Synopses & Reviews
Studies in the History of Christian Missions/R. E. Frykenberg and Brian Stanley, series editors/The World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 has come down in history as a unique event in the history of the Protestant missionary movement. Brian Stanleys book gives us a full and comprehensive account of the conference, doing so from the perspective of developments in the hundred years since the conference. His study should serve not only as a work of history but also as a work of theological reflection about mission as an ongoing international movement. I welcome this book as an important resource in the churchs self-understanding and in its engagement with the world. Lamin Sanneh/Yale University/Edinburgh 1910 laid the foundations of interdenominational understanding for the ecumenical movement of the twentieth century. . . . With impeccable scholarship, Brian Stanley has written a thorough and revealing analysis of this epoch-making conference. David Bebbington/University of Stirling/An accomplished study revealing Stanleys deep scholarship and wide knowledge of the modern missionary movement. This book will surely become both a missionary and an ecumenical classic. David M. Thompson/Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge/This long-awaited book is the definitive history of the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. Stanleys thorough scholarship and elegant prose bring the conference to life and make a case for its enduring importance to the history of world Christianity. Scholars of missions, ecumenism, world religions, education, and Christian internationalism will find this superb study essential for their work. Dana L. Robert/Boston University School of Theology
Synopsis
The World Missionary Conference in 1910 was a defining event in the history of world missions. Brian Stanley here presents his careful research revealing the compelling story of this turbulent, influential gathering in Edinburgh. This book is both an account of the conference itself and an examination of the Protestant missionary movement as it neared the apex of its size and influence. / The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910 is an erudite and engaging summation of, in Stanley's own words, "the many-sided legacy of the Edinburgh conference, not simply for the history of the ecumenical movement but also for Christian missions and the wider field of Christian discourse on questions of race and culture."
Table of Contents
Visions of the kingdom : Edinburgh 1910 and thehistory of Christianity -- Expectations of a new age -- An evangelical crusade founded on 'the science of missions'. Edinburgh 1910 in retrospect -- Edinburgh 1910 and the history of ecumenism -- A representative conference -- Christianity on the cusp of transfiguration -- Origins and preparations -- The 'third Ecumenical Missionary Conference'. J.H. Oldham and George Robson make their presence felt -- Deciding on the model for Edinburgh 1910. Broadening the base of planning -- Shaping the eight commissions -- The central advisory committee and its secretary -- Changing the title of the conference -- The inclusion of national christians and the exclusion of faith and order -- Oldham gets to work -- The financing of the conference -- Carrying the Gospel to all the world : defining the limits of christendom -- A mission to all humanity -- Commission I and the problem of statistics -- The conference hangs in the balance.