Pioneers in World Christianity

Catalog description

This course focuses on extraordinary individuals who blazed trails in the making of World Christianity in modern times. We will examine the lives and the work of both Western missionaries and local Christian leaders. The following are some of the key issues we shall explore: What did those pioneers have in common? What recurring challenges did they encounter in communicating the Christian message, overcoming oppositions, and finding acceptance? How did they strike the balance between faithfulness to the core of the Christian faith and adapting the Gospel to the languages, sensibilities, and the needs of the societies and cultures they encountered? How did the pioneers relate to local communities and structures of power? What role did power relationships play in their work? How did their work facilitate (or impede) the subsequent emergence of local forms of Christianity? We will consider these in the context of—and in response to—post-colonial critiques of missionaries' involvement in Western imperialism. Some terms this course will offer travel component and the travel is required.