Transforming Mission: Paradigm shifts in Theology of Mission.

By David
Bosch (587 pp)
r!is "##"
David Bosch was professor of Missiology and a lecturer at the University of South Africa
since 1971, after working as a issionary in the !ranskei province since 19"7# Aongst other
roles he had was that of general secretary for the South African Missionary Association, editor
of the Missionalia $ournal and chaired various national %hristian asse&lies in South Africa#
'e died fro a tragic road accident on April 199(# 'e was arried to Annearie )lisa&eth#
$ntrod%ction.
Mission: The &ontemporary &risis
Bet'een Danger and pport%nity.
Bosch &egins his &ook &y looking at the use of the word *ission+# 'e sees 1( ways which
ission has &een seen as naely,
i- !he sending of issionaries to designated territory#
ii- !he activities they undertake
iii- !he geographical areas of issionary activities
iv- Agencies which send issionaries
v- !he non %hristian world or the ission field
vi- !he centre of issionary operation . ission field
vii- A local congregation without inister and depending on an older e/isting church#
viii- Series of special outreach services with the purpose of deepening people0s faith in
%hrist#
i/- 1ropagation of faith
/- )/panding 2od0s reign
/i- %onversion of non3&elievers
/ii- 4ounding of new churches# 5Bosch 1p# 1 6uoting Muller 1977,81389-#
Bosch continues to e/plain on the developent of the use of the word :Mission0 through the
historical developent of doctrinal definitions in &oth %atholic and 1rotestant traditions and
in church authority, in issues of e/pansion, occupation, con6uest of other religions etc# 'e
then oves to e/plain the changes that took place in the (;th century, after receiving various
challenges# !hese challenges according to Bosch are a crisis, &ut also ay lead to opportunity
&ecause if theology is to &e e/pressed in ission, how will it if the a&ove ways are &eing
challenged< 'ere he draws the parallel of the crisis of the church and that of %hrist# 'e sees
this as the point where danger and opportunity eet#
The 'ider crisis.
=ays in which crisis is anifested#
i- Science and technology advanceent and secularisation leading to the re$ection of
2od#
ii- !he dechristianisation of the =est, and the growth of neo3paganis, atheis,
secularis, un&elief and superstition#
iii- !he pluralis of odern society with other faiths appearing to &e ore aggressive in
ission than %hristians#
1
iv- !he guilt of the past =estern attitudes of superiority and e/ploitation of other religions
hinder the =estern %hristians to give witness to other faiths on their faith and hope
511et 8,19-#
v- !he rich>poor dividing line akes it difficult to share the faith#
vi- !he rise of !hird =orld theologies as opposed to =estern !heology, such as
?i&eration, Black, %onte/tual, Min$ung, African, Asian !heology etc has 6uestioned
on the validity of ission fro =estern churches and their theology#
@t is here that Bosch introduces the concept of paradig shift# 'e sees this period of crisis as
in %hristian !heology and Mission as another paradig shift including =orld =ar @@# !his
paradig shift in the church and in the world has &een part of a series of shifts which led to
new opportunities which the church had to undertake, and this is what the church faces now#
(o%ndation) *im and +at%re of Mission.
(o%ndations.
?ooking at what other issiologists have coented on foundations of ission, Scharer
51999,"31;-, 6uoting =arneck, Bosch 51p 9-, notes the natural and supernatural foundations#
i) ,%per nat%ral.
Scripture 5i#e# the 2reat %oissionA Matt (7,17319-, and %hristian Monotheis
ii) +at%ral.
A&soluteness and superiority of %hristianity, accepta&ility and adapta&ility of
%hristianity, the superior achieveents of %hristianity and the way %hristianity has
shown to &e stronger than other religions#
Bosch 51p "-, 6uotes Berkuyl 51977a, 1C737"A cf# Durr 19"1,(31;- as seeing soe otives for
ission as &eing ipure such as,
i- @perialis
ii- %ultural doination
iii- Doantic e/perience in far away e/otic countries
iv- )cclesiastical colonialis# 5e/port confession and church order to other countries-#
Ether otives listed were !heological such asA
i- Desire to convert people0s souls to 2od#
ii- !he desire for people to enter the future, eschatological Fingdo of 2od#
iii- %hurch planting
iv- !o seek 2od0s $ustice and that 2od0s reign would iprove life in the society 5Bosch
6uoting cf# 4reytag 19C1,(;1317A Berkuyl 1977a, 1C93C7-#
Bosch concludes &y showing that within this co&ination of otives there is a dying
%hristian triuphalis against other religions and therefore 6uestions its uni6ueness and truth
clais#
(rom &onfidence to malaise.
=hile in soe areas there is despair and withdrawal of traditional ission whereas in soe
work has carried on as usual#
* -Pl%riverse. of Missiology.
!hose who have gone on &oldly have seen the opportunity and have seiGed it although at the
sae tie they risk the danger and soe have only seen the danger and have given up,
without seeing the opportunity# Bosch calls for issiologists to see &oth the opportunity and
(
the danger and to acknowledge the tension in the conte/t of the odern ission oveent
and it is here that he calls for a new vision#
Mission, An @nteri Definition
'ere he points out,
a- !he issionary nature of %hristianity#
&- Missiology and its relation to theology#
c- !he cople/ity of %hristian ission in its definition#
d- 'e points out the Bi&lical picture of ission, in how 2od relates to the world through
@srael and through %hrist#
e- !he use of scripture in ission and conte/t#
f- !he insepara&le link &etween the church and ission
g- 4oreign issions and hoe issions are &oth part of the sae gospel of salvation and the
reign of Hesus %hrist, the difference can $ust &e that of scope#
h- !he distinction &etween ission, *missio dei+, 2od0s wide ission to the world and
issions *the missiones ecclesiae+ issions relating to specific ties, places, needs etc in
participation to the issio dei#
i- !he significance of linking the spiritual>personal to the aterial>social spheres#
$- !he world as a theatre of 2od0s activities# Mission as participation in 2od0s activities
k- )vangelis as part of ission#
l- Mission as saying no to evil in society# !he need for a &alance#
- !he church as a sacraent and sign# A foretaste# A creative tension of &eing called out of
the world and sent into the world 51p 11-#
P*/T "
+01 T0*T*M0+T MD02, ( M$,,$+.
&hapter "
/eflections on the +e' Testament as a Missionary Doc%ment.
The Mother of Theology.
'ere Bosch argues that the traditional approach to the 4oundations of Mission are found in
the Bi&le#
Ence one has read the scripture, then the person can e/egetically develop a *theory+ or a
*theology+ of ission 5p#1"-# Bosch points out that although for soe Iew !estaent
scholars like 4iorenGa saw the Iew !estaent as *confessional+ history and a struggle
&etween different %hristian parties and theologians in defining doctrines, for others like
Martin 'engel, 'einrich Fasting and Ben Meyer as this was not all# !his was the &eginning
of the *history+ and the *theology+ of ission#
@n this chapter and in the ne/t four chapters he argues that the coing of Hesus of IaGareth
was the founding paradig of the *history+ and the *theology+ of ission# !his was a starting
point, which led to further paradig shifts, which followed# !he &eginning of issionary
theology was the &eginning of %hristian theology# 'e suarises this &ut 6uoting Martin
Fahler0s stateent that *Mission is the other of theology+#
8
!he gospels for e/aple were written as a narrative and not as history, and the theologising
cae later# @n the Iew !estaent we also find the theologies of ission and not one theology
of ission#5Bosch, 1 1C, 6uoting Spindler 19C7,1;A Fasting 19C9,18(A Dutti 197(,118fA
Fra 1979,(1" also 4rankeolle 197(,99f-# =ords such as the salt of the earth, the light of
the world, the city on a hill etc are seen as words used in the Iew !estaent to define
ission#
Mission in the ld Testament.
'ere Bosch points out the there is no ission in the Eld !estaent in the way we see ission
today and therefore the decisive difference &etween the Eld and the Iew !estaent is
ission#
'e sees 2od as the 2od of history# 5in 'is acts-
!he 2od of proise 5in revelation-
!he 2od of election for @srael to serve# 5especially the needy-
@ disagree with Bosch here, for in the heart of the Eld !estaent we find ission# !he
aterial and the spiritual are to &e seen as connected in this aspect when we look at the
Bi&lical 4oundations of Mission#
Bosch contradicts hiself when he says that in other religions,
express themselves as manifestations of the divine at specified holy places, where the
human world can communicate with the divine. This occurs in cults or rituals, in which the
threatening powers of chaos and destruction can be neutralised. At the same time the
religions are caught up in the cycle of seasons, where winter and summer follow each other in
an eternal battle for supremacy. The emphasis, throughout, is on the re-enactment of what has
once been, on repetition and remembrance 51 17-#
Although Bosch does not see this as &eing the case in the faith of @srael, @ can see this to have
applied to @srael0s religion when we look at the religious feasts such as that of the 1assover,
Unleavened &read, =eeks 51entecost-, Atoneent, !a&ernacles etc#
!he arguent which Bosch develops, that the historical e/perience of 2od0s redeption of
@srael fro )gypt was the ain factor in religion though true it is also connected to the fact
that history is connected to natural events which are all under 2od0s control#
!he other points Bosch develops in arguing on the historical acts of 2od is @srael, redeeing
the and giving the land is itself a issionary endeavours# !hat the Fingdo of 2od
introduced &y Hesus was to rule the whole earth, in word and through 'is ighty acts of
power#
Being the 2od of history, the feasts as acts of ree&rance were e/perienced &y @srael in
rituals and through the cult, and although he elects @srael, 'e has other nations in ind too
5i#e# A&raha0s story-# 'e is the 2od of the whole world#
Bosch later adits that there is a issionary eleent in the Eld !estaent &ut he says it is
2od who is the issionary 5p#19-, &ecause it is 'e who will &ring all nations to worship 'i
together with @srael 5@sa "1,"A 9;,"A 9",((A 9(,CA 99,C etc-#
The Bi!le and Mission.
Hesus understanding of ission was &ased on the Eld !estaent# !he fulfilent of the Eld
!estaent is seen in Hesus# @n order to understand the part Hesus played we need to look at the
9
Iew !estaent authors such as those of the four gospels and the early church# Ievertheless,
Bosch points out that there is no direct ove towards in ission fro the early church to our
ties today# 'e 6uotes Brueggeann 5197(,897, 9;7- saying that, *The Bible does not
function in such a direct way. There may be, rather, a range of alternative moves, which
remain in deep tension with each other, but may nevertheless all be valid. 5p# (9-#
3es%s and $srael.
Bosch &egins &y 6uoting A#D# Iock 51988A cf# 2rant 197C,(939(-, in giving the econoic,
social and religious situation in the @srael fro the tie of the reign of Ale/ander the 2reat up
to Augustine, which he descri&es as ferented# 'e records the spread of 2reek philosophy
and religion and the growth and influence of eastern religions too, and so was the Hewish
faith#
!he idea of salvation for the renant only was strong, that not all @srael will &e saved# Hohn
the Baptist as a forerunner of Hesus preached repentance for the Hews and called the *Brood
of Bipers+#
=hen Hesus was &orn, there was a lot of sectarianis, fanaticis, religious traffic &etween the
)ast and the =est and 1alestine was under the Doans# @n setting the socio3political and
econoic scenario, Bosch points out the reason for the Hews in e/pecting the Messiah#
So Hesus understanding of 'iself, was that 'e was sent to 'is people fro the prophetic
tradition# Hesus cae to challenge Hudais and to lead the renant to repentance and
salvation# =e see this in 'is attitude to the 1harisees, 'is association with the outcasts,
sinners, ta/ collectors, prostitutes etc# @n Hesus 2od inaugurates an eschatological reign 5p#
(7-#
*n *ll4incl%sive Mission.
Hesus Mission is to &reakdown &oundaries and to include all, even those who were seen as
eneies, 'e forgives the# 2od invites all and it is those who respond who are accepted#
*nd the 5entiles6
!he 2entiles in the Hewish tradition see to &e seen as outside, and unredeea&le, &ut
according to the Iew !estaent, through %hrist, 5the earthly Hesus- all those who repent are
redeea&le# So ission starts with Hesus 'iself and at this point, Bosch calls Hesus, *the
prial issionary+5p#81-# Bosch then goes on to point out soe of Hesus0 own self3
definitions, which iplied 'is negation towards Hudais0s e/clusiveness#
!he reign of 2od *alkuth Jahweh> &asileia tou !heou-# Bosch looks at the Eld !estaent
&ackground and the Iew !estaent developent of this concept, and &uilding it towards
Hesus own understanding of his own ission in relation to this concept# Bosch sees this
concept as, *a starting point and conte/t for ission+ 5Bosch, p 8( 6uoting Senior and
Stuhueller 1978,199-#
Hesus and the kingdo#
Hesus sees 2od0s reign as &oth present and future# Hesus 'iself inaugurates it# But there still
reains an unresolved tension &etween the presence and the future of the reign of 2od, &ut
this tension of the already and not yet is resolved in the essence of Hesus0 own &eing# !his
tension &rings the significance of our own involveent in conteporary ission 5Bosch i&id#
6uoting Burchard, 197;-#
"
Hesus sees 2od0s reign attacks evil# !he evil was seen in the for of pain, sickness, death,
deon possession, personal sin, self3righteousness, &rokenness in relationships etc# Hesus
healed, taught, preached, forgave sins, reoved hostility etc#
Hesus saw 2od0s reign as einently political# 4or instance he declared lepers, ta/ collectors,
sinners, sinners and the poor to &e *children of the kingdo of 2od+# Hesus is led to
crucifi/ion &ecause his clais sounded political to the Doan and Hewish authorities#
2ods reign was seen as an e/pression of caring and authority over the whole of life, though
counter forces reain defiant, &ut &ecause the kingdo has coe and it is still coing, even
the eneies of the kingdo are at the service of the kingdo 5Bosch 8" 6uoting Boff
1978,C;-#
Hesus and the law#
Hesus has a different way of looking at the law#
1- 'e condens the hypocrisy of the Hewish authorities in regard to their attitude towards the
law# 'e sees it as authoritative &ut yet not living according to it#
(- 'e radicalises the law in a uni6ue way#
8- 'e a&rogates parts of the law#
'e does this &ecause he sees that,
a- !he law is not the decisive principle of action &ut the reign of 2od is#
&- @n Hesus0 inistry people atter ore than rules and rituals#
Hesus and 'is disciples
!he announceent of the coing of the Fingdo of 2od is followed iediately &y the
calling of the disciples#
Bosch points out that the scene at which the first disciples were called 5the lake- was a &ridge
to the gentiles and therefore having a issionary iplication as the disciples are called to &e
issionaries and the gospel was to reach the other side of the lake3 the gentiles#
!hough having disciples was the noral thing to do for the ra&&is of his tie, there was a
difference with Hesus &ecause
i- Hesus chose and called his disciples whereas with the other ra&&is their disciples chose
which ra&&i to follow# !o &e a disciple of Hesus is an act of grace# !he disciples of Hesus
are also those who repent and &elieve in hi#
ii- =hereas the authority of the other ra&&is0 is in the !orah, the authority of Hesus is in
hiself#
iii- =hereas students of ra&&is0 e/pected to &ecoe ra&&is ultiately, it was not so for the
disciples# !hey had reached their destiny, their ultiate duty was to witness the
resurrection event#
iv- =hile the disciples of ra&&is were only students, those of Hesus were servants#
v- Disciples of Hesus ean &eing with hi, and also to go out when sent &y hi to do
acts of preaching, teaching, healing, casting out deons etc, whereas the talidis of
Hewish teachers were only custodians to the teachings of their ra&&is#
vi- Being a disciple of Hesus is connected to future Messianic hopes and e/pectation#
%entral to all the to &e a disciple of Hesus was centred on the resurrection e/perience# @t was
the period of new life, victory and e/altation#
0*/27 &8/$,T$*+ M$,,$+.
C
)arly %hristian ission was focusing only on Hews and later proselytes were accepted too#
Mission to the gentiles cae as a spin3off of ission to the Hews# )arly %hristian ission
involved,
a- !he person of Hesus#
&- @t was political and revolutionary#
c- !he revolutionary aspect was seen in the new relationships it cae to &ring aong Hews,
2reek, free, slave, rich, poor, woen etc# Sociologically, this had seeed ipossi&le#
d- !he inistry of Hesus was not &ased on false hope of the future &ut on real events of the
coing of 2od0s reign#
e- 'is inistry was a&iguous, conspicuous and disputed upon, it was only through his
passion and the resurrection that his disciples recognised hi 5Hohn (;,(;-#
180/0 T80 0*/27 &89/&8 (*$20D.
'ere Bosch talks a&out the iperfection of the early church, &eginning with the iperfection
of the disciples such as Haes and Hohn wanting a proinent place &efore Hesus# 4urther we
see this in the disputes in 1aul0s )pistle to the %orinthians and in Hohn0s letters to the seven
churches in the &ook of Develation#
Bosch then points out on three ain weaknesses, which he sees as having &een threats of
undoing this new shift of ission paradig 5fro the Eld to the Iew !estaent-#
1- Although Hesus had no intention of starting a new religion, %hristianity later &ecae a
new religion# Hesus0 oveent was to announce the Fingdo of 2od and the church
cae into &eing#
(- @nstead of %hristianity &eing a oveent, it &ecae an institution# @nstead of &eing
progressive it &ecae conservative# 'e draws the contrast &etween the church in
Herusale and that of Antioch and points out the dichotoies &etweenA
Mission and consolidationA grace and lawA crossing frontiers and fi/ing theA life and
doctrineA oveent and institution# !his led to the settled inistry of the &ishops 5elders-
and deacons on the one hand and the o&ile inistry of the apostles, prophets and
evangelists on he other# !his led to a creative tension#
8- !he church failed to ake Hews feel at hoe, especially on issues of circucision and the
inclusion of the 2entiles#
4inally Bosch e/plains in detail how due to sociological reasons, these failures could not have
&een avoided#
'aving set that Iew !estaent foundation on ission, Bosch then oves on to e/plore three
Iew !estaent authors, Matthew, ?uke and 1aul# 'e sees each representing a Iew !estaent
su&3paradig of ission and how that can &e ade as a odel for today#
a- Matthew as a uni6ue Hew with focus to the Hews and the 2reat %oission in ind#
&- ?uke, with his uni6ue ?uke . Acts volue#
c- 1aul as the great Apostle to the 2entiles#
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M*TT801: Mission as Disciple4Ma;ing
* -5/0*T &MM$,,$+.6
'ere Bosch focuses his attention on the 2reat %oission# 'e sees Matthew0s ain purpose
as &eing to ake his counity aware of its calling and ission, in that case it was pastoral
with reference to the Eld !estaent helping the in seeing their identity and connection to
the law, and it was issionary, &y giving the the awareness of seeing opportunities for
witness and service, led &y the 'oly Spirit# Bosch sees a contradiction in this gospel, that in
soe places it has a strong sense of support to Hudais and in soe places it has a strong
gentile &ias# !hrough this contradiction he guides his readers towards ission to the gentiles,
although he shows that it is the gentiles who cae to Hesus and not vice versa#
Matthew shows great $udgeent towards the Hews 5Matthew (7,(93("-, &ringing an
opportunity for the gentiles to &e saved 5Matthew (7,193(;-# Mission to the gentiles was only
possi&le after the re$ection, the death and the resurrection of the Hewish Messiah#
<ey +otions in Matthe'
Bosch then oves on to pick up and e/plain in detail, thees and words, which Matthew uses
in talking a&out ission in order to help us see that Matthew was neither pro3 1harisaic
Hudais nor was he pro3gentile antinoianis# !hese notions were those such asA
!he reign of 2od 5or of heaven-, 2od0s will, $ustice, coandents, the challenge to &e
perfect, to surpass, to o&serve 5or keep-, to &ear fruit, &aptising, preaching and teaching#
Ether ters used &y Matthew which have issionary iplication are those such as,
Send, go, proclai, heal, e/orcise, ake peace, and witness#
Bosch looks at the Beatitudes 5Matthew0s 1entateuch-, in the light of other serons in
Matthew# 'e sees the Beatitudes to &e ephasising on discipleship# Ether serons are on,
a- !he apostolic ission 5Matthew 1;-
&- 'ow 2od0s reign coes 5%h 18-
c- %hurch discipline 5%h 17-
d- 4alse teachers and the end 5%h (83("-
Bosch sees 2od0s reign, Hustice and Dighteousness and discipleship as &eing key issues in
understanding ission in Matthew0s gospel# ?astly, Bosch concludes that Matthew0s intention
was to show,
a- !he identity of %hristians within the conte/t of Hew> 2entile tension#
&- A low %hristology, that Hesus was huan, yet through 'is divinity was worthy of worship#
Iot the ascended one &ut the one who was with the until the end of the age#
c- 'e wanted to show the &alance &etween the o&edience to the ?aw and the guidance of the
'oly Spirit, evangelis on one hand and social involveent on the other#
d- !he &alance the tension &etween the 1astoral and the 1rophetic
e- 'e &rings in the concept of the church 5ecclesia-, putting the word in Hesus0 outh 51C,17
K 17,17-#
Bosch sees that the intention of Matthew was to see that the true %hristian identity is
involveent in ission#
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&8*PT0/ =
2%;e > *cts Practising (orgiveness and ,olidarity 'ith the Poor.
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Bosch sees Hesus0 seron in ?uke chapter 9 as &eing a replaceent of the *2reat
%oission+ in Matthew (7, and points out the focus of ?uke0s attention to the poor#
3e's ,amaritans and 5entiles in 2%;e > *cts.
Bosch sees that fro the &eginning ?uke had planned to write two volues 5?uke>Acts-, to
show that Hesus0 ission was universal 5?uke (7,97 K Acts 1,7-# =hile Hesus inaugurated
Iew !estaent ission paradig, ission to the gentiles was to &e the task of the church
according to ?uke# 4or ?uke we see Hesus &eginning in 2alilee, then to Herusale, and finally
in Herusale# @n Acts the ission of the church &egins in Herusale all the way to Doe#
2eography &rings in a theological>issiological point#
Bosch 5p#9C-, 6uoting Hervell 5197(,99- and Meyer 5197C,97f-, points out that the Hews did
not re$ect the gospel of Hesus as any people would contend, &ut that they were divided on
the issue and that led to the acceptance of the gentiles#
0nco%nters 'ith the ,amaritans and 3e's
'ere Bosch points out the fact that in a uni6ue way Hesus0 ission was to include the
Saaritans, even if the Saaritans theselves re$ected Hesus and even though the Hews
despised the Saaritans# 'e uses e/aples of Hesus re$ection &y the Saaritans in ?uke 9,
and the para&le of the 2ood Saaritan in ?uke 1;, then he goes on to show the Hesus healing
of the 1; lepers and the only one who coes to say !hankyou is he Saaritan# !hen in Acts 1,
Hesus points out that after Herusale and Hudea, Saaria is to receive the gospel# Bosch sees
?uke (9,9C399 as &eing ?uke0s *2reat %oission+# Mission to the nations is &ased on the
proise, &efore pointing out how ?uke copared to Matthew and Mark, is ore sypathetic
to the Hews# Hesus parents were Hews# ?uke also is seen to avoid accusing the Hews of
hypocrisy, in the passion narratives, Hesus says *4ather forgive+, in the Magnificat Mary sings
*52od- has helped 'is servant @srael+, entioning A&raha, and he entions David in
Lechariah0s song# But central to all is ?uke0s focus on Herusale# All the significant events
such as the passion, death, resurrection, post resurrection appearances, the ascension, the
pouring of the 'oly Spirit, the &irth of the church all take place in Herusale# And ission
was to &egin in Herusale# So the restoration of @srael has &een an iportant thee for ?uke,
although it does not work out in the way the Hews theselves had e/pected#
!hen Bosch goes on to ela&orate in detail the other a$or thees on ission in ?uke0s gospel#
!hese thees include the gospel to the poor and the rich 5social concern-, repentance,
forgiveness and salvation#
T80 5,P02 (/ T80 P/4 *+D T80 /$&8.
@n the gospel ?uke is very concerned with the poor and the arginalised# )g, !he socially and
econoically deprived and arginalised#
!he Magnificat
!he &eatitude of the &lessedness of the poor
!he para&le of the rich fool
9
!he para&le of the rich an and ?aGarus
Lachaeus, the rich ta/ collector in Hericho#
!he seron in IaGareth 5?uke 9-, ?uke0s Manifesto of Hesus#
?uke sees the rich in the light of the poor# !he rich as those who are greedy and e/ploit the
poor, they are those who worship Maon 5Bosch 99A 6uoting D0Sa 1977,17(37"-# !hey are
those who are arrogant and a&use power, and are focused on the things of the world#
Both rich and poor need repentance.
,*2?*T$+ $+ 29<04*&T,
Salvation involves repentance, conversion and forgiveness of sins and is closely linked to
sinners and Bosch gives a list of conte/ts in ?uke where the concept applies# All this is &ased
on the life, inistry, death and resurrection of Hesus and faith in hi for &oth Hews and
gentiles# !hose who receive salvation are $ustified#
Hesus0 seron in IaGareth carries a lot of weight in the understanding of salvation in ?uke act,
and this is why there was a i/ed response fro his audience# En the one hand there was
adiration 5for the aaGing way he spoke-, and on the other hand re$ection 5 for not fulfilling
the e/pectation of the Hews-#
&8*PT0/ @
Mission in Pa%l: $nvitation To 3oin the 0schatological &omm%nity
($/,T M$,,$+*/7: ($/,T T8025$*+.
Bosch concentrates e/clusively on the seven letters, which are indisputa&ly held as priarily
1auline# !hese are Doans, 1K( %orinthians, 2alatians, 1hilippians, 1!hessalonians, and
1hileon, all written &etween AD 99 . AD "C#
'e sees 1aul as &eing viewed first as a creator of dogatics, then as an ecclesiastical 1aul
&efore &eing seen as an apostolic issionary# Bosch 51(9-, 6uoting 'engel 51978&,"8A cf Dahl
1977a,7;A Dussell 1977-, sees 1aul as the first %hristian issionary and the first %hristian
theologian# 'is %hristian vision, %hristian life and ission are synonyous#
1aul0s theology is a issionary theology 5Bosch, 1(9-#
So there is no ission te/t in 1aul &ut we see the whole of his theology as ission focused,
and with 1aul0s cople/ ind, Bosch adits on the difficulty of the task#
Bosch 51(C-, &egins with 1aul0s conversion and call, which he sees as a transforational
e/perience# 'e $oins other scholars such as =ilckens 519"9,(79-, 'engel 51978&, "8-, Beker
5197;,C31;-, 'ultgren 5197",1("-, Stendahl 5197C,73(8-, and DietGfel&inger 5197",9937(,
77f-, to say that 1aul0s Daascus road e/perience should not &e seen as a conversion &ut
rather as a call to &e an apostle to the 2entiles 52al 1,1C-, although not e/clusively# !his was
a paradigm shift in 1aul0s life#
aul!s ministry thus unfolds in a creative tension between loyalty to the first apostles
and their message on the one hand and an overpowering awareness of the uni"ueness of his
own calling and commission on the other 5Bosch, 1(9-#
Distinctive 4eatures in 1aul0s vision#
'is Missionary Strategy#
Mission to the cities 5etropolises-#
1;
1- 'e was a wondering preacher proclaiing the iinent reign of 2od#
(- 'e was a 2reek speaking Hewish %hristian who carried out his ission aong the
2entiles starting in Herusale#
Bosch points out how diverse 1aul0s ac6uaintances were, where he had the inner circle
5Barna&as, Silvanus and !iothy-, then his co3workers, thirdly the church representatives,
through these relationships, 1aul operated his ission# @n doing ission, 1aul was otivated
&y,
a- A sense of concern over the destiny of huanity, &oth Hews and 2entiles# 'e sees that
without %hrist all are lost#
&- A sense of responsi&ility to &ring the revelation he hiself had received to those who had
not heard#
c- A sense of gratitude for the grace of %hrist0s love which he hiself had received#
En the focus on ission, 1aul points out the centrality of %hrist over the law# @n this he
focuses ore on the death, resurrection and ascension events# 'e sees this as a centre of the
eschatological hope in which the tension &etween the $oy and agony, the now and not yet lies#
'e sees that success in ission to the Hews lies in success in ission to the 2entiles 51"9-,
and points out that 1aul is not totally against the Hews as any have seen hi to &e#
Pa%l sees !elonging to 5od as incl%ding sonship) the glory) the covenants) the giving of
the la') the 'orship and the promises 51"7-#
!hese he sees as &eing gifts# !he law was eant to point out to the distinctiveness of the
people of 2od# But he opposed the e/clusiveness, and the self3righteousness connotation,
&rought &y the law, instead of the unconditional acceptance in %hrist#
T80 &89/&8: *+ $+T0/$M 0,&8*T25$&*2 &MM9+$T7.
1aul0s churches were still unsta&le, e/periencing a lot of tension within and with the wider
society unorganised and still young in faith#
!he distinctive characteristics of the church,
- !he righteousness of 2od as counity rather than individual# %hristians are uni6ue#
- Support those in need aong the and far &eyond# 1rovide hospitality and discipline and
the unity achieved through &aptis in %hrist#
- !he church lives in tension &etween &eing e/clusive and &eing in solidarity with others#
!he church is *the world in o&edience to 2od, the redeeed Mcreation+ 51C7-# !he
church is in the world for the world#
P*92$+0 M$,,$+*/7 P*/*D$5M
=e can not separate 1aul0s theology with 1aul0s ission# 1aul0s apostolic task was ission
and his thinking and theology was ission focused# =e need to ake use of what 1aul0s
letters eant in the first century and work out what that ay ean today, to &e faithful to the
old te/t in a new situation# @n the case of Hews, 2entiles place in salvation a lot of focus needs
to &e put on Doans 9311# 'e therefore sees ission as,
1- !he church as a new counity 5Deconciled and righteous-#
(- A ission to Hews 52entiles then Hews, Doans 9311-#
8- Mission in the conte/t of 2od0s iinent triuph 5%hrist0s 1erousia-#
9- Mission and the Transformation of ,ociety 5Apocalyptic e/pectations of churches
involveent in society N17"O-#
"- Mission in weakness 5=eakness, suffering and death are inevita&le in the present evil age,
i#e# %hrist0s e/perience-#
11
C- !he ai of Mission 5set apart for the service of the gospel-#
P*/T :
8$,T/$&*2 P*/*D$5M, ( M$,,$+
&hapter 5
Paradigm &hanges in Missiology
Bosch approaches %hristian issiology &asing on the fact that %hristianity is a historical faith
and that 2od counicates 'is revelation through people and events and sees this as
incarnaional# 4ollowing 'ans Fung0s 51979,("A 1977,1"7- paradigs he highlights and
e/pounds on the following#
1- !he Apocalyptic paradig of priitive %hristianity
(- !he 'ellenistic paradig of the patristic period
8- !he edieval Doan %atholic paradig
9- !he 1rotestant Deforation paradig
"- !he odern )nlightenent paradig
C- !he eerging ecuenical paradig#
'e looks at these paradigs in ters of %hristian faith and ission, also deriving the idea
fro !hoas Fuhn0s theory of paradig shifts# !hese different periods have affected various
ways of looking at the te/t and doing theology, which is further influenced &y our
ecclesiastical tradition, personal conte/t 5se/, age, arital status, education-, social position
5social class, profession, wealth, environent-, personality and culture 5world view, language,
etc- 517(-#
'ow do we do Mission today<
T80 P*/*D$5M T80/7 ( T8M*, <98+.
'ere Bosch looks at the concept paradig as seen &y Fuhn as priarily &eing, *the entire
constellation of &eliefs, values, techni6ues etc shared &y the e&ers of a given counity+
5Bosch 6uoting Fuhn, 197;,17"-# Fung uses the words, *odels of interpretation+ 5Bosch
6uoting Fung, 1977,1C8-# Ethers 6uoted are such as van 'uyssteen, 'ie&ert and Martin 5see
Bosch, 17"-# 'e sees paradigs as one replacing another, the new replacing the old and
soeties different paradigs working together#
P*/*D$5M ,8$(T, $+ T80257
'e sees for instance the icro paradigs one replacing the other such as the 'ellenistic
paradig, the Doan %atholic paradig, the 1rotestant reforation paradig and the
)nlightenent paradig#
'e points out the iportance of relevance and conte/t in theology yet ephasising the
centrality of the %hrist event# 'e sees that %hristians should share their different e/periences
and to allow the church to function as a hereneutical counity+ 5177-#
P*/*D$5M, $+ M$,,$257.
Based on the a&ove odels, Bosch oves on to focus on different historical periods of
%hristianity# !hese periods are seen to have contri&uted a lot to Bi&lical interpretation#
Although 'ans Fung saw the si/ paradig epochs, Bosch notes that Haes Martin saw
1(
ainly three epochs, naely the *pre3critical 5vitalistic, sy&olic-, the critical 5analytical,
echanistic-, and the post3critical 5'olistic, ecuenical-# 5177-#
Fung also classifies these paradigs into three, naely the acro, the eso and the icro
paradigs 5i&id#-, and sees the a&ove as representing the acro# !hese represent a whole shift
in theology# @n this, although theologians ay differ su&stantially in any areas, yet they will
share the sae ideas on 2od, huanity and the world#
'e then lists seven areas, which he sees as a challenge to conteporary ission#
1- !he rise of %hristianity in the non3western world to the point of acceding that of the =est#
(- !he rise of challenge towards e/ploitative and oppressive structures 5eg racis and
se/is-#
8- 1rogress as the god of the enlightenent is now seen as a false god#
9- !he danger of daaging the environent and e/hausting the resources#
"- Disk of the nuclear holocaust#
C- =estern theology is no longer a&le to clai superiority over non3western theology#
7- !he decline of %hristian onopoly over other faiths#
&8*PT0/ A
The Missionary Paradigm of the 0astern &h%rch
-T T80 301 ($/,T B9T *2, T T80 5/00<.
'ere Bosch is pointing out how theology evolved and was enculturated within the
conteporary cultures, starting fro the Hews and into the 2reeks#
@n pointing at the 1atristic period, Bosch shows how theology oved fro &eing 2od
revelation in the history of @srael to &eing ore of an o&$ective theoretical theology, &ased on
2reek philosophy# As the church &ecae less of a oveent and ore of an institution, it
&egan to adopt aspects of the 'ellenistic culture# =hile the Hews ephasised on hearing, the
2reek ephasised on seeing, and knowledge, *gnosis+# !he developent of doctrinal
definitions and doga entered the church# Salvation was to &e found in knowledge and ideas,
and a lot of 2reek philosophers &ecae influential in the process#
0schatology
Bosch sees this to &e the area, which &ring the greatest difference and therefore tension
&etween Hews and 2reeks# 'e focuses on the historical developent of prophecy and
proises to @srael leading to the death and resurrection of Hesus, arking the inauguration of
the eschatological age# !his eans that %hrist has coe to confir and guarantee the Eld
!estaent proises# 1reaching of the e/pected coing Fingdo was replaced &y the
preaching of the Fingdo already inaugurated# !he )astern %hurch then developed an
allegorical theology, with eschatological e/pectation as not &eing future &ut heavenly#
'ellenistic thinking was ore used in defining the theology# At the sae tie the church had
to work hard in fighting against 2nosticis#
!he church &egan to evolve too, where the apostles and itinerant preachers were replaced &y
&ishops 5elders-, and deacons, and later the onastic office# !he spirit was not to epower for
ission &ut to purify the church# !he eperor was to rule in tie and %hrist in eternity 5(;(-#
Mission to the non3Doan Asia spread ainly &y the Iestorian onastic orders who went as
issionaries in around ((" AD# !hey healed the sick, fed the poor and hungry and preached
the gospel# !heir work was in three diensions naely, !heology, onasticis and ission,
18
and Bosch states that the inter3relatedness of these three ade it a issionary church of the
edieval period# @sla and Buddhis later suppressed these, with little of %hristianity
reaining in @ndia#
T80 P*T/$,T$& *+D /T8DB M$,,$+*/7 P*/*D$5M
!his was the period which led to the great schis of 1;"9 took place &etween the )astern and
the =estern church# !his was the &eginning of the Erthodo/ %hurch and the %atholic %hurch
respectively# %onstantine the 2reat had oved the head6uarters of the )pire fro Doe to
%onstantinople# !he tension developing was &oth political and ecclesiastical# !he church then
&egan to coproise with the state politically, especially in the =est &ecause the eperor had
now gained the ecclesiastical authority, and ission &ecae a concern of &oth the epire and
the church# !he Erthodo/ %hurch has contri&uted a lot to doga or theology as we see it
today, which was a rational and intellectual approach to the &i&le# %hristians were trying to &e
rational towards atters of faith as they &egan to encounter the pluralistic environent#
)verything &ecae church centred, which eant that the centre of the ission was the church
in its liturgy, its life and worship and sacraents#
Bosch goes on to e/plain that the Erthodo/ %hurch ephasises the cosic diension of
salvation rather than the individual aspect# 'e sees the o&$ects of ission as &eing the State,
society, culture and nature in the light of the incarnation# Mission is therefore the whole
involveent in society although a wrong understanding of Erthodo/y has led people to think
that Erthodo/y tends to divorce itself fro the difficulties in society#
So liturgy &eing the centre of church life, the centre of society is seen in the )ucharist, and the
ission of church into the world is seen as the second liturgy#
T80 ($/,T P*/*D$5M ,8$(T: *+ $+T0/$M B*2*+&0.
!his Bosch sees as &eing the shift fro 1riitive %hristianity 5confined to Hewish %hristians-,
to 2reek theology>)astern Erthodo/y# !his was when %hristianity was ierging and fitting
itself into the new 'ellenistic culture it was finding itself in# !here have &een groups then
which the church has had to defend itself fro )/tree Seitis such as the )&ionites0 and
Montanists# Iow the church had to &e aware of e/tree 'ellenis such as 2nosticis#
@ssues relating to the canon of scripture, the historicity, huanity, death and resurrection of
Hesus had to &e laid down and defended#
Monasticis led to a strong attention and focus on ission with the gospel of love and
charity# Discipline was necessary in a society hit &y syncretism and relativism and unity was
crucial in a divided society#
1ro&le, !he church and society &ecae one thing 5the church was secularised- which was
&eyond enculturation and conte/tualisation# !he church &ecae ore of a sta!iliser and
mythical rather than eancipator and essianic#
*!he key words were tradition, orthodo/y and the 4athers, and the church &ecae the
&ulwark of right doctrine+ 5Bosch, (1( 6uoting Fung 1979,(;-# !he church &ecae e/clusive
and 1latonic in its thinking# %hrist0s reign had coe and realised through the church
institution and the inistry of its sacraents# Salvation was a gradual progress that leads into
the divine#
&hapter 7
19
The Medieval /oman &atholic Missionary Paradigm.
&8*+50D &+T0BT
Bosch here covers the period &etween ";;31";; AD, arked &y the papacy of 2regory the
2reat until the fall of %onstantinople to the hands of the Muslis in 19"8, and calls it the
edieval theological paradig# Bosch sees though that the groundwork for his period was
laid &y a preceding church 4ather, St Augustine of 'ippo# During that period, )urope had $ust
tasted the influence and %hristianity and the 1ortuguese and the Spanish had &egun their
world discovery voyages# !he ove was fro 2reek to ?atin, fro origin of %hrist and 'is
pre3e/istence to Soteriology through the cross# Jet the all ephasised on the visual rather than
the audi&le# !hey were united too on the doctrinal definitions, and this was seen fro the
results of the Batican councils#
St Augustine seen as a trendsetter with uch to &e honoured for in that had to stand against
and )nglish Monk 51elagius-, and the Iorth African Donatists#
T80 $+D$?$D9*2$,*T$+ ( ,*2?*T$+
Bosch goes on to e/plain the cople/ity and developent of theological thinking into
doctrines such as that of sin and salvation# 'e portrays 1elagius0s positivis towards huan
capa&ility of doing good without the need of %hrist0s saving act 5to a person rather than a
counity-, as he saw Hesus as erely a odel# Augustine0s reaction was the doctrine of
original sin and predestination# 'e $oined the understanding of %leent, Erigen and other
2reek theologians, on total huan depravity in the light of 2od0s grace# %hristology had to
develop to e/plain the huanity and divinity of Hesus#
T80 0&&20,$*,T$&$C*T$+ ( ,*2?*T$+
'ere Bosch &egins &y showing the contrast &etween Donatists and their support towards
!ertullian 5on the teachings relating to sin-, on the one hand, and Augustine0s defence
concerning the fallen state of huanity and those who ake up the church# 4or Augustine, the
church represents 2od though sinful the e&ers are, and the church and its hierarchy
therefore do ission#
@n further understanding over salvation, the %atholics &elieved and taught that there is no
salvation outside the N%atholicO %hurch# !he &aptisal rites were ade iportant for
soeties they sounded ore iportant than the faith of the individual#
M$,,$+ B0T100+ &89/&8 *+D ,T*T0
!he Doan )pire &ecae e6uated to the Doan %atholic %hurch# Augustine0s response was
with the concept of the two cities# !he city of 2od was destined for eternal rule, and the city
on earth was striving towards the ideal for of huan society, where perfect $ustice and peace
ight reign# !his later developed its e/pression in the relationship &etween the papacy and the
eperor, that the forer was supree over the latter# !he %atholic %hurch &ecae e/treely
influential over State and loyalty to the state was &eing loyal to the church, and re&ellion to
one was the sae as re&elling to the other#
$+D$/0&T *+D D$/0&T -M$,,$+*/7 1*/,.)
!he concept of war was to do with conversion, how to get people to &ecoe %hristians#
At the &eginning, converts were gained &y rewarding the# Augustine started the use of
e/ternal pressure# 2regory the 2reat carried this on &y chastising those who would not accept
1"
conversion# =hat followed was that non3%hristians could not access the privileges %hristians
had# !his principal developed into *indirect+ and later *direct+ war# # But Bosch still sees this
to &e an e/ceptional practise and not a nor#
Although at first war was accepted only for defensive purposes, and this was seen as *$ust
war+ 5!ell%m D%st%m-, which was *sanctioned &y 2od+ 5!ell%m Deo a%ctore-# So defence of
%hristendo &ecae a duty of the ruler# 1agans had to &e &aptised even if it was against their
will and according to Ansel of ?ucca, war was seen as an act of love to the non3converted#
!his was the structure of the society, and the onopoly of secular affairs was in the hands of
the %atholic %hurch# Apart fro the Hews who were slightly tolerated, others such as the
heretics and schisatics were not#
&2+$*2$,M *+D M$,,$+.
!he iddle ages arks the period of the e/pansion of @sla in the )ast leading to the %apture
of %onstantinople in 19"8# At the sae tie the e/pansion of )urope, the discovery and
colonisation of the Aericas, Africa and Asia was taking place# !he concept of Hust =ar did
play its part on this which led soe people to say that colonisation was a odern continuation
of crusades 5Bosch, ((C, 6uoting 4isher 197(,(8-# Slave trade was also later introduced#
1ope Ale/ander B@ divided the colonised world into two for ission purposes# Ene was under
the king of Spain and the other under the king of 1ortugal, as the two countries were the first
to advance in the new discoveries, and that the 1ope was regarded as having authority over
the whole world# During this period, the ission of the church was linked to the ission of
the state# !hose sent to %hristianise the colonised territories were called *Missionaries+, and
their assignent was called, *Mission+, ters first used &y @gnatius of ?oyola# As the pope
held supree power, everything he said had to &e endorsed &y the king# !he churches in the
new areas did not have any autonoy, they were hierarchical and were under Doe#
T80 M$,,$+ ( M+*,T$&$,M
)urope was &roadly seen as %hristendo and therefore no real need for evangelis, &ut it had
to keep its vision# !his was ade possi&ly &y the onastic oveent# Monasteries &ecae
centres for culture, civilisation and ission# Monasticis and %hristian ission went
together#
T80 M0D$0?*2 P*/*D$5M: *+ *PP/*$,*2
!his is the period when the church oved fro &eing a sall3persecuted inority, into a large
powerful, influential organisation# @ts link with Hudais had &een &roken and instead it was
now linked to the Doan )pire and its previous apocalyptic e/pectation &y spreading out
with a vision to reach the ends of the earth# During this period pagans and Hews were to &e
forced into conversion and &aptis, &asing on ?uke 19,(8 and Hohn 8,1C, and &ecause there
was no salvation outside the Doan %atholic %hurch# !he conversion of the pagans and Hews
was for there own &enefit so that they can not face eternal condenation#
=hile Augustine is attri&uted to the role of starting this paradig, !hoas A6uinas was to
close it# !he universe was seen as a whole, with every part interconnected to other parts# *!he
key to it all was a dou&le order of knowledge and &eing, the one natural the other
supernatural, reason and faith, nature and grace, state and church, philosophy and theology#
1C
=hereas the first of each pair refers to the natural, the second to the supernatural+ 5Bosch
(87-# !his idea doinated throughout this period into the (;th century#
&hapter 8
The Missionary Paradigm of the Protestant /eformation
T80 +*T9/0 ( T80 +01 M?0M0+T.
?uther was the pioneer of this paradig, which re$ected the two storey structure in society,
that of putting faith, grace the church and theology in the upper storey and reason, nature,
state and philosophy to occupy the lower# ?uther saw tension and even opposition &etween
faith 5grace- and reason, church and the world, theology and philosophy, this &ecae the
1rotestant view ever since the ?utheran Deforation, the power of 2od was to &e e/pressed
in the lives of &elievers 5Do 1,1C-# Hohn 8,1C was for the 2reek 1atristic period, and ?uke
19,(8 was for the Medieval %atholicis#
4or the Deforers the link &etween church and state was aintained and at the centre of the
teaching was salvation &y faith and grace# %orrect doctrine was iportant $ust as it was in
Medieval %atholicis and the creeds reained Erthodo/# !he Doan %atholic %hurch lost
soe of its hegeony in soe parts of )urope that had &ecoe 1rotestant and the pope did
not carry a&solute power any ore# !he final settleent of the dispute over papal authority
was ade at the 1eace of Augs&erg in 1""" and the 1eace of =estphalia in 1C97# !he
agreeent was that every region was to follow the religion of its own ruler#
=hile there were siilarities &etween the %atholic and the 1rotestant %hurches, Bosch notes
five differences#
1- Hustification &y faith alone through grace 5sola gratia-#
(- 'uanity was seen fro the aspect of the fall#
8- Salvation was seen fro the personal aspect, it was su&$ective#
9- 1ersonal responsi&ility led to the priesthood of all &elievers# 5Ana&aptists took it to
e/tree#
"- !he centrality of scripture, thus oving the pulpit to the centre#
T80 /0(/M0/, *+D M$,,$+
!he Deforers were seen &y %atholics as heretics and had no concept of ission# En the
other hand, ?uther is seen as, *a creative and original issionary thinker+ 5(99-# !he ain
thrust of refored theology was not what people should do to &e saved, &ut what 2od has
already done in %hrist# !his truth continues to spread out to the ends of the earth, $ust as the
rippling effect of water when one throws water in a pond or lake and this is not dependant on
ans effort, &ut on 2od0s work# !hough that is the case, works of love, preaching and witness
are e/pected in a %hristian as a responsi&ility, and that &ecoes a issionary thrust# !hrough
this view on ission, the Deforers re$ected the %atholic idea of using force to %hristianise
pagans and Hews#
Bosch then shows that although the idea of ission was there aong the 1rotestants, their
active involveent was liited# !his was due to,
!heir priary task was to refor the church and not to replace it 5as Ana&aptists thought-#
17
1rotestants contact with non3%hristians was little, and the nations they &elonged to were
pre3doinantly %atholic and had already esta&lished colonies#
!hese 1rotestant churches were struggling to survive, a condition, which prevailed until
after the 1eace of =estphalia in 1C97#
Because onastic orders had &een the sending issions, the 1rotestant0s denial of these
orders eant denying theselves of iportant aspects of access to these agencies#
1rotestants were still going through their own internal struggles#
!he Ana&aptists oved a &it faster in ission due to their radicalisation of the idea of the
priesthood of all &elievers and regarded 2erany and its surroundings as a ission field with
no parish or diocesan &oundaries# 4or the the 2reat %oission+, was andatory to all
&elievers 5not like other reforers who thought it only applied to the Apostles-#
=hile the Deforers saw the church and state were united in ission, the Ana&aptists could
not &ring the two together, Deforers took issionaries only to countries with Defored
governents#
Although eschatological e/pectations have soeties &een seen as reasons for stagnating the
issionary oveent of the reforers, &ut it has also &e known to &e an ipetus towards
reforers involveent in ission#
29T80/*+ /T8DB7 *+D M$,,$+
?uther0s refor led to territorial distri&ution &etween denoinations e/cept for the
Ana&aptists# 1rotestant and %atholic definitions of the church followed after the 1eace of
=estphalia# !he %atholics put ore ephasis on the outward e/pression 5the legal and
institutional-, whereas the 1rotestants put their ephasis on the internals 5true teachings,
proper adinistration of sacraents-# !his led to ore division aong 1rotestants#
!he church &ecae defined in the lines of, -'hat is happening !ehind its fo%r 'alls+, or *a
place 'here something is done not a living organism doing something+ 5(99-# Such
definitions says Ieill 519C7,7" 6uoted &y Bosch et al-, fit a typical environent where the
a$ority of the people are &aptised and living a %hristian life and where evangelis is not
re6uired#
Bosch attri&utes to 1hilip Iicolai the responsi&ility to &ringing the transition in the Erthodo/
?utheran understanding of ission# Iicolai,
a- ?ike other reforers 5e/cept Ana&aptists-, sees the 2reat %oission to have only
applied to the Apostles yet the church is still called fore ission# Although he was positive
to the %atholic role on ission he still regarded the three eneies of %hristianity as, the
!urks, papacy and %alvinis 5(";-#
&- @nitiative towards salvation is in 2od0s hands not us# 5@#e# ?uther0s salvation &y grace
through faith, and %alvin0s predestination-# !his eant we should not go out in ission
&ut $ust look at the need for the gospel around where you are and attend to it#
c- 'is positivis over the world and his eschatology led hi to disappointent and
pessiis over the %atholics and inspired hi for ission#
d- ?utheran ission was to areas ruled &y ?utherans and therefore ?utheran colonial asters
had a responsi&ility for issionary involveent#
e- !he ?utheran church had no responsi&ility to take the gospel to pagans &ecause the
Apostles had done it#
17
T80 P$0T$,T B/0*<T8/958
=hat followed was the 1ietist oveent# !he ai of the will, personal e/perience and the
desire to proclai the gospel to all was iportant# Iikolaus Bon LinGendorf was a product of
this oveent# !his oved the church fro cold cere&ral faith to a war union with %hrist,
fro sound doctrine to a disciplined life, fro theory to practice, fro ecclesiastical
authoritarianis to individual personal faith#
1ietists and Moravians re$ected the connection &etween church and state as an e/pression of
%hristianity, &ut instead the ephasised on personal decision and this aspect of 1ietis
&rought the ore in line with the Ana&aptists# 1ietists also &ecae involved with social
responsi&ility, which they called, *service of the &ody+ 5("9-# )g hospitals, schools for the
poor, orphanages etc# Soul and &ody, conversion and developent were not to &e divided#
1ietis &egan to lead issionary involveent ore on the religio%s sphere and less on the
civic sphere &y the 178;0s# 1ietis faced a challenging attack fro orthodo/y in its
theological validity and the )nlightenent0s rationalis challenged the ysteries of faith#
PietismEs contri!%tion to missionary movement.
1- Mission was no longer a duty of colonial governents %hristians could participate#
(- 4ro &eing a responsi&ility of rulers now it was a responsi&ility of individual %hristians#
8- @t &rought in the ecuenical aspect of ission#
9- @n one century 517th-, 1ietis ade 2erany a issionary country through people like
LinGendorf#
"- !rue dedication 5other than onasticis- was deonstrated in the way ordinary people
got involved in ission#
,0&+D /0(/M*T$+ *+D P9/$T*+$,M
=hile ?utheran Deforation ade little sense of this world, %alvinis 5in 'olland- and
1uritanis 5in )ngland- did# Both these countries had strong powers in overseas colonies#
=hile the idea of ission was on discussion aong the ?utherans, aong the Defored
%hurches it was put into action# %alvinis &rought the &alance &etween the inward renewal
and the outward transforation, the vertical and the horiGontal# !hese two were held in a
creative tension 5("C-#
Bosch then refers to 2is&ertus Boetius0s threefold odel of the theology of ission# 'e sees
these diensions as
5i- %onversion of the 2entiles
5ii- !he planting of the church
5iii- !he glory and anifestation of divine grace 5("7-#
!his ight have ade hi the first proponent of the odern issio3Dei# 'e saw the
churches &oth new and old standing as e6ual#
'e re$ected the Doan %atholic patronage and coercion of non3%hristians#
!he 1rotestant issionary oveent was then &egan and was carried on through the 1uritan
oveent as issionaries &egan to spread out to distant lands in the 17th century pioneered
&y people like Hohn )liot, Dichard Si&&es, Dichard Ba/ter and %otton Mather#
19
&haracteristics of P%ritanism.
5i- !he doctrine of predestination
5ii- Ultiate goal of ission was to 2od0s glory
5iii- 2od0s love and grace to &elievers and sinners#
5iv- Mission was closely connected to colonial e/pansion and theocracy# !heocracy was
later to &e shattered &y the )nlightenent in soe areas and reason took over#
5v- ?inking ission with eschatology strengthened theocracy 5in %alvinis-#
5vi- !he idea that =estern culture was superior over other cultures# Mission and =estern
culture was interconnected#
5vii- !hey went as a response to the *2reat %oission+#
*MB$?*20+&0, $+ T80 /0(/M*T$+ P*/*D$5M.
!he issionary paradig in the first two centuries of 1rotestantis,
a- )phasised on 2od0s sovereignty to the detrient of issionary involveent#
&- !hough the fall was ephasised &ut huanity was seen as redeea&le#
c- !here were three prongs of 1rotestant theology# )/tree su&$ectivity 51ietis-, e/tree
o&$ectivity 5orthodo/y- and in &etween#
d- Mission responsi&ility was for &oth church and state e/cept for Ana&aptists, 1ietists, and
second reforation oveent#
e- %alvinists, due to their theocratic view held strongly on the rule of %hrist in society#
&hapter #
Mission in the 1a;e of the 0nlightenment
&+T9/, ( T80 0+2$58T0+M0+T 1/2D?$01
All that happened in the 1rotestant %hurch in the 17th century was influenced &y the
enlightenent, &ut the %atholic %hurch and its theology was a&le to stay away fro that
influence until after the second Batican %ouncil# At that point, the %atholic %hurch ade two
paradig shifts in one 5(;th- century, whereas it took the 1rotestant %hurch two centuries to
go through the two paradig shifts# !hese paradigs were those of the )nlightenent and the
other was that of 1ostodernity 5(C(-#
!he change fro edieval thinking to enlightenent thinking ade the supernatural
redundant and the natural attracted ore attention# 2od, the church and the no&les were no
longer revered, &ut nature was# !hose who influenced the inds of the enlightenent were
people like Iicholas %opernicus 5197831"98-, 4rancis Bacon 51"C131C(C-, 2alileo 2alilei
51"C931C9(-, Dene Descartes 51"9C31C";- etc# Ene or two generations later, the
enlightenent world view cae to its final for through the influence of Hohn ?ocke 51C8(3
17;9-, Baruch SpinoGa 51C8(31C77-, 2ottfried =ilhel ?ie&nitG 51C9C3171C-, and @saac
Iewton 51C9(31717-#
&haracteristics of the enlightenment. (?ery important to note for M*MDP) p.:A5
P !he enlightenent was an age of reason > /eason !ecame important in &hristianity and
theologyEs response 'as to separate religion from reason and locate it on feelings and
eFperience > response 'as the privatisation of religion and its removal from p%!lic
sphere > response 'as to declare theology as a science) 'hich 'as s%perior to other
(;
sciences G response 'as to create a &hristian society in 'hich &hristianity 'ill !e the
official religion G response !y sec%larising religion.
P !he enlightenent separated huans fro the environent and therefore ade it possi&le
for the to study the environent o&$ectively G response 'as to do the same in theology
eg inerrancy of o!Dective teFt.
P !he enlightenent looked at reality in the cause and effect concept and eliinated purpose >
Tr%st in 5od 'as emphasised in ;no'ing p%rpose.
P !he focus of the enlightenent was progress, as seen in developent prograes
5odernisation-# !he desire to spread wealth to the less privileged > &hristian tri%mph in
this 'orld) reforming the 'orld) eradicating poverty) restoring D%stice etc.
P )nlightenent &elieved that knowledge is factual, value free and neutral# @t is o&$ective#
Ever facts, there are disputa&le values &ased on opinions and on &elief, and that is the place of
religion# So a &elief can only &e true when there is a corresponding fact G &hristianity 'as
made a fact not val%esG religion (val%es)) !eing separate from facts (science)) 'as
transcendent) spirit%al and s%preme (Platonic). The pro!lem &hristianity !ecame other
non4'orldly.
P All pro&les are solva&le > theology 'arns of the danger of see;ing false sec%rity and
avoiding responsi!ility.
P 1eople were seen as eancipated autonoous individuals# 2od and the church were no
longer needed# All individuals were e6ual and had e6ual rights# Iatural rights > $t !ro%ght
individ%alism in the ch%rch.
0+2$58T0+M0+T *+D &8/$,T$*+ (*$T8
Deligion &ecae anthropocentric# &hristian *pologetic theology &egan to develop#
%hristianity lost its superiority a&ove other religions#
(,ee sol%tions of the a!ove pro!lems).
!he enlightenent was eant to create a society of which all people were e6ual &ut that idea
was not aterialised#
M$,,$+ $+ T80 M$/// ( T80 0+2$58T0+M0+T
!he odern issionary enterprise has &een greatly influenced &y the enlightenent0s concept
of ecclesiastical and cultural e/pansion
&h%rch and ,tate.
%olonisation and %hristianisation went together, and were two sides of the sae coin 5(7"-#
?ater, during the enlightenent the two went onto separate paths# )/pansion in the Aerica
&ecae iperialistic, in @ndia ercantile etc, &ut no longer religio3political3cultural# %hristian
ission &ecae a concern to win souls and confined to the church only# =hat such as other
Deforers such as LinGendorf had done had long &een forgotten and defeated &y rationalis#
Mission organisations such as S1%F 51C99- and S12 517;1- which had a synthesis &etween
the rationalis and 1ietis were started#
(1
(orces of /ene'al.
!he 2reat Awakening in the Aericas0 517(C317C;-, Methodis 517;831791 Hohn K 17;73
1777 %harles- and )vangelical Anglicanis 51777317("- were forces of renewal, which ade
a great ipact on ission thinking and practise#
!he 2reat Awakening was a national conversion 5Bosch, (77 6uoting Iie&uhr-# !hey taught a
&alance &etween o&$ectivity and su&$ectivity in understanding our faith fro the Scriptures,
the ain character &eing Honathan )dwards#
!he =esley &rothers and 2eorge =hitefield in starting the Methodist oveent saw no
difference &etween noinal %hristianity and pagans, thus Hohn saying, *!he whole world is
y parish+5(77-# Saving souls eant society would change# !he Methodist oveent led to
the Anglican )vangelical Devival#
The ,econd *'a;ening. ("7AA on'ards)
!his &rought rise to foreign issions also propted &y the discovery of new land &y
e/plorers# !he nu&er of %hristians increased too# @n the UF, *e/pect great things fro 2od,
attept great things for 2od+ 5Bosch, (79, 6uoting %arey-, was the otto#
The "#th cent%ry
%hurch and state harony and intension in ission were restored# Missionaries were sent &y
the church &ut with interest on e/panding the epire#
@n Aerica aterialis and capitalis were seen as &lessings and the Fingdo was here and
now# Mission was a way of sharing those &lessings with a deprived world#
The :Hth cent%ry
!he social gospel had taken root, and sin was erely ignorance#
M$,,$+*/7 MT$(, $+ T80 0+2$58T0+M0+T 0/*
1- 2ods0 Sovereignty and 'is glory 5derived fro the doctrine of 1redestination-#
(- %onstrained &y the love of Hesus 5&rotherhood-#
8- !he gospel and culture# !he coproise with other cultures# Deligion and culture went
together and there was a sense of the =est passing on the =estern culture, which went
together with the gospel# @ssues of accoodation and indigenisation were addressed
5(913(97-#
!his period saw the
a- A&olition of slavery
&- Spread of &etter ethods of agriculture
c- @proveent on schools and hospitals
d- )levation of woen in society
e- )phasis on iproved international relations
f- ?eadership training for newly independent states 5Bosch, (99 6uoting Sith, 19C7,71-#
!he (;th century cae to see a shift as culture and religion &ecae increasingly separated#
Mission and Manifest Destiny.
!he =est had &elieved that they were the chosen people and they were to rule over other
nations# !his was especially seen &etween 177;319(;, during the *8eyday of colonialism+#
5Bosch, (97 6uoting Ieill 19CCa, 8((389C-#
((
Mission and &olonialism
Although at the &eginning colonisation and ission work went together, later on in the 17th
century they were separated# Merchants, who went out for trading purposes, soeties even
did not want issionaries, &ecause they felt threatened that issionaries ight spoil their
trade links# ?ater in the 19th century the two were connected again# =hile the colonial
governents ran and traded, the issionaries evangelised# !hey prepared people for
governent service#
!he idea of colonialis was &hristianity) commerce and civilisation#
Mission and the Millenni%m
Bosch sees this as the golden age# Mission work has &een seen as the process of the golden
age, the dawn of the illenniu# Although it &egan &y reaching out to the Aericas0 now it
was e/panding elsewhere until the ends of the earth# !he reign of 2od had &egun through the
church#
British )vangelical Alliance 5179C- raised a hereneutical pro&le# @t suggested that
Scripture should speak for itself to each individual, and therefore they did not want to &e told
&y ecclesiastical &odies what to do# !his idea was in tension with the inerrancy of Scripture#
@n id 17th century, the return of %hrist was e/pected and any ission organisations were
founded# !he understanding the Pre4millenialists was that the return of %hrist will coe
when the preaching of the gospel is coplete and the essage has reached the ends of the
earth 5Matt (9,19-#
Mission &egan to ephasise on 2od0s $udgeent rather than 'is love# Dwight#?#Moody
5178731799- cae up with the three *D0s+,
Duined &y sin
Dedeeed &y %hrist
Degenerated &y the 'oly Spirit
'e was known as a pragatic, choosing doctrines, which were siple and positive to society#
)phasis &ecae on personal rather than structural sin and ver&al evangelis rather than the
social gospel# @ssues of race and class &egan to eerge# )g in Aerica the revivalists were
iddle class whites 1rotestants# !he challenge of Socialis until after the Second =orld =ar,
political undertones were attached to 1reillenialis followed &y the prosperity gospel#
1eople were converted to iddle class Aerican culture of aterialis, capitalis,
patriotis, respecta&ility etc# %hurches were run like a &usiness#
Postmillennialism and *millenialism.
Around 17"9 onwards these ideas &egan as a continuation of he teaching and preaching
during the Awakening oveents of )dwards and 'opkins# !he 1erousia was replaced &y the
coing of the Fingdo step &y step 5see 81938(7-#
?ol%ntarism
!he )nlightenent saw the eergence of issionary societies, inspired &y the
enlightenent0s spirit of enterprise and initiative 58(7-# @#e# the hereneutical freedo#
!hese were voluntary societies, which at the tie of the Deforation could not &e thought of,
&ut only the institutional church and its hierarchy could talk a&out ission#
(8
%hapter 1(
0lements of an 0merging 0c%menical Missionary Paradigm.
@n this we find a very high view of the church especially ephasised &y the %atholics# !he
definition of the church was turning fro &eing an institution to &eing the &ody of %hrist, and
the outlook on ission was again ephasised in a new way# Missionary conferences &egan to
eerge, *ecclesiological reflections of issionary conferences fro )din&urgh 191; to
Me/ico %ity in 19C8+ 5p#8C9, Bosch referring to 2unther, 197;-#
@ssues of discussion ranged fro, inspiring issionary enthusias in the churches of the
=est, the relationship &etween the church and ission, the relationship &etween the younger
and older churches and the distinctions &etween %hristians and non %hristians#
%hallenges fro other ideologies such as %ounis, 4ascis, Mar/is and Socialis
grew, and not forgetting the ipact of =orld =ar !wo# !he %hurch and Mission were &rought
together and there was a strong call for the need
a- Iot to separate the two, i#e# %hurch and Mission#
&- Mission is fro everywhere to everywhere
c- 1artnership in Mission
The ch%rch in Mission
Mission was to &e an integral part of the =orld %ouncil of %hurches# !his was a #issio $ei
stateent, although there still reained differences in its definition fro different schools of
thought# !he differences were the soe stressed on,
a- Salvation
&- )cclesiology
c- Sacraents
d- And others )schatology 5p#871-#
!here was a shift fro the centrality of the 1ope as ephasised in Batican @ to a ore
integrated one, with focus on the local church# After Batican @@, &oth %atholic and 1rotestant
united in defining the church in ters of,
i- !he sacraent of Salvation
ii- Asse&ly of 2od
iii- 1eople of 2od
iv- Body of %hrist
v- !eple of the 'oly Spirit
vi- %ounity of the faithful 51#87( Bosch 6uoting Michiels, 1979,79 and Dulles, 197C-#
By the %atholics recognising the church as universal and the place of the local church in
ission, it &rought the !hird =orld church closer than ever &efore#
&reative tension
But Bosch sees a creative tension develop fro the definition and understanding of the
church, that is,
i- As the &earer of the essage of salvation on which it carries the onopoly#
ii- As an illustration in word and deed of 2od0s involveent with the world 5p#871-#
!he two views were &eing &rought together as the church continued to ephasise on %hurch
planting as priary in ission, and the church definition and role continued to &e discussed in
(9
the following )cuenical councils on the role of the church in ission and the definition of
salvation whether it was only spiritual or included social action 5i#e# huanisation of people-#
@ssues of %hristology and 1neuatology were discussed too 5p#879-# !he issue of the two
andates facing the church, the social on one hand and the spiritual on the other, &ecae a
way of looking at the relationship &etween the evangelis and social action, and followed &y
detailed discussions on &oth evangelical and ecuenical councils on the relationship &etween
the two# En the one hand )vangelicals held to the priacy of evangelis although social
action was still very iportant, and on the other, %atholics held to &oth with a greater &ias
towards social action#
Bosch then goes on to e/plain what the heart of evangelis# 'e sees evangelis as &oth
saying and doing, and he clearly distinguishes &etween evangelis, evangelisation and
ission 5p#9;939(;-#
Mission as conte/tualisation
Quoting Ukpong 519771C8-, Bosch traces the origins of the word *conte/tualiGation+ fro the
197;0s# 'e continues to 6uote Ukpong in showing the two streas of conte/tualiGation as
i- @ndigenisation, naely translation and inculturation
ii- Socio3political, naely li&eration theology, &lack theology, feinist theology etc-
5p# 9(1-#
Bosch then goes on to trace the &ackground of the conte/tualiGation pattern fro Arianis,
Donatis, 1elagianis, Iestorianis, Monophysitis etc in which culture and politics
shaped heir understanding of the scripture# !he whole developent in theologising, through
the iddle ages the Deforation and the )nlightenent, theology has &een adapted to the
thinking of the tie# Iow we find theologies adapting to the socio political e/perience of
people such as feinist and li&eration to the issues of culture# Bosch sees al these to have a
great ipact on ission today as we see the tension &etween =estern !heology and !hird
=orld !heology#
!his has led to what Bosch calls the re3&irth of the )cuenical idea of ission, with a strong
sense of interdenoinational unity# @nterdenoinational Mission organisations &egan to &e
fored such as JM%A, J=%A etc, and )din&urgh 191; arked this new developent# !his
new diension has gone to he e/tent as seeing ission as dialogue, especially when reaching
out to people of other faiths such as Muslis, Buddhists, 'indus etc# !he issues of clergy and
laity in ecclesiology were discussed with arguents supported &y the threefold offices of
Hesus %hrist, that of the 1rophet, 1riest and Fing, legitiising the office of 1astor, )lder and
Deacon 5p#9C9-#
&oncl%sion
4or Bosch, the %hrist events reain central to his understanding on ission and he sees this
as he concludes his chapters# 'e looks at the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, the
ascension, 1entecost and the e/pectations of the second coing 5the 1erousia-, as focal points
in the identity of the ission of the church at all ties#
("
(C