William Carey
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This volume reprints essays by seven authors from three continents, including two Reformer Social – – Linguist Theologian Carey William (Ed.) Schirrmacher Thomas authors from India, who tell the story of British missionary to India William Carey Thomas Schirrmacher (Ed.) (1761-1834), whose famous ‘Enquiry’, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792), changed history and made him not only the ‘Father of Protestant missions’, but also a forerunner of William Wil- berforce, fighting against social injustice and preserving historic Indian languages for the people through research and printing. Even though Carey’s story has been told often, this volume concentrates on areas otherwise neglected: Carey’s theology and vision, Carey’s role as a social reformer, and Carey’s role as a leading linguist of Indian languages.. Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. phil. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, ThD, DD, is professor of the sociology of religion at the State University of the West in Timisoara (Romania), Distin- guished Professor of Global Ethics and International Development at William Carey University in Shillong (Meghalaya, India), as well as president and professor of ethics at Martin Bucer European Theological Semina- ry and Research Institutes with branches in Bonn, Ber- lin, Zurich, Innsbruck, Prague, Istanbul and Sao Paolo. Schirrmacher has held guest professorships and has William Carey given special lectures at universities on all continents. Schirrmacher is chair of the Theological Commission Theologian – Linguist – of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Colombo) and Am- bassador for Human Rights of WEA; the WEA represents churches with 600 million Social Reformer members altogether. He also is a member of the board of the International Society for Human Rights. Schirrmacher regularly testifies in the German parliament and other parliaments in Essays from four continents Europe, as well as in the EU in Brussels, the OSCE in Vienna and other international bodies. His has written 102 books; three of his newest books are Fundamentalism, by Terry G. Carter, P. Sam Daniel, George Ella, C. P. Hallihan, Racism, and Human Trafficking. He has earned four doctorates, in missiology and Vishal Mangalwadi, Bruce J. Nicholls, Thomas Schirrmacher ecumenical theology, in cultural anthropology, in ethics, and in sociology of religion, and received two honorary doctorates from the USA and India. WoT Series 4 Series WoT ISBN 978-3-86269-060-2 sponsored by: ISSN 1436-0292 (World of Theology Series) Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft VKW (Culture and Science Publ.) World of Theology Series 4 Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher Thomas Schirrmacher (Ed.) William Carey: Theologian – Linguist – Social Reformer “World of Theology Series” Studies published by the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance Vol 4 Thomas Schirrmacher (Ed.) William Carey: Theologian – Linguist – Social Reformer Essays from four continents by Terry G. Carter, P. Sam Daniel, George Ella, C. P. Hallihan, Vishal Mangalwadi, Bruce J. Nicholls, Thomas Schirrmacher Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft Culture and Science Publ. Bonn 2013 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbib- liothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Inter- net at http://dnb.d-nb.de © Copyright 2013 by Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft (Culture and Science Publ.) Prof. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher Friedrichstraße 38, D-53111 Bonn Fax +49 / 228 / 9650389 www.vkwonline.de / [email protected] ISSN 2197-9057 ISBN 978-3-86269-060-2 Printed in Germany coverdesign and manufacturing: BoD Verlagsservice Beese, Friedensallee 44, 22765 Hamburg www.rvbeese.de / [email protected] Publishing Distribution Center: IC-Medienhaus D-71087 Holzgerlingen, Tel. 07031/7414-177 Fax -119 www.icmedienhaus.de catalog for book stores: www.vkwonline.de/gesamtprospekt Private costumers: in each book store or at www.vkwonline.de “… If once God would by his Spirit convince of Sin, a Saviour would be a blessing indeed to them; but Human Nature is the very same all the world over; and all Conviction fails except it is produced by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.” William Carey reporting on a discussion with a money-changer in his Journal, February 1, 17941 “You and I, and all of us are Sinners, and we are in a helpless state but I have good things to tell you. God in the riches of his Mercy became incarnate, in the form of Man. He lived more than thirty years on the earth but without Sin and was employed in do- ing good. He gave sight to the Blind, healed the Sick, the Lame, the Deaf and the Dumb – and after all died in the stead of Sin- ners. We deserved the wrath of God, but he endured it. We could make no sufficient atonement for our guilt but he completely made an end of Sin and now he has sent us to tell you that the Work is done and to call you to faith in, and dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, leave your vain customs, and false gods, and lay hold of eternal Life through him.” William Carey in a Letter to Andrew Fuller about the conversion of a Hindu in November, 18002 1 Terry G. Carter. The Journal and Selected Letters of William Carey. Macon (GA): Smyth & Helwys, 2000, p. 15. The quotes were selected by Dr Carter for this vol- ume. 2 Ibid., p. 149. Contents THOMAS K. JOHNSON: Foreword: The Holistic Mission of William Carey ................................................ 9 TERRY G. CARTER: The Calvinism of William Carey And Its Effect on His Mission Work .................................................. 13 Introduction ........................................................................................... 13 The Calvinism of William Carey the Missionary .................................. 24 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 33 Bibliography .......................................................................................... 34 SAM DANIEL: William Carey’s Contribution to Indian Languages .... 37 1. William Carey (1761-1834) ............................................................... 37 2. Protestant Missionary Assumptions Regarding Language Use ......... 37 3. The Translation Strategy Adopted by Carey ..................................... 38 4. Carey’s Contribution to Bengali ........................................................ 39 5. To Conclude ...................................................................................... 41 References ............................................................................................. 42 GEORGE ELLA: William Carey: Using God’s Means to Convert the People of India ..................................................................................... 43 Part One: How Carey Became a Missionary ......................................... 43 Part Two: Early Pioneer Work .............................................................. 51 Part Three: Harvesting at Serampore ..................................................... 58 Part Four: The Serampore Trio Triumph over Opposition from the Home Front ........................................................................................ 66 C. P. HALLIHAN: William Carey “A plodder for Christ”, “Father of modern Missions”, but, mostly, Bible Translator. ..................................................................... 75 Introduction ........................................................................................... 75 Profile: beginnings ................................................................................. 76 Profile: the sending ................................................................................ 77 Mission and the Bible ............................................................................ 78 Carey’s Bibles........................................................................................ 79 Bible Societies ....................................................................................... 81 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 82 8 William Carey: Theologian – Linguist – Social Reformer VISHAL MANGALWADI: India: Perils and Promise Then And Now ..... 85 Human Waste Then ............................................................................... 86 Changing India for the Better ................................................................ 89 William Carey’s efforts ......................................................................... 91 Does the 21st Century Need Reformers? ................................................ 94 BRUCE J. NICHOLLS: The Theology of William Carey ......................... 97 Biblical Foundations .............................................................................. 98 Christology for Mission ......................................................................... 99 The Gathered Church ........................................................................... 100 Faith and Culture ................................................................................. 103 Integral Mission ................................................................................... 106 THOMAS SCHIRRMACHER: Be keen to get going .................................. 109 1. Carey’s Theology – the ‘Missing Link’ ..........................................