Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Missiology

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Missiology DMiss

First Advisor

Lester Merklin

Second Advisor

Cheryl Doss

Third Advisor

Petr Činčala

Abstract

Problem

The missiological attempt to communicate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to Muslims has historically been difficult. Part of this problem may stem from an incomplete understanding of the broad implications of tawḥīd within Islamic thought and culture; whereas the Trinity tends to be doctrinal rather than pragmatic, tawḥīd is said to have immense sociological breadth reaching beyond missiology’s typical apologetic approaches. The present study was conducted to better understand the perimeters of the tawḥīdic worldview in order to craft a more effective missiological presentation of the Trinity in Islamic contexts.

Method

The study utilized a mixed methods design which combined a 28-question quantitative survey with semi-structured qualitative interviews. Research instruments were developed based on theological categories extracted from Islamic sources and administered online. The self-selection sampling for the quantitative research consisted of 1,551 Lebanese Muslims, at least 18 years of age, currently residing in Lebanon. This sample was then demographically segmented according to gender, sect, and educational level, and representative participants were selected for the qualitative interviews.

Results

Tawḥīd emerged as a central theme in participants’ religious and sociopolitical structuring mechanisms, however, statistically significant differences were noted regarding personal religiosity, sect, age, and other demographic factors. Tawḥīd was understood to be a soteriological imperative and its opposite, shirk, to be the unforgivable sin. However, despite assigning tawḥīd a high importance (93.98%), survey respondents were somewhat less inclined to claim that Islam is the only true religion (73.56%). Interviews revealed a strong trend of hesitancy to apply the scholastic rules of shirk upon Christian friends and neighbors, and generally expressed a hopeful outlook towards Lebanese Christians. Interviewees who had substantial interfaith relationships or had attended Christian educational institutions were particularly less rigid in their application of tawḥīd and shirk. Furthermore, there was wide divergence of opinion on focal prioritization of Lebanese nationalism versus the international Islamic ummah, with sect being the largest predictor of opinion. Unity within the ummah as an earthly reflection of tawḥīd was viewed with disillusionment by most interviewees, and one’s personal lack of social and interpersonal security were predictors of religious tolerance towards Christian belief and practice. Generally, respondents were not antagonistic to hearing about the Trinity, even when they overtly disagreed with it.

Conclusions

The tawḥīdic worldview appears to be an underemphasized theme within Adventist missiology. Possible missional openings seemed to cluster around themes such as the widespread disillusionment with the international ummah’s failure to provide mutual care, a core comparison of the selfishness implicit in Islamic hyper-monotheism versus the rich relational ideals of trinitarian thought, one’s own lack of social and communal acceptance, and intensive interactions with Christians through work and educational settings. Recommendations centered on the proposed model for “trinitarian fellowship.” This model attempts to mirror the triune nature of God in temporal relationships both within the church and in the broader context of interfaith relations. A model for “trinitarian fellowship” may include elements such as liturgical expressions of trinitarian thought, intentional celebration of racial and socioeconomic diversity within the church, attempts to fill the humanitarian gap the ummah has failed to fulfill while overtly crediting pragmatic help to the inspiration of trinitarian fellowship, and compassionate engagement in the sectarian/political sphere. Polemic and overly apologetic approaches to communicating trinitarian belief were not recommended since they failed to respond to the breadth of the issues involved in the tawḥīdic worldview.

Subject Area

God (Islam)--Simplicity; Trinity; Seventh-day Adventists--Relations--Islam; Islam--Relations--Seventh-day Adventists; Missions to Muslims--Lebanon

Download

Available for download on Thursday, December 31, 2099

Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS