A Deadly Misunderstanding, Mark Siljander (Harper One, 2008)
by: Matthew Hundley
Christians and non-Christians often find “bridges” into each others lives through aspects of the culture which they enjoy--films, books, music and literature. When a Christian is faced with developing a relationship with a Muslim we may first look for common cultural interests as well; in doing so, however, we miss the most evident “bridge” before us: Jesus Christ.
While he was a congressman Mark Siljander discovered that key to developing meaningful relationships with Muslim leaders was earnest conversations about faith. To his surprise he found that Jesus (Isa) and the Gospel message (Injil) were welcome topics of conversation.
A Deadly Misunderstanding is about learning to understand Islam using Christ as the conduit. For Siljander, the quest for more meaningful dialogue with Muslims led him to intense study of the New Testament in Aramaic. To his surpise many key tenants of the Christian faith, as spelled out in Aramaic, were echoed in the Arabic Koran.
Siljander’s approach to evangelism in A Deadly Misunderstanding challenges traditional methods taken by the church in reaching Mulsims. He draws upon mentions of Christ in the Koran and upon prayer to develop relationships with Muslims. His resource pool includes theologians, politicians and world leaders. You may not agree with all his methods, but I guarantee you will be fascinated by his results.
Posted: December 01, 2009   |
