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The Defender of the Good News: Questioning Lamin Sanneh
The Yale historian and missiologist talks about his conversion, Muslim-Christian relations, Anglican troubles, and the future of Christianity.
Interviewed by Jonathan J. Bonk

Did you find that Christians welcomed you with open arms once you had declared your desire to convert?

On the contrary. The church was suspicious and distrustful.

Could you elaborate just a little more on that point?

Unofficially, the Methodist church in question welcomed my decision to seek baptism, but officially they put off the decision to baptize me.

They asked instead that I to go to the Catholic Church, which I did for a year, but with the same result, I found.

The Catholics also appeared reluctant, and suspicious, too, it seemed. I had hit an ecumenical obstacle. In mitigation, the Methodist church assured me that their baptism, when they did it, would be recognized by the Catholic Church. I expressed relief at what seemed like hedging your bets and doubling the favorable odds at the same time. It still took two years to accomplish the object in view, and only because I gave an ultimatum, though the Methodist church added the precaution of readings on New Testament form criticism for my catechism. Away with any risk of the Bible being taken, like the Qur'an, as the impeccable word of God!

That precaution of a rational, progressive understanding of Christianity appeared to have failed when, with my interest still obviously undiminished, I requested to be allowed to study theology. I received a swift negative response, with the indication that their decision was backed by the mission headquarters in London (in case I harbored a stubborn thought I had any remaining support there).

Those were the ungarnished facts that I as a very young convert had to deal with (or not deal with, if I chose). It happened that I was so profoundly affected by the message of Jesus, so inexplicably transformed at the roots of faith and trust, that I felt myself in the grips of an undeniable impetus to give myself to God, whatever my ultimate career path. I never had cause to fret about the work to which God might call me; so steadfast are God's promises....

Why did you finally move into communion with the Roman Catholic Church, after your long sojourn as a Protestant?

The Catholic Church eventually relented after years of ignoring and wishing me away! In that time the Protestant church had remained for the most part incredulous of me.

I do not know the reason for that. It could be cultural, it could be liberal distrust of religion, it could be residual hostility toward converts as illegitimate fruits of mission, it could be unfamiliarity with non-white people, it could be presumptions about my political motives and leanings, it could be any or all of the above, how do I know. But, whatever it was, it wore me down eventually.

I felt my reasons for being a Christian had little resonance with the reasons a liberal West gives for the Christian name. I remember on a visit to Germany from Africa when I was on school vacation seeing the sign, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You," and duly betaking myself there one Sunday only to discover I was unwelcome! My secular white American friend felt vindicated about why he ceased to be a practicing Christian. It was all one big cultural pretense, he said. Don't get literal with Christian slogans. There would be no questions asked if I was white, he observed caustically.

I realized that a cultural paradigm had usurped the place of God in our enlightened scheme of things, and that was one reason why for so long the church tried to make me feel guilty and untrustworthy for claiming the Christian name. With my religious orientation, however, I was unable to reconcile myself to that fundamental compromise with the world. I thought Jesus was for real in spite of the prevarications of the church....