Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era

Through a case study focusing on the shift from the London Missionary Society (LMS) to the Council for World Mission (CWM) this essay argues that there is a hermeneutical circle between the Bible and mission. A particular reading of the Bible led the missionaries of the LMS to Africa, and their con...

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Main Author: S. de Gruchy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2009-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2283
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author S. de Gruchy
author_facet S. de Gruchy
author_sort S. de Gruchy
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description Through a case study focusing on the shift from the London Missionary Society (LMS) to the Council for World Mission (CWM) this essay argues that there is a hermeneutical circle between the Bible and mission. A particular reading of the Bible led the missionaries of the LMS to Africa, and their concern to promote the Bible led to the translation and printing of the Bible in indigenous languages — most famously into Setswana by Robert Moffat at Kuruman. Inevitably, the availability of the Bible in indigenous languages led to new ways of understanding the church and mission from the perspective of the South. This post-colonial dynamic led to changes in the LMS and to the emergence of CWM in 1977. The essay then pursues the argument by showing how over the thirty years of CWM’s life there continues to be the development of a biblical vision for mission that takes seriously the perspectives of the post-colonial world.
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spelling doaj-art-f4729d158e884cc79e47f67210174b532025-02-11T10:06:05ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892009-12-011210.38140/at.v0i12.2283Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial eraS. de Gruchy0University of KwaZulu-Natal Through a case study focusing on the shift from the London Missionary Society (LMS) to the Council for World Mission (CWM) this essay argues that there is a hermeneutical circle between the Bible and mission. A particular reading of the Bible led the missionaries of the LMS to Africa, and their concern to promote the Bible led to the translation and printing of the Bible in indigenous languages — most famously into Setswana by Robert Moffat at Kuruman. Inevitably, the availability of the Bible in indigenous languages led to new ways of understanding the church and mission from the perspective of the South. This post-colonial dynamic led to changes in the LMS and to the emergence of CWM in 1977. The essay then pursues the argument by showing how over the thirty years of CWM’s life there continues to be the development of a biblical vision for mission that takes seriously the perspectives of the post-colonial world. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2283
spellingShingle S. de Gruchy
Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
Acta Theologica
title Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
title_full Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
title_fullStr Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
title_full_unstemmed Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
title_short Reversing the biblical tide: what Kuruman teaches London about mission in a post-colonial era
title_sort reversing the biblical tide what kuruman teaches london about mission in a post colonial era
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2283
work_keys_str_mv AT sdegruchy reversingthebiblicaltidewhatkurumanteacheslondonaboutmissioninapostcolonialera