Jay Smith (Christian apologist)

Jay Smith
Born 1954 (age 62–63)
India
Nationality United States
Education B.A. Messiah College
M.Div. Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
M.A Fuller Theological Seminary
Occupation Christian apologist
Known for apologetic, polemics, historical critique
Website http://www.debate.org.uk/videos/

Jay Smith (born 1954)[1] Jay Smith is a Christian evangelist and apologist. Since 1983, he has been a full-time missionary with the Brethren in Christ Mission with a focus on polemics and apologetics among the Muslims of London.

Biography

Early life

Smith was born in India to Church of the United Brethren in Christ missionaries and attended high school in India. His grandparents were also missionaries.[1][2] He earned a B.A. from Messiah College and then a masters of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in apologetics.[1][3][4]

Focus on Islam

In 1981, while studying for his masters, he took a seminar on Islam and noting that there were only 1,500 Christians ministering to Muslims worldwide, he decided to become a missionary to the Muslim world and pursued a second master's degree in Islamic studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.[1]

In 1987, he moved to Senegal as a missionary and in 1992, he moved to London[1] where he continued his education working on a Ph.D at the London School of Theology.[5][6] In 2001, he halted his education to concentrate on apologetics following a series of Islamic terrorist attacks[1] (see the September 11 attacks).

In 2007, he continued working on his Phd at the Melbourne School of Theology.[1] Smith heads up the Hyde Park Christian Fellowship which emphasizes the use of Polemics with Muslims over Apologetics;[1][2] and is often seen at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, London.[1][7][8][9] He often engages in public debates with prominent Muslim apologists and scholars including Omar Bakri Muhammad, Azzam Tamimi,[10][11][12] Shabir Ally, Anjem Choudary, Abdur Raheem Green and Hamza Tzortzis.

Smith believes that although both Islam and Christianity include radicals, moderates, and liberals, it is radical Muslims that commit violence as they take the Qur’an seriously; while radical Christians who also take the Bible seriously serve others in love. Radical Muslims model their lives on Muhammad; while radical Christians model their lives on Jesus Christ.[13] Smith believes the growth in radical Islam in Britain is due to disaffected Muslims, often minimally religious, returning to their roots in Islam who after reading the Islamic scriptures (the Quran in conjunction with the hadith, tafsir, and sira), come to the conclusion that the Salafi/Athari understanding is the true form of Islam.[2] As there are very few people countering the Salafi narrative and believing that the only response to scriptural arguments is counter-arguments using scripture.[2] Smith also believes that although Western actions in the Islamic world can instigate Muslim discontent, it is the Islamic scriptures that encourage the violence; he also rues the fact that moderate Muslims are not able to challenge the radicals using scripture because he believes the radicals have the scriptual authority.[2] Smith believes that ultimately Muslims will realize that the Muslim scriptures are irrelevant to modern times.[2] Smith's polemical approach has been praised by the likes of Salafi Omar Bakri Muhammad who states: "I feel very comfortable with Jay (Smith, the apologist) – with him what you see is what you get. He is no hypocrite, and neither are Salafis. His words and actions match his heart. He does not pretend by saying soft words about Islam. The Qu’ran calls for debate… Most U.S. evangelicals refuse to debate Muslims, unlike the courage of Jay, who boldly cries ‘Jesus is Lord!’."[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Apologetics315: "Apologist Interview: Jay Smith" April 11, 2011
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ABC News Australia: "Jay Smith is a Mennonite and a regular at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park" interview by John Cleary – produced by Noel Debien and Dan Driscoll March 5, 2009
  3. ↑ Apologetics Central: "Jay Smith" retrieved March 15, 2015
  4. ↑ Christianity Today: "Plus: Deconstructing Islam – Apologist Jay Smith takes a confrontational approach" by Stan Guthrie September 9, 2002
  5. ↑ Eurasian College: "Visiting Lecturers- Jay Smith" retrieved March 15, 2015
  6. ↑ Christianity Today: "Unapologetic Apologist – Jay Smith confronts Muslim fundamentalists with fundamentalist fervor" by Deann Alford June 13, 2008
  7. ↑ Daily Mail: "Get off your soapbox! Police ban ladders and platforms from Speaker's Corner in a health and safety move debaters fear will kill 150 years of tradition" by By Iain Burns 25 June 2017
  8. ↑ Premier Magazine: "Christian seeks legal advice after being ordered off ladder at Speakers' Corner" by Alex Williams 25 Jun 2017
  9. ↑ Metro UK: "Ladders and soapboxes ‘banned’ from Speaker’s Corner" by Jen Mills 25 Jun 2017
  10. ↑ Faimau, Gabriel (September 1, 2013). Socio-Cultural Construction of Recognition: The Discursive Representation of Islam and Muslims in the British Christian News Media. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 9781443849364.
  11. ↑ Islam: An Introduction to Religion, Culture, and History. pp. 105 and 98.
  12. ↑ Christianity Today: "There Can Be No End to Jihad' – Islamist Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, in an exclusive interview, discusses the rationale for 9/11, the Christians he most respects, and the Jesus he defends. Interview by Anthony McRoy February 1, 2005
  13. ↑ Calvary Magazine: "Confronting Radical Islam – Jay Smith was a featured speaker at the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference 2010" 2010
  14. ↑ Cozzens, Jeffrey B. [pure.diis.dk/ws/files/56493/DIIS_WP_2006_6.web.pdf "Identifying Entry Points of Action in Counter Radicalisation Countering Salafi-Jihadi Ideology Through Development Initiatives"] Danish Institute for International Studies 2006 June
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