Posted by Mark Stephan
Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:45:00 GMT
Please read this article: http://www.christianitytoday.com/globalconversation/december2009/index.html
Here is my answer to this article:
People get very emotionally charged on this issue, and we shouldn’t. We need to look at this the way we should, and that way alone. i.e. What does the Bible, and the Bible alone say about this issue.
The problem with today’s missionaries, and I am one, is that we tend to be weak on our biblical theology, and even weaker on our biblical missiology. Our churches and organizations focus on numbers (not correct theology) send us out to ‘do’ without truly looking at the spiritual, thus theological ramifications of it.
It does not matter to me if someone is on the field for decades, or never been. As my advice does not come from the wisdom of men, but from the Word of God. Sadly, we as men tend to trust academicians, social sciences, anthropology, and statistics more than we rely on God’s Word.
We then use these social sciences and ‘strategies’ and force, beat, and warp the Word of God to agree with us. We say the numbers prove that the Holy Spirit is in it. If so, then the number 2 religion in the world, Islam, is truly divine and we might as well leave the Muslims to themselves. We say that C5/C4 ‘believers’ (I use this term loosely) believe in Jesus as Lord. But studies on the leadership of these movements show the opposite.
The following statistics of 72 "Messianic Muslim" leaders shows the degree to which falsehood has been propagated within these communities.
• 50% go to traditional Mosque on Friday.
• 31% go more than once per day for Salat affirming prophethood of Muhammad.
• 96% say there are 4 sacred books: Torah, Zabur, Injil, (all parts of the Christian Bible) and the Qur’an
• 66% affirm the Qur’an as the greatest of these.
• 45% don’t affirm God as Father/Son/Spirit.
• 45% feel close to Allah when hearing the Qur’an read aloud.
These numbers show that whatever the intent of western missionaries to propagate the C4/C5, its effect is devastating.
Also, it should be known, that the C4/C5, Insider Movement is a movement created by the west and pushed by the west. This is not an indigenous movement. Thus we’re not pushing the western culture on these folks, but we are doing just as a bad thing and pushing their old idolistic culture on them. There are many indigenous Christians who came out of Islam who are extremely upset about this. Read this excellent article by one such believer being hurt by the Insider Movement/C4/C5. http://budurl.com/fm9w
Ultimately this debate comes down to whether or not man’s culture is divine, and should be kept in lieu of the Kingdom Culture. If we value man’s culture as divine, then we will keep it intact at all costs, and it’s not culture that must change, but the Bible. If we see man’s culture effected by the fall, then we will leave it for the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven, and God’s gospel remains true and unchangeable. I wrote an article on that here: http://budurl.com/wla9 I contest it is man’s culture that must contextualize to the Gospel, not the Gospel that must be contextualized to man’s culture.
The Corinthian church had the same problems of syncretism and idol worship. The "Messianic Jewish" church had the same problems with the Judaisers. The Jewish religion had the same problem with the Pharisees who worshiped the law more than they worshipped God. When we focus on earthly things more than the heavenly Kingdom of God, then we will always fall into idol worship. So why then, are we teaching these people to delve deeper into something that is a known lie?
Let this not be so. I recommend reading: Titus 1:10-11,13- 16
If you follow twitter please follow the Biblical Missiology twitter feed: https://twitter.com/biblemissiology
If you use Facebook please follow the Biblical Missiology Fan Page: http://budurl.com/2g3v
Once we get Missiology back on the track of Theology, then we can discuss the attitude of how we as believers in the faith interact with one another out of love. But without the Biblical Word of God as our foundation, how do you expect this conversation to continue?
If we do not rely solely on the Word of God, and not man’s wisdom, I predict that there will a greater schism and cults will come out of this debate. The church in the next 100 years depends greatly on this very issue. It is not to be taken lightly. You have only seen the beginning of this debate, and it will only grow.
My question is, do these proponents of the C4/C5 Insider Movement want to be seen as the next Josiah Smith, or Muhammad? The Lord himself will judge your motives. As propagators of this fallacy, as supposed teachers of God’s word, you are held to a much higher standard.
Matthew 23:15, "Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."
I have written a larger rebuttal to the insider Movement C4/C5 that will be posted on this site soon.
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Bible Studies | Tags C4, C5, Christianity, Insider, Missions, Movement | 1 comment
Posted by Mark Stephan
Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:45:00 GMT
Hello All,
I have several blog posts that I’m drafting, and I’m wondering which ones you’d like me to pursue writing.
Generally how I write is a thought grabs my interest, either something I came across during the day, or something I’ve been pondering for a long time. So I open a file and write some, and then close it, waiting until I have time to go back, write more, reflect on my thoughts, and publish it. But, as you can guess, far more remains in draft than ever gets published.
So I figured hey, blogging is supposed to be interactive, so I’ll ask the community what they would like me to expound on, and finish so they can see my thoughts. So here is a current list of things swimming around in my draft folder, mind, and what not. Let me know through the comments what You’d like to read, or simply put, none of it. It’s all boring.
Church / Theological Issues
- How to be a Sending Church
This is an article that really outlines how a church, no matter the size, can create a sending engine that mobilizes and and sends individuals, keeping itself in alignment with the Theology of the New Testament Church. Actually this is a summary of something much larger I’m writing. This article is basically a HOW TO Guide.
- Cross-Cultural Church Planting According to the New Testament Church aka Experiencing Biblically-based Church Planting Movements
This is an interesting article that goes into the Holy Spirit Driven Strategy of the New Testament Church, how it grew, spread, and met the diverse cultures around it. Examples will be taken solely from the Bible, and inferences will be extrapulated to see how such systems could be instituted today.
- Gossip, the Cancer of the Church
This subject is near to my heart, as I am guilty of it as well. It is so hard to be a believer and control the tongue. Yet, if we do not struggle to keep control of this, the whole body loses. Whether from out right gossiping, to the less obvious prayer-gossip, we all need to learn to control what we say, and to whom we say it.
- Biblical and Unbiblical Contextualization in Missions: Bringing Back Missions to the Heart of God
This is actually a blog post that probably should, and will, end up being a much larger article, if not a book. It takes a deeper look at what is the form of modern missions, and how it either aligns with Biblical missional principles, or how it diverges from it, and what should be done about that.
- Reformed Theology’s impact on Missions
This blog post is very similar to the one above it. How does Reformed Theology impact Missions today. While this article won’t delve into Reformed Theology itself, it will talk about how Reformed Theology effects Missions, and examples we can see today in the Modern Missions movement of this, and examples of divergence from it.
- The Unity of the Body of Christ: How to Keep Unity in the Midst of Theological Debate
This could be a very interesting post in that it’s something I’m always struggling with. How to have interesting discourse that spurs one another on to knowing truth, without creating discord. When one should be careful in creating discord, and when one should not. The fine line between allowing mutual disagreement, and allowing heresy.
Political
- How Political Banter Turns Personal: Racism and the Slander of the Individual.
This one is a bit personal. I got a message from someone saying, and I summarize, that people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Right Wingers, Conservatives, Born-Again Christians are all racist wasps. While I try to keep political discourse to the facts, statements like this really frustrate me because it shows a lack of decorum, and that they can’t have a real debate besides attacking people personally. While I do not agree completely with the aforesaid individuals, I do enough to see this as a personal attack against me. So I’d like to write an article to discuss those statements, and why such statements do not make a better world, but makes people more ignorant and creates human beings who believe dribble.
Posted in Politics, Christianity | Tags Blog, Christianity, Opinions, Politics | 2 comments
Posted by Mark Stephan
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:50:00 GMT
A friend emailed me the following YouTube video.
Watch this 7-minute video about Islam and the impact that it is having on the world and America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU
Then read below.
I found this video very interesting. It’s actually quite true, but there are a few more questions that I have about it that it doesn’t answer.
- As the European culture and population wanes, will that affect the Islamic culture in Europe, and will not the second and third generations of the Islamic Culture also drop below the culture threshold? What is the trajectory of this, and will the European culture be dead before then?
- While the Islamic culture in the US grows, will it not also wane as it adapts to the economic and cultural presses of fitting into the US?
- Media is the big unknown in this. I think Media is the true propagator of culture. As we’ve seen in the US, the media has changed US culture.
- Because Media is the true modern way that culture is passed, shouldn’t we focus on media as opposed to making babies as a solution? If Muslims take over media, that’s when I would really start to be concerned.
- There are many different variants of Islam all spread between liberal and extreme literal Muslims. What impact does this have on culture? Which of these groups are infiltrating Europe and the US, and what is their integration on the initial generation who immigrated, and then on the subsequent generations?
While this video’s goal was made to instill fear, I think it prudent not to be fearful, but to consider it and its ramifications. Identify the true problems, and consider how we as individuals can influence those changes.
Ultimately I believe Islam isn’t the biggest problem we have as Christians, but rather the media, and having control over how the media ‘brands’ us is ultimately the power of the culture war.
Things to consider.
Posted in Politics, Christianity, Islam | Tags Christianity, Islam, Politics | 1 comment
