Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I'M LOOKING FOR A WAY TO REACH

What are you experiencing that works in reaching Muslims? Most of my encounters with them amounts to little more than passing one another as if one of us doesn't exist. If that's all God could use me for then so be it. But I surely think there is more.

First, I believe that many I encounter may possess a significant amount of fear. I don't know that; I just wonder. With the world news of the last eight years, do Muslims assume we don't like them? Do I do things to substantiate their fears?

Do these have an inner "wish" that we would stop long enough to accept them; to love them? I speak from ignorance....as well as interest.

Surely we have learned over the terrain of experience that inner people have opposite thought-life different from what their outer life would make us believe. I think Muslims would like to know Jesus if both sides could figure a way to disarm and dismantle some invisible walls.

4 comments:

Kingdomsaint said...

God has given me opportunity to reach Muslims since college days, way before 9/11. I was involved in many discussions with young Muslims, some as religious as any other person "Christian" who doesn't go to church or read the Bible and some who were very zealous for their faith. One thing I learned is that even the zealous ones were not as familiar with the Koran as a serious disciple is with his bible. After getting very familiar with the Koran it was easy to spot passages that spoke about Jesus in a favorable way to begin conversations about Him with Muslims. If you are interested I could post some on my blog or here for reference.

Terry Rush said...

Kingomsaint,

Share anything here you feel useful.

Paul said...

All of the Muslims that I know
believe that Jesus is one of the prophets of the Q'uran. However, they do not believe that he is the son Allah (Arabic for God).

Here is the conflict, or the point of discussion. They do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, and I do not believe that Mohammad is God's prophet.

After this introductory conversation, I then ask, "If Jesus is Allah's prophet, is he liar since he also declared to be equal with God?"

Two things will then happen, anger or further discussion.

Further discussion Insha'Allah.

Kingdomsaint said...

Studying with Muslims

·It is important for us to focus on the important issues: Christ’s deity, crucifixion, and the inspiration of the Bible. Let us not forget the important issues by ‘chasing rabbits’

·View them as friends in need of truth, rather than as enemies. We are in a spiritual battle, not against flesh and blood

·Jesus said, “My sheep will hear my voice”

Historical Precedent

·Burden of proof rests on those who bring new theories.

·Islam came after the Bible and with a new message.

·Christianity does not have to prove itself to Islam, since it has already been established.

·Islam has to justify why it comes with a new message that contradicts both the Old and New Testament, if it is also came from the same God

Arguing in a circle (Circular Reasoning):

·I believe because I have faith(faith and belief have the same meaning)

·Bible: Faith is the assurance of things not seen and the evidence of things hoped for(Hebrews 11:1)

·Proving the Allah by the Qur’an and then proving the Qur’an by Allah

·Muhammed is from Allah because the Qur’an says so, and the Qur’an is from Allah because Muhammed said so

False Irrelevance

·Muslim Claim: “The Qur’an is the Word of God because the text of the Qur’an has been preserved perfectly”

·This argument is incorrect for two reasons:

1.Factually: The text of the Qur’an has not been preserved perfectly. The text has additions, deletions, conflicting manuscripts, and variant readings like any other ancient writing

2.Logically: It is irrelevant whether the text has been preserved because preservation does not logically imply inspiration. A book can be copied perfectly without indicating inspiration

Becoming all things to all Men (Understand their Terminology and Doctrine):

·Use the Koran to share the gospel

·In the Qur'an in Sura as-Saffat, where this incident is related, it says "For this was obviously A trial - And We (God) ransomed him (Abraham) With a momentous sacrifice:" (Qur'an 37:106-107)

·What was the momentous sacrifice that ransomed Abraham?

·The details are not given in the Qur'an

·For the complete story we have to go to the Kalam-e-Muqaddas (the Holy Bible)

·The Kalam-e-Muqaddas informs us that God's Messiah, the 'Isa(Arab for Jesus), was made the Kurban(sacrifice) and the ransom for the whole world. Hazrat Yahya (John the Baptist) said of Him "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the world's sin!" (John 1:29)

·Speaking of himself Jesus said, "... the Son of Man didn't come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life instead of many as a ransom." (Matthew 20:28). Jesus has been presented as a sacrifice and a ransom in the Torah (the Law), in the Injil (the Gospel), in the Zabur (the Psalms) and in the Sahaif-e-anbia (the writings of the prophets).

The point of this is to show that the promised Messiah came through Isaac, not Ishmael.