Untitled - St.Francis Magazine

St Francis Magazine Vol 8, No 2 | April 2012 IS THE SCANDAL FOR MUSLIMS THE HOW OR THE WHO? By Rev. Fred Farrokh 69 As a Christian of Muslim background, I can appreciate the many challenges the Church has faced over the past fourteen centuries in presenting the Gospel to Muslims. It is not surprising there is much debate in Christian circles on how best to accomplish this commission. The fault line in this debate in 2012 seems to have settled over translation issues related to the divine, familial terms, “Father” and “Son of God.” 70 Since Bible translations rest upon certain theological and missiological foundations, any miscalculations in laying these foundations will tip the whole “Dar al-­‐Translation” out of plumb. In this article I suggest that Christians and Muslims believe essentially the same thing regarding the how question: How did Jesus Christ come into the world? I will conclude that the main scandal for Muslims is the who question: Who is this Jesus Christ who has come into the world? The former scandal is divine procreation; the latter is divine incarnation. By placing so much emphasis on explaining away divine procreation, we are losing ground in presenting divine incarnation. This imbalance has a profound effect on Muslim evangelism, of which Bible translation into Muslim languages plays an inestimable role. I hope to reflect the perspective of one 69 Rev. Fred Farrokh is a Christian of Muslim family background. He is a missionary with Elim Fellowship and currently serves as Executive Director of Jesus For Muslims Network in Metro New York.70 For example, see “The Son and The Crescent,” Christianity Today, www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/february/soncrescent.html and, a petition to Wycliffe Bible Translators and others to retain familial terms in the Bible: www.change.org/petitions/lost-­‐in-­‐translation-­‐keep-­‐father-­‐son-­‐in-­‐the-­bible213