A "New Evangelism" for the 21^{st Century}

There has been a controversy brewing on a new type of evangelism used in YWAM and a few other missionary organizations. It’s about doing mission work in a completely new way unheard of before, an experimental way, that is supposed to yield results where there were only a few results before.

This article is not written to just be controversial, but to look at a very real issue that can change the church not just Muslims. It is more serious than most will want to admit for true missionary work is at stake. I have made the whole matter as simple as possible, so that even a layman can understand the ramifications of what is now taking place.

In the YWAM article reporting on this new method, one particular church planter in Asia related how 50 members of a Muslim family accepted Christ as Savior and formed their own fellowship. Here are some excerpts of what was written in YWAM’s staff newsletter on Muslim conversions.

It is described as “They then enter the room, sit on the green carpet, and the leader begins with the adapted Arabic call to prayer.

It is mentioned “The closer these national workers are to the target culture, the less likely these new believers will be to extract themselves from their own culture. “

He asks “What about Muslims today? How can followers of Christ be uncompromising in their faith, yet remain formal Muslims? I believe there are certainly a number of cultural practices that need to be dealt with. One of the most difficult is the issue of Mohammed as a prophet. I see this, like the other issues, as a matter of process. Hopefully over the years their view of Mohammed will change, I find that as the believer’s heart changes, he or she places less and less importance on these issues that seem to contradict the gospel.

The article goes on to say, I sometimes wonder, why has the response by the Muslim community been so small toward the gospel? Maybe God sees the cultural practices of Muslims bowing down five times per day, fasting for a complete month during daylight hours, community prayer at a local place of worship and much more as a more relevant cultural shell for the gospel of Christ amongst the Muslim peoples than our traditional, western-influence expressions of faith. Maybe the greatest of all revivals to happen will cause Muslim and Christians to stand side by side in masses around the throne, one common thread uniting all, Christ dying for the sins of all! (full report is found on www.missionfrontiers.org )

It has also been reported on this new evangelism, “Messianic Muslims” who continue to read the Koran, visit the mosque and say their daily prayers but accept Christ as their Savior are the products of the strategy, which is being tried in several countries, according to Youth With a Mission (YWAM), one of the organizations involved. That “YWAM is also adopting the approach in India, where a team is working with a Hindu holy man.” (Foundation, May/June 2000, p. 39) The March 24, 2000, Charisma News Service reported some missionaries are now making converts but are allowing them to “hold on to many of their traditional religious beliefs and practices”, so they will not offend others within their culture.

My initial comments:

The article states a lot of maybes, with no basis on facts. Certainly Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists who have come to know Christ as their savior and God will be around the throne, but not as Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, but as believers; what we call Christians. They will have abandoned their former religion for Christ and His way. But look at what he is saying, that their worship and religious practices are more relevant than our western expressions of faith. This seems a bit absurd. God accepts no faith unless it is based on His grace through the work of His Son, so it is not which culture is more religious. While he says we should be open to new cultural understandings he puts down the western culture and synthesizes the Muslim culture to Christianity calling it more acceptable. The only cultural shell that would be relevant is Judaism; and the people he gave the oracles of God to, anything else has no connection to the Jewish Messiah . If we were going to turn away from any westernized viewpoint, it would be more prudent to go back to the Jewish viewpoint that Christianity was birthed in, not a religious culture that is antagonistic to Judaic Christian beliefs.

The question we need to ask is: “can we deal with a culture that is not ordained by God in the same manner as Judaism that is?” To call them “Messianic Muslims” really does not help the matter. The Muslim culture is not neutral, it is a religious culture that is very complex and permeates everything a Muslim does. Mohammed who invented it founded it in seventh century in Arabia; 600 years after Christ came.

Well there is much more to all this than meets the eye as the god Allah and Islam becomes grounds of experimenting with a new way to evangelize. Or maybe a better wording would be to synthesize. In a time where Islam is trying to make inroads to the Church and there are Muslim websites saying Allah is Yahweh, who has no son, we had better know the differences and what the truth is on these matters.

Many see this as a time ripe for change in the way missions are conducted. They believe an entire shift in our thinking and our methodology towards missions must occur. In the Emergent Church movement that has influenced many we hear of this “Paradigm Shift.” Leonard Sweet in his books Soul Tsunami and Aquachurch are proposing new concepts in the way we do church because of the nature of our post modern world.  

I can agree that the church in its missionary effort needs to be flexible, but bending on certain issues can certainly snap back on us if they are on the core fundamentals of the gospel and its practice. While we do no set aside our efforts to evangelize because of a coming rapture: neither are we to take the position that it cannot come at any time and set aside watching, by thinking we will always be on earth.

I should point out a similar concept of evangelizing un-reached people groups had already been tried by others. Don Richardson went to a certain unknown tribe and made a bridge to the people by saying their God had a son called Jesus who died for their sins. However, he did not use it for a God called Allah who says it’s blasphemy to say God has a son. Nor was he dealing with a belief system that was already acquainted with Christianity and was openly hostile to it; attacking the Christian beliefs by saying Christ did not die nor raise from the dead, and that God has not promised the Jews Israel and Christians will go to hell. So this is where any similarity ends.

We do not see Paul use Zeus as the God who had a son name d Jesus to bridge the gaps to the pagans.

Daniel Kikawa in his book, “Perpetuated in Righteousness” also attempted to implement a new method of evangelization to the Hawaiians. Telling the Hawaiians that they were related to Israel and a group was called from the other tribes of Israel that were headed toward the Promise land to go to Hawaii. While I understood his heart for the people of Hawaii, I was also concerned with accurate information and history mixed with false information and deceptive means (knowingly or unknowingly) used to bring about any results.

He said, “It may be the Hawaiian people are descended from these ancient Egyptians” (p.67) That the Menehunes could be the people of Menes who became part of Israel. That the Hebrew and Polynesian people have a common heritage for a time, are in the genealogies of the Polynesian people”(p.72). Even though genealogies go back no further than 400’s or so and it is legally impossible to trace them back further as he presumed with his proof. In his book he traced out their route by a map proposing the possible route of the [proto] Polynesians from Israel in the Exodus or possibly even from Babylon to Hawaii.

He wrote that when they traveled from Polynesia and got to Hawaii they actually worshipped the true God. He proposed the Hawaiian’s also knew God from the gospel in the stars. That the Hawaiian’s once knew the truth worshipped the true God accurately, until foreign Gods were introduced from Tahiti and the priests corrupted the pure worship. Kikawa’s work Perpetuated in Righteousness stated that the Hawaiian’s Kane, Ku and Lono were the one God called IO, who is actually Yahweh. Using similarity of sounds for words he makes huge leaps in logic and stories to try and prove Hawaiian ancestry from Israel.

Disturbed by the concept presented that some of the Hebrews that were going to the Promise land were called to the Pacific I Contacted Dr. Fruchtenbaum on this [who is one of the leading Messianic Jewish scholars on Hebrew history and culture], and sent him the book for him to review. He wrote in response “‘to claim that the Polynesian peoples ‘may have been part of the nation of Israel for a time’ is one of the more horrendous assumptions in the book. There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever”’ (this is a portion of a 10 page examination of the book).

Our ministry had spent over 50 hours gathering the primary works of the people he cited for his book back in 1994 (some were Mormons and was Mormon publication; Renan proposed Israel came through the Pacific). We found that he gleaned the quotes and changed the writings of what most of the authors really meant. At one personal meeting with him we explained what we had found and he asked for the copies of the primary work (which I was not willing to hand over). I was perplexed; why would anyone ask for his if he himself is quoting them in his book, has he not already done the research?

I had sat down with Kikawa for many hours personally and by phone to discuss these things to which he showed little or no flexibility. I realized that Daniel Kikawa’s book was not a scholarly work, but a book filled with “probably’s” “assumptions” “could be’s” “may be’s” and “unwarranted conclusions.”

Although changes were finally made, some of the more blatant things were missing in Kikawa’s 4th edition (which at least on the surface meant an improvement). It still had the same premise and conclusion. Kikawa was able to make inroads and teach his false history and evangelism to YWAM seminaries, and to churches. John Dawson of YWAM even endorsed his book saying (in his 4th edition), “Daniel Kikawa and the Hawaiian’s are showing us the way”[at the end of his quote].

Why bring this up? Because I see a similarity, the same philosophy of evangelization is being used to Muslims by YWAM, and it is much more concerning because of its implications. (In fact Daniel did teach in YWAM). The ends do not justify the means and although something can seem to yield results (temporarily), it does not mean it is founded in truth. We have become much to pragmatic; to think if we see any kind of result it must mean it is right. One of the results of Kikawa’s book; now there are those who pray to the Hawaiian God Io, claiming he is the God of the Bible.

Being involved in evangelism to the cults and other religions I became concerned over this matter of YWAM and this type evangelism. Joseph Craft who wrote the articles is not his real name, so it would be hard to find the person who began all this without being on the mission field in this area. After discussing it with various people I was advised to write to them. So I wrote to 6 officials in YWAM at mid December 2001.

Here is what I wrote in my inquiry: “The reason I’m writing hoping you can help me with a subject that has come up. I have an important question that we and many people would like answered. We have read about YWAM’s experimentation in evangelism of sending Muslims and Hindus back into their temples and mosques by Joseph Craft, a YWAM church planter in Asia.

Out of the six letters I had written I received only one letter back. Which means the other 5 had no problem with this method or ignored my asking them the question. What followed were at least a half dozen exchanges on this matter. It became frustrating for me to explain to someone who seemed to know little about the intricacies of Islam and much about YWAM, what is wrong with this method, and the ramifications of continuing to practice this on the mission field.

In my last correspondence I asked: “would not the church at large need to hear about this method if it so successful? I certainly would do so if I felt something was right.”
He wrote in his response back he thought that the church at large does need to be made aware of this, as it is the most important issue in Christian missions today. But was afraid that most people who hear about this approach will not be as diligent and thoughtful as I was. His feeling is that Christianity is steeped in western culture, that we can be so emotional when presented with new ideas unheard of before, this approach will not get a fair hearing. He suggested that seminary-level scholarly works be produced that examine this approach in detail. After Christian leaders have had a chance to think this through it would be a more appropriate time to communicate to the Christian public at large.

I can agree on some of his points. However, I think seminaries and those involved in cross-cultural evangelism should have reviewed this issue BEFORE it was implemented! It should have been considered more carefully before it was launched it into people’s lives. Since this is a most important issue, lets make this the beginning of a hearing to the body of Christ. Personally, I do not think we can wait until after it has been practiced to try to repair the problems.

Here are some of the responses I received in the letters; his name is not included to respect his privacy. I have condensed the letters and left in only the major subjects that need to be addressed. Some of the words have been changed (but not the intent) and shortened; the content of what was said is left intact.

I was told Paul in Acts 17 began by affirming what is good in their spirituality. He uses one of their own idols as a stepping stone to them understanding the true God. He uses one of there own poets. This is an example of affirming and transforming what is good in a non-Christian culture. (See Acts 17 article)

When I first wrote back I shared how I did not understand how they could say that they don’t promote this evangelism, but it’s acceptable for one to learn from it. When I pressed questions on this, it was continually defended as Biblical, at the same time I was told its not policy nor condoned. The fact is: to do or say nothing about this practice is in fact to support it. If something is allowed long enough it often becomes policy in a church or organization. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be to correct it. So I think the body of Christ needs to know about this and decide for them-selves by hearing another side. My hope is that it will bring further examination on these methods and the outcome of this new way to evangelize.

I do not expect any new Muslim convert to be like Paul the apostle who went right back into the synagogue (or Mosque) and preach Jesus is the Son of God and polarize himself. However, we should expect more from people who are converted and discipled to still be reading the Qu’ran and going to the mosque and bowing to Mecca with others like they did before. To have them bow in an Islamic service when the Mullah is calling out Allah is not true religious behavior for a believer. The shalot is a prayer they do 5 times a day, bowing down facing Mecca. A Muslim is to recite the Shahada (which means witness) while praying; this contains 5 articles of their faith. The first confession is Belief in Allah as the one true God and Mohammad is his prophet. If this is done in their service in the Mosque or at any other time how can any real Christian take part in this? You can only justify this if you say Allah is Yahweh, and change him to be the God of the Bible. Which is what I was told in my correspondence is being done. When a believer becomes a new creature in Christ he is commanded to separate from the unfruitful works of darkness and expose it, not tolerate it, and certainly not join in with it. It does not matter if one is part of the culture; they are to at least separate themselves from worshipping with others and not partake of practices that are against their faith. A Muslim would certainly do this with another religion, why not Muslim converts to Christianity?

Allowing them to continue to read the Koran and “walk with Allah” who now lo and behold has a son, is in my opinion stepping over the line on core teachings, way over (this is after they converted). When a Muslim prays in the mosque they confess that there is only one God whose name is Allah and his prophet is Mohammad. Islam adheres to a what is called Tawid, which means a strict literal oneness of God that needs to be abandoned as well. God is uni-plural, he is three in one, as the One God. To rationalize this I was told that Allah is now triune.

How can someone not have any problem with a believer calling himself or herself a Muslim (“one submitted to God”) and be a Christian. Can a Christian now call himself a Muslim? The word Muslim is made up of two words, Islam and Mu. Muslim does not just mean submission; it means submission to the God Allah; not the Lord Jesus Christ or Yahweh. Can a Muslim be called a Christian and walk with Allah? This seems to make no doctrinal or practical sense, unless they change the names and the meaning. This only brings confusion. Why do this when you can introduce Yahweh as the true God without any baggage and shuffling around in names, nature or descriptions? The answer is that you may not see the same results. This is what this is all about isn’t it, results; pragmatism, the end justifies the means.

The example of converts in Indonesia, whose God “Allah” now supposedly view Him as a God of grace, the triune God, the God who is revealed in the Bible. There are Bibles in Malaysia in Malay or Indonesian language that have the name Allah for God. But because of ignorance or a mistake does not change the facts, nor should we give it extra mileage. Allah is not Yahweh in any respect. We can find differences on every doctrine spoken of in the Bible, so can we truly say Allah is Yahweh?

The question that everyone needs to ask: “Is this compromising on the essentials of the gospel or making the gospel more relevant to a culture?” I believe this is compromising on the gospel because it demotes the person of Christ and makes the central figure of the Gospel unclear. I was told that false beliefs can be corrected and they will know Allah and walk with Him. They will of course also realize that Jesus is not just a prophet, but is part of that triune Allah. Hold on, time out. Who did they call on to be saved if they did not know who Jesus is in the first place? One of the obstacles to overcome today in our evangelism is our not presenting Christ as Lord. In the Jewish culture when they called him Lord they knew what was meant by this, today we often do not. It meant He was Yahweh, God in the flesh.

Isar al rasul means, “how the prophet did things”, this is another practice that needs to be abandoned by converts. Most people do not know that Muslims do not get the majority of their teaching from the Qu’ran, but from the Hadiths. If they still accept their prophet as an example, can they be Christians who follow Christ? Conversion often begins before a decision and salvation. We see that when people converted in the Bible they severed ties with the books they read and the people they worshipped with (Acts 19). While I agree that some people may need more room and time in their transition, but do we want to make this wide a standard for everyone?

Can they leave the mosque and tell their fellow brethren in their culture about Jesus without their culture? They risk their life to do so. This is the very reason this compromising concept is implemented. The community (umma) puts you out if you become a Christian (or anything else). They see this as shirk, the most grievous of sin, one of apostasy. This is the very reason this compromising concept is implemented. But are we looking for quality or quantity. Did not the Jews in the early church lose everything and yet the church continued to grow tremendously.

The question I submit that needs to be answered is “is this Biblical?” Can we find biblical precedent for this action? If so, why is this example not found in the Scripture? Did Jesus or the apostles send or allow the people back to Diana temples allowing them to worship Jesus in their cultural ways. There is no New Testament example of this kind of “evangelism.” Imagine believers saying we are going to gather in the temple of Diana to worship Yahweh with the other worshippers. This is absolutely wrong according to the Bible, and there is no way one can justify this practice. This is can be dangerous to a newborn’s faith. It does not help them in their growth but introduces compromise in their fragile state. Is any worldwide missionary organization willing to take this kind of risk?

Are we now to understand that we could bow with others in another religious service as long as we are worshipping our God and not theirs? Would the Old or New Testament saints have bowed in religious worship, because that’s what people do in the culture? Huza ko vot means to bow down and worship. Some of the Biblical examples we already have and need to consider in comparison. Would Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego have bowed down to the idol of Nebucahdnezzar’s and said in their heart they are worshipping God? This is what they are saying is done in the Mosque. I was told they are not bowing to the God Allah in their place of worship. But bowing during a religious ceremony is worship, (Isn’t this what the Catholics say when they are bowing to the statue, its not worship.) This is the reason the Jews would not bow, and these Muslim converts are bowing down in the mosque with others as the imam leads them all of them in prayer to Allah, not to Jesus.

In Esther 3:2-4 Mordecai would not bow, when asked, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” Mordecai answered he was a Jew. He could have bowed down and avoided persecution. But he remembered what Israel was told in Exod.23:24 “You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.” The principle needs to be applied today -- separate oneself from the former practices, not synthesize them. Israel was not to make mention of the name of other gods much less bow to them (Josh. 23:7-8).

It was Caesar who said if the Christians would bow down to him, they could continue to worship Jesus and live. They refused to bow and were martyred. Certainly they could have saved their lives by saying, “in my heart I’m bowing to Jesus to Yahweh,” but on the outside it only looks like I’m bowing to Caesar, sounds acceptable doesn’t it?

YWAM has adopted much of its cross-cultural evangelism from numerous sources that have brought this kind of tolerance concept into their mission strategies. We are to be called out, not incorporated in; we are to be salt and light. This is the very thing the Bahai’s did; they added Jesus and other prophets and leaders of other religions to their religion and said: they are all successive prophets of the same God worshipped by different names. They have been somewhat successful in drawing in nominal Christians and other religions to their new synthesized belief by presenting Baha’u’llah as the last prophet.

The article and the letter written to me confirmed they are still reading the Koran. This is a book that presents Jesus in a completely different way thereby changing who he actually is. Why are they reading this book? Are they comparing the differences in the religions or are they continuing to use it in their instructions. The more I think on this the more questions come up. I have to ask why? Maybe we are still seeing a process of conversion and they are not saved yet, this is hard to say. If you are saved and you start reading the Bible and have the Spirit of God, it would become increasingly difficult to read the Qu’ran or any other religious book any longer, you are going to be repulsed by its statements on the essentials that you are now being discipled in through the Bible.

There are historical facts that prove before Mohammed founded Islam, Allah was known as: the supreme god of a pantheon of gods. Scholars of history agree the word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. He was also the name of the chief god among the numerous idols (360) in the Kaaba in Mecca before Mohammad. No one used Allah for a monotheistic belief prior to Mohammad.

These are only a few quotes that I sent by scholars to show who they consider who is Allah. “Allah was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities.” Encyclopedia of Islam, ed. Gibb, I:406.”Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka’bain Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this.” G. J. O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? (1994), pg. 138.) This is not my opinion, but scholars who know.

His response was that the origin of the name Allah is interesting. He thought the information would be important for church planters in determining whether “Allah” is a concept that could be retained in a culture and re-shaped into a correct concept of “God.” Reshaped! Can we change God to fit our purposes, even if they are for evangelism; is this a good thing?

You can’t change God to be something else just because you want to reach a certain people group. It doesn’t matter who calls him Allah even if it is used in Arabic Bible. Dr. Samuel Schlorff emphasizes a few major points we need to take notice on: according to the Bible God is knowable Allah is unknowable, He is not called father nor does he have a son. Allah is no savior, (referenced from Dr. Samuel Schlorff, ‘Theological and Apologetical Dimensions of Muslim Evangelism,” Westminister Theological Journal, volume 42, number 2, spring 1980)

God is not just any name you put on him especially when the name is of a different God; the name is not a transliteration, but a completely different representation from another religion that is against Christianity and denies Christ. Again there are very few agreements; and they have no correlation to doctrines of our faith.

Can we use Allah as Yahweh? Think about it from the Bibles perspective and allow it to be our guidance. Allah is not called Yahweh once in the Koran, neither is Yahweh called Allah in the Bible. They have different natures and characteristics, despite a few similarities. So they can’t be the same God. Gal. 4:8 “But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.” (see also 1 Cor. 8:5-6). The biblical authors would never have correlated Allah with YHWH if they had known of him, any more than they would have used any other god with YHWH. Allah is not a father and has no son, telling the converts that he is does not change the facts of their religion. Mohammad emphatically rejected Jesus as being God’s son because he did not understand the meaning. This is what Allah said in the Koran they read Sura 43:59 states “Jesus was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example to the Israelites. They are unbelievers who say God is Messiah, Mary’s son.” Sura 17:111 Say: “Praise be to God, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion.” This is not what Yahweh says According to the Bible: 1 Jn. 2:22 “He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” Can we integrate this to Allah. If you want to take the time and explain what “only begotten son” means, it would be more beneficial to the Muslim than tagging another nature to their God’s name.

There are Muslims who want you to believe Allah is Yahweh and they will water down Christianity faster than you can run if we allow them to integrate this belief. Is YWAM aware that they will use any means to do this.

Did Pharisees believe in Christ, and continue their legalistic practices, and tried imposing these legalisms on other believers, but were allowed to continue to be Pharisees?

The only Pharisees I have read of that tried to impose their legalistic practices are mentioned by Paul in Galatians, and he said they were false brethren.

Acts 15:5: “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

Acts 15:24-25: “Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law’-- to whom we gave no such commandment-”Consider what 1 Jn.2:19 says that those who “went out from us” they were false teachers.

The Pharisees that were in charge of Judaism wanted to take control of what was still a new sect of Judaism. The Gospel that freed them from the law was rejected by the Judaizers and they were trying to bring them back into bondage. They snuck in to the counsel meeting in Acts 15 and tried to stack the vote to gain control.

But the apostles saw this as nothing less than the gospel message being at stake. After ruling on this they sent word to the other churches that it was not necessary to submit to the law but to keep certain rules so they do not to offend their Jewish brethren who were transitioning from Judaism. In Acts 15 new gentile believers were to refrain in their liberty so they would not cause any stumbling to the newly saved Jews. There is a difference between causing an undue offense and actually continuing to live, act, worship and believe as the unsaved Jews or Gentiles.

This example being allowed to practice so called similarities really has no correlation to Islam that has no roots in the Bible. In Gal 2:4 Paul explains, that false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage).”

Do we have examples of any Jewish Christian’s in the Bible going back to practice Judaism? Yes, the author of the book of Hebrews calls them apostates, those who shrank back in their faith. They went back to Judaism so that their brethren would not persecute them hoping to return to Christ later. Again we have the Bible making it clear what not to do, and what to do.

Paul did not use this approach in Athens surrounded by idolatry, when he was in Areopagus he took their concept of the “unknown god” to begin to correct them toward a true concept of God. Paul did not affirm what is good in their spirituality, except to say they were “very religious.” He did not correct their idol worship by saying this is the true God of your idol. If the statute had a name would he have said “this name is now your God?” No of course not. Paul did not say the statue was the true God, nor did he say one of the Greek Gods were God. He took a statue dedicated to a God they did not know by using the inscription to the unknown God, He is telling them that they did not know him,

And they were worshipping numerous gods, not one. This God had no name, nor any belief system attached to it, so Paul was able to use him as a bridge presenting the true one, by saying the one that you do not know “Him I proclaim to you.” Paul used the idol as a bridge for them to hear about the true biblical God and many got mad because he spoke of repentance, of their ignorance and the resurrection which none of their gods had. Yes he used one of their own poets, but this had nothing to do with the idols. He was speaking to all the philosophers showing that He is close to them if they would call upon Him.

Paul never allowed them to go back to their temple and worship there. He tells them to repent, change the way you conduct yourselves and turn away from your idols to the true and living God.

What about the Hebrew temple? They were able to worship there because they worshipped the true God, and God found their practices, having the Messiah was completion of true Judaism. However the temple was rendered useless 40 years later. Now imagine if in the first century someone came to you and said they have become a Christian but they still go to the temple Diana and read the oracles of Delphi. And while they are in the temple they worship the true God while everyone else who is gathered is worshipping a false one. And they took the false Gods name and applied it to the true God, and changed everything that the false God did, and called him the true one. What would you think?

I believe this all shows how far away from the Bible this new concept of evangelism being implemented has gone. If you come through Jesus Christ by the Gospel then you have come to the true God. What this new evangelism is saying is that the Muslims Allah is God already, and that they only has to adjust their wrong concepts of their god. But it is not the Muslim who has the wrong concept of the God Allah but the evangelist who does. By telling them they can walk with Allah as if he is Yahweh, and adding a son to him.

What does this compromising in evangelism really do for anyone? They may make it look like the work is productive, but within a few years and we will see what has really happened. Why wait when we can correct this now.

I was told that the researchers said that pastors in America would be happy to have such results of a survey of their congregation. As far as comparing this group to the church and assuring me of their high caliber, finding solid theological understanding and spiritual disciplines. I’m sorry to disagree; most of the church does not have solid theological understanding these days; so I doubt they are of a higher or even equal caliber. Case in point, the new Barna report says that only 22 percent in the church believed in moral absolutes. The fact is YWAM would be less theologically based than the church, as stated on the beliefs of the website that they don’t debate theological issues. I know enough people in the mission to know what goes on from inside. This discussion on messianic Muslims is a case in point: If they had a good theological understanding, they would not be saying any of these falsified concepts. The term messianic Jew is the only valid term to use. Jesus was the Jewish messiah He was not an Ishmaelite. It is here where we see some major differences. Muslim Culture is not equal to Judaism, nor is it similar to Judaism; so the term “messianic Muslims” is an oxymoron (meaning two contradictory terms are brought together in a phrase). It is not the same as someone brought up in Judaism and discovers their Jewish Messiah by their roots. You don’t add Jesus to a completely different religion, nor do you add any different religion to Jesus; this “new evangelization” is doing both. Are we going to soon hear that Hindu’s are walking with Krishna, that he too is God and the three main gods of the millions in the Hindu trinity will now become the tri-unity of God in Christianity? Are we going to have messianic Buddhists too? What’s next when the envelope gets pushed this far

This concept of redeeming the culture is plain nonsense; you can’t redeem cultures that are religiously integrated, having wrong spiritual practices.

In the beginning of our correspondence I was told only a few were applying this method, but throughout our correspondence he defended their position of using it. To worship Jesus in culturally-appropriate ways does not mean one carries over unbiblical elements of a culture to make it more palatable for them. There are some cultures that have no redeeming qualities at all so we should not be looking to incorporate each culture (redeeming the culture) thinking the people may lose their identity if this is not done.

Ecumenical evangelism, Seeker friendly evangelism will not work and will only have us repeat the same history that was done by Constantine, it leavened the church when it became open to the various cultures and beliefs. This needs to be corrected now before it becomes a basis for evangelism, I hope someone is listening to the many who protest, methinks we protest too loud.

As an addendum to this whole matter- while I was preparing this article I happen to receive a letter from someone who said He was a messianic Muslim and explained what he believes. We have had several exchanges, and I have seen him not regard the Scripture as authoritative in any way for his religious practices. What I was told made this whole matter even more serious as he explained there are 10 to possibly 30 million or more who believe as he does. He confirmed much of what I have already explained and more. Though he claims Jesus as his savior, he does not believe that man is born with sin although he admitted he was sinner. He denied there is a son of God, claiming he was only a man, 100% man and 0% God and claiming to worship Jesus is idolatry. He interpreted everything by the Koran and held onto being a Muslim. He believed Jesus died and rose again because of an obscure passage is found in the Koran on this but denied that one needs to follow Christ alone, reducing him to just one of the many prophets.

Is this is what this new evangelism is bringing in? We need to be extra careful when discipling Muslims to Christ and not have any syncretism of Islam with portions of Christianity. Mt. 28:18-29 the great commission tells us to make disciples by teaching them all that Jesus taught. This would actually go against this type of evangelism as the people were taught in a Jewish context what was accepted and what was not.