Missiology

The mission of Science, also called missiology, deals with the systematic study of the history and practice of Christian mission. Its beginnings go back to the Middle Ages. Part of university research and teaching, however, was only in the 19th century. Today it is represented within many Protestant and Catholic theological faculties with chairs and special institutions. A number of missiological study groups have been established since the early 20th century.

Missiology in the theological canon of subjects

The mission science - the term was coined in 1831 by the Jena church historian Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz - includes topics Mission History and Missiology. In addition, it deals with issues of intercultural and ecumenical theology and religious studies. Within the theological subject canon it is associated with either the practical theology, systematic theology, or religious studies.

History

Already in medieval apologetic confrontation with Islam presented individual theologians such as Peter the Venerable (1092-1196) and Ramon Lull in (1235-1316), fundamental missiological considerations. From Lull comes an independent mission theology, which he published in 1272 as part of his Ars generalis ultima. In it he called for (but inconclusive ), set up at the great universities of his time departments for the training of missionaries.

First comprehensive missiological writings can be detected for the outgoing 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. To 1588, the Jesuit José de Acosta wrote his treatise De promulgatione Gospel apud barbaros sive de procuranda Indorum salute, in which he systematically engaged in missionary work among the newly converted Native Americans. To 1613, the mission scientific work De procuranda salute omnium gentium followed the Carmelite monk Thomas a Jesus, in which, among other things, the immediate responsibility of the Pope for the spread of the gospel was demanded. One of the after-effects of this script was by Pope Gregory XV. 1622 accomplished establishing the Congregation de Propaganda Fide. This continued in the 17th century, with the damage caused by the accommodation of Christianity to the indigenous religious cultures problems in India and China apart, which was reflected in various basic instructions.

In the Protestant Dutch Reformed theologian Gisbert range of Voetius (1589-1676) is considered the first missiologist. During the period of Dutch colonial mission in Indonesia, he defined the objectives of the mission in his Politica Ecclesiatica in three ways " as conversion of the Gentiles, planting the church and glorification of divine grace. "

The requirement to assign a specific place of missiology in the theological canon of subjects was found only in the 19th century. On the Protestant side, this happened first by Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), the Catholic area by Johann Baptist von Hirscher ( 1788-1865 ). Both assigned to the mission science of practical theology. In the Russian Orthodox Church of the linguist, translator of the Bible and lay missionary Nikolai Ivanovich Ilminski (1822-1891) demanded a theological- scientific foundation of the Orthodox missionary activity.

An already since Schleiermacher controversial question is whether the mission science should be regarded as a separate discipline of theology or as an integral aspect of the various theological majors. The latter was due to lack of necessary specialist knowledge usually only partially realized, eg by Karl Heim. A specialized concentration was essential due to the increasing body of knowledge, so that special missiological teaching assignments have been issued, for the first time in 1801 to Johann Friedrich Flatt ( 1759-1843 ) in Tübingen.

But only with Karl Graul (1814-1864) it was the establishment of the first private institute. The Lutheran Theology Professor and Lecturer in teaching mission Graul thus regarded as the first German missiologist. His habilitation thesis about position and importance of the mission within the university science was the foundation and initial spark for the mission of scientific research in the university setting. However, the true founder of the German Evangelical Mission Studies is the Halle Honorary Professor Gustav Warneck ( 1834-1910 ). In 1874 he founded the General Missionary magazine, which was in the following years the rallying point of the various missiological endeavors. His three-volume teaching Evangelical Mission was launched several times and was until the early 20th century, the missiological standard work in German-speaking countries.

For the development of Mission Studies in Britain in 1867 was the establishment of a Chair of Evangelism at the University of Edinburgh was significant. Its first owner was the Scottish clergyman Alexander Duff ( 1806-1878 ). In the Catholic world are Max Meinertz (1880-1965) and Joseph Schmidlin (1876-1944) one of the founders of the mission science. While Meinertz with his study of Jesus and the Gentile Mission ( published in 1908 in first and 1925 second edition ) laid the foundation of missiological research, Schmidlin took on its suggestions and called 1911, the Journal of Mission Studies to life and became the first professor of missiology at the University of Münster appointed. In 1917, he announced the introduction out in the mission science, and in 1919 the Catholic mission teaching. Both books were for decades the standard works of the Catholic missiology.

The professor of missiology at the University of Berlin Julius Richter (1862-1940) was one of the founders of ecumenism and organizers of the first World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 and has merits in the field of mission history.

Scientific mission of teaching and research facilities in the German-speaking area (selection)

At many state universities in German-speaking mission is scientific research and teaching within the theological disciplines canon. There are also other missiological institutions in denominational and private universities. An incomplete overview provides the following list.

Mission Scientific Associations (selection)

In the field of missiology, there are a number of academic associations who promote missiological research and teaching to the destination. These include

• The German Association for Mission Studies ( DGfM ); it was founded in 1918 shortly before the end of the First World War. Its initiator was the church historian Carl Mirbt. Until the Second World War they were only out two rows missiological studies. In the postwar period, they promoted the establishment of scientific mission chairs and institutes. In addition, they were granted research contracts and grants. Although more than half of its members are foreign scientists who DGfM is maintained primarily by funds from the German Protestant churches.
• The International Association for Mission Studies (International Association for Mission Studies), abbreviated IAMS; it was constituted during a mission scientific congress, which was held in Driebergen (The Netherlands ) 1972. The IAMS sees itself as interdenominational and international. Their main task she sees the publication of missio logically relevant documentation as well as in the Durchfrührung of conferences and congresses.
• In the U.S. in 1940 Professors of Mission Studies merged to form a non-denominational organization. Its members come from both Catholic and Protestant and evangelical universities. It publishes the journal Missiology. Practical Anthropology out.