Health Evangelism--Bridge to Islam

ONE of the greatest evan­gelistic challenges con­fronting the Seventh-day Adventist Church is un­questionably the 125 mil­lion people living in the countries of the Middle East, the vast majority of whom are Moslems. In the division member­ship of about 2,300 Ad­ventists probably less than ten are converted Moslems.

This shocking disparity between the number of former-Moslem Adventists and the total number of Moslems in the divi­sion field can be partially explained by the fact that evangelism during the nearly sev­enty years of Adventist mission work in the Middle East has been largely directed at the Christian minority.

Bridge of Understanding Needed

The situation can be understood when one realizes the formidable communication barriers confronting the preacher who at­tempts to reach the Moslem mind through the usual evangelistic approach which builds on the premise that his hearers ac­cept the Bible as the foundation of spiritual truth. In the Middle East there are great obstacles to this type of approach—obsta­cles rooted in profound religious and his­torical prejudices. Lacking a bridge of un­derstanding, the church has not been able to effectively convey its message to the Mos­lem people.

In searching the Index to the Writings of E. G. White for a way of escape from this seeming evangelistic impasse, I found that the key words "Moslem" and "Islam" are nowhere listed as subjects for comment in her writings. This does not mean, how­ever, that we have been left without specific and significant counsel that can be ap­plied to meet this great challenge. In Coun­sels on Health, in the section entitled "Phy­sicians and Evangelists," pages 543-548, there is a suggested solution. The key quo­tation is found on page 545:

Usual Method Not Suitable

Teaching the health message in connec­tion with public evangelism is not new. For years it has been a valuable adjunct to the preaching of Bible doctrine. Most often the health presentation takes the form of a ten- to twenty-minute talk given as a spe­cial feature, an added attraction, that hope­fully will encourage listeners to come and stay for the evangelistic sermons. In other campaigns a qualified medical or paramedi­cal worker, such as a doctor or nurse, is periodically given the full lecture period on several occasions for the presentation of a health topic or series of health topics in order to add variety and additional in­terest to the series of meetings. Such tech­niques, however, are not ideally suited to reach Moslems, who would not attend a meeting that was patently Christian and evangelistic in character even if an inter­esting health lecture were part of the pack­age offered in the promotional advertise­ment.

The approach outlined by the messenger of the Lord is quite different. Notice: from the very first, subjects should be presented upon which the people will agree—specif­ically subjects on health and temper­ance. These topics will appeal to the un­believers, win their confidence, and enable the gospel worker to lead them on to un­derstand and accept the special doctrinal beliefs to Seventh-day Adventists. Further­more, the plan can and should be carried out by Christian physicians. This is clear from a reading of the counsel:

The presenting of Bible principles by an intelli­gent physician will have great weight with many people. There is efficiency and power with one who can combine in his influence the work of a physi­cian and of a gospel minister. His work commends itself to the good judgment of the people.

I am concerned because so many things engage the minds of our physicians which keep them from the work that God would have them do as evangel­ists. . . .

I hope you will exercise all your capabilities in this work. Present the importance of present truth from the physician's standpoint. The educated phy­sician will find entrance in our cities where other men cannot. Teach the message of health reform. This will have an influence with the people.—Ibid,, pp. 546, 547. (Italics supplied.)

A Pilot Project

Encouraged by these pointed testimonies, the writer conducted an eight-week series of evangelistic lectures in Teheran, the capital city of Iran, during the summer of 1966, as a pilot project to test the evangelis­tic approach outlined above. An initial source of optimism was the excellent success of seven sessions of the Five-Day Plan to Stop Smoking held during an eighteen-month period in the major cities of the Middle East. The Five-Day Plan helped people to stop smoking. It also won friends who opened up their hearts and expressed other health needs, both physical and emo­tional. It was the Five-Day Plan, too, that led in the choice of location for the experiment. In Teheran we had received such a friendly and openhearted reception that it encouraged further spiritual exploration.

The meetings were held in the Advent­ist Center auditorium, a relatively small hall seating only 150 persons. Consequently advertising was modest, consisting of only one newspaper advertisement and the dis­tribution of 10,000 handbills, some of which were mailed to the names we had gathered from Five-Day Plan participants the year before. Personal invitations were also given to the students attending the regular Eng­lish classes held twice weekly at the Center. The series was entitled "Science Speaks" and was advertised as health lectures for the general public.

A Health Questionnaire

On the opening night each guest was asked to give his name and address on a numbered registration card that matched the number on an attractive blue folder bearing on its cover the series title "Science Speaks" in the Farsi language and the coat of arms of the Adventist Center. In the folder was a personal health profile questionnaire, which was used by each person to evaluate his own individual health status and habits by answering a series of twenty health questions during the course of the meetings. Each night a summary of the lecture in the Farsi language was distrib­uted to be placed in this folder, which was kept on file by number at the Center until the final night of the meetings.

The series of lectures was divided into three groups given in the outline below with some explanatory comments.

Physical Health Subjects

These were the confidence-building lec­tures on subjects of health and temperance that were designed to meet the people where they were with practical health in­formation and counsel. The subjects pre­sented were:

1.       Cancer. This was chosen as an opener because of the subject's high interest value and wide public appeal.

2.       The Twin Keys to Health. A presen­tation of the need for factual knowledge on health coupled with intelligent prac­tical application. An important lecture because the people were told that find­ing health was in fact a search for truth, which demands an open mind and at times considerable personal courage. The appeal to objectiv­ity and intellectual honesty was planned to be a valuable refer­ence point for later lectures.

Mental and Emotional Health Subjects