The figure mentioned in there of two million Muslims converting each year appears pretty incredible to me, as in one should not believe it. After a bit of digging I think the number is way too high.
That having been said, Muslims are turning to Christ in Indonesia in significant numbers, we are talking about tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands per year. Time Magazine has a good article from 2010 about this, authored by Temang Gung and Hannah Beech (my favorite writer for Time who looks like she's twelve :-)
The article is titled Christianity's Surge in Indonesia and you can read it all HERE. For now, here is one section about this surprising growth and also the persecution that comes along with a vibrant, bold, growing faith.
What is it about Evangelical Christianity that has so resonated in Indonesia? As in many other crowded, developing-world countries where a person can feel lost in a teeming slum, the concept of individual salvation is a powerful one. At the same time, the attempted hijacking of Muslim theology by a small band of homegrown terrorists who have killed hundreds of Indonesians in recent years has led some to question their nation's majority faith. So, too, has the general trend toward a more conservative Islam that has given rise to hundreds of religiously inspired bylaws, from caning for beer-drinking to enforced dress codes for women.Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1982223,00.html#ixzz25P5YtmOL
8 comments:
It depends on where you go. In Nigeria, the numbers are promising.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Rjm31nQv4&feature=player_detailpage
Look forward to checking this out, thanks. I have also heard there are large numbers of Muslims coming to Christ in Ethiopia. If anyone has any info on that please do share it.
Great video, when do we get to read some more Missionary Secrets posts?
I wonder if the numbers are related to this phenomenon:
http://www.worldmag.com/podcast/worldandeverything.php?episode=1868
Many Muslim converts to Christianity say Jesus appeared to them in dreams
Roy, coming up! One of the problems is that I never know who reads what, and thus what people want more of on this blog. So I'm just dancing in the dark, you know--me and Bruce Springsteen. Anyway, will have some more missionary secrets up next week. We have lots of em...
Jack of Clubs: Dreams are part of the recipe, but just one ingredient, and one that is overemphasized to be honest. I mean, someone has a dream but if they can't find a solid local Christian or church then they have nowhere to go, do they?
The comment that worried me was the quick phrase, "Do whatever is necessary." Although the examples that followed were dealing with social networking and peaceful, "whatever is necessary" need not be confined to such. We've seen elsewhere that saving Maryam includes killing Maryam, and that threat is what hangs over the whole question elsewhere.
GSK: Frankly, Muslims use this sort of verbiage quite a bit, and it works well. It intimidates people but they can also say, of course it was not a threat!
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