Friday 24 March 2006

Afghans and Insider Movements?

For today's post, I refer to R-Liz and her salient comment and query from yesterday's post.

WOW! Thanks for this excellent question – Insider Movements is a terrific topic for on-going discussion, not just one post or a two-line answer to your comment (sorry!). There are several contextual levels with regards to ‘insider movements’. Which one are you referring to? This concept of missiology is quite complex.

Just Googling ‘Insider Movements’ can inundate you with a host of resources. One of the first to come up is a good, recent intro and pretty much gets to the heart of the matter – ‘Evaluating Insider Movements’, C5 (Messianic Muslims)’, St Francis Magazine Nr 4, 2006. Just
the footnotes alone are worth their weight in resource material.

Reading through the descriptions of the models of contextualisation as described by John Travis in this article, I have seen elements practiced from each of these models, depending upon the Muslim countries and communities I’ve been in (Pakistan, India, Thailand, Egypt). One could argue that some of these models are also operating in non-Muslim cultures where I have worked and now live. Look at how Christianity as a religion has splintered off in America, for instance with it’s many indigenous forms of denominationalism, which frankly do not have much relevancy in other parts of this great world God created.

As with any missiology method, the proof of the pudding will be in the rate of attrition. What state of affairs have missionaries left ‘their mission’ in when it was time for them to pack up and go back home? How effectively is the mission integrating the Gospel of Christ with those who live and breathe in the culture to which they are born? Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? We can get terrific glimpses of this through the very first models of ‘Insider Movement’ given to us by the Apostles Peter and Paul – their cultural differences offer plenty for us to learn from! Hmmm ... I wonder what they would think of all these paradigms and terminologies?

Sometimes I feel that our American approach to foreign missions has resembled a Marine Commando mission. In our patriotic passions, we have gone OTT to preach our American idealism more than the ideals of Christ. The conversion is incomplete if Americanism is not in evidence. It’s easy to do. Why? Because our American culture has become as much a part of our ‘religious fabric’ as an Afghan’s culture is a part of theirs (i.e., we think we are the only ones who know more than the Brits or other Western nations what freedom is all about.) Reverse the scenario. Have a Moslem from Afghanistan come into your hometown and begin his mission programme on you. How would you react? What parts of this mission programme would you react the most negatively/positively to?

My feeling is that until one has lived in another culture and tasted the bread of those who suffer or survive differently, the homework is incomplete. It helps tremendously for the Christ follower to get to know the people with Christ’s love first, without wearing ‘Christian’ or religion on one's shirtsleeves. Gaining a respect for their history and how it parallels the development of the universality of the Christian church goes hand in hand. The task is a bit presumptuous to decide from afar on some church board or missions committee as to which method would get Christ’s approval. When you are there, amongst the people in their world, Christ will lead you in the way he and the Holy Spirit deem best for the Kingdom.

Presently, my concern is that the international political community – and in particular the American government under the leadership of the Bush administration and stoked by America’s religious right interest groups – is going to try to reconcile religious dilemmas by using Marine Commando tactics, thereby endangering many lives – both Afghan and Allied – in the process. They will undoubtedly, through their rhetoric and reactionary hubris, politicise it all in the name of ‘fighting terrorism’ and by demanding that the ‘universal freedom of religion’ be adhered to – or else! And then when it all goes pear-shaped deem the losses as mere ‘collateral damage’.

A couple of points:

  • Afghans translate ‘freedom of religion’ as written in the Afghan Constitution (penned eons ago, not this latest UN attempt), as meaning foreigners in Afghanistan are free to practice their religious beliefs, quietly, and out of earshot of any Afghan. So this law exists, then, for the foreigner whose universal ways corrupt the spiritual path of the Afghan.
  • For the Christian, the unforgivable sin is to renounce faith and belief in God and by extension, the Triumvirate. The Christian is bound by this law (which we see as freedom) as intrinsically as the Afghans are bound by their belief in Allah (God), which they also perceive as freedom.
  • When Christians decide to turn away from their faith, they can be tolerated by others as backsliders, embraced by their world, and wait awhile before being renounced by God on the Day of Judgement.
  • When Afghans decide to turn away from their faith, they are immediately renounced by their world and Allah. They are considered dead and any association with them is unclean and corrupt.
  • When outsiders push the Afghans into a corner, they dig their heels in and fight back.

Ah, so much to discuss! Any other thoughts out there?

(Today's picture is of my father and baby brother, shortly after our arrival to the Kandahar landscape. Courtesy of our family photo album.)

7 Comments:

Blogger Darren K. said...

Deb,

Thanks so much for taking this topic head-on. I was a missions minor in college, but don't remember any mention of 'insider movements.' I subscribe to "Mission Frontiers" magazine, and they had a whole issue devoted to this topic several months back. At first I thought they were going to be talking about People Movements, but quickly realized this was a completely different concept. (And you're right-- what would the apostles think of us deconstructing the Great Commission like a Science project?)

Let me first say I've been looking everywhere for my copy of this magazine, but can't seem to find it! So all of this will be from recollection.

I was fascinated by this notion for several reasons. Let me first say that I know all about contexualizing the gospel, but this took it a step further. For instance, the term "Christian" is no longer used (or necessary!) as it's a term that has so many meanings and conceptions, creating cultural barriers all over the world. Instead, people were allowed to continue to carry the name "Hindu" or "Muslim" or whatever, but manifested this new-found faith through previously 'other' religious means. For instance, Muslims may continue to pray five times a day towards Mecca, but now they'll be praying to Jesus. Also, it's not uncommon for Hindus to have a 'primary' God they worship, so they make this primary God Jesus, and more or less take out all the rest. These were some of the examples the magazine gave, although I know there are more.

A second reason I was intrigued was because it really made me wonder about how many of my MUSTS that I feel a believer should do are actually cultural and how many are biblical, or something else? I thought I had already gone as far as a person could go with having the bare minimum of MUSTS, but the insiders movement concept pushed me even further in my thinking, and had me reflecting upon my faith in a way I never had before. I don't have a problem with a believer worshiping corporately on Friday versus Sunday, but what if this believer doesn't want to be called a Christian, but a Muslim? Is it important that a person stand-out in their new-found faith, or instead to blend in with their culture?-- Which leads me to my next thought on evangelism...

I also wondered if this is a new and better way to spread the gospel to areas of the world that are so resistant to 'Christianity' b/c of all the cultural implications this word has wrapped itself into. Could this be another 'contexualized' way of presenting the gospel, or is it syncretism? And above all, where is that line drawn?

Someone once told me he felt like missionaries were the most open-minded people in the world, simply because of all they've had to endure and conceive, and I can see what he means by that. I really enjoy reading about all that is being contemplated upon the world-wide mission field because I feel like THIS is where our faith is truly challenged, formed and then put into practice. More so than in the classroom.

Through your experiences, are there examples of insider movements that went too far (crossed 'the line', if you will) and are there examples you felt were blessed by God? And thanks for the article you referenced-- it was another good one on this topic. ~ R-Liz (using Darren K's login identity)

25 March, 2006 02:15  
Blogger Beverly said...

Is that a pic of your family?

25 March, 2006 21:16  
Blogger Deb said...

LIZ: Thanks for your unbelievably awesome 'follow-up' comment! We are having a hectic weekend, but I will get back to you SOON on this topic. I LOVE how you write about having to let go of your 'MUSTS' ... that really resonates, especially when you find yourself living in a parallel world or planet. Man, I wish we could just sit and have coffee and talk.

BEV: Yes, that's my darlin' dad and precious baby brother. We had not been in Afghanistan but a couple of weeks, and were still trying to get used to the camera -- everything was overexposed! But it adds a certain atmosphere of netherworldliness, don'tcha think? Which of the humans in the pic look out of place? :)

25 March, 2006 21:28  
Blogger R-Liz said...

Deb-- I appreciate you allowing my lengthy comment. Understanding people of other cultures is one of my passions. B/c you seem to share this passion, I just let loose and kept writing.

Coffee would be great. The next time you're in Oregon or I'm in your part of the UK, we'll have to aim for that. In the meantime, I'll look forward to reading more of your wonderful insights here.

25 March, 2006 22:47  
Blogger Beverly said...

okay..I am ready for a new post..I am loving reading about you.

02 April, 2006 23:58  
Blogger Beverly said...

hey..deb..you know that your blog does not have to be eloquent don't you...that's the good news about my blogging circle..we just blurt out whatever we are feeling and forget that someone might google it...that is how we have become such close friends..
now...blog what you saw today or what you felt today or what you wish had happened today..because otherwise you are making us look like lesser bloggers because yours are so perfect and beautiful...just a thought..I love you..my mom is so excited that we are back in touch

10 April, 2006 21:42  
Blogger R-Liz said...

I completely agree with Beverly. I'm excited you know something about missions, but I don't want my enthusiasm to shut down future blog entries. We can pick this topic up later. Please...come back to us!

11 April, 2006 02:20  

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