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[English Version] Ruler, Arnold Albert van (10.12.1908 Apeldoorn – 15.12.1970 Utrecht), Promotion in Groningen (1947), Pfarrer in Kubaard und Hilversum (1933–1947) und Prof. in Utrecht, erst für Bibl. und Apostolatstheol., dann für Dogmatik, Ethik und holländische Kirchengesch. (1947–1970). R. war sowohl in der ref. Orthodoxie als auch der modernen Theol. (bes. E. Troeltsch) verwurzelt. Er war beteiligt an der Ausarbeitung der Kirchenordnung der Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (1951; Niederlande) und wide…

[German Version] (Feb 5, 1853, Amsterdam – Dec 6, 1920, Utrecht) served as a minister in the Netherlands (1878–1903), and subsequently as professor of biblical theology, practical theology, and the history of mission at Utrecht University. His most important study, Prolegomena van protestantsche zendingswetenschap (“Prolegomena of Protestant Missiology,” 1911), was the first history of mission studies and the first formal study of missiology; it deals wit…

[German Version] “Point of contact” renders the German term Anknüpfungspunkt; coined by F.D.E. Schleiermacher and applied by M. Kähler to mission (cf. accommodation, adaptation, acculturation, assimilation, communication, contextuality, inculturation, and indigenization). As a missionary religion, Christianity has always sought points of contact with the adherents of non-Christian religions. In the Early Church, theologians like Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen came up with the theory of the logos spermatikos; others introduced the term praeparatio eva…

[German Version] Mission methodology, sometimes called missionary methods (Schmidlin), is an important topic in missiology. A missionary method can be defined theologically as “the procedure … by which the kingdom of God is established, the church takes root among the people, and the gospel is proclaimed successfully among people who have never heard its message” (Schmitz/Rzepkowski, 292). The history of mission methods, which is closely allied to the history of mission motives and mission strategy, begins with a description and analysis of the method…

[German Version] (Oct 10, 1869, Modjowarno, Indonesia – Jan 19, 1949, 's-Gravenhage, The Netherlands) served as a pioneering missionary of the Dutch Missionary Society in the interior of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) from 1892 to 1932 and taught after retirement at the mission school in Oegstgeest. In 1913 he received an honorary doctorate from Utrecht University. His profound ethnological studies of the cultures and religions of Central Sulawesi attained academic recognition. In mission theology, Kruyt focused on the development of Christian faith out of (not in co…

[German Version] Interuniversity Institute for Missiological and Ecumenical Research (IIMO), Utrecht. The IIMO was founded in Utrecht on Jun 23, 1969, by both secular and Christian universities, as well as Roman Catholic and Protestant missionary and ecumenical bodies in the Netherlands. Two departments were established: the missiological department in Leiden with Evert Jansen Schoonhoven as its first director and the ecumenical department in Utrecht with Alexander J. Bronkhorst as its first direc…

[German Version] (May 7, 1747, Rotterdam – Dec 15, 1811, Cape Town), graduated from the University of Edinburgh and became a medical doctor in the Netherlands (1782–1795). After his conversion he founded the first Dutch Missionary Society (1797) and worked as an ordained missionary with the London Missionary Society, first with the Xhosa and later with the Khoikhoi (Hottentots; Khoisan) in South Africa (1799–1811). His dedicated efforts towards justice and socio-economic equality, along with his s…

[German Version] (Sep 15, 1865, Oud-Loosdrecht, The Netherlands – May 1, 1926, Poso, Indonesia), defended his dissertation in 1893 and worked for the Netherlands Bible Society in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, from 1895 to 1926. He wrote a book on church growth in Central Sulawesi as well as a grammar and dictionary of the Bare'e language. He also translated a l…

[German Version] The term was coined in the first half of the 19th century and is popular in the Anglo-Saxon world, where it became the common designation for the theory of mission. The term is thereby understood as a subjective genitive: the philosophy or strategy, developed by Christian mission boards, missionaries, and missiologists (cf. Lindsell, McGavran). On the continent of Europe, interpretations prefer the objective genitive and understand the philosophy of mission as the philosophy, whic…

[German Version] (Dec 10, 1908, Apeldoorn – Dec 15, 1970, Utrecht). After serving as a pastor in Kubaard and Hilversum from 1933 to 1947, van Ruler received his doctorate from Groningen in 1947. He was appointed professor of biblical theology and apostolate (or, mission) theology, then as professor of dogmatics, ethics, and Dutch church history (1947–1970). He had roots in both Reformed orthodoxy and modern theology, especially E. Troeltsch. He was involved in composing the church order of the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (1951; Netherlands), opposing the ¶ Neo-Calvinist idea of a C…

[German Version] I. History – II. Church Law – III. Dogmatics – IV. Ethics – V. Missiology I. History 1. Antiquity and Middle Ages Because the faithful are supposed to “lead a life worthy of God” (1 Thess 2:12), the question of the ordering of the earthly Christian life and of the admonition of sinners has remained an object of active reflection since the founding of the first churches. Whereas admonition and invitation to repentance are initially the responsibility of the congregations (Matt 18:5–18), banishment and the carrying out of excommunicatio minor and maior (Excommunicati…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Practical Theology – V. Missiology I. Religious Studies Confession and absolution, expressive of the substantiality of guilt (I) and the impact of the spoken word with its magico-ritual power, are among the “most widespread means of structured confrontation of the ego with itself” (Hahn & Knapp, 7). They appear already in tribal societies (Kikuyu, Nuer, Acholi in East Africa) as part of purificati…

[German Version] I. History of the Discipline – II. Methodology – III. Missiology and Other Disciplines – IV. Missiological Hermeneutics – V. Topics of Missiology – VI. Research and Study I. History of the Discipline From the outset, Christians have reflected on the practical and theological questions posed by the Christian mission, as illustrated, for example, by the Pauline Epistles, the book of Acts, and, c. 600, the well-known missionary instructions of Gregory the Great. At certain critical times in the history of Chri…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Judaism – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Islam – VI. Fundamental Theology – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Missiology I. Concept The necessity – felt with varying intensity by different communities of faith – to lend credibility to one's own convictions, ways of behaving, etc. in the face of other, perhaps dominant worldviews, using appropriate means, is an essential element of the history of religion. When the term apologetics is used in this context there is a certain conformity in content w…