Course: History of
Modern Missions
Section
Three:
Lesson 6
Lesson Title: Foreign Missions to
Introduction: Hindrances to Foreign Missions.
Reasons why foreign missions was not encouraged:
·
Prejudice – primitive people
·
Hardship – no security in foreign lands
·
Language – barrier of communication
·
Sickness and Death – climate, disease, unclean food
and water.
·
Need to evangelise at home – many still to be
reached in homelands.
Theological reasons opposing foreign mission work:
·
Hyper Calvinism – God is sovereign. Salvation is God’s work and not the work of
man.
Introductory
Story: William Carey (1761-1834): the
father of modern missions.
1792 Published book ‘An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to use means for the
Conversion of the Heathens in which the Religious State of the Different
Nations of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the
Practicability of Further Undertakings, are Considered.’
'An Enquiry' confronted the
opposition to foreign missions. It
presented a clear argument for the church to be involved in world
missions. See outline in notes.
Main Points:
The Life and work of William Carey
1.
Background
·
Apprenticed as a shoemaker
·
In his teens he could read
the Bible in six languages – English, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, French, and Dutch
·
Influenced by Captain James Cook voyages to the
1792 preached the message that expressed the character of his life - ‘Expect great things from God, Attempt t great things for God’.
1792 founded the English Baptist Missionary Society.
1793 went to
2.
Missionary to
·
British East India Company (founded 1600) –
expansion of British trade. Close
association between trade and British Imperialism.
·
Pioneer missionary.
1793 Carey went to
British ship would
not take them.
Carey and Thomas
did not have documents to enter
Due to delay
Carey’s wife and family persuaded to travel with him.
Travelled
by Danish ship to
Let down on
landing boat to avoid customs.
·
Difficulties in
Thomas was in debt
– set up practice with mission funds.
Carey in
financial trouble due to Thomas.
Wife became
mentally ill in
Fire destroyed
years of work.
Pioneer in Bible translation - Thirty five different languages altogether.
·
Whole Bible in 6 languages. (Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, and Assamese)
Punjabi - New Testament and Old Testament to Ezekiel 26
Pashto and Kashmiri
– New Testament and Old Testament to 2 Kings
Telugu and Konkani –
New Testament and Five Books of Moses
Nineteen other
languages – New Testament
William Carey did not see great results in converts
but he paved the way for evangelism in
Went as Congregational
missionaries to
On ship to
They were baptised on arrival in
Lost support of
Congregational Church (1812)
Ordered by East India Company to leave
Anglo-Burmese War -
Imprisoned 21 months (1824-5)
Ann died (1826)
2.
·
In 1834 Adoniram completed the
Burmese translation of the Bible.
He compiled the first
Burmese-English Dictionary
Summary:
The Pietists and
Moravians established missions long before William Carey. But he is called ‘the
father of modern missions’ because he brought a new awareness into the
Protestant evangelical Church of the need for foreign missions.
1)
Carey was a pioneer in the founding of a Baptist
mission society:
2)
He was a pioneer missionary to
3)
He was a pioneer in Bible translation in
In which the
religious state of the different nations of the world, the success of former undertakings,
and the practicability of further undertakings, are considered.
By William Carey.
Section One: An Enquiry Whether the Commission given by
our Lord to his Disciples be not Still Binding on us.
Section Two: Containing a
Short Review of Former Undertakings for the Conversion of the Heathen.
Section Three: Containing a Survey of the
Section Four: The Practicability of Something Being Done,
More Than What is Done, for the Conversion of the
Heathen.
Section Five: An Enquiry into the Duty of Christians in
General, and What Means Ought to be Used, in Order to
Promote This Work.