Due to the incredible turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere and the resulting mass migration of many Muslims to Europe and the Americas, the Church has an unparalleled opportunity to build relationships with Muslims and introduce them to Jesus. Many in the Church would like to respond to this opportunity but wonder how to go about connecting with Muslims. Responding to this growing need a number of ministries have stepped up their training efforts to help.
The ministries primarily involved in these training efforts advocate for one of three approaches: Polemics, Apologetics, or Building Bridges. In this post I will take a look at these three approaches and identify some strengths as well as some weaknesses. After doing so I will present a fourth alternative. Let’s call it Life Together….
While traditionalist Muslims often denounce the numerous human rights violations committed by secular democracies, many non-Muslims find their approach to fundamental rights equally offensive. These traditionalist Muslims will often claim that there is an objective moral standard in an Islamic community through Sharia law. However, this standard goes against the understanding of basic human rights as laid down in fundamental texts such as the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
One of the greatest difficulties with the position of Sharia…
So the two questions before us seem to be:
Actually I am being overly optimistic. Today the two sides rarely pose these two questions because to do so would assume that the issue is actually open for consideration. Those groups closed the discussion long ago and now unquestioningly declare their view as though it were fact.
I think a better approach would be to…