Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341888
Wouter Theodoor (W.T.) van Veelen
Abstract This article analyzes the theological legacy of Tokunboh Adeyemo, a leading voice in African evangelical circles. In academic literature on African Christianity, African evangelical theologians are often accused of endorsing a biblicist or Westernized form of theology that fails to deeply engage with African realities. This study retraces Adeyemo’s contribution to the evangelical debates on mission after the International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974. It will be argued that, while Adeyemo undoubtedly was influenced by North American dualism, he increasingly distanced himself from Western theological concepts, advocating for a broad, holistic, contextual, and transformational understanding of mission. Thus, this study shows that categories commonly used to describe African evangelicalism, such as “biblicist,” “conservative,” “dogmatic,” and so on, do not do justice to the complexity, heterogeneity, and contextuality of African evangelicalism.
{"title":"The Gospel as a Life to Live: Tokunboh Adeyemo and the Evangelical Debate on Mission","authors":"Wouter Theodoor (W.T.) van Veelen","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341888","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341888","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article analyzes the theological legacy of Tokunboh Adeyemo, a leading voice in African evangelical circles. In academic literature on African Christianity, African evangelical theologians are often accused of endorsing a biblicist or Westernized form of theology that fails to deeply engage with African realities. This study retraces Adeyemo’s contribution to the evangelical debates on mission after the International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974. It will be argued that, while Adeyemo undoubtedly was influenced by North American dualism, he increasingly distanced himself from Western theological concepts, advocating for a broad, holistic, contextual, and transformational understanding of mission. Thus, this study shows that categories commonly used to describe African evangelicalism, such as “biblicist,” “conservative,” “dogmatic,” and so on, do not do justice to the complexity, heterogeneity, and contextuality of African evangelicalism.","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134952271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341887
Karl Inge Tangen
Abstract Medical missions are criticized for having a secularizing effect. Progressive Pentecostals who combine prayer and Western medicine represent one possible solution to this problem. This article explores whether Western medicine and Pentecostal-charismatic healing practices can be sustainably integrated by offering a case study of the medical missiology of Osvald Orlien. The article shows that Orlien’s model provides a theological conception of holistic health, a fusion of Pentecostalism and the African worldview, and the formation of a Pentecostal theology of medical science that affirms natural laws and human reason. Orlien offered a holistic theology of healing and an account of moral virtues that could be intelligibly defended. He encountered opposition from both Pentecostals who rejected Western medicine and rationalistic skeptics who refused Pentecostal healing practices. The case study also identifies key factors contributing to sustainable, institutional integration of medicine and charismatic practices in the Congolese context.
{"title":"Integrating Pentecostal Healing and Western Medicine: A Case Study","authors":"Karl Inge Tangen","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341887","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341887","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Medical missions are criticized for having a secularizing effect. Progressive Pentecostals who combine prayer and Western medicine represent one possible solution to this problem. This article explores whether Western medicine and Pentecostal-charismatic healing practices can be sustainably integrated by offering a case study of the medical missiology of Osvald Orlien. The article shows that Orlien’s model provides a theological conception of holistic health, a fusion of Pentecostalism and the African worldview, and the formation of a Pentecostal theology of medical science that affirms natural laws and human reason. Orlien offered a holistic theology of healing and an account of moral virtues that could be intelligibly defended. He encountered opposition from both Pentecostals who rejected Western medicine and rationalistic skeptics who refused Pentecostal healing practices. The case study also identifies key factors contributing to sustainable, institutional integration of medicine and charismatic practices in the Congolese context.","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134952274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341890
Darren Cronshaw, Hanna Hyun, Peter Laughlin, Titus S. Olorunnisola, Stephen Parker
Abstract This article explores the “mission of God” and its relationship with refugees and migrants in Australia. At its best, this mission is experienced as hospitality to, by, and with people of cultural diversity. Ross Langmead (2014) called for a theology of mission as an expression of divine hospitality to those marginalized and forcefully displaced, and recalled the significance of the cultural diversity that the Bible celebrates. By hospitably serving and learning from refugees and migrants, Australian local churches function as both guests and hosts. Langmead suggested this hospitality has ten dimensions including advocacy, meals, mutual learning, and “openness to a transforming divine presence” (2014:39ff). It is this last dimension that invites reflection as to how all ten may be more broadly applied. This article is a conversation on the experience of Australian churches at large in giving and receiving hospitality with refugees and other migrants. The conversation demonstrates the value of practicing hospitality for the sake of mutual learning and shared mission amongst the global diaspora in the Australian context.
{"title":"Mission as Hospitality with Refugees and Other Migrants: Exploring Ross Langmead’s “Guests and Hosts” in Australian Churches","authors":"Darren Cronshaw, Hanna Hyun, Peter Laughlin, Titus S. Olorunnisola, Stephen Parker","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341890","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341890","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article explores the “mission of God” and its relationship with refugees and migrants in Australia. At its best, this mission is experienced as hospitality to, by, and with people of cultural diversity. Ross Langmead (2014) called for a theology of mission as an expression of divine hospitality to those marginalized and forcefully displaced, and recalled the significance of the cultural diversity that the Bible celebrates. By hospitably serving and learning from refugees and migrants, Australian local churches function as both guests and hosts. Langmead suggested this hospitality has ten dimensions including advocacy, meals, mutual learning, and “openness to a transforming divine presence” (2014:39ff). It is this last dimension that invites reflection as to how all ten may be more broadly applied. This article is a conversation on the experience of Australian churches at large in giving and receiving hospitality with refugees and other migrants. The conversation demonstrates the value of practicing hospitality for the sake of mutual learning and shared mission amongst the global diaspora in the Australian context.","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":"106 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134952074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341900
Sochanngam Shirik
{"title":"God at Work in the World: Theology and Mission in the Global Church, written by Lalsangkima Pachuau","authors":"Sochanngam Shirik","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341900","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":"227 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134952275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341896
Kong-hi Lo
{"title":"Contextualization and the Old Testament: Between Asian and Western Perspectives, written by Jerry Hwang","authors":"Kong-hi Lo","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341896","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341896","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134952276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-05DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341868
Xiaoli Yang (杨晓莉)
{"title":"Where Are You Going?","authors":"Xiaoli Yang (杨晓莉)","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341868","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47214114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-05DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341872
Zhixi Wang
{"title":"The Registered Church in China: Flourishing in a Challenging Environment, written by Wayne Ten Harmsel","authors":"Zhixi Wang","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341872","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341872","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49532470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-05DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341873
Alex R. Mayfield
{"title":"Maoism and Grassroots Religion: The Communist Revolution and the Reinvention of Religious Life in China, written by Xiaoxuan Wang","authors":"Alex R. Mayfield","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341873","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341873","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46998357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-05DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341866
Grace Lung (龍歐陽可惠)
This paper argues that Chinese Australian Christians have unaddressed wounds of internalized racism and a colonized and colonizing mentality that adversely impacts their evangelistic witness and mission work by elevating Anglo-centric Christianity and subordinating their own ethno-racial status. Drawing on theoretical analyses, the sources of internalized racism and colonial mentality in Chinese Australians are first outlined within their ancestral countries of Hong Kong and Malaysia, and then their host country of Australia. Second, the essay explains how Anglo-centric Christianity impacts Chinese Australian Christians in the academy and then in missions, perpetuating prejudice towards one’s own ethnic group, complicity in racialized systems, as well as elevating Anglo-centric Christian thought as biblically normative. Third, the paper shows how the rise of Asian Christianity could further privilege Anglo-centric theologies at the expense of indigenous and/or Asian theologies. Consequently, internalized racism and a colonial mentality negatively affect the mission endeavours of Chinese Australians, particularly to new Chinese migrants and other people of colour. Finally, proposed ways to combat internalized oppression will be offered so that Chinese Australian Christians and other diasporic Christians living in the West do not perpetuate systems of racial injustice in the name of Christ locally or overseas through mission.
{"title":"Internalized Oppression in Chinese Australian Christians and Its Mission Impact","authors":"Grace Lung (龍歐陽可惠)","doi":"10.1163/15733831-12341866","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341866","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper argues that Chinese Australian Christians have unaddressed wounds of internalized racism and a colonized and colonizing mentality that adversely impacts their evangelistic witness and mission work by elevating Anglo-centric Christianity and subordinating their own ethno-racial status.\u0000Drawing on theoretical analyses, the sources of internalized racism and colonial mentality in Chinese Australians are first outlined within their ancestral countries of Hong Kong and Malaysia, and then their host country of Australia. Second, the essay explains how Anglo-centric Christianity impacts Chinese Australian Christians in the academy and then in missions, perpetuating prejudice towards one’s own ethnic group, complicity in racialized systems, as well as elevating Anglo-centric Christian thought as biblically normative. Third, the paper shows how the rise of Asian Christianity could further privilege Anglo-centric theologies at the expense of indigenous and/or Asian theologies. Consequently, internalized racism and a colonial mentality negatively affect the mission endeavours of Chinese Australians, particularly to new Chinese migrants and other people of colour. Finally, proposed ways to combat internalized oppression will be offered so that Chinese Australian Christians and other diasporic Christians living in the West do not perpetuate systems of racial injustice in the name of Christ locally or overseas through mission.","PeriodicalId":42383,"journal":{"name":"Mission Studies","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42783932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}