:+

A
t this point wc nccd to gct our pcrspcctivc
again in tcrms ol our timc grid that wc lay on
top ol history in ordcr to bcttcr kccp track.
Vc havc sccn thc rst two cpochs, whcrc wc dcalt with
thc Romans in thc rst 400 ycars, and thcn thc barbar
ian tribcs who oodcd into Ccntral uropc, blossom
ing as Christians by 800. Tcn camc thc \iking pcriod,
and toward thc cnd ol that third pcriod, by 1200, wc
lound a much morc cxtcnsivc pcriod ol ourishing. Vc
talkcd about thc Crusadcs, thc lriars, thc cathcdrals,
thc uni vcrsitics, and thc trcmcndous burst ol powcr.
Tat ourishing took placc altcr thc \iking invasions
subsidcd and thc \ikings thcmsclvcs had bccomc
Christians (ol a sort) by 1050.
A vaguc parallcl to thc two ark Agcs, bcginning in
thc middlc ol thc lourth cpoch, was thc outbrcak ol
thc Plaguc, which ran lor hall a ccntury in actuality
and thcn lor morc than that in its tapcring cccts. !t
produccd thc unrcst lor thc pcasants uprisings that
lcancd into thc pcriod ol thc socallcd Rclormation.
8ccausc ol thc turmoil ol thc Plaguc and thc rcsulting
unrcst, thc Roman church cndcd up losing control ovcr
thc outlying provinccs. To somc cxtcnt that was thc
political brcakdown ol uropc cnding in thc Rclorma
tionthc outcr provinccs bcgan to strugglc loosc dur
ing thc conlusion and thc dicultics ol thc Plaguc.
(A modcrnday parallcl would bc Vorld Var !!. Tis
was a strugglc csscntially bctwccn Vcstcrn powcrs.
Vhilc thc Vcstcrn powcrs wcrc lockcd in strugglc, thc
nonVcstcrn colonial countrics strugglcd loosc and
got lrcc lrom thc Vcstcrn powcrs. uring that war thc
Frcnch, thc Spanish, thc nglish, and thc Amcricans
all bcgan to losc thcir dircct political control ovcr thc
rcst ol thc world.)
Vc will bc looking at onc only aspcct ol thc lth lour
hundrcdycar pcriod, 16002000, which has to do with
thc cxpanding missionary outrcach during that timc.
Missions by Land
Tc most tragic impact ol thc Plaguc, as ! scc it, was its
impact on thc lriars, thc Roman Catholic missionary
ordcrs, which wcrc ablc to go out across thc world. Tcy
wcrc thc oncs who tricd to hclp thc aictcd, and a hugc
numbcr ol pcoplc dicd in thc Catholic ordcrs. !n Gcrma
ny alonc about 120,000 Francis cans dicd in thc Plaguc. !t
was a trcmcndous sctback!
Ncvcrthclcss, as carly as 1210 (thc timc ol thc Latcran
Council that lormally approvcd thc Franciscans and thc
ominicans) ominic was quoting thc Grcat Commis
sion to his lollowcrs and calling thcm to go to thc cnds
ol thc carth to prcach thc gospcl. 8ut 600 years wcnt
by until thc Protcstants caught thc missionary vision in
1810. (Villiam Carcy, ol coursc, wcnt out a lcw ycars
carlicr.) For six hundrcd ycars thc Roman Catholic
tradition was thc only rcally cxtcnsivc missionary cort.
Tc rst part ol this 600ycar pcriod, up until 1492
1500, was mission cort charactcrizcd as travcl by land.
Tc lriars attcmptcd to cross thc stcppcs ol Asia and to
go to 8cijing, as wc call it todaythc lcgcndary city ol
Cambaluc ol thc Mongols. Tcy wcrc vcry mobilc, just
likc thc Mongols wcrc a vcry mobilc nomadic pcoplc.
Tc lriars would raisc a tcnt trailcr up with thc lour
canvas sidcs with thc gospcl mcssagc ol Jcsus Christ on
it. Tat was thcir particular way ol prcaching thc gospcl.
Te Fifth Expansion
Ralph D. Winter
Rcprintcd with pcrmission lrom Vintcr, Ralph . Te Unfolding Drama f the Christian Movement. n.d., Chaptcr 10.
:+6 Tnv Fiv:n xv~xsiox
Vc do not know cxactly what mcssagc thc lriars
prcachcd (although wc do know that throughout u
ropc thcrc was an cmphasis on a John thc 8aptist sort
ol rcpcntancc and lorgivc ncss ol sins through laith in
Jcsus Christ.) 8ut wc cannot account lor thc vitality, thc
durability, thc paticncc, thc many othcr virtucs ol thcsc
movcmcnts apart lrom thc truc inucncc ol thc 8iblc.
Tc lriars could not go by any othcr mcthod, so thcy
had to go by land. !n 1262, Marco Polo, onc ol scvcral
travclcrs ol a lamily ol mcrchants, brought back word
lrom Cambaluc, todays 8cijing, thc hcadquartcrs ol thc
Mongol mpirc. Tc cmpcror thcrc askcd lor 100 mis
sionarics to comc and tcach thcm scicncc and rcligion.
Vc should ncvcr supposc that thc gospcl ol Jcsus Christ
is purcly spiritual. Christian insight has always involvcd
salva tion on a holistic scalc, but Christians havc not
always undcrstood that. Tc prcaching ol thc gospcl has
always carricd, or should havc carricd, in its vcry naturc,
clcmcnts othcr than purcly spiritual. For thcy cxist in
Gods own appraisal ol his own crcation, lallcn to bc
rcdccmcd, not only spiritually but physically. Tc cm
phasis on scicncc in thc Vcstcrn tradition has its roots
in thc Christian movcmcnt. Tcrc is no othcr human
historical tradition that con ccivcs ol naturc as ordcrly,
cxccpt that which stcms lrom thc JudcoChristian
tradition. Scicncc is impossiblc without that kind ol
cosmology, which is uniqucly Judaic.
nc ol thc things that attractcd thc rulcrs in Cambaluc
was this othcr insight into thc naturc ol naturc, which
camc along as a byproduct ol thc Christian laith.
1
ut ol thc lour missionarics scnt to China in rcsponsc
to this rcqucst, two got scarcd bclorc thcy cvcr got to thc
castcrn cnd ol thc Mcditcrrancan, thc othcr two quit
latcr on. Marco Polos group did nally rcach China, but
without thc missionarics. Twcntyvc ycars latcr, John
ol Montccorvino nally got to 8cijing, but by that timc
thc Khan who had askcd lor thc missionarics had dicd.
!t was onc ol historys grcatcst lailurcs to rcspond.
Missionary Outreach by Sea
Again and again altcr Marco Polo uropcans madc
massivc attcmpts to go to China by land, but thc land
approach was not vcry succcsslul. Tc ncxt pcriod ol
Catholic missions was to bc by sca, and this was un
imaginably morc succcsslul in rcaching China. Navi
gation instru mcnts, prcparcd by a godly man namcd
Princc Hcnry thc Navigator, wcrc an achicvcmcnt that
allowcd thcsc samc pcoplc, thcsc samc organi zations, to
gct to thc cnds ol thc carth. Vithout such instrumcnts
thcy couldnt havc donc so. Tis is a pcrlcct cxamplc ol
an intcrplay bctwccn tcchnology and missions!
Vhcn uropcans bcgan to movc out across thc globc,
thcy ran into strangc pcoplc and could not undcrstand
thcm. A book writtcn in 1772 by a Gcrman Jcsuit, Johann
Jacob S. J. 8acgcrt, titlcd, Observations in Lower California,
rcvcals somc ol thc culturc shock, thc problcms, and thc
inabilitics uropcans laccd whcn thcy cncountcrcd ncw
culturcs. 8acgcrt spcnt almost 20 ycars in 8aja Calilornia,
at a Roman Catholic mission, rcaching out to thc !ndians
and trying to convcrt thcm. nc ol thc most astounding
things in this book is thc culturc shock ol this Jcsuit as hc
looks at Calilorniansthc !ndians, hc callcd thcm. Prob
ably thc most humorous thing is his cthnoccntrism with
rcgard to lan guagcs. 8acgcrt docs not think thcsc pcoplc
arc vcry bright. Hc dcscribcs thcir languagc as lacking a lot
ol words that dcscribc cmotions, lcclings, abstract notions,
ctc., and comcs to thc conclusion that it is almost impos
siblc to communicatc thc Gospcl to thcsc pcoplc.
Vc nccd to avoid thc common stcrcotypcs ol our timc,
cvcn though thcrc arc clcmcnts ol truth in thcm. !l
thcsc Nativc Amcricans did not havc ways ol cxprcssing
thc conccpts listcd by this missionary, how could thcy
rcason: Tc uropcans lookcd back on thcir own savagc
past and thcy rcalizcd that thcrc was a timc whcn thcy
thcmsclvcs didnt havc a civilization growing up apart
lrom thc coming ol thc Christian laith. Tus, whcn thcy
wcnt out to thc rcst ol thc world, thcy wcnt not only
with thc spiritual gospcl, but also with civilization, with
scicncc, bccausc that is what thcy assumcd thc pcoplc
would want. Tat, thcy lclt, was part ol Gods conccrn.
Tcy assumcd that il thcy wcrc to takc thc gospcl, thcy
would also civilizc thc pcoplc. And il thcy civilizcd thc
pcoplc, thcn thc pcoplc would bc morc usclul. Tcy
could do morc things. Tcy could tradc.
8ut wc cannot say that thc uropcans wcnt just lor
commcrcial purposcs. Vc havc to say it was a doublc
motivation, cvcn il somc claim that thcy wcrc mainly
motivatcd by commcrcial intcrcst. !t is quitc impos
siblc, ! bclicvc, to makc a casc lor onc ol thcsc two
intcrcsts as bcing morc promincnt than thc othcr. !t is
vcry casy to say that rcligion was just a tcchniquc, but
it is an insucicnt cxplanation.
!n anothcr scction ol his book 8acgcrt thc Jcsuit chal
lcngcs thc Protcstants ol thc day with thc Grcat Com
Ralph D. Winter :+
mission, saying that thc Protcstants cannot bc thc truc
church bccausc thcy ncglcct missionary work, a clcar
dcmand in thc 8iblc.
Hc gocs on to say that thc Protcstants havc an cxccllcnt op
portunity ol carrying out thc work ol con vcrting nonbclicv
crs in both thc Vcst and thc ast !ndics, lor thcrc thcy havc
complctc sca powcr. And (hcrcs a thcological barb!) it would
bc much casicr lor thcm, and thcy would bc much morc
succcsslul than thc Catholics, bccausc, as a mattcr ol lact, all
thcy havc to prcach to thc pagans is thcir doctrinc ol laith.
Tcy, in lact, could pcrmit thc nativcs in thc spirit ol Luthcr
to practicc thcir wickcdncss thousands ol timcs a day. !n that
spirit thcy could allow thcm to kill and yct throw thc gatcs ol
hcavcn widc opcn lor thcm, thanks to laith alonc.
Tc lact is, that hcrc is a man quoting thc 8iblc, obcy
ing thc 8iblc, going across thc world with thc 8iblc,
along with othcr Catholic missionarics, during a period
of 600 years prior to any stirring within the Protestant
tradition along the same lines.
Te Chinese Rites Controversy
Tc Jcsuits apparcntly had a School ol Vorld Mis
sion that produccd in cach ol thcm a vcry similar,
highly contcxtualizing stratcgy (Nobili in !ndia, Ricci
in China, and \alignano in Japan wcrc all contcmpo
rarics). nc ol thc things Mattco Ricci did was to ab
solutcly mastcr thc Chincsc classics. His pcoplc kncw
thc litcraturc as wcll as any Chincsc. Tcy drcsscd likc
thc Chincsc and spokc Chincsc. Tc Jcsuits bccamc
Chincsc il any missionarics cvcr did!
Vhcn thc Franciscans arrivcd in China (and, by thc ycar
1600, thcy wcrc charactcristically lcss intcl lcctual, lcss
acadcmic than thc Jcsuits, thcir intcnt bcing immcdiatc
witncssing), thcir immcdiatc conclusion was that thcsc
Jcsuits havc syncrctizcd Christianity: thcy havc gonc ovcr
to thc Chincsc. !nstcad ol winning thc Chincsc to Christ,
thc Chincsc havc won thc Jcsuits to thcmsclvcs. Tc Jcsu
its cvcn allowcd thc Chincsc to worship thcir anccstors!
Tat was thc hcart ol thc Chincsc Ritcs Controvcrsy.
For many ycars both partics wcrc writing lcttcrs to thc
popc trying to pcrsuadc him ol thcir vcrsion ol what
was happcning, xaggcrations and dis tortions wcrc
madc and, ol coursc, as cach ncw popc took thc occ,
hc had to bc rccducatcd, and thc \atican politicians
had othcr things to do.
Tis controvcrsy nally had to bc scttlcd, and thcy
scttlcd it wrong. Tc cmpcror ol China wrotc a lcttcr
to thc popc saying that hc trustcd thc Jcsuits and thcir
approach, and thrcatcncd to throw all missionarics out
ol China il thc Jcsuits wcrc dcnicd thcir approach. Tc
popc could not bclicvc that anybody would havc morc
authority than hc did, and so hc wrotc a lcttcr to that
ccct back to thc cmpcror.
Tc cmpcror ol China, vcry bcgrudgingly, cxpcllcd
cvcry missionary lrom China. !t was a major sctback.
Tcrc wcrc about a quartcr ol a million Christians by
this timc in China, and thcn all contact with thc out
sidc world and with Christianity clscwhcrc in particu
lar was suddcnly climinatcd.
Te Rebuilding of the Jesuit Order
Somc ycars altcr thc Chincsc incidcnt, though not lor
this rcason, thc cntirc Jcsuit ordcr was closcd down
lor about a quartcr ol a ccntury, most ol thcm actually
killcd o. Finally only a handlul ol whitchaircd mcn
wcrc lclt, but that is all it took to rcbuild thc ordcr into
cnormous muscular strcngth again in a lcw ycars.
Vhy wcrc thc Jcsuits ablc to rcbuild so rapidly: Tc
had alrcady dcvclopcd thc social structurc ol thcir
organization, which was wclloilcd and clcarly undcr
stood, and it madc it much casicr lor thcm to rccovcr
than to start a ncw organization lrom scratch.
!t is casy to build buildings, it is not casy to build social
structurcs. Vc havc to takc vcry scriously and vcry
rcspcctlully thc dcvclopmcntal accomplishmcnt ol any
cxisting organization.
Social structurc is just as complicatcd as languagc
structurc. And no onc has cvcr attcmptcd to start a ncw
languagc lrom scratch, without borrowing lrom any
othcr languagc. Vhilc thc Jcsuits do not rcprcscnt a
complctcly dicrcnt social structurc, thcy ccrtainly rcp
rcscnt an additional sct ol social norms which producc a
community (in addition to what thc gcncral uropcan
back ground providcd). Tcir structurc is rcally a grcat
accomplishmcnt which cnablcd thcm to bouncc back
and rccruit ncw missionarics again so rcadily.
Endnotes
1
Vc scc an intcrcsting parallcl lour hundrcd ycars latcr, around
thc ycar 1600. Tc intclligcncc ol thc Jcsuit ordcr in !taly
brought back thc inlormation that thc rulcrs ol China wcrc
vcry lascinatcd and attractcd by two things: maps and clocks,
which thcy did not havc, but thc Christians did. Clocks wcrc
invcntcd in thc monastcrics in ordcr to sound out thc hours
:+8 Tnv Fiv:n xv~xsiox
and thcn to rcducc thc regulas into practically implcmcntablc
ordcrly schcmcs. And thc maps wcrc thc rcsult ol world widc
intcrcst, bascd on thc Grcat Commission. Princc Hcnry
thc Navigator was onc ol thc grcat scholars ol thc scas and
promotcrs ol navigation, who had proloundly Christian
purposcs in scnding ships out and rcning thcir navigation
mcthods. Tc maps wcrc bcing dcvclopcd also as thc rcsult ol
Christian conccrn and Christian laith.
Tosc two thingsthc clocks in thc monastcrics and thc
maps that would cnablc thc Grcat Commission to thc bc
lulllcdwcrc thc kcy that nally got thc Jcsuits to Camba
luc. !n a Jcsuit monastic ccntcr in !taly, thc command comcs
to Mattco Riccis supcrior to train a man in clockmaking
and maps and cartography. 11 ycars latcr Mattco Ricci was
scnt o to thc ast. Ricci could not gct into China and so
landcd in Maco, which was Portugucsc. Hc staycd thcrc and
providcd inlormation on what hc kncw about clocks. Tc
word nally got to thc cmpcror and altcr a numbcr ol ycars
thc word camc lrom 8cijing that Mattco Ricci was wantcd
in that capital city.