The Weakness of Islamic Evangelism
Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did.
After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism.
If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns shows that they are more confident in the power of the gun than in the power of the Koran. This "holy book" is displayed as weak and powerless by those who hold most strongly to its beliefs.
Christians should have a different outlook concerning evangelism. When we approach someone to share the gospel of Jesus Christ we present Scripture and Scripture alone. It is the living and active Word of God and is "sharper than any two edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12) and more powerful than any machine gun that man can contrive. We need to go boldly in the power of the Scriptures and never rely on the arsenal of mankind- it is far too weak for our purposes.
Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did.
After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism.
If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns shows that they are more confident in the power of the gun than in the power of the Koran. This "holy book" is displayed as weak and powerless by those who hold most strongly to its beliefs.
Christians should have a different outlook concerning evangelism. When we approach someone to share the gospel of Jesus Christ we present Scripture and Scripture alone. It is the living and active Word of God and is "sharper than any two edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12) and more powerful than any machine gun that man can contrive. We need to go boldly in the power of the Scriptures and never rely on the arsenal of mankind- it is far too weak for our purposes.
Comments
I like this post. Yeah, if the Koran isn't powerful enough to convert a reader on its own merit, that is a powerful show of what it really is.