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Ayann Hirsi Ali has become a Christian. Ali grew up Muslim, became an atheist, and has just recently given her life to Jesus. Ali is a scholar at the Hoover Institute. About her conversion to Christianity she has said atheism does not have the intellectual capabilities of fighting what she calls a civilizational war. You can read all about Ali’s Christian conversion from the Unherd podcast, linked in this Truth in Two.
When I think of Ali’s conversion to Christianity, I immediately think of the Ethiopian court official in Acts 8. The Bible says he had come to Jerusalem to worship at Pentecost. Here is an African gentile who is interested in a statement from the prophet Isaiah, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter.” Inquiring of whom this statement was made, the apostle Philip “told him the good news about Jesus.”
Ali’s conversion and the Ethiopian’s conversion both remind me of another African Christian. Confronted by a hostile crowd proposing Christianity is a “white man’s religion,” the African student responded, “Christianity was in Africa before it was in Europe.” I have also included the Instagram reel of the African student’s statement in this Truth in Two.
Why do I tell these stories from African Christians? Because the change that people seek, a true, lasting shift in one’s attitude toward life, begins with Jesus. You want peace? Jesus is The Prince of Peace. Are you seeking justice? Jesus is the only Just Judge. Do you want someone to care for you? Jesus said, “Come to me for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” You want change that will impact this world and the next? Jesus taught us to pray that the Father’s will “be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Three African Christians tell us change begins in each human heart by the salvation only Jesus brings. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, personally seeking Truth wherever it’s found in the changed hearts of people everywhere. [First published at MarkEckel.com]
Ayann Hirsi Ali on the Unherd podcast: https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/
Christianity was in Africa before Europe, Insta reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzvZoaTuvqU/
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It played for me. I'm signed up on Instagram. That might make a difference.
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Phillip interpreted the scroll of Isaiah to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8 and baptized him. The apostle Paul was not converted until Acts chapter 9 and did not receive the"Macedonian call" to preach in Europe until a number of years later, so it is most likely that Christianity reached Africa first.
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I have pretty much ignored her (up till now) - does she show credible evidence of being a disciple of Christ, or possibly just a CINO (Christian In Name Only)? Is it too early to tell, do you think?
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So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven
— Matthew 10:32
The rest is up to her. I've prayed, am praying, and shall pray for her.
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