The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian Missions, Archaeologists, and Colonial Powers. By John  Joseph. Studies in Christian Mission, vol. 26. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2000. Pp. xii + 290. $94.

2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-123
Author(s):  
Joel Thomas Walker
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akinyemi O. Alawode

For decades, the mobilisation of Christian missions has encountered a number of setbacks and barriers because of several factors and elements that pose severe impediments to the conduct of missionary activities. Amongst these factors and elements, the involvement of politics in the activities of the Christian missions is prominent. The goal of the Christian missions is to expand the kingdom of God, as well as the salvation and restoration of lost souls, while the goal of politics is to secure power and authority through manipulation for selfish interests or gains. A Christian mission seeks spiritual and heavenly fulfilment, while politics seeks mundane and worldly gains.


1988 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-286
Author(s):  
George N. Malek

This article reviews the postwar development of the Western concept of Islam in light of the present conflicts between the Middle East and the West, and analyzes Christian mission through an historical, psychological examination of the motive of postwar Christian mission to the Middle East. It then presents the problem of Christian/Muslim relations in light of the fundamental issue facing the two sides, that is, religious misunderstanding, not political or economic interaction. The article then raises questions on the method and motive of postwar Christian mission to the Middle East, suggesting an alternative method for future mission. The paper takes the position that dialogue is the most productive form of contact between Christianity and Islam. It attempts to indicate, by critical examination, the potential points of tension, error, and reconciliation in the theological thinking of both. A major contribution of the paper is its affirmation and definition of a dialogue, its method and motive. Finally, the paper charts some solutions, theologically, psychologically, and cross-religiously.


1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dora Otis Mitchell

Text from page 1: "Christian Missions have been a powerful agency toward the social transformation of mission lands. While it has been as a rule the avowed purpose of missionaries to work for individuals, they have from time to time been drawn into the struggle against social evils. lt is the purpose of this thesis to criticise the methods by which missionaries have attacked the colossal social evils of China. The motive for Christian mission work is religious. While it is my personal opinion and the opinion of all who engage in mission work that their success is due to this fact, it is not the province of this thesis to deal with that important phase of mission work. It is the province of this thesis to deal with the purely social results of missions and to criticise the methods of missionaries from the point of view of their influence on the social life of the Chinese people."


Author(s):  
Todd Thompson

Western Christians in the twentieth century viewed Islam through a lens of social and political concerns that would have appeared novel to their medieval and early-modern predecessors. Concerns about the predicament of secular 'modernity' infused Christian discourse with distinct assumptions that shaped engagement with Islam in fundamentally new ways. J. N. D. (Norman) Anderson (1908-94), a highly influential British Christian scholar of Islam, embodied this new orientation in his commitment to 'modernize' Islam. Anderson's engagement with Islam as a missionary, intelligence agent, scholar of Islamic law and advisor to various Muslim governments, spanned multiple decades and continents. As well as shaping Western understandings of Islamic law and its application, he was involved in debates about the end of the British Empire and the transformation of Christian missions following formal decolonization. Because of Anderson's location at the intersection of so many different debates concerning Islam, his life provides unique insights into the ways in which Christians reconfigured their response to Islam in the last century. Given Christianity's continued influence on British and American ideas about Islam, this study provides crucial insight into the persistent focus on 'modernizing' and 'secularizing' Islam today.


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