One of the most controversial issues that has plagued the Missions movement in recent years is the Insider Movement or as some refer to it; Chrislam. There has recently been a full documentary produced that I would like to highly recommend to everyone who has a concern for a proper biblical approach to reaching Muslims with the Gospel. The title of the documentary is Half Devil Half Child. The issue of hyper-contextualization among missionaries is a pressing issue that will only become even more relevant in the years to come. If you are a pastor that supports missionaries to the Islamic world, this is certainly an issue that you should inform yourself concerning. It is important that those who love Muslims and desire to see them reached in a way that is faithful to the Scriptures are not supporting those who are promoting what can often become outright syncretism and compromise. Make sure to visit the Half Devil Half Child website and recommend the documentary to your friends.
10 Responses
You don’t have to be a Greek scholar to see the lines where Jesus declares that he and the father are one.
In the haste of too many to go along, to get along, differences that matter are given priorities that are lower, than ought to be the case.
Joel, Do you know who created this version of the Bible described in the film that was described as only having the first five books and left out the idea of the Father and the Son? Also, does this film claim the imb was doing something wrong… or was it just saying the team was deceived? I know many problems exist and many Americans have been trained to think that a person repeating a prayer is sufficient for salvation but I couldn’t discern from the film if the nationals were saying the imb was in the wrong or if the national team was reporting the wrong numbers to deceive them? I was trying to determine the main plot line and it seems there exist at least two. The first one was about the effort to deceive the “verification” team and the second one was to show that the version of the Bible had been changed to allow for Muslims to continue to be deceived by denying the Father and Son. My Question is simply this.. are these two themes connected in any way or are they completely separate?
Troy,
There are several translation projects among Muslims created by a few missions organizations that are using this approach. And there is deception taking pace both through the various missions organizations as well as on the ground. It is one of the most pressing issues among ministry to Muslims right now, IMO. Go to the link here for more info as well: http://biblicalmissiology.org
Joel;
Thanks for your time.. to answer all questions. I know there are some series issues.. with missions. One of my biggest problems is trying to work with people who think it is better to use paper with the pictures of dead U.S. presidents on them over simply pointing people to our Risen King. I will look into the link.. I still didn’t get the answer I was looking for.. because it is important for me to know if the imb is being implicated in this film from start to finish or just the fact that the verification team was deceived. I am an imb missionary. I have already alerted my leadership from top to bottom about this documentary and told them to change the numbers if they are using these from the 2002 time frame. I don’t believe that many people are coming to Christ.. as Jesus said when I return will I find faith on the planet!
Troy,
Gotcha. Regarding numbers, I’m not specifically sure of what you are referring to. But in Bangladesh for instance, there is much evidence that numbers are inflated for he purpose of raising funds. I believe the same is true in certain African nations. The Insider Movement is the source of a multi-pronged problem or sure. But I would have to refer you to those more directly involved and to the film for better specifics.
Blessings!
Joel. Ok thanks..listening to Dalton’s message now..from your other post.. thinking about Romans 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 and looking for parallel thinking patterns as Paul closed out his epistle.. after writing chapters.. 9, 10, and 11 that Dalton is preaching on. I am not finding it so clearly defined from the heart of Paul speaking to the Gentiles but that does’t mean Dalton is off course… just checking his heart against the heart of Paul on this subject. I am enjoying it and have also purchased and read his book.
I can see now that Dalton’s argument is more centered on the fact that bible teachers are saying God is not going to keep His promise not so must about the instruction Paul was doing in the last few chapters as I had mentioned. He makes many good points about those who have a replacement theology. God actually wouldn’t have to keep His promise to anyone if He doesn’t keep it with Israel. He could go find rocks to turn into children of Abraham if that were the case!