bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Christian Understanding of “Religion” and “the Religions”
Authors: Taber Charles R. , Taber Betty J.
Published: March 2013

The existing literature about religion and the religions is usually either too complex or too heavily biased by nexamined presuppositions to introduce the field to the beginner. This article proposes a model in which, from an explicitly Christian perspective, religions, i.e., organized human efforts to relate to Ultimate Reality, are seen as responses to divine revelation. But they differ, not only in the kind and amount of revelation available to them (Jesus Christ being the final and perfect revelation), but crucially in the quality of the response; this may be yes, no, or yes but. Tentative conclusions are drawn.

This is a preliminary report on an ongoing research project aiming to produce an introduction to the study of religion and the religions which will take an unapologetically Christian stance, but which will avoid as much as possible the sweeping a priori generalizations which often bedevil the field.

We have developed the paper in three parts: first, the rationale for this particular line of enquiry; second, the approach and method; and third, a preliminary statement of findings.
Evangelization of the “New World”: An Old World Perspective
Authors: Floristán Casiano , Keefe Michael
Published: March 2013

The theological and political context of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Spain and Portugal must be taken into account if one wants to understand the motivations and methods of the first missionaries to the New World. Rather than an evangelization, therefore, we need to speak of a catechization of the indigenous peoples of America, even though this process, and the abuses that followed, came under constant critique throughout the colonial era.
Evangelization of the “New World”: A New World Perspective
Authors: Pineda Ana María
Published: March 2013

This article offers a critique of the evangelization process from the point of view of the “respondent” culture. The Aztec-Nahuatl world had developed a sophisticated system of communication which was orally based. The Spanish evangelizers belong to a literate culture. Recent studies in the area of orality and literacy suggest that there is a significant difference between the consciousness of an oral culture and a literate culture. The author of this article suggests that this fundamental difference was responsible for some of the miscomprehensions that accompanied the evangelization of the New World by Spain.
Trinitarian Monotheism and the Birth of Popular Catholicism: The Case of Sixteenth-Century Mexico
Authors: EspíN Orlando O.
Published: March 2013

Since trinitarian monotheism is absolutely essential to Christianity, its proclamation and acceptance play a crucial role in evangelization. And since all evangelization takes place in and through cultural, linguistic, and historical milieux, trinitarian monotheist evangelization can confront major obstacles that can bring about unexpected results. This article attempts to show that the birth of U.S. Hispanic popular Catholicism is partially the result of inadequate trinitarian monotheist teaching. The author studies the case of early sixteenth-century Mexico as an example of this process.
Mission in Latin America: Inculturated Liberation
Authors: Irarrazaval Diego , Magrovejo Jorge , Bevans Steve
Published: March 2013

Mission in Latin America today-whether inside the continent or abroad— is best conceived as a task of inculturated liberation. It must first of all be about the liberation of all from every form of oppression, whether political, economic, social, cultural, or spiritual; and such liberation must come from the people themselves, in all their cultural diversity and richness. Although this task is one that involves the entire Latin American church, it is best carried out by Latin America's poor, who, in imitation of Jesus, are called to give the gift of their poverty as co-workers with the Spirit in witnessing to God's kingdom.
The Challenge of Hispanic Women
Authors: Aquino María Pilar , Liebner James
Published: March 2013

In this article María Pilar Aquino presents some of the characteristics of a feminist theology of liberation which seeks to respond to the questions and challenges which confront Latinas in the United States. For these women, the theological task represents a collective struggle for the attainment of life, their own human integrity, and their being recognized as subjects in their own right in church and society.
The Challenge of Ministerial Formation
Authors: Riebe-Estrella Gary
Published: March 2013

Formation for ordained ministry needs to take U.S. Hispanic culture with utmost seriousness. This means recognizing, on the one hand, the plurality of Latino cultures within the United States, and on the other, the various levels of acculturation to and integration with the dominant Anglo culture. A culturally responsible program of theological education must acknowledge the importance of historical and cultural “location”; its method must be that of reflection on praxis and must challenge students to do theology rather than to memorize theological conclusions. The year 1992 offers an opportunity for a genuine encounter between the North Atlantic church and the Latino cultural worlds.
U.S. Hispanic Theology
Authors: Bañuelas Arturo
Published: March 2013

A new theological voice is growing increasingly more articulate in the United States—the voice of U.S. Hispanic theologians. In this article Arturo Bañuelas surveys the work of seven major U.S. Hispanic thinkers, sets forth twelve characteristics that are common to this emerging theology, and presents six points of assessment. Even though it is in its nascent stages, Hispanic theology is being done with maturity and depth, and with a sense of urgency arising out of U.S. Hispanics' experience of suffering and marginalization.
A Sociological Profile of the Christian Minority in Pakistan
Authors: Mcclintock Wayne
Published: March 2013

Although the ethnic origins of Pakistani Christians are diverse, the great majority of them are Punjabis. Very aware of their minority status within an Islamic state, many Christians overlook the customs and social institutions that they share in common with Muslims of the same ethnic background. The first part of this article discusses the geographical distribution, the ethnic composition, and the religious and social identity of Pakistani Christians, while the second part reveals how four important aspects of Punjabi culture—worldview, biraderi and family orientation, izzat, and patron-client relationships—influence social behavior within the Christian community.
Christology in the Qur'an
Authors: Kuitse Roelf S.
Published: March 2013

The Qur'an speaks in a special way about Jesus, his birth, his miracles, his ascension. Some scholars have, based on the Qur'anic sayings about Jesus, drawn the conclusion that the Qur'an does not deny and sometimes affirms specifically Christian beliefs about Jesus. This conclusion is rejected in this paper. The rejection is based on the Islamic view of God's relation and revelation to the world.
Toward a New Self-Understanding: The U.S. Catholic Missionary Movement on the Eve of the Quincentennial
Authors: Judd Stephen P.
Published: March 2013

This article takes as its starting point the presence and evolving role of U.S. Catholic missioners in Latin America. The occasion of the 500 Years Commemoration provides an opportunity to reconsider this contemporary movement and its contribution to forging a church from the perspective of the poor in Latin America. It examines those internal and external factors that have shaped a new way of doing mission based on a recognition of “otherness” and develops some of the motivations that are unique to the North American experience. Awareness of these contributions together with challenges that arise out of the present moment form the backdrop for what is envisioned as an ongoing attempt to articulate the U.S. Catholic missionary movement both in Latin America and the United States.
A Tale of Many Models: The Missiological Significance of the Serampore Trio
Authors: Smith A. Christopher
Published: March 2013

What were the mission models that Carey and his company at Serampore worked from, worked with, worked at, and then bequeathed to the so-called modern missionary movement? In what senses was their mission in Bengal, 200 years ago, part of a unique period of transition between contrasting eras of Protestant mission history? Inquiry into such questions leads one to distinguish between model-making and myth-making in mission promotion and mission history. This sheds entirely new light on the missiological significance of a venerable Baptist trinity: William Carey, William Ward, and Joshua Marshman.
Serampore's Shadows: Means or Models?
Authors: O'Brien William
Published: March 2013

The response to Christopher Smith's paper focuses on the Serampore Trio from the standpoint of a team and a time. The team of Carey, Marshman, and Ward cannot be described as Carey plus two. The synergism of the team produced a force begging for a form large enough to channel the productivity of the team. The time, or era, provided the precedents and the context in which such a phenomenon could occur: a “kairos” moment at a “chronos” intersection. If models are but the shadows cast by the means, it is increasingly important to understand consequences for the future from any means adopted.
Closing Space: De-alienation in Missionary Orientation
Authors: Larson Donald N.
Published: March 2013

As an outsider in a community, a missionary's own conceptual framework of the world is typically very different from that of his or her hosts—insiders. Nothing much gets done until this conceptual space is closed, and closing that space rests primarily on the initiative of the outsider. Learning to close this space, an exercise in de-alienation, should become a central organizing principle in entry (on-field) orientation. A model for a 36-month program is presented and developed. However, volunteers vary widely in their potential for gap closing and their readiness to undergo the de-alienation process. Furthermore, some situations pose gaps that are wide and difficult to close. Sometimes volunteers are well-matched to situations and sometimes not. A model for matching volunteers and situations is presented and discussed.
Reflections from the Edge: Mission-in-Reverse and Missiological Research
Authors: Gittins Anthony J.
Published: March 2013

Anthropologists sometimes spend several decades talking about people and situations they have not seen since their initial fieldwork; small wonder if their enthusiasm wanes and their credibility is sapped. But missiologists too may experience a certain tension between their teaching about and their experience of mission.

Jesus' message is for everyone and for all time, but he ministered in a particular time and place and adopted a clear perspective: that of the poor, the sinners, the outcasts. This article, heavily autobiographical, attempts to link fieldwork and ministry, the academy and the community, in the spirit of Jesus-the-missionary.
Equipping Equippers Cross-Culturally: An Experiment in the Appropriate Globalization of Theological Education
Authors: Stevens R. Paul , Stelck Brian
Published: March 2013

A critique of the investment made by Western resource people as teachers in African Bible schools is provided by means of a specific case study: the request from the Africa Brotherhood Church for a partnership program in equipping equippers, preparing people who can replace missionaries. African fascination with Western theological education and Western misgivings about it provided the cultural backdrop for an experiment. The singular challenge of the resulting Certificate in Ministry program was the delivery of quality theological education which was contextually sensitive to people and normative to the rapidly growing African church.
The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts: Moving beyond Word and Deed
Authors: Shenk Wilbert R.
Published: March 2013

The way we think about Christian witness has been shaped by the controversy early in the century between the social gospel and fundamentalist movements, each a reaction to the Enlightenment. The social gospel emphasized the immanent kingdom expressed concretely in improved human welfare; the fundamentalist put priority on evangelism—calling men and women to prepare for the future kingdom. Since 1945 there has been considerable movement toward a mediating position that holds the two elements together; but this has not resolved the problem. The New Testament model of the kingdom provides the only solution.
Surfacing Local Theology in Appalachia: The Use of Participatory Research in Theological Reflection
Authors: Hinsdale Mary Ann
Published: March 2013

Based on the author's experience in a four-year participatory research project in a rural, Appalachian community, this article describes a variety of participative research strategies which can be used in communities as a way of surfacing “local theology.” Some of the illustrations presented include economic discussions, producing local community history, drama, songwriting, and Bible reflections in which the women in the community attempted to make sense of their faith in terms of their social context.
Muslim Ideology and Christian Apologetics
Authors: Schlorff Samuel P.
Published: March 2013

Despite formal similarities, Islam and Christianity operate on very different wavelengths. Islam is law-oriented, not theology-oriented, and Muslim society is ideological in nature. However, Christians have attempted to understand the Muslim mind through a comparative study of Muslim and Christian doctrine and to present the Christian message in a theological framework. This paper proposes a different approach: understanding Islam by analyzing the key ideas in the Muslim worldview. It outlines a Christian apologetic that responds to the issues raised by Muslim ideology on the basis of the biblical doctrine of the kingdom of God.
Two-Thirds World Missions: The Next 100 Years
Authors: Keyes Larry E. , Pate Larry D.
Published: March 2013

World missions is shifting from being primarily coordinated and directed by North America and Europe to becoming also a strength of the churches in the Two-Thirds World, the countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Keyes and Pate write about the growth, trends, and implications of Two-Thirds World missions into the next century. This paper also wrestles with global trends in technology, politics, economics, and religion in an effort to discern future patterns and how they may impact the Two-Thirds World missions and missions in general. The authors conclude with a section entitled “The Globalization of World Missions” in which they describe possibilities in a coming age of cooperative missionary activity.
Christian Missionary Medicine and Traditional Healers: A Case Study in Collaboration from the Philippines
Authors: Seale J. Paul
Published: March 2013

Traditional healers pose a challenge to Christian medical personnel in developing countries. Traditional medicine provides up to 90 percent of the health care in some countries and is being included in some primary health care systems. Challenges to Christian practitioners often include differences in disease theory, diagnostic and treatment practices, and theological perspective. This article describes the approach of a Christian primary health care team who, after careful study of traditional healers, forged a successful collaborative alliance with a group of traditional healers in the Philippines. Benefits and pitfalls of such collaboration are discussed, as well as potential applications in other settings.
Blood Sacrifice and the Dynamics of Supernatural Power among the Manobo of Mindanao: Some Missiological Implications
Authors: Elkins Richard E.
Published: March 2013

A significant feature of the Manobo worldview is the fact that all supernatural beings, including the supreme being, are considered to be ghoul spirits with an insatiable lust for human flesh and blood. This ghoul spirit complex is almost certainly a major reason why this Manobo group seems reluctant to embrace biblical Christianity. Seen from this background, the Christian emphasis on the sacrifice of Christ and the symbolic partaking of flesh and blood in the Lord's Supper is abhorrent to many Manobo people. This article presents a taxonomy of Manobo blood sacrifice and offers some suggestions for Christian workers who are sharing the gospel with Manobo people in this area.
Short-Term Medical Missions: Enhancing or Eroding Health?
Authors: Montgomery Laura M.
Published: March 2013

This paper analyzes two case studies of short-term medical missions to Latin America. Its conclusions suggest that when such projects are evaluated in terms of their impact upon the health status of the local population or health care delivery systems, they are found to have insignificant and even negative consequences. The shortcomings of these short-term efforts reflect the cultural assumptions that inform their design and implementation, rather than local health realities. Recommendations are suggested to increase the effectiveness of these missions in terms of the health needs of local populations.
The Challenge of Hispanic Pluralism for the United States Churches
Authors: Pineda Ana María
Published: March 2013

Hispanic pluralism is a challenge for the Christian churches in this era of “New Evangelization” or “New Reformation.” This article addresses the identifiable issues of Hispanic identity, religiosity, and ecumenism as challenges of Hispanic pluralism that face the United States churches in their attempts to evangelize a cultural group that historically has received minimal pastoral attention. The author suggests that if these issues are dealt with effectively, the present configuration of the Christian churches in the United States could be greatly transformed.
Islam in Europe: Threat or Challenge to Christianity?
Authors: Schantz Borge
Published: March 2013

“Threat of Islam” is a historical perspective still persisting long after the Ottoman generals knocked at the door of Vienna. Island communities of Islamic culture left behind by the retreating Muslim tide in the seventeenth century have been reinforced in the mid-twentieth by some six million immigrant workers, students, and refugees. Initial knee-jerk reaction on the part of churches to the new mosques and their worshipers has ranged from suspicion to outright animosity. Now European Christians have to ask themselves if it is not a unique outworking of Providence which has brought to their very doorsteps millions of adherents to the world's most gospel-resistant religion. The very essence of the challenge is that mass communication methods of evangelism will only confirm Islamic prejudice, since all Islamic cultures depend upon personal relations.
Missionaries as Role Models in the Christian Quest for Justice
Authors: Pierard Richard V.
Published: March 2013

Although some fail to understand the Christian commitment to justice, the history of missions is replete with instances of believers who put their faith in action. Where they labored, they challenged existing social customs and even defied European colonial authorities and white settler interests. Examples cited include missionaries who fought inhumane practices such as the caste system, widow burnings, and footbinding. Among those who stood against unjust power structures were John Philip in South Africa, William Knibb in Jamaica, the Rhine Mission workers in Southwest Africa, and Timothy Richard in China. Missionaries are appropriate role models for Christians who are seeking after justice.
Toward an Ecumenical Christology for Asia
Authors: Levison John R. , Pope-Levison Priscilla
Published: March 2013

Asian theologians recognize that Asian theology must address two pressing issues: poverty and religiosity. Most Asian Christologies tend to address one to the exclusion of the other: the Cosmic Christ embraces religiosity: Jesus Christ Liberator confronts poverty: Jesus as pain-love of God comforts the suffering. The Christologies of M. M. Thomas and Aloysius Pieris, in contrast, address both poverty and religiosity in Asia. In both Christologies Christ's presence extends to Asia's struggle for a new society which takes place beyond the church's boundaries. This similarity is not due, however, to identical christological starting points: Pieris begins with the historical Jesus of the synoptic Gospels and Thomas with the Cosmic Christ of Colossians 1:15–20. Rather, it is due to the attempt of both theologians to address Asian poverty and religiosity.
Christianity in Korea
Authors: Underwood Horace G.
Published: March 2013

Christianity in Korea has often been viewed rather superficially. It has been praised for its evangelistic zeal or criticized as being pietistically oriented toward numerical growth with little concern for society. It has been criticized for slavishly copying Western forms and praised by others for struggling for human rights. The author attempts to deepen our understanding of Korean Christianity by taking up such matters as the problems of indigenization, the forms of worship, and Christian social activism as seen against its historical and social background.
Why Has Christianity Grown Faster in Korea than in China?
Authors: Brown G. Thompson
Published: March 2013

The article contrasts the rapid growth of Protestant Christianity in Korea with the slow growth in China during the missionary era. The question is asked: “Why the difference?” since both countries shared the same cultural and religious environment. The answer is to be found in five factors which characterized the Korea Mission: (1) the Nevius Plan which emphasized self-support, self-government, and self-propagation, (2) the support the Christian movement gave to Korean nationalism against Japanese aggression, (3) the independence of the church which was free of foreign control, (4) the cooperation which existed among various missions, and (5) certain distinctive religious traits which characterized the Korean people.
The Contribution of Lao She to the Three-Self Principle and the Protestant Churches of China
Authors: Towery Britt E.
Published: March 2013

This paper analyzes the distant though pertinent relationship the modern Chinese writer Lao She (1899–1966) had with the principle of self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating Chinese Christian churches. He became a Christian in Peking (Beijing) in 1922. This “people's artist” was hounded to his death by the Red Guards in the Cultural Revolution. A pioneer in modem Chinese literature, his work revealed the language, the joys, and the hurts of the common people of China. He believed his country and its Christianity needed to be Chinese-led, and not dependent upon the foreigner for funds and direction.
Conversion to Christianity: A Bajju Case Study
Authors: Mckinney Carol V.
Published: March 2013

Within a 55-year period, most Bajju (Kaje) of southern Kaduna State in northern Nigeria converted to Christianity. This research identifies factors that contributed to this widespread adoption of Christianity, including political, religious, sociological, and personal factors. Lack of political representation throughout the British colonial era and the imposition of Native Authority administration formed the context within which conversion occurred. While this structure of the administrative context tended to be oppressive to the non-Muslim ethnic groups, including the Bajju, from a Bajju perspective their widespread conversion to Christianity was a profoundly religious movement.
Conversion or Acculturation? A Study of Culture Change and Its Effect on Evangelism in Mindanao Indigenous Societies
Authors: Elkins Richard E.
Published: March 2013

Rapid culture change among tribal groups in Mindanao, Philippines, has produced a generation of young people who are eager to seek a new, more prestigious identity. Western missionaries, influenced by their society's obsession with the future and with youth, run counter to tribal worldviews when they consider young people the most effective target for evangelism. Targeting the youth can often prevent a tribal society's most effective communicators from a realistic hearing of the gospel and block a valid people movement. This article describes certain processes and problems of rapid culture change and urges some serious rethinking about strategies for evangelism in this area.
The Deconstruction of Peru: Social Chaos as Ecclesial Kairos
Authors: Cadorette Curt
Published: March 2013

Since the early 1980s, the people of Peru have experienced severe social, economic, and political turmoil. Extreme poverty and political violence have claimed thousands of lives in the last decade. This article tries to analyze the origins of Peru's social problems. It then attempts to examine the implications of the current crisis for the Christian community which is confronted with dehumanizing poverty and is a target of political extremists. An assumption of this article is that such a situation will become increasingly common in many developing countries, with profound ecclesiological and missiological implications.
William Carey's Major Novelty
Authors: Winter Ralph D.
Published: March 2013

The nature of the Serampore Brotherhood is important both for its influence on later history and for its relevance to unresolved structural quarrels today, in which even the United States government is involved. New misson agencies are forming all over the globe in increasing numbers, and they are picking their patterns without a great deal of historical reflection. This article does not evaluate the Brotherhood from the standpoint of its mission strategy, but in terms of its human resource development and maintenance—as a mutually accountable, self-governing fellowship that may be the most important single dimension of a mission outreach.
Missionary Elenctics: Conscience and Culture
Authors: Priest Robert J.
Published: March 2013

Conscience is God-given and functions as an internal witness which ratifies the biblical message that we are sinners in need of salvation. Conscience contributes to repentance and faith, and plays a pivotal role in the sanctification of the believer. But conscience is also culturally variable. As a result cross-cultural missionaries seldom understand native conscience and frequently work at cross-purposes to it. This article suggests principles for the missionary who wishes to understand native conscience and contends that missionaries who follow these principles will find conscience to be a God-given ally in the tasks of evangelism and discipleship.
The Trinity and Christian Witness to Muslims
Authors: Yoder Jason J.
Published: March 2013

As the early Christians experienced the sustaining will, the saving love, and the abiding presence of the one God, they were led to conceive of God as a threefold unity. Various historical developments have contributed to a persistent misunderstanding of the Trinity by Muslims. Following the pattern of the development of the doctrine in the early church, the Christian should invite the Muslim to experience personally the one God who sustains, saves, and abides. Such an invitation will be acknowledged to the degree that the life of the witness embodies the truths and qualities which the Trinity represents.
Selecting a Church Planting Model That Works
Authors: Steffen Tom A.
Published: March 2013

Unlike a decade ago, a plethora of church planting models now exists from which church planters can select. New models continue to roll off the presses. While the multiplication of models provide valuable new insights into the ambiguous task of church planting, they also create a new dilemma. How can church planters select or design a church planting model that matches a specific people group? This article critiques six church planting models, probes how the church planter's personal philosophy and vision impacts such selection, and provides a two-dimensional model to show how to wade through the options and craft an effective church planting model for a specific people group.
Contextualizing the Gospel among the Saxons: An Example from the Ninth Century of the Cultural Adaptation of the Gospel as Found in The Heliand
Authors: Hayward Douglas
Published: March 2013

In the middle of the ninth century, Christian missionaries among the Germans propagated the gospel by singing the story of the life of Christ in the meadhalls of Saxon warrior-nobles. This article, based upon a new translation and interpretation of that song-text (The Heliand) by G. Ronald Murphy, SJ, examines the manner in which those missionaries sought to adapt the life and witness of Jesus Christ to the life and times of the Saxon people. This author identifies three primary concerns of contextualizaiton in every age, and shows how these were addressed more than one thousand years ago.
The Bible and Intercultural Communication
Authors: Lenchak Timothy
Published: March 2013

A missionary cannot simply enter a new culture with Bible in hand and expect that people will automatically understand the gospel message. God's word can be misunderstood if it is not communicated according to the worldview of those receiving it. Since many of the world's cultures are oral and not literate, this requires the learning of oral skills in order to preach the gospel. The Bible is a literary work, but we may have to unlearn our literary habits in order to refashion our proclamation of the gospel with oral concepts and methods.
Judson's Successors in the Heyday of Burma Missions
Authors: Armstrong Ruth M.
Published: March 2013

As described by the then Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Union and others, the 1890s missionary enterprise was unparalleled in opportunity though overburdened by success. Following in the footsteps of revered Burma missionary Adoniram Judson, his successors evangelized with expectation of imminent victory. Attitudes reflecting the times tended to be paternalistic, leading to serious mistakes. Yet a foundation was laid for an indigenous church which has survived wars and isolation and stands today against oppression. Much remains to be done and new approaches must be employed, but that is not to deny the legacy of Burma's pioneer missionaries.
Trauma in Missionary Life
Authors: Grant Robert
Published: March 2013

Many missionaries suffer from a variety of psychological, physical, and spiritual injuries. Many are the result of living and working in environments characterized by violence, disease, inhumane living conditions, social oppression, and political corruption. Trauma, by definition, involves experiences that overwhelm an individual's ability to cope and hence to make sense of certain life events. In this light, post-traumatic responses can be seen as attempts to master feelings of helplessness, terror, and guilt.

The intent of this paper is to provide missionaries, as well as supportive personnel, a framework with which to make sense of and thus to deal with the destructive effects of unresolved trauma. Trauma is rarely understood and often mistreated, even by many members of the psychology profession. This paper will address trauma in regard to its definition, its various forms, its short-and long-term effects, and its implications for ministry. Considerations regarding treatment and prevention will also be addressed.
Diversity and Truth: A Missiological Perspective
Authors: Motte Mary
Published: March 2013

This article explores the relationship between diversity and truth from a missiological perspective. This question is explored in the relation between Christianity and other religious traditions, and in the relationship between Christian faith and culture. A shift in the understanding of mission from a primary concern to build up the Christian community to a primary concern of participation in the building up of God's reign provides new spaces for understanding aspects of these relationships. Both areas of study are yielding emerging principles and criteria that are helpful in discerning the relationship between truth and diversity.
Language and Culture Learning IS Conversion … IS Ministry
Authors: Kirby Jon P.
Published: March 2013

Today, learning languages and cultures is more important than ever before, especially for the missioner. A new brand of multi-cultural missioner is needed: one who ministers cross-culturally as a bridge builder, a catalyst, an innovator, an explorer, and a friend of the poor. Learning languages and cultures, and becoming bi-cultural are more than a preparation for intercultural ministry—they are already ministry. By this learning process missioners grow in a new faith as they explore new realities, expand their horizons, and experience new bi-cultural identities. The “learner role” nourishes the faith dialogue, and by experiencing and working through their new identities in faith, they are growing in their own conversion and witnessing a tangible conversion to others. The whole process imitates the incarnation and is truly ministry. Today Africa is experiencing a vocation explosion and as a result, it has become a trial ground for the formation of this new type of missioners. The future of mission depends on them and on whether or not missionary societies can make language and culture learning an integral part of missionary formation.
The Hopi “Old Testament” a First-Person Essay
Authors: Loewen Jacob A.
Published: March 2013

This essay focuses on a concern that many tribal societies voice, namely, that their ancestors had a covenant with God much like that of the Old Testament Hebrews. They feel that their original contract with God was condemned when Christianity came and that they were given a choice either to become Christian and be saved or to remain Hopi and be lost. They could not be both! Does the gospel not make Hopis better Hopis, Zulus better Zulus, etc.?
The Plight of the Indigenous Catholic Priest in Africa: An Igbo Example
Authors: Salamone Frank A. , Mbabuike Michael C.
Published: March 2013

The issue is not whether Christianity will survive in Africa but in what manner it will do so. This paper seeks to discover the extent of genuine indigenization in African Christianity. It explores various reasons for the retardation of and resistance to changes within the Catholic Church by indigenous clergy. The authors discern no fundamental incompatibility between essential Christianity and indigenous African beliefs and practices. They address several non-religious reasons for resistance to indigenization.
Praxis in Liberation Theology: Some Clarifications
Authors: Markey John J.
Published: March 2013

This article attempts to clarify the meaning of the term praxis by analyzing the way praxis is used, and the meaning it is given in the work of four Latin American liberation theologians. Although I find that all of the authors are concerned with overcoming the dualism that seems to exist between theory and practice in a great deal of contemporary theology by an appeal to the idea of praxis, I believe that this attempt often falls short because the authors fail to question radically the implicit dualism in the epistemology of the Kantian and the post-Kantian philosophers that they are dialoguing with, including Marx.
A Theological Examination of the Two-Structure Theory
Authors: Camp Bruce K.
Published: March 2013

In 1974, Ralph Winter wrote a paradigm-changing article, “The Two Structures of God's Redemptive Mission,” which affected the way many evangelical mission leaders view the role of the local church and the mission agency in world evangelization. What began as a historical observation, primarily, has developed into a theological doctrine which advocates theological legitimacy for mission agencies. Using Winter's document as a beginning point for discussion, this article analyzes and rejects the doctrine of sodalities as being another expression of the universal church. Instead of arguing for the acceptance of mission agencies (independent or demoninational) from a biblical basis, the author maintains that agencies should be accepted and utilized on a pragmatic basis by congregations.
The Missionary-Islander Encounter in Hawaii as an Ethical Resource for Cross-Cultural Ministry Today
Authors: Johnson-Hill Jack
Published: March 2013

Drawing on archival research, this article interprets the initial interactions between American Congregational missionaries and Hawaiian Islanders in relation to basic value conflicts surrounding the abolition of the kapu (taboo) system within the Hawaiian society of the 1820s. It is argued that the missionaries were aware of these conflicts and acted, often unintentionally, in ways which implied “taking sides.” Although they sought the support of the expatriate business community, they also challenged oppressive dimensions of the indigenous authority structure regarding women and commoners. This emancipatory dimension of missionary praxis is suggestive of social ethical implications for cross-cultural ministry today.
Two Features of Irenaeus' Missiology
Authors: Slate C. Philip
Published: March 2013

Irenaeus flourished toward the end of the second century as a bishop in Lugdunum (modern Lyons, France). He is important for several reasons, but scholarly interests in Irenaeus have focused chiefly on his place in the history of Christian thought and his churchmanship. Although his mission/evangelistic work is routinely mentioned by church historians, little effort has been made to extract from his apologetical-catechetical writings something of his missiology. As a native of Asia Minor, he engaged in cross-cultural work among the pagan Celtic peoples of southern Gaul. Two aspects of his missiology are probed: cultural adjustment in linguistics and his motivation for the task. Missiologically, he stands as a thoughtful combination of missionary-theologian-churchman.
The Challenge of a Systematized Biblical Theology of Mission: Missiological Insights from the Gospel of John
Authors: Köstenberger Andreas J.
Published: March 2013

The church's understanding and practice of its mission should be guided by the study of mission in the various biblical corpora. This essay contributes to this task by providing a discussion of mission in the Gospel of John. After exploring the connections between the Gospel's Christology and its missiological teachings, John's mission theology is probed regarding the proper focus, model, and scope of the Christian mission.
The Role of Theory in Mission Studies
Authors: Shenk Wilbert R.
Published: March 2013

Although a full-blown theory of mission has never been fully worked out, the pioneers of missiology, such as Gustav Warneck and Joseph Schmidlin, insisted it was essential to mission studies. Attention to mission theory has been notably absent during the past 50 years. It is argued here that this eclipse of theory has contributed to lack of rigor and vitality in mission studies. This observation is substantiated, in part, by noting recent developments in other academic fields which are also facing a “crisis of theory.” Every field of study needs conceptual clarity and rigor if it is to remain constructively vital. Mission studies would benefit from a renewed attention to mission theory.
The Challenges of Contemporary Church History, the Dilemmas of Modern History, and Missiology to the Rescue
Authors: Noll Mark A.
Published: March 2013

Missiological perspectives are propitiously situated to remedy major difficulties in the modern writing of history. First, missiology allows church history to be written as the truly global subject that it has become in the last two centuries. Second, missiology provides useful pointers for how believing historians may do their work in ways respecting both theology and science. Third, missiology offers useful hints for mediating among the diverse practices of history (pre-modern or ideological, modern or scientific, post-modern or deconstructive) that have created an epistemological crisis in the modern writing of history.
Critical Issues in the Social Sciences and Their Implications for Mission Studies
Authors: Hiebert Paul G.
Published: March 2013

Missionaries and anthropologists have been at the forefront of the West's encounter with other peoples since the Age of Exploration. In this encounter their views of these people have changed as they learned to know and understand these Others better. The shift from Other as Savage and Pagan to Other as Primitive and Ancestor, and then to Other as Native and Unreached has shaped the way Western scholars and missionaries have theorized about and related to people from other parts of the world. As missiologists, we must move beyond the current views of others that dominate current anthropological and missiological thinking, and recognize that the Scriptures affirm that we are one humanity, that at the deepest level others are not other but us. Only such a change in attitudes will help us lay the foundations for the global mission of the global church.
Cutting-Edge Issues in Theology and Their Bearing on Mission Studies
Authors: Schreiter Robert J.
Published: March 2013

This article explores three areas in contemporary theology that are very much discussed these days: the quest for a universal, non-hegemonic discourse in theology, the intense reflection on the meaning of the Holy Trinity for the life of the world, and the renewed interest in the theology of religions. Each of these areas is then reviewed as to the challenges it raises for contemporary mission studies.
Human Rights and Christian Missions in the Emerging Global Culture
Authors: Moore Thomas H.
Published: March 2013

The concept of human rights has evolved through three historical generations: liberty, equality, and now fraternity. Each generation of anthropologists, missionaries, and human rights advocates cultivated its own distinct mission and rhetoric. The current generation of a family of nations (fraternity) emphasizes the concept of group rights, as exemplified by the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. For 50 years the Summer Institute of Linguistics has been laboring for the ethnic identity rights of indigenous peoples in language development and literacy.
Better Fed than Dead: The Yuquí of Bolivia and the New Tribes Mission: A 30-Year Retrospective
Authors: Stearman Allyn Maclean
Published: March 2013

In the mid-1960s, the New Tribes Mission successfully completed the first of three peaceful contacts with the Yuquí Indians of the Bolivian Amazon. Because of the small sizes of the groups and mission efforts to provide immediate medical care, the Yuquí did not suffer significant initial population decline as is normally the case. In the mid-1980s, changing social and economic relationships between the Yuquí and the outside world caused unforseen disruptions in the previously closed mission environment. The intervention of anthropologists and development agencies coupled with escalating attacks against the New Tribes Mission by the Catholic Church altered the nature of missionary involvement with the Yuquí. A short-term multilateral development project initiated in 1987 witnessed unprecedented cooperation between mission personnel and development workers.
The Emerging International Standard on Indigenous Peoples' Rights: Issues and Implications for Mission Work in Third World Countries
Authors: Benedito Roberto M.
Published: March 2013

In the past two decades, the international community, specifically the United Nations, has been focusing its attention toward a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This article discusses the most exigent issues concerning this emerging international instrument, their history, and their probable implication for the missionary agenda. In particular, it examines the Philippine experience with regard to mission work and human rights.
Human Rights and Missionary Response: The Case of the South Pacific Labor Trade
Authors: Whiteman Darrell L.
Published: March 2013

An infamous period of South Pacific history surrounds the interaction between Europeans and Melanesians in the “recruiting” of about 100,000 Melanesians to work primarily on copra, cotton, and sugar plantations in Fiji, Samoa, New Caledonia, and Queensland, Australia. In many instances the human rights of Melanesians were severely violated. They experienced physical abuse, violence, and even kidnapping in the recruiters' efforts to take them from their island villages to work on plantations. This article documents the important role missionaries played in discovering the violations of Melanesians' human rights, in speaking out against these abuses, and ultimately in bringing an end to this horrible practice.
Witchcraft and the Gospel: Insights from Africa
Authors: Hill Harriet
Published: March 2013

Missionaries to Africa have long ignored the problem of witchcraft, feeling that it was simple superstition that would evaporate in the face of modernity. Instead, witchcraft activities have not only persisted, they seem to be on the increase. Witchcraft is a daily, pernicious problem for many African Christians, and yet the gospel that is preached does not address it adequately. Social scientists have given much attention to witchcraft but discount any spiritual reality, and thus provide only a partial analysis. This article attempts to define what witchcraft is ontologically, and then presents a missiological response for consideration.
Confessions of a Languagelical Heretic
Authors: Carpenter John B.
Published: March 2013

Kαι ιδου οχλος πολυζ, αν αριθμησαι αυτσν συδεις εδυνατο, εκ παντος εθνους και φυλων και λαων και (Revelation 7:9) So we are told, in the original Greek, about the crowd assembled before the throne of God; they come from every language group. Christians have a peculiar relationship to languages. We believe that God revealed himself mostly in two languages, but apart from scholars, we do not require, as Muslims do, the people of the book to master the original language of the book. We seem to assume that the message is translatable (at least as far as the King James Version!). Then is it possible to apply that same assumption to the world of missions: a world in which when a Korean, a Chinese, and a German sit down for tea, they chat in English? If Paul could use the common language of his day, do missionaries really have to spend about a quarter of their first term trying to get a handle on some obscure tongue? Surprisingly, I answer, maybe not.
A Model for a Muslim-Culture Church
Authors: Brislen Mike
Published: March 2013

A church consisting of believers coming out of a Muslim background must be contextualized into the local Islamic context. This contextualization must reach deeper than simply adapted worship forms; it must touch emotional, psychological, and theological levels of worldview. The needs of believers must be met by the church in this context of Muslim culture. The church must worship, express community, and witness to the kingdom of God in a Muslim context. This article presents one such vision and model. This model attempts to take with equal seriousness both gospel and culture. As indicated by the word vision, this article represents beginning rather than finality.
Images: Mission and Missionaries in Contemporary Fiction and Cinema
Authors: Neely Alan
Published: March 2013

During the present century, mission and missionaries have been the subjects of a significant number of twentieth-century novelists and screenwriters. Since the publication in 1921 of Somerset Maughm's short story “Rain” to John Hersey's 1985 novel The Call, there has been a steady stream of fictional and quasi-fictional depictions of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries, some extolling them, others not. Most of these fictional works have become movies. This essay represents an attempt to inventory and analyze the contents of these literary and cinematic portrayals.