Abstract
Tim Noble, an associate professor of missiology in the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University, Prague, considers Christian mission as involving God, the missionary, and the other. It is this other encountered in mission that Noble examines in this scholarly, deeply missiological volume. What might it mean to encounter the other in a way that “allows the other to have a voice in mission” (1), to see the other not as an object of mission or as an empty vessel waiting to be filled, but to see the other as the one who draws near, both a blessing and a gift? “This other is seen not as a problem to be overcome, or a ‘pagan’ to be converted, but as one who journeys with us on the path of faith, where we can learn together to be disciples of Christ” (4).
Noble divides the book into two main sections. In the first part, he overviews “the other” in the Old and New Testaments. Noble then turns to contemporary missiologists (Lamin Sanneh, David Bosch, Stephen Bevans, Roger Schroeder) who increasingly have taken seriously this other and the ways God is made manifest through this encounter. Insights into phenomenology are gleaned from French philosopher Jean-Luc Marion for a hermeneutical language in how to address the other.
In the second part, Noble examines three historical examples that show how taking account of the other works in practice: Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, William Carey and the work of the Baptist Missionary Society in India, and Bishop Innocent Veniaminov and the Russian Orthodox mission in Alaska. Each had his own way of encountering the other, using differing approaches. While there is diversity in contexts and ecclesial traditions, all of these examples are men, despite women historically composing a large segment of missionaries worldwide. We might even wonder how the encounter with the other might have gender-specific considerations. This is a thoughtful, well-researched work and worth consideration as we continue to explore a relevant missiology for the future of mission.
Noble captures much of his intent in his conclusion: “The proclamation of the good news in deed, in love, in word is still at the heart of what it is to be a disciple of Christ. . . . Missionaries are sent to the other, but they are also sent to themselves, so that together with the other they can come to understand their own faith and to know, love and serve God more deeply, fully and generously” (182).