Scripture, Prayer, and Worship – Call for Papers

Scripture, Prayer, and Worship
in the History of Missions and World Christianity

Annual Meeting of Yale-Edinburgh Group
on the History of the Missionary Movement and World Christianity

New College, University of Edinburgh, June 28–30, 2018
Deadline: March 12 March 28, 2018

Scripture, prayer, and worship have been basic activities in almost all missions and manifestations of World Christianity, which should ensure a plentiful fund of material for reflection, comparison and discussion and give hope of illumination and deeper understanding of our field. Continue reading

The Bible and Mission – Call for Papers

On 6-7 June 2018, the Women in Missiology Network will be holding a Consultation at the International Mission Centre in Birmingham, UK.

Papers are invited on the theme of ‘The Bible and Mission’ and submissions are welcome from students as well as academics. The theme is intentionally broad to attract a variety of proposals but examples of submission might include:

  • missional readings of the Bible
  • the use of the Bible in mission, historically or in current mission thinking or practice
  • biblical reflections on a current mission topic

For more information, please see the Women in Missiology Network website.

The Legacy of the (Counter) Reformation in China: 3 Examples

This article was originally posted here.

This year, there are many festivities celebrating the legacy of the Protestant Reformation – 500 years after Martin Luther penned his Ninety-five Theses in 1517. However, one of the most important legacies which has been overlooked is the Counter-Reformation – the Catholic revival which responded to the protests of Luther and other reformers. When we consider a country like China – or most other places outside of Europe at the time – it is in fact the Counter-Reformation that had an arguably more important impact (at least initially). Three examples, I believe, are worth highlighting, as they show just how much Protestantism in China is indebted to Catholicism in China and, by extension, the Counter-Reformation. Continue reading

Studies in World Christianity 21.2

Biblical and Non-Biblical Sources of Popular Religiosity in World Christianity

Studies in World ChristianityChristianity, as our first contributor to this issue of Studies in World Christianity reminds us, is supremely a religion of the Book. The narratives, symbols and doctrinal content of the biblical writings supply the constituent texture of the religion. Nevertheless, as the same contributor, Ole Jakob Løland, points out, for much of Christian history the great majority of Christian believers did not have direct access to the text of the bible: its teaching was mediated and refracted through their participation in, or observation of, a non-vernacular liturgy, and through religious art, music, drama and the communal observance of pilgrimages and festivals in honour of the saints. Continue reading