Christianity and Islam

In a recent talk on the barge Henk Bouma shared with us some reflections on the way that Christians should seek to engage with Moslems. He talked about understanding Moslem culture, using verses in the Qu'ran to point people towards Jesus and said that to call oneself a Christian was not necessarily helpful in a Moslem country where the word "Christian" might have negative overtones and be more associated with Hollywood and militarism than Christ and the cross.

One key principle underlying this debate seems to me to be how far we are willing to go with the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22 when he said "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." In short, so long as there is no compromise on gospel truth or Christian morality we are free to utilise whatever means me want in order to engage meaningfully with those around us. Therefore, if the word "Christian" is going to be misunderstood then we are free to drop it and replace it with a meaninful alternative.

A second key principle underlying this debate is how far we are willing to go with the apostle Paul in Acts 17 where he enters the culture of the Athenians and even uses pagan Greek poets and philosophers in his Christian presentation. God's fingerprints, if you are like, are present throughout his creation so that any religion, book, film, novel or cultural work will have something in it that points to the one true God. We need to start with where people are at, and in the context of engaging with a Moslem worldview this is going to involve starting with the Qu'ran itself.

In both these issues we may legitimately debate where the line is to be drawn. How far is too far? How far is too far in using someone's culture as a starting point from which to engage them with the Christian faith? How far is too far when it comes to being all things to all people? These are good questions. Henk did not compromise Christian truth, but he did challenge us how far we are willing to go in becoming all things to all people for the sake of winning some.