Imperial Pasts, Imperial Futures? – Charting a Course for Global Christian Evangelism
While many Christians would balk at even asking if Christian evangelism is imperialistic, to much of the world the answer resounds in the affirmative: Christianity is inherently imperialistic, given both its connection to historic empires and the legacies of abuse and marginalization many in the world (e.g. African slaves, indigenous North and South Americans, North and South East Asians, and others) continue to suffer due to men and women acting “for the glory of God”. In this course, I aim to encourage us to not feign ignorance, remain aloof, or dismiss these imperial legacies as of another era or no longer relevant but to do the hard work of understanding what aspects of Christian missions have historically led to global oppression and commit to enacting more holistic visions of global missions. I will adopt an approach of “kenarchic evangelism” that attempts to recover resources within ecclesiastical history (and the present) to gesture toward non-imperial evangelical futures.
Speaker Bio: Born in Okinawa, but a native of St. Louis, Dr. Alex Haskins first discovered the field of political theory in college. His teaching and research interests in the field have been sustained over the years by a deeply felt need to grapple with the complex histories of imperialism, colonialism, and Christianity in the modern world–particularly in Africa, the Americas, and Asia–and what implications such grappling might have for global justice, international law, development, multiculturalism, and global missions. He is currently revising his book manuscript on domination in the political thought of Montesquieu (1689-1755), Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901), and W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963).
Event Information
Imperial Pasts, Imperial Futures? – Charting a Course for global Christian Evangelism | Sunday’s September 15-October 6 | 10-10:45am
