Perceptions About Christianity
Stories of How Perceptions About Christianity Changed.
We partner with Paul* and Silas* with Ecclesia Ministries (formerly Community Transformation Ministries) in western Sudan.
Silas shares with us a few stories about how perceptions about Christians and Christianity changed when the following people began to seek and ask questions.
Kia* comes from a very devout Muslim background. She was a faithful adherent to the faith down to wearing conservative Hijab clothing. The particular branch of Islam she came from forbade her to even shake hands with men.
Kia is studious. She vigorously studied the five main schools of thought in Islamic law and philosophy: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Ja’fari. She was particularly interested in the topics about women's inferiority. She believed that the hierarchical difference between men and women in her branch of Islam came from God and was told not to question. She should listen and obey. But when she read the Bible, she found that both men and women are created in God's image and they are equal, having an equal value before God. They are to help each other.
Kia took up reading more of the Bible. She took three years to understand the gospel message. She has given us a hard time at the church. She would raise discussions based on her Muslim studies and challenge us with her questions. She began to see that the things she was formerly taught were not true. Confronted with the gospel, she was always surprised by the truth she found in the Bible.
It was a big shock the day Kia accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. She had been questioning for so long.
After coming to faith, she has experienced beatings from her husband. It is recommended in the Quran that a man should strike his wife if she makes a mistake. So when she found that this is not found in the Bible, she softened her attitude towards Christianity. Finally, she came to meet Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.
After coming to faith, Kia would place back on her Hijab and attend the meetings where she used to study Islamic teachings. These meetings are planned by Muslim leaders to bring women into the mosques, teach them, and spread Islam. Zakia would raise questions to the Shaikhs (leaders) there about things she was learning from the Bible. She would bring information from the Islamic triangle of resources (the Quran, Hadith, and Sira). In the Quran, Surah-Nisa verse 34, it says, "men are superior to women.” She would press them on verses like this. The Shaikhs got so furious about it, refusing to answer. They would stop the meetings and then not return.
Kia now actively shares the gospel with others. Some of Zika’s friends started coming to her home. They have discussions about these issues which lead to sharing the gospel. Three of these friends have accepted Christ. Others are on their way.
Haman* was a committed Muslim. He came from a long line of Imams (Muslim leaders) tracing back to his great-grandfather. They were part of a group of Quran memorizers, learning the entire Quran by heart.
“We showed the Jesus film in Khamsadagaig, an area in Central Darfur,” shares Silas*. “After five days, I got a phone call. The person introduced himself as Haman. He said that he watched the Jesus film and that he was very intrigued by the gospel message. He invited me to talk with him. I told him, ‘I am free and you can call me at any time and I will come and meet with you.’ He asked me, ‘Can you come now?’ I said, ‘Yes, I will be there right away.’”
“I visited Haman at Khamsadagaig. He and his six friends were there. I found them seriously talking about Jesus. They were discussing the difference between what they had heard about Jesus from the Quran and what they had watched in the film. I spent four hours with them and unexpectedly, all of them accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord!”
Throughout this past year, the church in Zalingei received intense threats from the community. A group of Muslim adherents threatened to destroy the church building and kill all the Christians associated with the church. Among this group, was a man named Kabir*.
Several times Kabir came into town carrying his knife so that he could possibly stab any Christian he met on the street. He believed that in doing so, he would gain access to heaven.
When opportunities did not present themselves, he changed tactics.
He sought out a Bible. Kabir believed that he could collect enough information to debate with Christian believers and somehow accuse them or point out false beliefs. He sent his friend to get a Bible from the church. His friend took the Bible and gave it to Kabir. Kabir started reading the Gospel of John because he had been told that the promised prophet Muhammad is written about in the Gospel of John. So he studied the Gospel of John diligently. He didn't find anything written about Muhammad. Rather, he read about the Holy Spirit whom he had never heard about before.
As he read, the end of John 15 and the start of chapter 16 grabbed his attention. He read that Christians will be expelled from the synagogues, their place of worship. And the time is coming when those who kill them will think they are doing a holy service to God.
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
John 16:2-3 ESV
Shocked, Kabir thought the Bible was directly addressing him. He continued reading. At the end of the day, he asked, “If Christians know all these, why don’t they run away?” He was confused. He asked God to help him understand. He said, “Let me find one of these Christians to ask about these issues so I can understand them better.”
He met Barak*, an associate pastor of the church, in the market and shared what he had discovered while reading the Bible. Barak knew this man Kabir and was afraid that he was trying to instigate a problem. He told Kabir that they could meet later in the day.
Barak came back to the church and told Silas* about Kabir approaching him in town. Later that day, they went together to meet Kabir. Kabir shared his story again. Silas opened his Bible to Acts 9 to share with him the story of Saul who, on his way to Damascus to imprison followers of Christ, encountered the Lord who gave him a new mission.
Kabir said, “I have already decided to follow Christ. I just don't know how to become a Christian.” Silas explained to him about repentance and faith in Jesus. He encouraged him to continue to grow in his new faith by continuing to read the Bible, gather with other believers, and pray to God.
*Names altered to protect the identity of those working in areas of increased persecution.