Protestants Abroad by David Hollinger - a Book Review

David A. Holinger, Protestants Abroad: How Missionaries Tried to Change the World but
Changed America.
(Princeton University Press, 390 pp., 2017).

Review by Franklin J. Woo ... resident of Monte Vista Grove Homes, Pasadena ...

In 1997 Lian Xi (History, Hanover College) published The Conversion of Missionaries: Liberalism in American Protestant Missions in China, 1907-1932. In interacting with thoughtful and ordinary Chinese, the Protestant missionaries became less dogmatic, more open, and more inclusive of cultures other than their own. They became better human beings: Frank Rawlinson discarded his Southern Baptist exclusivism tombecome editor of the Chinese Recorder which included Chinese input; Edward Hume became an engaged intellectual; and writer Pearl Buck became a post-Christian with social justice concerns such as anti-racism and adoption of children of mixed blood. She was the first “feminist” of her day leading to the Feminist movement (1970s) and the contemporary women’s marches of our time.

Using the Lian Xi model, David A. Hollinger (Historian Emeritus, UC Berkeley) did rigorous archival research and interviews with former missionaries and their progeny. Having no connection with the early missionaries, his book nevertheless is another first study of them by an academic historian. In his 80 pages of notes including Lian’s book, Hollinger is not limited only to China, but encompasses most missionaries in the rest of the world.

Hollinger names many former missionaries and their progeny all of which he categorizes as “Protestant Cosmopolitans.” These includes the three Johns (Davies, Service, Vincent) who sided with Mao and were accused by McCarthyism in the 1950s as having “lost” China; Edwin Reischauer (Japan); Ruth Harris (China); Pat Patterson (Japan); Margaret Flory (“Japan”); Richard Shaull (Brazil); and sons of Roberta and Dudley Woodberry (Afghanistan, Saudia Arabia, Pakistan) and many others.

Protestant Cosmopolitans were anti-racist and anti-western imperialism. During WWII some urged fair treatment of Japanese POWs as fellow humans and protested US incarceration of Japanese Americans. They were instrumental in establishing ecumenical councils in the U.S.A. and the world, not to mention the United Nations (1945) and its Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). They resonated with Re-Thinking Missions (1932) by William Ernest Hocking. As Lian so aptly puts it, “Even when they had lost their Call, they retained the momentum of mission,” which led to the of multiculturality in America, where “treasures long prepared--the wisdom, insight, gifts of grace of every culture, age and place--in Christ can now be seen and shared” (Brian Wren, 1971).

Protestant Cosmopolitans and Evangelical Conservatives are not monolithic; they overlapped in the porosity between them. “By the early 1970s, Hollinger claims, “the early evangelicals were emulating the liberals more visibly than ever before,” albeit without losing their basic Evangelical perspectives. Other than Hollinger and Lian, “value-free” academics tend to shy away from religion. Whenever they do write about missionaries, it’s invariably pejorative. Hollingerr urges Protestant Cosmopolitans to persist in showing the inclusivity of Christian faith, lest they lose by default to the religious right.

– Review by Franklin J. Woo

Resurrection Ahead ...

Dear Friends and Members of Calvary Presbyterian Church,

Because Christ is Risen from the dead, we are, too.

There are many dimensions to resurrection:

1. A personal dimension. In Christ, we have courage to face the many trials that come our way; we have patience in dealing with difficult situations; we extend grace to others who are troubled and sad; we are quick to forgive, even when others can’t apologize; we are quick to offer apologies when we’re wrong; we’re humble about our achievements, because everything is a gift of God, and whatever we have is only for God’s glory and the blessing of others. Our life, here and now, is held in the arms of the everlasting God, and it’s God who tells us to keep our eyes upon Christ and keeps our feet moving in the right direction. Because of Christ, we do not give up!
2. A missional dimension. We reach out with the gospel, and we invite others to look to Christ and join with us in God’s effort to redeem all of creation and lift people out of despair. We join with others of good will and peace all around the world. In God’s wisdom, a world of many languages is the best of all possible world. We send out missionaries to tell others of Christ, and in the telling, we dig water wells, we build hospitals, we help nations fight AIDS, we promote peace and we build bridges of understanding. We cannot and will not look upon others in a way other than seeing everyone as a child of God, whatever their persuasion or faith or color or creed might be. When we look for good will we find it; when we seek peace, we see it; when we offer forgiveness, we are forgiven, when we build up, we are built up, too.
3. A citizenship dimension. In Christ, we are people of peace and reconciliation. We are not impressed with military might or corporate power. We are sensitive to God’s creation, and all God’s creatures, great and small, and we work for a healthier planet. In the Risen Christ, we see God’s love for all the world and for all the nations, and we are careful about over-exuberant flag-waving and sword rattling. In Christ, we are wise about the sins of our own nation, even as we’re humbled by our personal sins. Furthermore, we are citizens of this land and this place, and as Jeremiah counseled the people to seek the welfare of the land in which they were living, so we seek our nation’s welfare, too. Not at the expense of others, but in concert with all of God’s creation. We pay our taxes, serve on juries, pray for our elected and appointed officials, spread good cheer and practice hope.
4. A fellowship dimension. In the triumphant love of Christ, the Holy Spirit builds bridges of love all over the place. We look upon one another through the eyes of Christ, and through our eyes, Christ looks out upon the world. As Paul says, We no longer regard one another from a human point of view … as just so much flesh and blood and bone, but we see one another as God’s precious people, each created in God’s image and endowed with fine gifts. We are pained by the ways religion and society can exclude people. In Christ, our arms are open to all, and all are welcomed at the Table of the LORD. On the local level, right here at Calvary on the Boulevard, we live out the fullness of God’s love by loving one another: we open our homes and hearts to one another, we give and receive our talents, we hold hands in prayer, we hold one another up in sorrow, we walk arm-in-arm in the great work of Jesus Christ.
5. A worship dimension. Our worship is joyful and hopeful. Because God is at work in all things for good. We gather for worship to celebrate the love of God and the world that’s coming our way. It’s a good world, and every prayer we utter, every good deed we offer, every kind word and every positive thought makes a lasting difference. And we’re serious, as well, because sin and oppression are real, and we take these seriously. We do not ignore the dark materials that flow around us and inside of us. We weep with those who weep, and we rejoice with those who rejoice. We confess our sin and the sins of the world and embrace the power of forgiveness.
6. An eternal dimension. Death doesn’t have the last word! Yes, we all must die, because we’re mortal, and “dust to dust” is still the truth about life. But God loves the dust; indeed, God loves all of creation, and God promises a new heaven and a new earth. The end of all things is Christ. A Cosmic Christ, the Creator Christ, the Word of God, in whom all things are being reconciled – when there are no more tears, no more sorrow, no more separation and no more hurt. Only light and peace and goodness and joy. This is where it’s all headed, and by the grace of God, no one is left behind!

 To God be the glory! Christ is risen.