Postmoderns & Muslims: the relationship factor

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Postmoderns & Muslims: the relationship factor

By Neal Foster ⋅ September 30, 2007 ⋅

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Recently, there has been a growing awareness that significant similarities exist between most Islamic contexts and what may be considered the emerging postmodern Western subculture, particularly in the United States. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on one specific instance of the “postmodern” culture: college students in the US. We will also focus on one main aspect of this culture which is also shared with a generalized idea of Islamic culture: the value of relationship.

Relational methods are key

Let us first consider a generalized Muslim context. Which method of evangelization should we consider when thinking about outreach to Muslims?

To begin with, any method which does not promote a relationship between the evangelist and the Muslim is one that is less than biblical. After all, the gospel itself, the good news we want to share, is that God has provided a way for humans to have a restored relationship with Him through Jesus! And how did He evangelize humankind with this good news? He became a man who was able to meet us where we are and explain this good news in ways which we as humans can understand. In other words, Jesus gave first-century AD Jews a “culturally sensitive, spiritually authentic opportunity to discover Jesus Christ and decide whether to submit to him”!1 This, as well, must be our attitude as missionaries or evangelists. Any method which does not establish relationship (between the evangelist and the evangelized) misrepresents and corrupts the good news of right relationship with God.

If the good news is right relationship with God, then it follows the best medium for communicating this message is a relationship. The means, in this case, is the same as the end: authentic relationship. What better way to share the love of God than by loving the one who does not yet know what that love means?

More than theologically or biblically, though, this idea has utilitarian benefits, as well. “Many studies show that the personal relationship between evangelizer and evangelized is of chief importance.” 2 The kind of relationship promoted in this article is a direct, face-to-face relationship, because this is the kind which Jesus had with the people in the Jewish culture when he walked the earth. “The most effective method of evangelism and the most widespread, in the long run, in its results, is conversation evangelism, where one who has found Jesus shares his discovery, his problems, his joys and his sorrows with one who is still groping in the dark.”3

Focusing on relationships is especially important when dealing with Muslims, for their mindset in general is much closer to the Middle Eastern culture into which Jesus came. Because he focused so much on developing relationships with the Jews in his setting, this shows us we must, at the very least, consider the idea people groups with similar cultures to the first-century Middle East would be most receptive to the gospel when it is presented that way. Additionally, from my own experience working with Muslims and learning from missionaries who have much greater experience in Muslim cultures than I, I recognize the importance of developing relationships and propagating the gospel along these relational lines.

Another consideration in evangelization is: people movements to Christ always happen along existing relational lines. This is the very definition of a “people movement.” After all, the missiological definition of a people group is a group of people through whom a church-planting movement can spread without encountering significant barriers of understanding or acceptance.4 Therefore, no unreached people group will be penetrated with the gospel unless it prioritizes how the gospel may be transmitted along relational lines (through networks of friendships). This is true for all people groups—not just Muslims. This points out again that the gospel must be communicated in a way that values relationships and is easily and quickly transferable between friends (that is, along relational lines). The missionary to a Muslim culture must also understand the importance of relational networks, which means valuing community as much as Muslims do.

It is axiomatic that people in Muslim cultures identify more with their specific community than most people in Western cultures, where independence and individualism is praised. People (that is, friendships) are valued higher than tasks in these Muslims cultures.

Therefore, forming personal relationships with Muslims is paramount. As someone who identifies somewhat with this subculture, I suggest that believers from a “postmodern” setting may fit this task.

Postmodernism is…

What do I mean by “postmodern”? I mean mainly a mindset that rejects the idea (defined by “modernity”) that truth is ultimately best understood rationally and propositionally.

In other words, “Postmodernity doesn’t mean a mere adjustment of modernity. It is a quantum leap into a new world of ideas, values, and ethics. All of Western society has been impacted, and nothing is really the same. Rationalism, faith in the future, and many of the ideas that fueled modern Western life have been discarded or, at least, reinvented.”5 Instead of seeing truth propositionally, American college students (for example) see it in the context of relationship with other persons. “Nothing is more attractive to them than honest and authentic relationships.”6

This naturally leads to an emphasis on community, life shared with others. “Students regularly express how their community is central to their identity.”7 Members of this Western subculture have in general realized that meaning in life is not found by well-argued rational propositions or dogmatic assertions of truth; rather, inspiration by and pursuit of the mystery of a relationship with God through Christ holds more promise for real life.

These types of believers are also more willing than most other believers to dialogue with an unbeliever while evangelizing, and in a Muslim’s eyes, this helps establish a relationship and give credibility to the message of the gospel.

This should sound familiar to anyone who has spent time in a Muslim context! As mentioned, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a Muslim people group where personal relationships and community are not paramount.

The ideas mentioned in this article should give a good starting point for considering how people from an under-mobilized subculture of the Western church can use their values and gifts to spread the gospel in ways which can be received by Muslims. Specifically, the evangelist must remember the importance of relationship—that is, life-on-life sharing and teaching. Any methods or philosophies which do not emphasize this, besides being sub-biblical, are not likely to work in a Muslim people group.

In conclusion, we must remember that God wants the knowledge of His glory to fill the earth like the waters in the sea. This will happen, but He desires to use us to do it. Therefore, as stewards of His resources and gifts, it is our delight and act of worship to take advantage of His provision to communicate God’s love and truth to all peoples!