Vulnerable Mission
Insights Into Christian Mission to Africa From a Position of Vulnerability
by Jim Harries
Paperback
Price: £12.50
Publisher:William Carey Library
Published:01 October 2011
ISBN:978-0-878-08524-8
GoodBookStall Review:
The author of this book practices what he preaches - living out Vulnerable Mission as he lives and works in Africa. He also networks widely and writes frequently about challenging issues to provoke his audience. This book is therefore a compilation of the writing of Jim Harries, who explores development and evangelism with titles like The Name of God in Africa; Immorality of Aid; The Unchristian Character of Development and Racism in Reverse.
The key phrase for me was on p14 'theological texts coming from the West carry implicit assumptions about the nature of God. Many of these assumptions are not shared by African people'. This provides the context for an exploration, especially about language and theology, which leads to surprising practical conclusions like 'the use of a lot of computers in Bible translation in non-Western languages should be discouraged' (p66), as Harries advocates 'ministering in indigenous languages and not using outside resources to subsidise their ministry' (p96). This is a specialist book for those engaged in cross cultural mission, and will be appreciated for provoking thought and reflective action by scholar and student alike.
See publisher website link below.
Reviewer: Jim Currin (03/02/12)
The author of this book practices what he preaches - living out Vulnerable Mission as he lives and works in Africa. He also networks widely and writes frequently about challenging issues to provoke his audience. This book is therefore a compilation of the writing of Jim Harries, who explores development and evangelism with titles like The Name of God in Africa; Immorality of Aid; The Unchristian Character of Development and Racism in Reverse.
The key phrase for me was on p14 'theological texts coming from the West carry implicit assumptions about the nature of God. Many of these assumptions are not shared by African people'. This provides the context for an exploration, especially about language and theology, which leads to surprising practical conclusions like 'the use of a lot of computers in Bible translation in non-Western languages should be discouraged' (p66), as Harries advocates 'ministering in indigenous languages and not using outside resources to subsidise their ministry' (p96). This is a specialist book for those engaged in cross cultural mission, and will be appreciated for provoking thought and reflective action by scholar and student alike.
See publisher website link below.
Reviewer: Jim Currin (03/02/12)
