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Apologia Report 19:41 (1,224)
November 26, 2014
Subject: Challenging the 'Insider Movement' in Muslim evangelism
In this issue:
EVANGELISM - "spiritual but not religious" as a symptom of "what truly ails the postmodern soul"
HOMOSEXUALITY - "homophobia won't be eliminated in this country until religion, especially Christianity, has ended"
ISLAM - is the Insider Movement the "most mercurial" missiological development known in our post-Lausanne era?
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EVANGELISM
When "Spiritual But Not Religious" Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church, by Lillian Daniel [1] -- Andrew Kinsey writes in his Missiology review (42:3 - 2014, p326) that the author "has struck the proverbial raw nerve with this book. An ordained United Church of Christ pastor, Daniel ... articulates the ways the 'spiritual but not religious' (SBNR) mantra misses the point....
"[W]hat Daniel offers is an ongoing argument that challenges the taken-for-granted assumptions of what the 'bland majority' of SBNR folks affirm. That Daniel speaks out against this kind of blandness only indicates how she has provided a meaningful, if not perceptive, way of engaging in thoughtful provocation. ...
"Surely, [readers] will see how such views become tiresome, even boring; in fact, they will see how the whole notion of SBNR is but only a symptom of what truly ails the postmodern soul."
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HOMOSEXUALITY
Slouching Towards Gaytheism: Christianity and Queer Survival in America, by W. C. Harris [2] -- counter to the thinking that conflict between gays and conservatives is essentially one-sided, Tony E. Adams (Northeastern Illinois University) writes in Choice (Nov '14, n.p.): "Harris offers a necessary, compelling, and comprehensive study about the incompatibility of queerness and religion. Key observations include the unfortunate inability to debate or discredit religious doctrine/discourse; the queer potentials of purity subculture such as how it can offer (closeted) queer teens time for self/same-sex exploration, safety from homophobic tirades, and a sanctioned ability to avoid heterosexual relations; the homoerotic possibilities of ex-gay residential programs, and how an ex-gay person can 'sin' by engaging in a same-sex sexual act and then, discursively, rejoice in the need for vigilance and strength; and how even 'progressive' religions such as the Metropolitan Community Church and 'pro-queer' campaigns such as the It Gets Better Project <itgetsbetter.org> are intolerant and homophobic in their advocacy of heteronormative, anti-queer values such as love, monogamy, marriage, and reproduction. Throughout, Harris encourages queers to abandon the desire for approval from religious sources, as most (if not all), he argues, are violent toward and harmful for queers. Instead, he suggests, queers should focus on self-love, support, and survival."
The amazon.com description tells us that Harris "explores a range of recent movements, such as Dan Savage's 'It Gets Better' project, reparative 'ex-gay' therapy, Christian purity culture, and attempts by liberal Christians to reconcile religion with homosexuality, and shows how these proposed solutions are either inadequate or positively dangerous. According to the author, the time has come for 'gaytheism': leaving religion behind in order to preserve queer dignity, rights, and lives." (And don't overlook the reviewer comments this time.)
The review in Theology Today (71:3 - 2014, pp364-5) by Brian Bromberger (Deacon, St. John of God Roman Catholic Church, San Francisco) begins: "Upon reading W.C. Harris's polemical book one wonders if one has finished a satire because some of the ideas incorporated verge on the farcically absurd. His central thesis is that homophobia won't be eliminated in this country until religion, especially Christianity, has ended. Harris, an English professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, proposes a new era of 'gaytheism,' meaning that LGBT people who find themselves in need of 'queer communal belonging' should reject religion and become atheists. The book is an angry diatribe on the 'consistently antagonistic [and] often murderous impact of religious discourse in America on its queer constituents. ...
"Harris seems most offended by mainstream Christianity's promotion of monogamous lesbian/gay relationships and its condemnation of casual intimacy, denounced as promiscuity. The limited understanding of spirituality (a term he derides) that queer people should accept must be transgressive, subversive, and liberating. This is where the satirical elements enter, because influenced by the work of gay psychoanalytic theorist Tim Dean, Harris's ideal community promotes unprotected sex where, by breeding viruses in each other's bodies, gay men develop new intimate kinships and form a 'bug brotherhood' of fraternal relatives as well as 'transmitting a cultural legacy.' ...
"The book is primarily a love poem to the virtues of atheism from an LGBT perspective with generous quotes from the latest gurus of skepticism....
"Harris's chilling attack on religion should remind the church that in spite of incredible growth it still has a long road ahead in both its outreach and contrition toward gay people." Apparently, it hasn't dawned on Harris that "conversion is always a two-way street - that the radical change in Protestant denominations has occurred precisely because LGBTs remained and fought for their equal rights as baptized children of God."
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ISLAM
Chrislam: How Missionaries Are Promoting an Islamized Gospel, Joshua Lingel, Jeff Morton, and Bill Nikides, eds.[3] -- the review of Benjamin Hegeman (Baatonou Language Bible College, Benin) in Evangelical Review of Theology (38:3 - 2014, pp286-8) begins: "Who has not heard the thunder rumbling on the missions-to-Muslims fronts? ... Evangelical quarters in North America ... are, according to Jay Smith, 'funding the insider movements out of ignorance.'"
Hegeman calls the Insider Movement (IM) "the most mercurial missiological movement known in our post-Lausanne era." He reports that "in a Christian world that now recognises more than 500 Evangelical emerging experts on Islam, listening to 50 leaders in this selected anthology is, frankly, impressive. ...
"Lingel, who is both the i2 Ministries <i2ministries.org> director and a global apologist, contributes two chapters in the book critiquing the Muslim-friendly Bible translations. West African missionary and i2 Ministries curriculum writer Jeff Morton focused three further chapters on the 'dubious missiology' of IM, while Presbyterian minister and i2 Ministries Asian researcher Bill Kikides contributed three additional chapters, chiefly on IM's questionable theological underpinnings. This book is truly an i2 Ministries production. ...
"What horrifies [the authors] is the IM theology of keeping new believers inside the very forms of the religion of Islam. ...
"[IMers] will need much grace to hear most of the authors' strong pent-up critique and, 'prove it from the whole of Scripture.' [I]f these accusations are not answered satisfactorily, it may well cause a lot of generous churches to cease sending their funds to them. ...
"For two decades, the spokespeople for the creative IM movements have crowed like proud roosters over alleged numerical breakthroughs among Muslims. They do well now to hear this text's theological roar from historical orthodox thinkers and accept that this is one missiological storm within which they would be wise to not duck and hide."
Other contributors to the volume include Alan Shlemon, staff apologist of Stand to Reason. For further background, see "High Stakes: Insider Movement Hermeneutics and the Gospel" by David B. Garner <www.ow.ly/EPIQY>
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - When "Spiritual But Not Religious" Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church, by Lillian Daniel (Jericho, 2013, hardcover, 224 pages) <www.ow.ly/kIeVb>
2 - Slouching Towards Gaytheism: Christianity and Queer Survival in America, by W. C. Harris (SUNY Prs, 2014, paperback, 278 pages) <www.ow.ly/EJb7H>
3 - Chrislam: How Missionaries Are Promoting an Islamized Gospel, Joshua Lingel, Jeff Morton, and Bill Nikides, eds. (i2 Ministries Pub, 2012, paperback) <www.ow.ly/EJ6Z8>
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