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Contextualization of the Gospel to American Muslims: a Proposal for a Seventh-Day Adventist Evangelization Model Myckal Morehouse

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Contextualization of the Gospel to American Muslims: a Proposal for a Seventh-Day Adventist Evangelization Model Myckal Morehouse Southern Adventist University KnowledgeExchange@Southern Graduate Theses School of Religion 8-2017 Contextualization of the Gospel to American Muslims: A Proposal for a Seventh-day Adventist Evangelization Model Myckal Morehouse Follow this and additional works at: https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/gradtheses Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons Recommended Citation Morehouse, Myckal, "Contextualization of the Gospel to American Muslims: A Proposal for a Seventh-day Adventist Evangelization Model" (2017). Graduate Theses. 1. https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/gradtheses/1 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Religion at KnowledgeExchange@Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses by an authorized administrator of KnowledgeExchange@Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Southern Adventist University School of Religion CONTEXTUALIZATION OF THE GOSPEL TO AMERICAN MUSLIMS: A PROPOSAL FOR A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELIZATION MODEL A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Religion by Myckal Morehouse August 2017 CONTEXTUALIZATION OF THE GOSPEL TO AMERICAN MUSLIMS: A PROPOSAL FOR A SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELIZATION MODEL A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Religion by Myckal Morehouse APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: __________________________ __________________________ Edwin Reynolds, Chairman Greg King, Dean __________________________ __________________________ Carlos G. Martin, Advisor Date Approved __________________________ Michael G. Hasel, Member __________________________ Alan Parker, Member Dedicated to the glory of God and to the advancement of His Church. To my wife, Delaney, and children, Joshua and Abigail, who pressed forward with me. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Problem .......................... 3 Purpose of Study .............................. 5 Relevance and Motivation of Study ............. 6 Survey of Literature .......................... 7 Methodology and Procedure ..................... 10 Delimitations of Study ........................ 11 Definition of Terms ........................... 12 CHAPTER 2. THE AMERICAN MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE 15 Theological Viewpoints ........................ 16 The Six Articles of Faith ................ 18 The Five Pillars of Islam ................ 25 Beliefs, Practices, and Identity of American Muslims ....................................... 33 Views of Christianity ......................... 38 CHAPTER 3. THEOLOGICAL COMPARISON BETWEEN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND MUSLIMS 45 The Godhead ................................... 45 The Bible and Inspiration ..................... 49 The Nature of Man and Salvation ............... 52 The Son of God ................................ 56 The Gift of Prophecy .......................... 58 The Second Coming and the End of Time ......... 60 The State of the Dead and Hellfire ............ 63 The Sabbath and Holy Living ................... 68 CHAPTER 4. CONTEXTUALIZATION 71 A Biblical Theology for Contextualization ..... 72 Jesus: The Supreme Model ................. 74 The New Testament Church Model ........... 79 A Biblical View of Syncretism ................. 88 The Contextualization Spectrum ................ 97 Ellen White on Contextualization .............. 103 CHAPTER 5. SYNTHESIS OF AN APPROPRIATE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST APPROACH TO CONTEXTUALIZATION AMONG MUSLIMS IN AMERICA 109 Step 1: New Perceptions....................... 111 IV Step 2: Meeting Them Where They Are........... 114 Step 3: Breaking Down Initial Barriers........ 116 Step 4: Friendship Evangelism................. 118 Step 5: Qur’anic Studies...................... 120 Step 6: Bible Studies......................... 123 Step 7: Contextualized Home Groups............ 126 Step 8: Adventist Ethnic Fellowship........... 130 Step 9: Baptism and New Identity ............. 132 Step 10: Discipleship Training................ 133 CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 135 APPENDIX A. ISSUES IN MUSLIM CONTEXTUALIZATION 140 Is Allah God? ............................ 140 Is the Qur’an God’s Word? ................ 142 The Shahada and Muhammad ................. 145 Issues in Mosque Attendance .............. 146 Muslim and Missionary Identity ........... 148 Religious Identity and the Remnant ....... 152 Parallel Structures ...................... 156 Baptism and Church Membership ............ 158 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................... 161 V CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In the era of globalization, missiologists are seeking to find new ways of spreading the gospel. This is because thousands of different people groups are coming to live in the major cities of the world. This presents christian churches an opportunity to literally reach the world within their own neighborhood or cities.1 What does this mean for missions to Muslims? Research indicates that Islam is growing rapidly in the United States,2 with an estimated three to seven million adherents in the United States alone.3 To put that into perspective, the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church counts its membership at just over one 1Paul Everett Pierson, The Dynamics of Christian Mission: History Through a Missiological Perspective (Pasadena, CA: William Carey International University Press, 2009), 41. 2“Growth of Religion,” Wikipedia, July 2, 2017; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_religion#Islam (accessed July 10, 2017). Lipka agrees, adding that Islam is growing faster than all other religions globally. Michael Lipka, “Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world” Pew Research Center, August 9, 2017; http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and- islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ (accessed August 14, 2017). 3Lipka. Martin quotes from a Muslim source that estimates as many as seven million Muslims in the United States. Carlos G. Martin, Christianity Among the Religions of the World (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2007), 289. 1 2 million members.4 This means that there are three to seven times as many Muslims in the United States as there are Seventh-day Adventists in the entire North American Division. In light of Islam's increase in the West, Samuel Escobar, a Peruvian missiologist, gave this commentary: One of the most significant trends in recent years is the resurgence of Islam, making it one of the greatest missionary challenges of today . Islam is now a rival of Christianity . even in the heart of cities in Europe and the United States.5 With this commentary in mind, it is imperative that missiologists confront the issues of reaching Islam not only in a Middle Eastern or Southeast Asian context, but now in the context of Western nations such as Europe and the United States. This paper seeks to address the missiological issue of contextualization within the context of Islam in the United States and provide a Seventh-day Adventist evangelization model to reach Muslims within the United States. 4General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, ”Annual Charts and Statistics,” Seventh-day Adventist Church Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research; http://www.adventiststatistics.org/ view_Summary.asp?FieldID=D_NAD (accessed May 19, 2015). 5Samuel Escobar, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 81-82. 3 Statement of Problem Although there may be a strong case for focusing mission efforts on Muslims living within the United States, there still remains the challenge of defining how missions should be conducted. For more than 20 years, missiologists have wrestled primarily with the issue of Muslim identity as it relates to Christian missions.6 How much of Islamic culture, customs, language, and beliefs are converts allowed to retain? Do converts need to identify themselves as Christian, or is it allowable for them to retain their Muslim identity while accepting certain doctrines of the Christian faith? If they can retain their identity, which doctrines are essential, and which are non-essential? Regarding these types of questions, Peter Roennfeldt, a Seventh-day Adventist Church planter, stated that “a major challenge to both individual witness and official dialogue is a lack of any consensus on how Adventists should relate to Muslims.”7 This lack of clarity poses a real problem for missions. How missiologists and Muslims have chosen to respond to these questions has resulted in various Christ-centered 6Timothy Tennent, “The Hidden History of Insider Movements,” Christianity Today 57, no. 1 (January/February 2013): 28; http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/hidden- history-of-insider-movements.html?start=1 (accessed July 20, 2015). 7Peter Roennfeldt, “Faith Development in Context: An Overview,” in Faith Development in Context: Symposium Papers, ed. Bruce L. Bauer (Berrien Springs, MI: Department of World Mission, Andrews University, 2005), 32. 4 communities being formed. These different Christ-centered communities each “contextualize their new faith in Christ along a spectrum.”8 For some within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, C-5 missions, which represents the far end of the spectrum (now re-labeled as Faith Development in Context), pose a threat to the identity and mission of the Church.9 Others, however, have taken an approach that sees remnant theology in a way which is inclusive to other religions, rather than exclusive to the
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