Look at Christian mission work through the centuries
Until about 48 hours ago, I had not heard of Hadrian Saravia (1530-1612. Dates vary slightly). He was a Protestant leader who was involved, among other things, in the translation of the King James Version Bible. He was, apparently, the only non-Englishman who worked on the translation--- supporting the translation of the first third of …
Continue reading Hadrian Saravia. 16th century Protestant Mission Theologian
Yes, the above statement is not always true. There are bad ideas that are simply bad. But consider some good ideas in Christian missions: It is good to evangelize It is good to church plant It is good to disciple It is good to meet felt needs of the people It is good to address …
Continue reading In Missions, a Bad Idea is a Good Idea Taken Too Far
There is a scene I like in the movie "Harvey" (1950) where Elwood P. Dowd, played by Jimmy Stewart, is talking to Dr. Sanderson, a psychologist played by Charles Drake. Dr. Sanderson is trying to psychoanalyze (insight-based psychology) Elwood as to his apparent delusions of an invisible creature he calls "Harvey." Sanderson seeks to explore …
Continue reading I Still Kinda Want to Hold onto the Term “Missionary.”
So I was listening to "Theology in the Raw" (Preston Sprinkle's podcast) in an interview of Nijay Gupta. Gupta has recently published a book, "Strange Religion: How the the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling." I have only read a tiny bit of the book so far, but it looks very interesting. During the …
Continue reading Is the Primary Purpose of Church to Worship God… Really?
Samuel Munson (born 1804) and his fellow companion Henry Lyman (born 1809) were early American missionaries to Sumatra. In their first year, they were killed by Batak tribesmen in 1834. I have been asked more than once if I am related to Samuel Munson since I am a missionary in Southeast Asia and have the …
Continue reading Quote on Death of Samuel Munson— no relation
I am a Baptist missionary. Baptists have long held, to some extent, Christian Restorationist inclinations. This is also known as Christian Primitivism. This assumes that the "ideal church" or "perfect church" existed shortly after Pentecost, and slowly there was a degradation over time into the mess we are in now. A different variation on this …
In the Spring of 1877, Protestant Missionaries joined together to meet in Shanghai to discuss a Christian missions view of opium in China. There were two wars often referred to as the Opium Wars. The first Opium War was 1839-1942 and the second 1856-1860. In both cases, much of conflict was driven by trade between …
Continuing from Part One, if Jesus can be thought of as an (or "the") Internationalizer of the Jewish Faith, then he was not trying to destroy the Jewish Faith, or replace the Jewish Faith, but transform it. As noted in the last post, the Jewish faith was what is sometimes called an "Ethnic Religion." This …
Continue reading Jesus, Internationalizer of the Jewish Faith— Part 2
The planting of the first cross on Philippine soil is depicted in a painting by Vicente Manansala. Here the artist clearly shows the link between "mission" and "imperialism." A priest blesses a large cross which has just been planted by indigenous laborers while Spanish soldiers carrying spears bark orders at them. We are forced to …
Continue reading Subversion of the Symbol of the Cross Quote
It is good to keep learning. I am taking a course, "Teaching in Oral Cultures," the first full course of study I have taken since 2013. It is also good to keep teaching. That is true for at least two reasons--- one is that teaching forces one to keep learning. The other is that it …
Continue reading History of Missions Class at Faith Bible College