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What is immediately striking about this book is the breadth of its coverage. Its aim is "to present the current situation of the Melanesian Christians and to trace these situations back to their roots, both historical and cultural" (p. 1). In eight chapters the author addresses geography and population, traditional cultures and religions, European colonization, evangelization (in two chapters), movements, emerging independence, and current statistical data of the churches across Melanesia (Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, East and West New Guinea).
The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Melanesia and Micronesia, 1850-1875 by Ralph M. Wiltgen Pdf
The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Melanesia and Micronesia, 1850 to 1875 is the result of Father Ralph Wiltgen's years of archival work in Rome and at the headquarters of religious orders who worked in Micronesia and Melanesia. It follows his first historical book on the subject, The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Oceania: 1825 to 1850, but narrows the focus. The first book dealt with the whole of Oceania and emphasized developments in Polynesia. This book concentrates on Melanesia and Micronesia from 1850 to 1875, the period immediately before the work of large numbers of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Marists, and Divine Word Missionaries assumed great momentum in the period between 1875 and 1914. Micronesia is a huge area of the world, made up of numerous culturally and politically distinct groups of atolls ranging over about 1,400 miles from the northwest to the southeast. Its peoples speak scores of mutually unintelligible though related languages on such island groups as the Marshalls, the Gilberts, Nauru, and Kiribati. Far more heavily populated is Melanesia, another huge area of the Pacific where as many as one thousand distinct languages are spoken in an arc of islands extending from just below the equator in a boomerang shape from today's Indonesian controlled Papua and independent Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea in the northwest all the way along the Solomon Island chain to 25° south latitude to the southeast. In this book, Wiltgen shows himself the undisputed master of the archives of the Propaganda Fide, the Vatican's chief mission agency and the religious orders that provided missionaries, all of which is supplemented by his attention to the lives of key people of the period. He shows the Propaganda now prodding missionary orders to take on the difficult work of evangelizing these areas and on other occasions struggling to keep up with and understand fast-moving events and the colorful characters--both ecclesiastical and among colonial administrators, rogue sea captains, and indigenous leaders. Wiltgen lets the contemporary records speak for themselves, though one can imagine his arched brow and mischievous grin as he selects exactly the right quote to describe now an act of missionary heroism and now an act of self-promotion. It is a masterful book, making available the early history of one of Catholicism's greatest missionary successes, helping the reader understand both the idealism of the vision and the way in which concrete events and people affected the outcome.
There are various modern methods of an audience-centered reading of the Scriptures. One of them is an anthropology-inspired approach which assumes that people from these parts of the world come to the Bible with quite a different set of presuppositions, grounded in their own age-old traditions. This kind of approach goes purposely away from the well-established kind of reading which is based upon past Jewish history, ancient near-Eastern customs and archaeology, Semitic philology and so on. But without denying the value of these essentially sound segments of learning, is it really necessary that Melanesians should first plunge into Western academia in order to hear God's word? Or is it no longer true that "Greeks" must not first become "Jews" before they can become Christians? The articles gathered in Traditional Religion in Melanesia, and its companion volume Christianity in Melanesia contribute to the goal just described. They make clear that religion as such was not something that was completely new for "the pagans of the past," and that as a rule, too, they were rather selective in accepting the Christian message. This accounts for some misunderstandings, but also for some very positive ways of accepting Christianity.
David Hilliard's God's Gentlemen, originally published in 1978, remains the only detached and detailed historical analysis of the work of the Melanesian Mission. Starting with its New Zealand beginnings and its Norfolk Island years (1867-1920), the work follows the Mission's shift of headquarters to the Solomon Islands and on until the beginning of the Second World War. The Mission, which grew out of the personal vision of the first Church of England Bishop of New Zealand, George Selwyn, formally defined its field of work as 'the Islands of Melanesia' although its activities were confined almost entirely to the island groups that now make up Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. The Diocese of Melanesia was a fully constituent diocese of the Anglican Church of New Zealand from its formation in 1861 until the creation of the autonomous Church of the Province of Melanesia in 1975. Based on a wide range of sources, God's Gentleman is the inner history of the slow growth of an important and genuinely Melanesian church.
The Island Churches of the South Pacific by Charles W. Forman Pdf
"Out of deep and wider personal experience of the Pacific Island churches, as well as a mastery of the documentary sources, Charles Forman has produced a very valuable and interesting book. The Pacific Basin assumes an increasingly central place in world history. The scattered Christian communities of that ocean are entering vigorously into worldwide ecumenical relationships. It is increasingly important to understand these churches and their potential contribution. Much of the popular mythology, not to say demonology, of missionary Christianity is linked with these Pacific Islands. This book puts the whole story in perspective as it brings us up to date and suggests the issues of today and tomorrow."David M. Stowe, Executive Vice President, United Church Board of World Ministries"This book covers the whole are of the Pacific Churches, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, and the English and French. It states the historical facts and has a prophetic outlook to the changing Pacific Christianity of tomorrow."S. 'Amanaki Havea, Principal, The Pacific Theological College, Suva, Fiji Islands"The nineteenth century story of Christianity in the Pacific is well known especially through the biographies of its heroes. Charles Forman has written the twentieth century story, with careful attention to the sources, and with great clarity. We see the steps from mission to church, and from village congregation to ecumenical involvement. Particularly helpful are the thematic treatments of cargo cults, modern sects, the effects of World War II, independence, and nation building. Can these traditionally minded Christian communities respond effectively to modern secularism and the mixture of cultures? The author shows that they can, and so enables the small Pacific Island Churches to contribute further to the world church. The bibliography is an excellent tool, and the footnotes repeatedly reveal how well the author knows the churches and the people who have led them."Bernard Thorogood, General Secretary and Clerk of the Assembly, The United Reformed Church, London
Traditional Religion in Melanesia by Theo Aerts Pdf
There are various modern methods of an audience-centered reading of the Scriptures. One of them is an anthropology-inspired approach which assumes that people from these parts of the world come to the Bible with quite a different set of presuppositions, grounded in their own age-old traditions. This kind of approach goes purposely away from the well-established kind of reading which is based upon past Jewish history, ancient near-Eastern customs and archaeology, Semitic philology and so on. But without denying the value of these essentially sound segments of learning, is it really necessary that Melanesians should first plunge into Western academia in order to hear God's word? Or is it no longer true that "Greeks" must not first become "Jews" before they can become Christians? The articles gathered in Traditional Religion in Melanesia, and its companion volume Christianity in Melanesia contribute to the goal just described. They make clear that religion as such was not something that was completely new for "the pagans of the past," and that as a rule, too, they were rather selective in accepting the Christian message. This accounts for some misunderstandings, but also for some very positive ways of accepting Christianity.
David Hilliard's God's Gentlemen, originally published in 1978, remains the only detached and detailed historical analysis of the work of the Melanesian Mission. Starting with its New Zealand beginnings and its Norfolk Island years (1867-1920), the work follows the Mission's shift of headquarters to the Solomon Islands and on until the beginning of the Second World War. The Mission, which grew out of the personal vision of the first Church of England Bishop of New Zealand, George Selwyn, formally defined its field of work as 'the Islands of Melanesia' although its activities were confined almo.
Melanesians and Missionaries by Darrell L. Whiteman Pdf
'In Melanesians and Missionaries', one of the best of the younger generation of missionary anthropologists demonstrates that a commitment to the missionary enterprise on the part of a solid scholar facilitates, rather than hinders, the anthropological study of a missionary topic. This is better anthropology because Dr. Whiteman is able to probe more deeply into his topic and demonstrates that he understands and appreciates both Melanesians and missionaries." Charles H. Kraft, Professor of Anthropology, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena
Salvation in Melanesia explores the views of salvation held by Methodist, Lutheran, and Pentecostal Christians in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, uncovering the ways in which a Protestant theology of unconditional salvation through God’s judgment and grace has been combined with traditional Melanesian religious concepts of reciprocity, retribution, and obedience to cultural laws. While Pentecostal churches have offered new experiences of transformation by rejecting what they regard as the mingling of Melanesian culture with Christianity in other churches, they have also kept certain elements of traditional Melanesian spirituality. Meanwhile, today economic globalization and secularization result in new questions about the relationship between the people, the leaders, the land, and God. Michael Press uses mission sources and interviews to describe the different concepts of mission, their reception, the main images of God, and the relationship between religion and culture in Melanesian churches, as well as the factors that support or hinder personal transformation.
Christianity and Animism in Melanesia by Kenneth Nehrbass Pdf
In this book, Kenneth Nehrbass examines the interaction between traditional or animistic religion (called kastom) and Christianity in Vanuatu. First, he briefly outlines major anthropological theories of animism, then he examines eight aspects of animism on Tanna Island and shows how they present a challenge to Christianity. He traces the history of Christianity on Tanna from 1839 to the present, showing which missiological theories the various missionaries were implementing. Nehrbass wanted to find out what experiences in the lives of the islanders distinguished those who left traditional religion behind from those who held on to it. In the end, he contends that there are twenty factors of gospel response and cultural integration that determine whether an animistic background believer will be a mixer, separator, transplanter, or contextualizer.
