Thinking Missiologically about the History of Mission

Abstract

april 2007 I there amissiological approach to thehistoryofmission?1 Prompting this question is the fact that the history ofmission is no longer the special preserve of thosewho support and participate in missionary activities. now a growing legion of scholars is being drawn to the study of mission history, among whom we find specialists in politics and economics, marxists, feminists, historical anthropologists and other kinds of social historians, and americanists as well as researchers focused on non-Western societies, not to mention religious historians of every stripe who make it their business to study the world’s burgeoning collection of faith communities and traditions. all these and more have found in the history of christian mission a virtually inexhaustible supply of datawithwhich to fuel their various research projects.2 missiologistswho study the history of mission share many overlapping concernswith these other scholars, not the least of which is the requirement to practice good historical technique. some common aims likewise drive much historical work on missions today, andmissiologists may find themselvesworking alongside other scholarswho are also seeking to understand the dynamics of cultural and religious change, the emergence and diffusionofmodern ideas, theartof apologetics, and the conduct of interfaith dialogue, plus the nature of the church and its place in theworld.mutual interests are thus a part ofwhat needs to be discussed in connectionwith the question posed above. But this essay also goes on to address the more difficult issue of particularity: do missiological investigations add anything distinctive to these other scholarly efforts?