Christianity & Mission

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Pope Francis, in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG), writes, "I dream of a ‘a missionary option' for the Church" (EG 27). Francis's admonition continues the insight from Vatican II's decree on mission Ad Gentes (AG), which defines the Church as missionary by its very nature because "it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of the Father" (AG 2). Francis sees mission as the "authentic self-fulfillment" of the Christian life in the sense that, as the Latin American bishops have written in their document from the 2007 Aparecida Conference, quoted in EG 10, "Life grows by being given away, and weakens in isolation and comfort." Francis continues a longstanding impulse in the Church to urge the generous sharing of the Gospel with those at the margins, urging all Christians to be missionary disciples. This course will study the missionary activity of the Church, both historically and theologically. After a brief look at mission and evangelization in the New Testament and the early and medieval Church, we will then explore important moments of missionary contact in the Americas, Africa, and Asia in the modern (post-Columbian) period. Particular attention will be given to the operative theologies and practices of mission at work in such encounters, as well as to the practical effects of missionary activity. The course will conclude with a look at contemporary missionary practice and theory. The coming of Christianity to most of the world has often overlapped with the political, economic, and social processes associated with the term colonialism and related forms of intercultural contact. We will study the consequences of that overlap, along with the many theological issues raised, especially for Christians in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, with a particular focus on eastern Africa, where both instructors have lived and worked.