The Leading Edge
Persian Conversions
by Phil Johnson
I have been intrigued for several years by reports of Muslims having visions of Jesus and then seeking out missionaries to learn more. I've remained skeptical, as the reports I can find on the internet seem to be hearsay or from very limited sources.
Last week, my wife, who works in the church library, brought home the August issue of Christianity Today. She thought I would want to read the cover story of two scientists who are both Christians but who have very different understandings of origins. I did enjoy reading the article, even though, since it included only a theistic evolutionist and a young-earth creationist, I felt it left out an important and growing view of how to understand the origins issues.
Courageous Conversions
What was perhaps more interesting to me was finding in the same issue an article entitled "The Other Iranian Revolution." This piece reported that hundreds, or even thousands, of Muslim Iranians living in Germany, many of whom prefer to call themselves Persians, have been seeking out biblically faithful Christian churches in Germany and then converting to Christianity.
Islamic law imposes the death penalty for "apostasy" (conversion away from Islam). Of course, German law permits conversion either to or from Islam, but an Iranian Muslim contemplating conversion would have to take into account that a Muslim neighbor might decide that it was his duty to exact the death penalty by private action. Apart from the threat of violence, a would-be convert would face enormous social pressure from neighbors and relatives to return to Islam "before it was too late." Thus, even in a Western country, a Muslim wishing to convert to Christianity would need plenty of courage and more than a little stubbornness to follow through with his determination and be baptized.
The article also mentioned countless reports of Muslims having visions of Jesus, who always makes clear that he is the Jesus of the Bible, not Isa of the Qu'ran. He directs them to certain faithful pastors, priests, congregations, or house churches, where they subsequently hear the gospel.
The accounts are reminiscent of St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. In fact, the story of Muslim visions of Jesus followed by conversion to Christianity is so fascinating, and so important for prospects of world peace, that I wonder why I am hearing nothing about it in the secular media, if it is really occurring as some Christian sources say. Perhaps the reason is that secular journalists and editors are often blind to matters that come from a religious consciousness, which they do not understand.
Hopeful yet Wary
The Christianity Today article was specifically about what is happening in Germany, in both Lutheran churches and churches of other denominations, all of which preach the Word. What I like about what is said to be happening is that the Muslims go through an extensive process of learning about the Christian faith before they are baptized. These converts appear to have a good understanding of what they are doing and why.
I found the article hopeful and encouraging. So my stance toward the reports of Muslim visions of Jesus is that I am very interested, but also wary for now. I want to see more evidence, along with reactions from persons with a variety of predispositions. I would also like to know what kinds of Muslims are most and least likely to convert and why. And I'd like to see reports detailing the number of conversions and the circumstances surrounding them, by investigators who can distinguish clearly between what we can know for sure, and what we can only hope for. For if Jesus is truly appearing to Muslims in visions in our time and leading them to accept him as Lord, this is the most important event to be happening on earth in many centuries.•
Phillip E. Johnson is Professor of Law (emeritus) at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Darwin on Trial, The Wedge of Truth, The Right Questions (InterVarsity Press), and other books challenging the naturalistic assumptions that dominate modern culture. He is a contributing editor of Touchstone.
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more on conversion from the online archives
more from the online archives
19.10—December 2006
Training Up a Child Requires a Well-Formed Imagination by David Mills
33.2—March/April 2020
Encounters with Faith & Forgiveness in Communities of Faith by Nicole M. King
31.1—January/February 2018
The Wisdom of the Victorian Quest for Innocence by David Sandifer
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