Table of Contents
Perface to the American Society of Missiology Series ix
Acknowledgments x
Introduction 1
Thesis 1
Outstanding Issues 4
Rationale 7
Introduction toe the Second Edition 9
1 The Birth of Mission: The Jewish-Gentile Frontier 13
The Jewish Factor 14
Internal Conditions for Mission 15
The External Circumstances 20
The Pauline Factor in Cross-Cultural Mission 27
Paul and the Pluralist Ferment 28
Ethnic and Linguistic Factors in Mission 33
Dichotomy of Church and Mission 40
Mission and Syncretism 42
Mission, Reform, and Cultural Relativism 44
Reform and the Anticlimax of the Crusades 46
Summary and Conclusion 53
2 Mission and the Cultural Assimilation of Christianity: The Hellenistic Factor 56
Function of Translation 57
Transition after Constantine 61
The Roman and Hellenistic phase: A Synopsis 65
The Language Factor in Religious Assimilation 76
Christianity and the Confluence of Cultures 79
Mission in the Upper Danube 81
The Problem Of Hellenism and the Christian Vision 92
Summary and Conclusion 95
3 The Witness of God and the Vocation of Nations: The Authorized ("King James") Bible and the Vernacular Ethos 97
Communication and Identity 97
Subject 101
Rationale 102
Sacred Scripture and the Common Idiom 107
Defense 108
Outcome 111
Appeal 117
Restrospect and Prospect 118
Summary and Conclusion 120
4 Mission and Colonialism: Vernacularization and Westernization 122
Spanish Missions in the New World 124
The Example of Japan 128
The Example of India 134
The African Factor in Mission 142
The Vernacular Issue 161
Summary and Conclusion 162
5 Protest, Reaction, and Renewal: VernacularFerment in the Niger Delta 164
Grievances 164
Hopes 169
The Parallel of the English Reformation 170
Transformation in the Niger Delta 173
he Role of Dandeson Crowther 177
The Fell Clutch of Circumstance: Conflict and Renewal 180
The Recoiling Tension of the Vernacular Spiral 183
Charismatic Revival and Independency 187
Summary and Conclusion 190
6 Missionary Translation in African Perspective: Religious and Theological Themes 191
Theological Repercussions 192
Indigenous Agency 199
Brief Resume 201
Interethnic Encounter and Mutual Exchange 202
Reciprocity 209
Function of Translation 211
Religious Renewal and Indigenous Revitalization 219
Concluding Assessment 226
7 "Familiartity Breeds Faith": First and Last Resorts in Vernacular Translation 229
The Field Dimension in Translation 229
Philosophical Ideas of Translation 235
'The Principle of Recipiency 237
Language and Contingency 238
"Familiarity Breeds Faith" 246
Translation and the Circuitry of Mission 249
Summary and Conclusion 250
8 Translatability in Islam and Christianity with Special Reference to Africa : Recapitulating the Theme 252
The Islamic Paradigm 252
The Christian Counterpoint 256
The Islamic Assessment of Hellenization in Christianity 259
Reform, Renewal, and Revival 262
The Comparative African Christian Example 271
Summary and Conclusion 274
Appendix 1 The Vernacular Principle in Catholic Teaching: Vatican Council II, 1963-1965 277
Appendix 2 Complete Printed Bibles in Vernacular Translations 283
Chapter Bibliographies 293
Index 310
