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Raymund Lull: First Missionary to the Moslems
'There is no more heroic figure in the history of Christendom than that of Raymund Lull the first and perhaps the greatest Missionary to Mohammedans.' Raymund Lull ((Ramon Lull), was years ahead of his time; described 'a reformer before the Reformation' and 'Dr. Illuminatus', he was a great thinker as well as doer, establishing missionary colleges to carry the Gospel to Moslems, while personally obeying Christ's command to 'Go' himself. In the Dark Ages, Heaven enlightened Lull to know the love of God and to do the Will of God as no other of his generation. From a powerful vision of Christ's unrequited Love at the time of the bloody Crusades, Lull began his own crusade of love. Lull's motto was, 'He who loves not lives not; he who lives by the Life cannot die.' In 1315, Lull was stoned to death while preaching to the Moslems in North Africa. Although nearly seven hundred years old, Lull's story still powerfully speaks to Christians today.
108 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
About the author
Samuel M. Zwemer
210 books11 followersSamuel Marinus Zwemer
Missionary, mobilizer, explorer, theologian, and author. Often referred to as 'the Apostle to Islam'.
Missionary, mobilizer, explorer, theologian, and author. Often referred to as 'the Apostle to Islam'.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 15, 2021
I had never heard of Raymund Lull before I found this book, and I still don’t know what to think about him or his ministry. If he truly spread the Gospel, his life is truly inspiring. If he only spread the Catholic doctrine of works salvation, it’s heartbreaking. I just can’t tell from this book. Zwemer would have us see him as some sort of early Martin Luther or William Carey. He can’t completely disregard the Catholic nature of Lull’s life, but it is certainly downplayed. But I’m not sure that’s a balanced presentation of Lull. It covers the highlights of his life such as his conversion after seeing several visions, his attempts to motivate the Catholic Church to evangelize, and his personal missions’ trips. But it glosses over his life as a hermit, his founding of several monasteries, and attempts to bring other Christian sects under Catholic rule. Then A quick google search brought up the fact that he is one of the earliest proponents of the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and his close association with the Franciscans.
I think my concern is trying to present Lull as anything other than a Catholic missionary. He did have a deep desire to spread his faith to everyone, Muslim, Jew, Eastern Orthodox, or Coptic, but Catholic missions are nothing new. He did seem to be one of the first ones to systematize missions for the Catholic church, or that is what I understood from this book. But then I look back and see that Christianity had spread long before Raymund Lull, so there was witnessing going on long before Lull. Perhaps, a more detailed discussion of his actual teachings would lessen these concerns, but until I know more about Lull I could not recommend this book.
I think my concern is trying to present Lull as anything other than a Catholic missionary. He did have a deep desire to spread his faith to everyone, Muslim, Jew, Eastern Orthodox, or Coptic, but Catholic missions are nothing new. He did seem to be one of the first ones to systematize missions for the Catholic church, or that is what I understood from this book. But then I look back and see that Christianity had spread long before Raymund Lull, so there was witnessing going on long before Lull. Perhaps, a more detailed discussion of his actual teachings would lessen these concerns, but until I know more about Lull I could not recommend this book.
October 17, 2021
Excellent sketch of Raymond Lull (d. 1315), medieval missionary to North Africa. This short volume was originally published in 1902 by Samuel Zwemer, himself a missionary to the Middle East.
Raymond Lull was a genius who, when converted to Christ, turned all his intellectual energies toward the advance of the gospel. First, he tried to convince various popes to send missionaries (instead of Crusaders). Second, he wrote books on apologetics to convince Muslims of the superiority of Christian doctrine. Third, he went to North Africa himself. He held public debates, was arrested, and was banished multiple times. Finally, he preached in modern day Algeria at the age of 80 and was stoned to death. He lived by his motto: "He who lives by the Life cannot die" (p. 51).
I read this book in preparation to teach Brazilian pastors on the history of missions.
Raymond Lull was a genius who, when converted to Christ, turned all his intellectual energies toward the advance of the gospel. First, he tried to convince various popes to send missionaries (instead of Crusaders). Second, he wrote books on apologetics to convince Muslims of the superiority of Christian doctrine. Third, he went to North Africa himself. He held public debates, was arrested, and was banished multiple times. Finally, he preached in modern day Algeria at the age of 80 and was stoned to death. He lived by his motto: "He who lives by the Life cannot die" (p. 51).
I read this book in preparation to teach Brazilian pastors on the history of missions.
March 8, 2021
Raymond Lull was a missionary to Muslims in the 14th century. This biography of him was written in 1902 and therefore feels dated and uses language that we wouldn't use anymore. That said, Raymond Lull is well worth reading about! He stood out in the middle ages as one of the very, very few people (maybe just him and Francis of Assissi) who believed Christians should interact with Muslims with respect, kindness, and intellectual rigor rather than military action. He learned Arabic, studied the Koran, and risked his life (and eventually gave his life) to share the gospel in northern Africa. He was a true missionary pioneer.
June 9, 2022
It is a crying shame that you have probably never heard of Raymond Lull.
August 10, 2022
This is a short biography written nearly a hundred years back but in many ways just as relevant for our time as it was when Zwemmer wrote it (and Lull) lived it.
Ramón (or Raymond, or Ramun, or...) Lull (or Llull, I've seen more spellings for this guy's name than I thought possible.) was a late thirteenth/early fourteenth century Franciscan born and raised in Spanish Catalan who became a missionary to the Muslims of North Africa. As a missionary, he was the first to focus on learning Arabic and "geography" (what he was calling geography we today would call cultural anthropology) so that the sent ones would be strategic and effective.
More than just a missionary, he was also a philosopher, a writer, an inventor (he invented the mariner's compass without which Columbus would have never crossed the Atlantic), professor, and more. He was a renaissance man long before the Renaissance. While this short biography is an excellent introduction into his life, there definitely needs to be a modern more thorough bio written for our times.
A concluding quote from Zwemmer: "The great lesson of Lull's life is that our weapons against Islam should never be carnal. Love, and love alone will conquer."
Ramón (or Raymond, or Ramun, or...) Lull (or Llull, I've seen more spellings for this guy's name than I thought possible.) was a late thirteenth/early fourteenth century Franciscan born and raised in Spanish Catalan who became a missionary to the Muslims of North Africa. As a missionary, he was the first to focus on learning Arabic and "geography" (what he was calling geography we today would call cultural anthropology) so that the sent ones would be strategic and effective.
More than just a missionary, he was also a philosopher, a writer, an inventor (he invented the mariner's compass without which Columbus would have never crossed the Atlantic), professor, and more. He was a renaissance man long before the Renaissance. While this short biography is an excellent introduction into his life, there definitely needs to be a modern more thorough bio written for our times.
A concluding quote from Zwemmer: "The great lesson of Lull's life is that our weapons against Islam should never be carnal. Love, and love alone will conquer."
Read
July 25, 2011Zwemer's biography of Raymond Lull (or rather, Ramon Llull) remains arguably the most influential biography of Llull in the Evangelical world. It is the basis of the more abbreviated account in Ruth Tucker's "From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya."
While inspiring in many ways, it is also a flawed work. Llull was not the first missionary to the Muslims; there had been others hundreds of years before among the Christians of the Middle East who had sought to engage the Muslims with the Gospel, men such as Theodore Abu Qurrah and the Nestorian Catholocos Timothy I. Llull may have been the first *European*, but he was hardly the first overall.
More tellingly, scholarly opinion currently suggests that he may not have been martyred at all -- this may have been manufactured many years later in the hope of gaining him sainthood.
What ends up being ignored with these other emphases is the tremendous work he did as a contextual missiological theologian in both Jewish and Muslim contexts. I would suggest Bonner's "Doctor Illuminatus," or Hames' "The Art of Conversion," which deals with Llull's work in engaging Kabbalists in Medieval Spain.
While inspiring in many ways, it is also a flawed work. Llull was not the first missionary to the Muslims; there had been others hundreds of years before among the Christians of the Middle East who had sought to engage the Muslims with the Gospel, men such as Theodore Abu Qurrah and the Nestorian Catholocos Timothy I. Llull may have been the first *European*, but he was hardly the first overall.
More tellingly, scholarly opinion currently suggests that he may not have been martyred at all -- this may have been manufactured many years later in the hope of gaining him sainthood.
What ends up being ignored with these other emphases is the tremendous work he did as a contextual missiological theologian in both Jewish and Muslim contexts. I would suggest Bonner's "Doctor Illuminatus," or Hames' "The Art of Conversion," which deals with Llull's work in engaging Kabbalists in Medieval Spain.
Read
January 1, 2021This is a wild missions story from the dark ages. It shows the first great missionary apologist and first missionary to the muslims.
He has a really wild language learning story that should show anyone why learning a language outside of the country is difficult and could cause cultural trouble.
We see Lull turning back on missions at the last minute and God drawing him back in.
We see Lull being bold and giving his life for Christ.
We see reformation before the reformation.
This story is wild and can teach us in missions much of what to and not to do when reaching people.
The sad conclusion though is this that Successful muslim missions is the last frontier of world evangelism and doesn't look to be conquered anytime soon. As a missionary to a muslim majority country this fuel me to want to do big things for God that have been attempted but not yet done in missions history.
PS- This is a freebie, see how Lull allegory probably influenced John Bunyan writing a dark ages version of Pilgrims progress himself.
He has a really wild language learning story that should show anyone why learning a language outside of the country is difficult and could cause cultural trouble.
We see Lull turning back on missions at the last minute and God drawing him back in.
We see Lull being bold and giving his life for Christ.
We see reformation before the reformation.
This story is wild and can teach us in missions much of what to and not to do when reaching people.
The sad conclusion though is this that Successful muslim missions is the last frontier of world evangelism and doesn't look to be conquered anytime soon. As a missionary to a muslim majority country this fuel me to want to do big things for God that have been attempted but not yet done in missions history.
PS- This is a freebie, see how Lull allegory probably influenced John Bunyan writing a dark ages version of Pilgrims progress himself.
July 22, 2017
An excellent review of an extraordinary life. Zwemer offers a critique of Lull's intellectual and spiritual legacy as a trail blazer for future workers among the Muslim people of the world.
This work follows chronologically the Spaniard's life and demonstrates his amazing prescience of mind in missiological matters. His efforts to contextualized the gospel for North Africans was inspiring both for its intellectual vigor and indelible foresight.
None can escape the magnitude of Lull's contributions to early 14th century thinking. He is a little studied figure by today's church historians yet this work helps expose the reader to a godly servant. As I revisited the story of a missionary martyr who was still risking life and comfort in his late 70's to reach a people whom he loved, it left me pondering my own commitment to Christ's mission.
This work follows chronologically the Spaniard's life and demonstrates his amazing prescience of mind in missiological matters. His efforts to contextualized the gospel for North Africans was inspiring both for its intellectual vigor and indelible foresight.
None can escape the magnitude of Lull's contributions to early 14th century thinking. He is a little studied figure by today's church historians yet this work helps expose the reader to a godly servant. As I revisited the story of a missionary martyr who was still risking life and comfort in his late 70's to reach a people whom he loved, it left me pondering my own commitment to Christ's mission.
April 7, 2026
Not an easy biography to read. Two points were made well, to live as one who has already died for Christ leaves no room for fear of suffering and the amount of effort and money used in the destruction of 'enemy' compared to the amount of effort and money used in reaching them for Christ is staggering, humbling, and convicting.
June 6, 2023
I love his story and his life.
August 10, 2008
Very motivating book about a relatively unknown missionary to Muslims in the Middle Ages. He went on the mission field at the age of 56!! And was martyred at the age of 79!
August 3, 2016
Good: stood out for his zeal and delight in the gospel
Interesting: sought an all-encompassing system for meeting every objection to Christ based on reasonable answers.
Ugly: left his family behind
Interesting: sought an all-encompassing system for meeting every objection to Christ based on reasonable answers.
Ugly: left his family behind
April 25, 2017
Very brief and a bit outdated since it is a century old, Zwemer nonetheless remains pertinent in his points concerning evangelism to Muslims. Lull is the unknown forbearer to Carey in missions and an incredible model of patience, diligence, love, and missiological skill. It is remarkable to see how he faced the same issues centuries ago that still exist today. Namely, how do western Christians reach Muslims in Islamic nations in the midst of their violent attacks in the name of Allah and our anti-Islamic sentiment? Lull's willingness to die for his faith was the seed that has only now seen harvest. Thus, we need to read about him and his interestingly early evangelical faith.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews