Narratives and Questions: Exploring the Scriptures with Muslims

by Jeff Morton

The Mulla was walking down the village street deep in thought, when some urchins began to throw stones at him. He was taken by surprise, and besides he was not a big man.

The Mulla was walking down the village street deep in thought, when some urchins began to throw stones at him. He was taken by surprise, and besides he was not a big man.

“Don’t do that, and I will tell you something of interest to you.”

“All right, what is it? But no philosophy.”

“The Emir is giving a free banquet to all comers.”

The children ran off towards the Emir’s house as Mulla Nasrudin warmed to this theme, the delicacies and delights of the banquet entertainment… He looked up and saw the children disappearing in the distance. Suddenly he tucked up his robes and started to sprint after them.

“I’d better go and see,” he panted to himself, “because it might be true after all” (Shah 1968:22).

I am consistently amazed at the power of story. Educated to think linearly and propositionally, I thought stories and storytelling with regard to the gospel were only for children. Over time, however, I have been converted to the use of biblical stories in evangelism—especially with Muslims.

THE DREADED "T-QUESTION"
During the initial stages of my doctoral research, I met with four prospective interviewees, each a convert from Christianity to Islam. As we sat in a restaurant and introduced ourselves, I began to inform the group about my hopes to interview them. Amir (not his real name), abruptly asked, “Can you please explain the Trinity?” Just like that, without any warning, I was faced with the dreaded “T-question.” Amir expanded his question with an impressive knowledge of the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed. “So, why should I believe in the Trinity?” he summarized.

Taking what I hoped appeared to be a nonchalant sip of coffee, I began mentally preparing my answer. First, I thought I might take the God is three-whos but one-what approach. The second possibility was to asseverate the mystery of the Godhead. Third, I mused over God as one essence, but still three distinct persons who are co-equal, co-substantial. I decided on none of them as the proper approach in this situation.

THREE POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS
These are but three of the many explanations of the Trinity. Each has merit, yet as with all analogies, they break down somewhere. My goal in this essay is to help us think a bit differently in how we work through this doctrine—and every doctrine—especially with Muslims.

First, I have often heard a nationally known apologist speak about God as one-what and three-whos. From what I can tell, most people seem to accept it. The problem is, however, for those of us who work among urbane, literate and articulate Muslims; they are not like everyone else. Try this explanation on a Muslim and you will hear, “Since when does 1 + 1 + 1 = 1?” We might suggest the Muslim multiply rather than add, but I have found this usually leads to endless wrangling over definitions rather than creating an opportunity to share the gospel.

Second, during one of the many interfaith meetings I have attended, a pastor explained the Trinity to some Muslims by saying, “It’s a mystery which we simply must believe.” The Muslims began to roll their eyes, nodding to each other with that unspoken look of “See, these Christians are so irrational!” Agreed—the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery—if by that we mean God cannot be fully comprehended. Muslims believe Allah is incomprehensible; however, this statement by Christians is often a retreat from having to discuss a difficult issue. It tickles Muslims to see us try to maneuver our way out of a discussion of the intricacies of our faith.

The third possible tact would be to engage Amir in a discussion of the Nicene Creed and the development of the Trinity as defined in the early fourth century. I believe the Nicene Creed provides a precise definition, which is satisfying only for Christians (although, this is somewhat debatable). Providing a definition of the Trinity opens the door for philosophical discussion about the meaning of essence, substance and personality. Most people are not trained to think in these terms, and bringing such philosophical notions into the discussion is often more confusing than enlightening.

EXPLORATION RATHER THAN EXPLANATION
Putting down my coffee, I said to Amir, “The definition of the Trinity is not infallible; it is not the word of God.”1 Pausing, I then disarmed him, saying, “I refuse to speak about the definition.” I do not think Amir was ready for such a reply. His arsenal of weapons had suddenly become less powerful; the puzzling “T-question” was no longer his potent “T-bomb.”

What I propose—and I am certainly not the first to do so—is that we ought not to explain God, but rather explore how Scriptures describe him. Explanation requires expertise, precision and the implied notion that the speaker is correct—having the only answers that matter. Furthermore, explanation easily becomes adversarial. Exploration, however, is more integrative. It is driven by questions rather than answers, and because it is collaborative, the focus is upon the story rather than the teacher-like explainer who decrees answers.

Explanations often require definitions. Exploration is tied to narrative. Explanations often take us outside the Scriptures—namely, the Nicene Creed —whereas exploration centers upon the scriptural stories themselves. Explanations provide the bottom-line, the story’s essence, often telling the listener what to think, but exploration is a telling of the story, taking pleasure in its details and giving the Scriptures an opportunity to work (2 Tim. 3:15-16; Heb. 4:12).

QUESTIONS AND STORIES
“Can I tell you a story?” I asked Amir. Since I was not going to give him the satisfaction of discussing the Nicene Creed, he acquiesced. Besides, everyone likes to hear a good story.

God gave us his “unified Story-book” (Steffen 1996:41), so using stories has the Creator’s approval. Answering difficult questions with stories is nothing new—in fact, Jesus did it. Consider the following examples from Luke:

• Jesus answers a question or problem with a story (the good Samaritan, 10:25-37; the rich fool, 12:13-21; the faithful steward, 12:41-48; the barren fig tree, 13:1-9; the narrow door, 13:22-30; and the sending of the vineyard owner’s son, 20:1-18).
• He answers a question with a question (the proper view of the sabbath, 14:1-5; the question of authority, 20:1-7).
• He answers a question with a parable (what is the kingdom of God like? 13:18-30).
• He answers a question with a metaphor (children in the marketplace, 7:30-35; binding of the strong-man, 11:14-17).
  In addition, the value of asking questions during the telling of stories is immeasurable. My aim is to encourage Muslims to think through their own assumptions before attacking mine. Here is how asking questions helps:
• Not all Muslims believe the same thing. It is arrogant to enter into discussion with Muslims thinking one already knows what the Muslim believes. Questions give us the opportunity to learn from Muslims the what and why of their beliefs. My own arrogance has burned me when I have pronounced, “Isn’t it true that you believe…” only to be proven wrong. My motto is now: ask a question and wait for the answer.
• What makes for a more pleasing canvas: spattered paint or individually applied brushstrokes? Asking questions is like the latter, allowing the conversation to be tailored to the needs of the Muslim, to the unique situation.
• Asking questions takes the onus from the Christian to constantly defend Christian doctrines. Question-asking permits us to go on the offense without being offensive, accusatory or belligerent.

WHEN A QUESTION DESERVES A STORY
Amir agreed to let me tell him a story. What story would you have used to answer his question about the Trinity? I went immediately to Genesis 3.

I told him the story of God placing the man in the garden, the creation of the woman, their temptation and fall. Throughout the story, I emphasized the relationship of God to his creation by talking with Adama and Hawa, walking with them, asking them questions, and finally giving them an animal skin to wear. I made these emphases because the Qur’anic version of the story never suggests the intimacy of the Creator and humans. The God of the Qur’anic garden is transcendent and removed from such relationships.

When I finished the story, I simply looked at the four young men. I did not bottom-line or summarize the teaching points of the story. I did not ask, “Now, what does this story mean?” I simply looked at them.
You may be saying, “This is a great story, but what does it have to do with the Trinity?” You are right; the doctrine of the Trinity is not there—at least not how the church has come to define it.

The story speaks of God walking in the garden, but who is running the universe? God is providing an animal skin for his errant children, but why is the universe not falling apart? How is it possible for the Creator of the universe to be in the garden and at the same time maintaining the orbit of the planets? The God of the universe can be in a physical location while he is also everywhere. This is an important first step for understanding the triune God. Telling biblical stories such as this allows the Muslim to explore the manner in which God has presented himself. If we get a Muslim into the Scriptures rather than a creed, we have accomplished much.

WHEN A QUESTION DESERVES A QUESTION
Three of the four Muslims were satisfied with my story. The only questions they had were about the story itself. I was pleased they were dealing with the implications of God in the garden, rather than the hypostatic union. Amir, however, was not quite ready to give in. He once again asked about the Nicene Creed, wanting a more definitive answer to his question.

“Amir,” I began, “I’ll answer your question about the Trinity and the Nicene Creed if you’ll explain one thing for me.” That got everyone’s attention. “Is the Qur’an the created or uncreated word of Allah? If it is the uncreated word, how can you explain the existence of two uncreated entities: Allah and his word?”

He started to answer, but I interrupted him: “From my perspective, this view of Allah and his word existing side-by-side is the same sort of problem we Christians have with explaining the Trinity.” Within the Islamic framework, the word of Allah plus Allah equals one essence, that is, uncreatedness. It can be enlightening to Muslims to point out that just as they insist upon the impossibility of the Christian 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, so the Islamic 1 + 1 = 1 is equally impossible.

Amir did have an answer, but it was not to tell me a story of his own. “You have raised an esoteric point,” he chided. Amir employed the same type of argument as the pastor I mentioned previously: “It’s a mystery.” When he finally admitted the Qur’an is uncreated, he did not ask me about the Nicene Creed. The analogy of the two issues answered his question.

CONCLUSION
I have discovered that stories and questions are an invaluable source of evangelism among Muslims. Tough questions can often be met head on with stories, metaphors, analogies and puzzling questions. Dealing with the intricate issues of our faith is not something we ought to avoid, but embrace. I do this by means of storytelling.

The story of God in the garden is only one of the many stories of the Bible that can be effectively shared with Muslims. God has revealed himself in a multitude of ways under the oaks of Mamre (Gen. 18), the Angel of the Lord (e.g., Gen.32), in a burning bush (Exod. 3), etc. He has revealed himself for a multitude of reasons—to promise blessing (Gen. 16), to impart information about the birth of a child (Judg. 17), to chastise a prophet (Num. 22), to destroy an army (2 Kings 19), etc. The Almighty has provided us with the means to help Muslims explore his Scriptures. Like Mulla Nasrudin, we want our Muslim friends to say about the Bible’s stories, “I’d better go and see because it might be true after all.”

Endnote
1. The definition of the Trinity is not inspired or infallible. The doctrine of the Trinity, however, is biblical for it is found within the texts of the very book the Creator has given us. He has revealed himself in a way that our limited minds understand as much as he permits—through story. I admire and thank God for the men who met at Nicea. They attempted to do the impossible: simplify and codify a doctrine that is extremely involved. But I refuse to debate the definition of the Trinity with Muslims. I often ask them if they will discuss the Sufi understanding of the doctrine of nur-i-muhammadi (the Light of Muhammad). Most will not for it is not a Qur’anic doctrine even though many Muslims hold it.

References
Shah, Idries. 1993. The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin. New York: Penguin Books.

Steffen, Tom. 1996. Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry: Crosscultural Storytelling at Home and Abroad. La Habra, Calif.: Center for Organizational and Ministry Development.

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Jeff Morton has served with SIM in Liberia, Guinea and now the US. He has a D. Miss. from Biola, is married and has four children. E-mail: jeffery.j.morton@att.net

EMQ, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 172-176. Copyright © 2004 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

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