Part 5 – Missionary Boomerang

Missionary Boomerang: Mainline Reactions to Foreign Cultures

Class Date: March 1, 2023

There is no doubt that people in western cultures believed their civilization and way of life to be superior to those of others. The period of time referred to the Enlightenment ushered in the development of science and technology. This, in turn resulted in the industrial revolution, mass production, and the concentration of wealth in western counties.

In the church where I grew up, missionary sponsorship was considered an important aspect of the congregation’s ministry. Missionaries were sent to China, Burma, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the middle east. It was common practice among congregations that donated money to a missionary was to have him (most were men because missionary work required ordination) come and speak when they were on furlough. The vast number of missionaries had grown to love the people and cultures where they were located, and were not shy in telling people that they learned more from them that the other way around. This inevitable led to questions that confronted western people whose attitude toward people of underdeveloped countries was one of superiority.

As missionaries became more and more familiar with the people they worked with, they began to ask if they were importing western culture or witnessing to Christ. This led to some big changes in American Protestantism, and over time a much more multicultural form of Christianity developed. Mainline churches moved toward Paul’s universalist vision: “There is neither Greek or Jew, slave or free, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus”. They also came to the conclusion that what mattered was not so much preaching but education and charitable activities. All religions had to unite against secularism, which by definition has not future beyond the grave.