Christian Circulations: Global Christianity and the Local Church in Penang and Singapore 1819-2000 by Jean DeBernardi (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Christian Circulations: Global Christianity and the Local Church in Penang and Singapore 1819-2000 by Jean DeBernardi Barbara Watson Andaya Christian Circulations: Global Christianity and the Local Church in Penang and Singapore 1819-2000. By Jean DeBernardi. Singapore, NUS Press, 2020. Pages i-xx, 430 pp, Index, illustrations, ISBN 978-981-325-109-0. This is a big book, with a big goal, stated in the Introduction and reiterated in the Conclusion: in tracing the origins and legacies of the Christian Brethren network in Asia, Jean DeBernardi aims to "investigate the history of evangelical Christianity as a transnational and regional social movement, with a focus on Penang and Singapore … a history of the globalization of Christianity and the local church" (pp. 14, 358). She argues that the narrative of Christianity in Asia has underestimated the global reach and impact of the Brethren, especially in the indigenization of Chinese churches, both in China and overseas. At the same time, she emphasizes that this is a history of "continuities and discontinuities" in which threads are taken up but fade away, only to reappear again in new iterations that have helped shape modern practices and contemporary recollections. Bringing together the connections and interruptions that permeate the Brethren story obviously presented a major challenge. At the outset any reviewer must acknowledge the years of research behind the compilation of so much information, beginning in the early 1990s and effectively continuing until the manuscript's final submission. The Preface and Acknowledgements serve to remind us that accessing church archives and personal collections in Singapore, Malaysia and Britain and arranging interviews with Brethren leaders involved establishing relationships of trust built on a sensitivity to cultural attitudes and religious beliefs; for this alone the author should be congratulated. In the pages that follow, and in response to the formidable task of organization, she has divided her material into four parts, bookended by an Introduction and a Conclusion. The Introduction sets the stage by pointing to the lack of research on the Brethren, their commitment to evangelism and social change, their role in missionizing in Asia, their insistence on the New Testament as a model for Christian practice, and the tensions that could arise from variations in theological interpretations. The problematic association between Christian missions and colonialism is implicit in [End Page 206] the brief overview of the history of Penang and Singapore. As a methodological tool, DeBernardi proposed an exploration of "diagnostic events" that reveal conflict and competition, while connecting local contexts to global developments. This approach can be buttressed by "the theory of practice" that recognizes the influence of entrenched social structures in any community but also acknowledges individual agency in reaching decisions and making appropriate choices. Part 1, The Open Brethren Movement, describes Brethren origins in Dublin and Bristol, giving particular attention to the break in 1848, when the Open Brethren, led by George Müller, refused to accept the mysticism of John Darby, leader of the "Exclusive" Brethren. The Open Brethren evolved to form a loose network of independent churches that questioned accepted modes of Christian practice and shared the conviction that a centralized organization and an ordained hierarchy of clerics stunted Christian growth. Inspired by German Pietism and Protestant revivalism, Brethren missionary activities reached well beyond Europe. Letters, pamphlets, reports and magazines publicized their evangelical projects while charitable groups like the British Foreign and Bible Society, the Religious Tract society and especially the Scriptural Knowledge Institution (established by Müller) supported missionaries in Africa and Asia with written material and funds. While Müller's missionary projects concentrated on China, the co-founder of the Open Brethren movement, Anthony Groves, worked in India. He mentored the Tamil evangelist, John Arulappan, who was drawn into the "discontinuities" that could occur when Asian indigenous churches emphasized racial equality and when belief in individual empowerment saw little need for an ordained clergy. The focus of Part II, Penang and China, is the relationship between Penang (regarded as a gateway to China) and the Brethren's Chinese mission. The London Missionary Society, with Samuel and Maria Dyer as a foremost missionary couple, set up its operations in Penang, but outreach to Malays was disappointing. By...