Christianity Rediscovered.

Book Review.

Donovan, Vincent J.  Christianity Rediscovered.  Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition.  Orbis Books, Maryknoll.  2003.

V.D.- a Spiritan priest who spent seventeen years as a missionary in Tanzania. 

Comment.  Henry.

The contents of this book come primarily from the author’s experience as a missionary to the Masai people of Tanzania.  Working primarily by himself, he discovers some profound principles about evangelizing ‘pagans’, principles that have by and large been missing from missionary practices in in general.  Herein lays the value of what Vincent has contributed to missionary work.  There is an application of those principles to evangelization in general.

“Evangelization is a process of bringing the gospel to people where they are.. not where you would like them to be.” (Preface)  “If Christianity is of value to the world around it, what will happen when we bring Christianity and paganism together?” (Preface.)

The impact of slavery was a fundamental challenge for early missions in East Africa.  The practice of purchasing slaves and Christianizing them was not a sound type of evangelizing.  The establishing of schools and hospitals also fell short of missionary goals.  “To bring freedom or knowledge or health or prosperity to a people in order that they become Christians is a perversion of missionary work.” (10)  After his first year of missionary work (1966) Vincent writes a letter to his bishop outlining his ‘calling’ to launch a totally different approach to reaching the ‘pagans’.  It was rather simple.  His plan was to go to the Masai people and simply talk to them about God.  “I was trying to convince them directly of the inherent value of Christianity.” (19)

This new approach was very daring and was done with full knowledge and respect for Masai culture.  Mission practice needs to meet the following criteria: “Is it biblical? Is it evangelical? Is it scriptural?” (26)  Paul’s example of evangelizing is striking.  He labored for about ten years during his three missionary journeys planting churches and then his evangelizing was complete.  The churches carried on, on their own.  That doesn’t sound like modern missions.

Vincent’s missionary ‘experience’ is a very interesting story.  The Masai tribe accepted him and his presentation of the gospel and became an aboriginal church.  His evangelizing of this group was complete and he could now move on to another group (tribe).  “Christianity must be a force that moves outward, and a Christian community is basically in existence for others.” (79)

The task of missions is ‘finishable’ if we go about it the right way.  “The gospel is the affair of the missionary, and the interpretation of the gospel is the affair of the people who hear the gospel.” (122)

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