This book offers a critical analysis of the use of language in mission studies. Language and Christian missionary activity intersect in complicated ways to objectify the other in cross-cultural situations. Rethinking missiological language is both urgent and necessary to subvert narratives that continue to fetishize the other as cultural stereotypes. The project takes a step forward to reconceptualize otherness as gift, and such an affirmation should create a pathway for human flourishing and furthermore, open new avenues for missiological exploration to address issues arising from a world dominated by bigoted discourses, lies, and hate speech.
Оглавление
Man-Hei Yip. Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission
Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Language and Otherness
Mission Discourses and Otherness
Confronting Self-Centrism in the Christian Missionary Movement
Other and Otherness Revisited
The Promise of Emergent Language
Bibliography
Отрывок из книги
Missional Church, Public Theology, World Christianity
Stephen Bevans, Paul S. Chung, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen,
.....
Organization of This Book
Chapter 2 provides some basic linguistic theories to help us understand what language is and how it functions. Language is not simply about conveying people’s thoughts. According to John R. Searle, language has the capacity to create a reality that obliges people to act and speak in a certain way. The aspect that language can shape our perception of the world becomes essential for the evaluation of the close connection between language and otherness in the history of Christianity. This new role of language leads us to re-evaluate George Lindbeck’s cultural-linguistic model, which has been influential in shaping theological, biblical, and missiological discussion. Lindbeck might have successfully created a reality that is mediated through language, but the reality of Christianity becomes totally dependent on the overarching theme of salvation. When the reality is dominated by this metanarrative, Christians rely on this reality to give them meaning. But unfortunately, it is also that reality that differentiates Christians from non-Christians. The rigidity of the Christian identity can cause a wide range of problems for missionary endeavors. The metanarrative itself does not pose a problem, but it is the group of people that uses the exclusive speech to problematize the other community. Power differentials between the narrator and the narrated create a self/other binary that could drastically affect the well-being of the other.
