Introduction
After
Reformation, Protestants gave little attention to proclaim the gospel. Churches
were often under the domination of political rulers, while theologians debated minute
points of doctrine and freely charged people not adhering to the same
confession as heretics or at least holding inferior beliefs. Europe was torn by
wars in which religious and confessional differences played a major part. Protestants
considered nineteenth century as a new epoch in Theology, Biblical scholarship,
awakenings and revivals. The spread of German Protestantism was a striking
feature of the century, which led to reforms in the structure, worship and
discipline of the churches served the needs of the changing Germany. The
awakening in Protestantism strike Europe and America.[1]
This paper deals with the ecclesiastical climate in Europe and America during
18th and 19th centuries and the protestant missions in
India and effects.
1.Milieu of Europe
European culture
was transformed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. With the
victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, Britain became the new imperial
power, replacing France, Spain and Portugal. British Empire took strong hold
with the increase of its territories. Britain was the richest and most powerful
nation in the world. Revolution was shaping all phases of the life of Europe,
which affected Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. Many Christians
including from both churches gave up their inherited faith, Christianity was
attacked as superstitious, some convicted Christianity was intellectually
untenable, exploited mankind and hindering human progress, millions dismissed
Christianity as irrelevant, industrialization and commercial centers lost touch
with the church, Clergy and church did not cared the people in the society.[2] England
suffered with plague and earthquake ravaged it, this made women to scream,
babies were awakened, men fell on their knees and prayed. This brought many
into the fold of Church through baptism and Lord’s Supper.[3] Large
numbers of unconverted men, those who had never experienced the depth of their
dependence on God, were communicants in the churches.[4]
2.Ecclesiastical
climate in Europe and America
2.1.Pietism
Philip Jacob
Spener (1635-1705) the chief pastor at Frankfurt a commercial city was the
central figure of Pietism. In 1670 he formed a fellowship in his house
consisting of lay people for bible study, prayer and discussion of Sunday
sermons. It was called as “collegia
Pietatis.” The movement laid emphasis on faith in Christ, emphasized Bible
study, prayer, fellowship and a personal experience of Christ, on a life of
separation from a worldly life of pleasures. It encouraged the laity to take an
active part in the church activities.[5] Pietism
was a common factor that brought together Lutheran and Anglicans in the
eighteenth centuries. Pietists called pietism as second reformation and it
spread through western Christendom. Pietism inculcated a new spirit of
tolerance both in Church and State and the Pietists across Europe wanted to
reform the church and engage in overseas mission. Evangelical piety emerged almost
simultaneously in Germany, Britain, and in Colonies. Those pietistic movements
were of different types and were led by different personalities, but they were
of similar temper and spirituality when it came to mission outside Europe.[6]
2.1.1.Halle the center
of Pietism
The
most influenced person by Speners’ movement was August Hermann Franke a
professor at Halle University. He made Halle, the center of Pietism,[7]
reacted against the prevailing Lutheran orthodoxy. Halle pietism did not become
a sect but remained a movement within Lutheranism, and attracted many educated
and influential people even in England. Franke set forth a pietistic worldview,
which was quite new in Lutheranism.[8] Franke
played a vital role in the initial days of the Tranquebar mission though he was
not the originator of the mission. Lehmann points out, the Tranquebar mission
would not have thrived, without Franke’s counsel, leadership, and the support
through funds. Several dozen Tranquebar and Madras missionaries were trained
during the course of eighteenth century.[9]
2.1.2.Impact of Pietism
Pietist
activities in Halle aroused the zeal of many to go as missionaries outside
Europe.[10] Efforts
to carry the Gospel to the entire world than at any previous time in the
history. To win the non-Christians outside Christendom especially to United
States. Mission was carried through societies, Majority of supporters were from
Pietist background.[11] They
put efforts to support missionary task, educational and charitable endeavors.[12] A
school for poor children in 1695 and an “Orphan House” was founded.[13]
2.2.Evangelical
awakening
The
awakenings were part of the reaction against the enlightenment. In religion it
was seen in the Revival of the Roman Catholic and Protestantism. In
Protestantism revival has channeled through theology, but it came also through
awakenings of warm and deep religious life.[14] The
evangelical fervor created by the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century
became the springboard. By this time, rationalism had peaked and people were
becoming more receptive to traditional values and “things of the heart.” Great
Britain and North America became the centers of evangelistic activity. The
evangelical awakening had its roots in the earlier German Pietism.[15] The
origins of evangelical revival differed in different countries. In Germany, as
mentioned earlier, the evangelical revival can be traced to Pietism. In
Britain, its impulse came largely through the evangelical efforts of the
Wesley’s and Whitefield, the rise of Methodism and the creation of the
evangelical party in the Church of England. The first outstanding leader of the
awakening in the USA was Jonathan Edwards.[16] The
important characteristics of the religious revival was a concern for vital
religion and a large number of philanthropic and charitable activities.[17]
2.2.1.First Great
Evangelical Awakening
The first Great
Evangelical Awakening of the eighteenth century started in Herrnhut in
1727 which as we
have seen gave birth to a truly noble group of volunteer missionaries. In 1735
revival broke out in Massachusetts under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards a
series of Sermons that struck home in a marvelous way. His first sermon was on
“Justification by Faith”. In it he denied every attempt of man to base his
security on his own power or choice. Either salvation was from God or it was
not possible. As his series of sermons progressed, men and women began to groan
and cry out during the service. Their consciences were stricken with their unworthiness.
People cried out in fear. Either they were damned eternally or they were saved.[18]
People crowded to Edwards for advice. Hundreds were converted. Soon the news of
Great awakening spread to other lands namely Northampton, and New England.
The
great awakening took hold among the Presbyterians as well Rev. William Tennet,
Sr., developed school for pastors in a log cabin at Neshaminy, Pennsylvania
named “Log College”. There came a series of young men who preached conversion
sermons in a winning way. One of the leaders in promoting the revival was
Tennet’s son, Gilbert. Under them numerous sinners were brought to a renewed
commitment to God. New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania were the early
centers.
In
1738 the revival started in Great Britain under the influence of George
Whitefield and the Wesley brothers. These revivals brought new life to the
churches, thousands of people accepted Christ, and they opened the way for lay
people to get involved. In England evangelical Movement began with a group of
Oxford men, the most eminent were the brothers John and Charles Wesley.[19]
They visited the prisoners at the castle, and the sick in the parishes, and
their methodical observance of the practices of a sacramental and high churchly
religion earned them the nick name of Methodists.[20]
The
man who bound the separate revival movements into a great unified effort was a
young Anglican preacher, George Whitefield, who arrived in 1739. He toured the
colonies, drawing vast throngs as he spoke in all the Protestant denominations
or in great public gatherings. Hundreds were in tears, many groaned as their
hearts were moved. All his energies were thrown into the orphanage appeal and
the Great awakening. Everywhere he went crowds gathered from near and far.
Farmers left their work and hurried to the cities. Merchants closed their
shops, once a court was postponed.
Whitefield
travelled through the colonies from one end to the other, bound them together
many local revivals and made them into one great movement which swept the
country. Jonathan Edwards welcomed him, the tenets opened their churches and
hearts to him. His fervent sermons, preached without manuscript, dramatically
painted the picture of man’s damnation and God’s redemption. The Great
awakening united the colonies in one great movement.[21]
2.2.2.Second
Evangelical Awakening
The Second
Evangelical Awakening according to Edwin Orr occurred between 1792 and
1820. This
revival mainly affected the United States and Great Britain. It was at this
time that the evangelical Anglicans whose most famous representatives are
probably the Clapham Sect[22]
began to influence the Anglican churches. There was a revival in the University
of Yale in 1802.Other colleges soon followed, in Williams College Samuel John
Mills formed their famous resolution in the “haystack prayer meeting” to commit
themselves to missionary work abroad.
2.2.3.Third
Evangelical Awakening
The third Evangelical
Awakening took place in the middle of the century from 1857 to
1859. The
revival started in America and spread to Great Britain. In the United States,
Davies says that “within two years over a million people had been added to the
churches at the rate of 10,000 each week”.
“The missionary movement received an injection of new believers”.
2.2.4.Impact of
Awakening
2.2.4.1.Huge influx of
people into the church
The
fruit of Great awakening was the beginning of Methodism in the south,
especially in Virginia. John Wesley, the greatest single figure in the revival
of religion swept England starting in 1740.[23] Massive
arrival of people joined in church in New England alone. Through the revivals
the churches reached out and touched more people than at any previous time in
America. It took for granted that men were separated from God and that they had
to be born anew and the results were astounding.[24]
2.2.4.2.Societal
activities
The revivals
stimulated missionary work and also humanitarian efforts of different kinds.
2.2.4.3.Formation of
Bible societies and translation of Bible
Bible
Society was founded in 1804 to provide cheap editions of the Bible in different
languages as well as colporteurs[25]
to distribute them. The first task
of many Protestants was to learn the language and put the Scriptures into the
language of the people they were serving. As Neill says: “No language has been
found in which it was impossible to communicate the gospel.”[26]
2.2.4.4.Training for
missions
Formation
of institutions to train and send out missionaries was a result of pietism. Pastor
Johannes Jänicke a figure in the Berlin revival,
initiated the first missionary training school in his church in
1800, and many of its eighty graduates served under the recently founded
British boards. One was the colorful and controversial Charles (Karl) Rhenius
who was appointed by the Church Missionary Society(CMS) to South India. In 1815
the neo-pietists founded a mission seminary and society in Basel. Although its
seat was in Switzerland, it drew the bulk of its support from southwestern
Germany and had close ties with the English. By 1833 thirty Basel-trained
workers were serving with the CMS, and it subsidized the education of
missionary candidates all the way down to 1858.
2.2.4.5.Modern
missionary movement
The
modern missionary movement began in England, USA and other countries of the
west was the fruits of the Evangelical awakening, and of the pietist movement
in Germany.[27]
Davies says that “the modern Protestant missionary movement began as a direct
result of the second evangelical revival.”
2.2.4.6.Spread of the Gospel
The
great passion was evangelism at home and to the ends of earth. This resulted in
the birth of, a number of societies, voluntary movements, and organizations in
which Christians of different denominations and nations banded together to win
the world for Christ. The evangelical awakening both caused and decisively
influenced, the character and course of the missionary movement. The missionary
societies which came into being during this period, sent out a large number of
missionaries to different parts of the world. The political and cultural power
of European nations aided the missionaries in penetrating all parts of the
globe.[28]
2.2.4.7.Enterprises for
spreading Christianity throughout the World - Missionary societies
The last decade
of eighteenth and the first two decades of nineteenth century, under a fresh
impulse of missionary zeal a number of missionary societies were formed such
as: the Baptist Missionary society (1792), the London Missionary society[29]
in 1795, 1797 the Netherlands
Missionary Society, the Church Missionary society[30]
in 1799, and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary society in 1813. In America the
first society, the American Board of commissioners for foreign Missions
(Congregationalist) was founded in 1810.[31] In
1799 Church Missionary Society and the Religious Tract Society came into
existence, the British and Foreign Bible society began the great work to
circulate the scriptures in different languages.[32]
The
denominational missionary societies of the late 18th and 19th
centuries had their distinctive characteristics. The evangelistic missionary
zeal of John Wesley and the hymns of Charles Wesley paved way for a new
spiritual climate in Britain. the (Dutch) reformed church in America began its
work in Madras in 1833.[33] In
1815 a school began in Basel by men of Pietist convictions and developed into
an organization in 1822 for sending and supporting missionaries. Rhenish
Missionary society was constituted on 1828 as an auxiliary of the Basel
mission. In 1836 Evangelical Lutheran mission was formed, Hermannsburg Mission a
Lutheran society was formed in 1849, The Bremen mission or North German
Missionary society was founded in Hamburg in 1836.[34]
By 1861 there
were 51 known missionary societies—22 in Great Britain, 15 on the Continent,
and in North America. About 2,000 missionaries were being supported in 1,200
mission stations. By 1900, however, the number of sending agencies had jumped
to 600 with 62,000 missionaries at work around the world.
3.Protestant missions
in India
After
reformation many protestant countries came to India for business and brought
chaplains with them but they did not make any efforts to spread their faith.
The turnaround in the Protestant church’s approach towards mission is credited
to Pietism.[35]
The first protestant missionaries to India, Ziegenbalg and Plutschau were found
from the students in Halle[36] were
influenced by the pietism of Spener- Franke. Pietism yielded the necessary
missionary impulse and with it denominational instincts were considered
secondary. It cannot be equated with any single Christian denomination, but it
influenced the founding of churches in the early eighteenth century in India.[37] The
father of modern missionary movement was William Carey, came to India in 1793
with the support of Baptist Missionary Society and did a more prominent work in
West Bengal. Enormous number of missionaries came to India through various of
missionary societies namely Church missionary Society (CMS), Society for
propagating the Gospel (SPG), London Missionary Society (LMS), Baptist
missionary society (BMS) are few among them.
3.1.Impact on Indian
society
3.1.1.Evangelization
and construction of Churches
The nineteenth
century missionaries carried out holistic mission: preaching, teaching, healing
the sick. Through their efforts large number of people were converted and for
the worship churches were constructed. Many of the churches existing today in
the prominent centers were constructed by missionaries.
3.1.2.Modern
education and Renaissance
The mission work
was carried with education which was wholly western, its main motive was to
impart Christian education to children. In
all the missionary centers schools were constructed first and then Chapel. Some
of these schools progressed to become important centers of learning like the
College in Serampore and the American University in Beirut.
This led to
renaissance in India, Bengal renaissance made patriotic spirit in the minds of
students and there were attempts for Indian independence.[38]
3.1.3.Hospitals
and medical training
Looking the poor
status of people in the country and the epidemics which swept number of people,
missionaries put efforts to train the local people to take care of their
neighbors. Medical missionaries arrived in India, training institutes and
hospitals were constructed. CMC Vellore and the work of Ida Scudder was a
notable work in South India. Clara Swain in Bailey and Anna Kugler in Guntur
were other missionaries engaged in Medical work.[39]
3.1.4.Horticulture
Botanical names
were given to vegetables and plants due to the initiative of William Carey, he
was known as a Botanist and Horticulturist in England. He introduced new
methods in agriculture and educated people to do farming. “Agri- Horticultural
Society of India” and Botanical society of Calcutta were founded by Carey which
is serving the people of this century.[40]
3.1.5.Women
empowerment
Considering the
low status of women in India missionaries started schools and educated them, there
were female schools in many of the mission fields. The wives of missionaries
carried out the mission activities and later the missionary societies recruit
women to do missionary work. Church of England Zenana mission was founded
specially to do work among women.[41]
Hannah Marshman started schools for girls in Birbhum, Dacca, Chittagong,
Beneras etc.
3.1.6.Printing
press and literary works
Printing press
were brought with the help of missionary societies and translation of Bible
into various languages started to spread the gospel. In Serampore William Carey
and at Tranquebar, Ziegenbalg with the help of SPCK established a printing
press,[42]
for printing
tracts and they
were distributed. Journals were printed and published, “Samachar Darpan” and
“Friends of India” are few among them. Dictionaries were printed in Bengali,
Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Marathi and in other languages also.[43]
3.1.7.Abolishing
the evil practices
When
missionaries came they founded many evil practices existed, and put measures to
eradicate them. Child infanticide, Sati, Caste system, burning of lepers,
slavery and human sacrifice. Through journals, and tracts the cruelties were attacked
and encouraged the people to eradicate such practices. With the help of British
government Sati, child infanticide, slavery were banned.[44]
3.1.8.Seminary
training
In 1716 at
Tranquebar a seminary was started to train the natives for evangelization. It
led a way to indigenous missionaries and evangelists’ to preach the gospel to
their own people.[45]
Conclusion
Pietism and evangelical
awakening in eighteenth century Britain and America, are events which
profoundly affected global awareness and the formation of missionary societies
in German-speaking Europe and America. Through these missionary societies
evangelization of the whole world took place. In India numerous missionaries and
missionary societies worked, constructing various churches and forming
different denominations, schools of western models were introduced, the missionaries
toiled for the empowerment of women, fought against all the evil vices of the
society, introduced printing press and printed books, pamphlets, Bibles in many
languages, and thus resulted in renaissance.
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[1] Kenneth Scott
Latourette A History of Christianity in
the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Vol II, (New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1959), 61.
[2] Kenneth, A History of Christianity…, 1.
[3] Jerald C.
Brauer, Protestantism in America,
(Philadelphia: The West Minister press,), 48.
[4] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 49.
[5] A. Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India,
(Kolkata: SCEPTURE: 2013), 43.
[6] Joseph G.Muthuraj, We began at Tranquebar Vol I, (New
Delhi: ISPCK, 2010), 2-3.
[7] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 43.
[8] Joseph, We began …, 3.
[9] Peter Vethanayagamony, It Began in Madras, (New Delhi: ISPCK,
2010), 31-32.
[10] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 44.
[11] Kenneth, A History of Christianity…, 114.
[12] Joseph, We began …, 3
[13] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 43
[14] Kenneth, A History of Christianity…, 63.
[15] T.V. Philip, Edinburgh to
Salvador (New Delhi; ISPCK, 1999), 1.
[16] Philip, Edinburgh to Salvador…, 2.
[17] Philip, Edinburgh to Salvador…, 3.
[18] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 49
[19] J.W.C. Wand, A History of the Modern Church, (London:
Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1930), 186.
[20] Wand, A History of …, 187.
[21] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 50- 51.
[22] The Clapham Sect or Clapham Saints were
a group of Church of England social reformers based in Clapham, London at the beginning of the 19th century (active
1780s–1840s). John Newton (1725-1807) was the founder.
[23] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 56.
[24] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 59.
[25] In
19th-century America, the word colporteur came to be used especially of
door-to-door peddlers of religious books and tracts.
[26] Jerald, Protestantism in America …, 61.
[27] C.B. Firth, An Introduction to Indian Church History
(New Delhi: ISPCK, 2013), 145.
[28] Philip, Edinburgh to Salvador…, 4.
[29] At first undenominational, later
mainly Congregationalist
[30] Evangelical Anglican
[31]
Firth, An Introduction …, 145.
[32] Wand, A History of …, 273.
[33]
K.M.George, Church of South India,
(Punnaveli; 1997), 11.
[34] Kenneth, A History of Christianity…, 114- 115.
[35] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 43
[36] Philip, Edinburgh to Salvador…, 1.
[37] Joseph, We began …, 3- 4.
[38] Firth, An Introduction …, 181-185.
[39] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 165-169.
[40]Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 65-66.
[41] Firth, An Introduction …, 193.
[42]Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 48.
[43] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 63, 64.
[44] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 64.
[45] Jayakumar, History of Christianity in India…, 48.
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