Henry Martyn was a great missionary whom God used greatly in many ways. His intense passion and devotion were inspirational for many. Among his many accomplishments his translation of the New Testament into Urdu had enormous influence. Yet Martyn had clay feet, like the rest of us. He shared the views of most of his generation about non-Christian religions, that they were utterly and completely reprehensible. He dismissed the Hindu scripture Ramayana as “trifling” and “indecent”. He spoke of “the mock majesty of the Koran”. He wrote Muhammad off as a “filthy debauchee”. But it is important to recognize that, apart from reading George Sale’s translation of Islam, the only reading Martyn ever did of Islam was Christian books denouncing it. Henry Martyn never read any book written from a Muslim perspective. A study of Martyn’s missionary career shows that, especially during his time in India, though less so in Persia (where he did engage in some debate with Muslim scholars), he actually avoided visits to mosques and madrassas (religious schools) and engagement with Muslim scholars. Henry Martyn was never able to free himself from a healthy dose of hypocrisy because although he warned Christians not to judge non-Christian religions without first knowing about them, Martyn himself didn’t do particularly well in this department.
William Muir provides a sharp contrast to Martyn. In 1837 he arrived in north India shortly after Martyn’s death. Muir was a linguist like Martyn and he too pulled no punches when, for example, he contrasted Muhammad and Jesus. However, Muir showed far greater intellectual integrity than Martyn in seeking to understand Islam, critically studying Arabic biographies of Muhammad. Muir was raised in a Scottish Presbyterian evangelical family, and identified with the Church Missionary Society and with German Pietist missionary groups while in India. He was implacably opposed to liberalism and committed to belief in the literal word of scripture. Like Martyn he believed that the best strategy in reaching Muslims was to present the simple gospel message of salvation in their own language. Both Martyn and Muir expressed doubts about the value of disputation to win souls, though both engaged to some degree in “confrontation tactics”.
Primary Reference: Avril A. Powell, The Legacy of Henry Martyn to the Study of India’s Muslims and Islam in the Nineteenth Century. University of Lincoln. http://www.martynmission.cam.ac.uk/CAvrilpow.htm
Posted June 27, 2008
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