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Chargement... Taking Christianity to China: Alabama Missionaries in the Middle Kingdom, 1850-1950 (1997)par Wayne Flynt
Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  Scapegoats | Aug 29, 2012 |  aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Beginning early in the 19th century, the American missionary movement made slow headway in China. Alabamians became part of that small beachhead. After 1900 both the money and personnel rapidly expanded, peaking in the early 1920s. By the 1930s many American denominations became confused and divided over the appropriateness of the missionary endeavor. Secular American intellectuals began to criticize missionaries as meddling do-gooders trying to impose American Evangelicalism on a proud, ancient culture. By examining the lives of 47 Alabama missionaries who served in China between 1850 and 1950, Flynt and Berkley reach a different conclusion. Although Alabama missionaries initially fit the negative description of Americans trying to superimpose their own values and beliefs on "heathen," they quickly learned to respect Chinese civilization. The result was a new synthesis, neither entirely southern nor entirely Chinese. Although previous works focus on the failure of Christianity to change China, this book focuses on the degree to which their service in China changed Alabama missionaries. And the change was profound. In their consideration of 47 missionaries from a single state--their call to missions, preparation for service in China, living, working, contacts back home, cultural clashes, political views, internal conflicts, and gender relations--the authors suggest that the efforts by Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian missionaries from Alabama were not the failure judged by many historians. In fact, the seeds sown in the hundred years before the Communist revolution in 1950 seem to be reaping a rich harvest in the declining years of the 20th century, when the number of Chinese Christians is estimated by some to be as high as one hundred million. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)266.023761051Religions Christian church and church work Missions; Home and Foreign Missions; Home and ForeignClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3)
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One main argument of the book are that missionaries were primarily interested in evangelization, not social work. When the met with limited success in gaining converts, they changed their tactics to include education. Literacy was essential to Christianity because it allowed converts to read the Bible for themselves. This argument runs counter to the stories of many historians who say that the social gospel was the way in which missionaries most had an impact in China. The authors believe that the social gospel was merely a bi-product of evangelization.
The authors also argue that missionaries brought their own culture to China and tried to impress it on the Chinese. When this failed, they created a third culture that was both Chinese and American to help bridge the gap. After this they found greater success but not by much. They also argue against the idea that missionaries continued to be arrogant and ignorant of Chinese ways. After the scares of the 1920's, missionaries in China and mission boards in the United States made sure that they were well versed in Chinese culture and society. They also studied the Chinese language more than before.
The book is good as far as it goes, but the value of focusing just on Alabama missionaries is not apparent. They do a good job trying to extrapolate to the bigger picture, but the limits they place on their research does not lend it any strength. They do not adequately address how Alabama missionaries were different than those in neighboring states of other parts of the US, so it seems quite arbitrary. Nevertheless, it does provide some good insight into the changing ways of missionaries in China over the decades. (