The myth of the 10/40 Window?
by Justin D. Long
Editor's Note: In the April 1997 issue of "Restoration Herald" (vol. 76, no. 4), Jim Snapp wrote an article entitled "The myth of the 10/40 Window." This article was encapsulated in Current Thoughts & Trends, where this editor examined it. I have not seen the original article, but CT&T does a good job of presenting a slightly abbreviated version of editorials. In this issue of the Monday Morning Reality Check I am going to respond to some of the points that Mr. Snapp raised. I have also forwarded this article to Restoration Herald, and a summation may be printed in CT&T as well.
In a recent article in the "Restoration Herald" (April 1997), Jim Snapp writes about the "Myth of the 10/40 Window" (pgs. 4-5). In this article, he takes issue with the prioritization of the 10/40 Window. His initial statement is, "The concept ... is not entirely accurate. Statistics show that the countries within the 10/40 area are the least evangelized. But do the spiritual needs there merit more attention than those of other parts of the world?"
He goes on to state that, from his perspective, the figures related to % Christian are flawed in that they include nominal Christians and the world's Catholics in the total Christian figure. Leaving out these two, he notes that "the special status of the 10/40 Window is questionable. ... Christians do comprise a lower percentage of the population inside the 10/40 Window, but the differential is not great. The point is, the need is still great in non-U.S. countries outside the Window and these areas shouldn't be neglected in mission strategies."
In examining only one issue -- the number of Christians -- and taking issue with the definition of "Christian," Mr. Snapp hearkens back to an age-old argument that ignores the larger picture. The 10/40 Window--the countries with the largest number of unevangelized people--should be prioritized for several different reasons, which include but are not limited to the total number of Christians.
WORLD A COUNTRIES ARE THE MOST DESTITUTE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. Life in the 10/40 Window is more precarious than anywhere else. Basic life-enhancing technologies are virtually nonexistent. Simple resources like food and water are not always to be found in abundance. The average income in the 10/40 Window can be measured in terms of a few hundred dollars--or perhaps a few tens--PER YEAR. Infant mortality soars.
WORLD A COUNTRIES ARE THE MOST DEVASTATED BY WAR. Most of the major wars and terrorist actions occurring right now are occurring in World A countries. Unrest in Pakistan, India, Sudan, Algeria, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Cambodia, Somalia are all models of this. The result: life expectancy is lower here than anywhere else.
WORLD A COUNTRIES ARE THE MOST DEVASTATED BY DISEASE. A lack of basic understanding of medicine and health means disease can ravage a population. Infections and viruses abound in the wake of natural disasters. AIDS has ravaged several of the 10/40 Window countries. A lack of clean water brings more deaths.
WORLD A COUNTRIES ARE LEAST CAPABLE OF DEALING WITH NATURAL DISASTERS. A typhoon, hurricane, tornado or earthquake can do ten times the damage in a World A country that it can do in a Western/European/East Asian country, because most people are too dirt poor to construct buildings and dwellings capable of withstanding disasters. Thousands die in earthquakes when buildings simply cave in. Hundreds of thousands go homeless when typhoons flood their villages and destroy their homes. Many starve when massive snowstorms kill their animals.
WORLD A COUNTRIES HAVE THE FEWEST CHRISTIANS. As mentioned above, by virtually any standard of measurement that you care to use, World A countries by and large have the lowest % Christian in the world. In the United States, there are some 49 MILLION Protestant evangelicals alone--one for every five people in the population!
WORLD A COUNTRIES HAVE THE LEAST RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Saudi Arabia will pay a bounty of $3,000 for anyone who fingers a Bible study. Christians in World A countries may be persecuted, arrested, harassed, imprisoned, tortured, fined, kicked out of their families, denied food, denied water, denied medical care, assassinated, condemned, exiled or executed.
WORLD A COUNTRIES HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF EVANGELISTIC ACTIVITY. This, perhaps more than any other reason, is the ultimate justification for the prioritization of the 10/40 Window. World C countries have an abundance of evangelistic activity. They have broadcasting, they have crusades, they have literature distribution programs, they have universities, they have churches, they have urban missions, they have "surfers for Christ." Better than 90% of all evangelistic activity is aimed at World C. The 10/40 Window, on the other hand, has precious little of any of these resources.
Do the spiritual needs of the 10/40 Window merit more attention than those of other parts of the world? Absolutely not. But Mr. Snapp's statement begs a tremendous question...
DO THEY DESERVE ANY LESS? Less is what they are receiving. The 10/40 Window does not receive one-tenth of what World C gets. Why should the Christian world get MORE, MORE, MORE, selfishly hogging the mission activity to itself?
I agree that there are great needs in non-U.S. countries outside the 10/40 Window. I also believe that the current level of energy directed to those countries is sufficient to their need, if it is properly and strategically directed. I ask only that the 10/40 Window receive JUST AS MUCH energy, thought, talk, strategy, money, manpower, and prayer that the rest of the world seems to so ably "deserve."
