expressions of Christian religion' or 'movements to Jesus that remain to varying degrees inside the social fabric of Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, or other people groups'.  Grafas responds to a paper of John Ridgeway, titled The Movement of the Gospel in New Testament Times With Special Reference to Insider Movements.  Basil Grafas responds :

Fundamentally, Insiders are those who profess faith in Christ but remain members of their original religious communities; Muslims remain Muslims, Hindus remain Hindus and Buddhists remain Buddhists.  This approach to evangelism and missions has been, to say the least, contentious.  Much of the literature written in support of the methodology and opposed to it has been anecdotal.  War stories abound extolling the merits of Insider Movements that promise to transform Gospel-resistant cultures wedded to Islam or Hinduism.

Horror stories also filter in warning the Church of the threat posed by aberrant syncretistic religion living in some netherworld between Christianity and unbelief.  The problem of course is that it is difficult or impossible to argue with personal experience.  Fortunately, proponents of Insider methodology have provided us with an admirable foundation for evaluating their claims, complete with a theological framework and scriptural basis.   John Ridgeway has worked particularly hard to provide a scriptural base for his support of Insider methodology.

The purpose of this brief paper is to examine and evaluate Ridgeway’s basis of support for the movement, paying particular attention to his use of scripture to justify the Insider approach.  I will first outline the thrust of his argument, highlighting his approach to Scripture and its support for his foundational theology and its outworking in Insider praxis.  Following this, I will evaluate the efficacy and appropriateness of his approach, interacting with biblical theology, hermeneutics and exegesis.  In so doing I hope that iron will sharpen iron.

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