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1. Pre-Christian The peoples now called Maori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, perhaps in the late 14th century. Long isolation produced a distinctive culture with developed hierarchies, arts, technology, and oral literature. The Maori universe was full of spirits, divided into complementary spheres of light (Te Rangi) and darkness (Te Po). Adepts in the highest spiritual and mythical knowledge (Myth, Mythology, 1) formed a class of experts (tohunga) who had access to the higher spirit beings (atua) and delivered prophetic oracles (karakia). If a pre-Christian cult o…

1. Background Until 1842 the Chinese Empire resisted all European penetration. The Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42) opened five “treaty ports,” where missions quickly established residence (Colonialism and Mission). By 1860 Western powers had secured more ports, European rights of travel, and certain concessions to religious toleration and foreign protection of missionaries (Mission). By this period, the missionary movement was accepted by the main Protestant churches. Most missionary societies were organized on a national and denominational basis an…

1. Origins British missions were born in the theoretical ideals of the English Commonwealth of the 17th century and later were given new directions by the American colonies and the reconversion of the Scottish Highlands. They were driven by the Moravian example and an eschatology that stressed that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9) before the return of Christ. The Evangelical Revival (Revivals 2.2) provided the religious dynamic, and the economic and technological development of 19th-century Britain provided the outlets. 1.1. S…

[English Version] . Missionarische Aktivitäten von Schottland aus begannen i.J. 1742, als die in erster Linie für Evangelisation und Unterricht im schottischen Hochland gegründete »Society in Scotland for Promoting Christian Knowledge« die Arbeit des Amerikaners David Brainerd unter den Ureinwohnern Amerikas unterstützte. Die Missionsgesellschaften von Glasgow und Edinburgh wurden 1796 nach dem Vorbild der London Missionary Society gegründet und entsandten später Missionare nach Jamaika, Indien, A…

[German Version] Missionary activity from Scotland began in 1742, when the Society in Scotland for Promoting Christian Knowledge, formed primarily for evangelism and education in the Scottish Highlands, supported the American David Brainerd’s work among ¶ Native Americans. Glasgow and Edinburgh Missionary Societies, on London Missionary Society lines, were formed in 1796 and sent missionaries to Jamaica, India, Africa, and the Russian Empire. In 1796 the Church of Scotland decided not to support the societies nor to begin its own …

[German Version] (Apr 24, 1806, Moulin, Perthshire – Feb 12, 1878, Sidmouth, Devon). Duff's home was evangelical. At the University of St. Andrews Duff was influenced by T. Chalmers and helped to found a student missionary society. In 1829 he was appointed the first missionary of the Church of Scotland. Arriving in Calcutta in 1831, he opened a school combining Christian …

[German Version] I. History – II. Mission Studies: Universalization of Education I. History Only rarely did the earliest missions of the medieval religious orders establish schools; they showed little interest in developing a new generation of indigenous candidates for the priesthood. The Jesuits, however, made schools one of the central interests of their society, introducing Humanist influence into their early mission schools. In their worldwide network of schools and academies, pre-Christian classical l…

[German Version] ( née Spurr; Aug 12, 1774, Sheffield–Mar 31, 1832 off Liberia). Hannah Spurr married Alexander Kilham, leader of the Methodist New Connexion, in 1798; he died the same year. She joined the Society of Friends (Quakers/Society of Friends) and was active in schools, Bible Societies, poor relief and anti-slavery. She proposed Quaker educational missions to Africa and a College of African Languages to educate African teachers and produce reading materials. With two sailors from the Gamb…

[German Version] (Dec 6, 1809 [?], Twyford, Winchester – Aug 12, 1890, Accra, Ghana) was the son of a black gardener and a farm worker's daughter. Dismissed from his post as gardener and botanist to a landowner because of his Methodist (Methodists) activities, he was sent as a Wesleyan missionary to the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1838. The mission, originating from African initiatives, was suffering because of heavy mortality among missionaries. Freeman sought to extend the mission into the inland stat…

[German Version] (CSCNWW). The CSCNWW was created to promote the study of Christian history, thought, and life in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean America, and Oceania, and to collect relevant source material. Founded in 1982 by Andrew Walls in Aberdeen, the CSCNWW moved to the University of Edinburgh in 1986. Its main fields of activity are: 1. postgraduate teaching and research (tutorials for doctoral students, a Master's course propaedeutic to research,…

[German Version] I. The Conference – II. Reception in Asia, Africa, and Latin America – III. Ecumenical Significance I. The Conference The “World Missionary Conference to consider Missionary Problems in relation to the Non-Christian World” met in the assembly hall of the United Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh from Jun 14 to 23, 1910. Originally conceived as a successor to the conferences of London …

[German Version] I. General – II. The West – III. Theology and Practical Theology – IV. Orthodox Churches – V. Asia, Africa, Latin America I. General Churches are built to provide a physical setting for the Christian celebration of the Eucharist, in order to shelter it and also to give it a place of prominence set apart from the outside world. The Bible does not discuss the legitimation and need for churches as distinct structures; historically, church buildings made their first appearance at th…

[English Version] I. ReligionsgeschichtlichAus religionswiss. Sicht ist die T. kein allg. Ritustyp (Ritus/Ritual), sondern ein Lustrationsritual, das sowohl im Christentum als auch in den gesch. mit diesem verwandten Rel. wie Judentum und Mandäismus durchgeführt wird. Die T. hat sich aus Lustrationsritualen antiker nahöstlicher Flußzivilisationen entwickelt, wobei die Einzelheiten dieser Entwicklung eher im dunkeln liegen. In der Spätzeit des Zweiten Tempels wurde die T. in mehreren Gemeinschaften…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. New Testament – III. Church History – IV. Dogmatics – V. Practical Theology – VI. History of Liturgy – VII. Law – VIII. Missions – IX. Art I. History of Religion From the standpoint of the history of religion, baptism is not a general type of rite (Rite and ritual) but a lustration ritual that is carried out not only in Christianity but also in historically related religions such as …