and then asking questions about their faith in order to make them asks questions. This technique is actually meeting with a lot of success in France, and is helping make headway in Africa as well.
Some highlights:
*One of the missionaries is broadcasting TV signals across North Africa teaching the Gospel. While this had laid an excellent groundwork for making people educated and interested in the word, more people are needed on the ground to help bring the word personally into villages/cities and answer questions of the people.
*Tip for helping covert Native(not American) Muslims: Be generous. Islamic world view holds that we are greedy and self-interested, defying this stereotype is a good first step.
*Don't ever grab someone a try to convert them right of the bat. This is foolish as it means you are only interested in their salvation. Why just save someone when you make a God friend too?
*Native Muslims often hold a family view on decisions, very few decisions being made by the individual(kind like the old Scot clans). This makes an individual decision to accept Christ so dangerous, religion being the most important decision, most family will believe they should have the final word on this subject.
Some Q&A from last night, bear in mind these are ex-native Muslims, not ones born in America:
Q: Does the Islamic world-view generally hold that America is an atheist or Christian nation?
A: Islamic world view is that there isn't much of a difference. The term 'people of the book' (middle ages term for Christians and Jews) has faded and most Muslims simply need to know your not Islamic, that's enough.
Q: What does the Koran say about non-believers?
A: Not very complimentary, since non-believers are viewed as a danger, the Koran advocates domination or violence in more than one passage.
Q: In General is the Native Muslims or American ones more hostile to the idea of Christianity?
A: American Muslims tend to stick much more strictly and religiously to their Islamic roots. Many American Muslims are far more faithful to the Islam faith than in the native lands.
(This corresponds to my experience living in an immigrant neighborhood. Recent immigrants often hold fiercely to their native beliefs out of fear of losing their roots. Somewhat similar to members of my family researching and taking so much pride in our McDuff roots. In the early 1900s when we left, we probably did'nt concern ourselves with the families' scottish history half as much as we do now.)
Kind of tough information to swallow. The big point being driven hoem I think was that while CHristianity has more or less repented of the violent times of the crusades to come abck to the generally more peacful early Christian roots, Islam still has not. Much of the world view is strikingly similar to that of the Crusaders of the 12th century, but still existing in this century. While obviously most Muslims are not gonna resort to violence, it does show why there can be so much hostility to our missionaries in Native muslim lands. I've made it a note to obtain a english copy of the Koran, in order to see for myself what kind of basis Islam is using for it's opinions and facts.
I won't say too much about the testimonies as those stories belong to the men who lived them and them alone. Both had met God in France (amazing given how much under fire Christianity is there right now). Both also had many initial doubts about God but had come to see how the God of Christians makes more sense then the God of Islam. Both work in Africa, where Christian power is weakest, but growing quickly. (second only to the Christian movement in Indian Dahlits) Both have also specialized a technique of befriending Muslims and then asking questions about their faith in order to make them asks questions. This technique is actually meeting with a lot of success in France, and is helping make headway in Africa as well.
Some highlights:
*One of the missionaries is broadcasting TV signals across North Africa teaching the Gospel. While this had laid an excellent groundwork for making people educated and interested in the word, more people are needed on the ground to help bring the word personally into villages/cities and answer questions of the people.
*Tip for helping covert Native(not American) Muslims: Be generous. Islamic world view holds that we are greedy and self-interested, defying this stereotype is a good first step.
*Don't ever grab someone a try to convert them right of the bat. This is foolish as it means you are only interested in their salvation. Why just save someone when you make a God friend too?
*Native Muslims often hold a family view on decisions, very few decisions being made by the individual(kind like the old Scot clans). This makes an individual decision to accept Christ so dangerous, religion being the most important decision, most family will believe they should have the final word on this subject.
Some Q&A from last night, bear in mind these are ex-native Muslims, not ones born in America:
Q: Does the Islamic world-view generally hold that America is an atheist or Christian nation?
A: Islamic world view is that there isn't much of a difference. The term 'people of the book' (middle ages term for Christians and Jews) has faded and most Muslims simply need to know your not Islamic, that's enough.
Q: What does the Koran say about non-believers?
A: Not very complimentary, since non-believers are viewed as a danger, the Koran advocates domination or violence in more than one passage.
Q: In General is the Native Muslims or American ones more hostile to the idea of Christianity?
A: American Muslims tend to stick much more strictly and religiously to their Islamic roots. Many American Muslims are far more faithful to the Islam faith than in the native lands.
(This corresponds to my experience living in an immigrant neighborhood. Recent immigrants often hold fiercely to their native beliefs out of fear of losing their roots. Somewhat similar to members of my family researching and taking so much pride in our McDuff roots. In the early 1900s when we left, we probably did'nt concern ourselves with the families' scottish history half as much as we do now.)
Kind of tough information to swallow. The big point being driven hoem I think was that while CHristianity has more or less repented of the violent times of the crusades to come abck to the generally more peacful early Christian roots, Islam still has not. Much of the world view is strikingly similar to that of the Crusaders of the 12th century, but still existing in this century. While obviously most Muslims are not gonna resort to violence, it does show why there can be so much hostility to our missionaries in Native muslim lands. I've made it a note to obtain a english copy of the Koran, in order to see for myself what kind of basis Islam is using for it's opinions and facts.
posted by WanderSoul | 6:54 AM
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