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Justice, Courtesy and Love:
Theologians and Missionaries Encountering World Religions 1846-1914
Publisher: Epworth Press
Author: Kenneth Cracknell
ISBN: 0-716-20501-7
New readers of ISKCON Communications Journal elbowed by curiosity
into picking it up and reading it, may be confused as to why a western
Vaishnava publication such as this would publish a review of a book
about Christian missionaries written by a Methodist minister.
Amidst the growing ranks of converts to the form of Vaisnavism
known today as the Krishna Consciousness Movement, there are a scattering
of several table-thumping fundamentalists who might go so far as
to claim that we have absolutely nothing to learn from Christianity,
either theologically or through accounts of their two thousand year
missionary history. To those who hold such views, or are persuaded
by others who hold them, I would simply say that if you think you
cannot learn from another religious practitioner, merely because
their faith is 'different', you may deny yourselves many vital instructions
and opportunities for spiritual development. God often chooses to
reveal Himself through the words of those of another faith particularly,
it seems, when we acquiesce to some platform of comfort or stagnation
within our own tradition. And that, to me, is what this book is
all about.Justice, Courtesy and Love is, as the subtitle
explains, an account of Christian missionaries during the last century
as they encountered religious life in parts of the world which Europeans
had only recently 'discovered'. In quite fascinating detail, Kenneth
Cracknell, himself a former missionary to western Africa, charts the
progress of missionary work to India, Africa and China in the 'great
century' from 1846 to 1914.
This book is not about machete-swinging, perspiration-stained priests
cleaving their way through cannibal-infested jungles. Neither does
it tell a triumphal tale of how savages were 'saved for Jesus' (and
subsequently 'saved' for colonialism, exploitation and European
cultural values). Justice, Courtesy and Love describes
how missionaries were first intrigued, perturbed, confused and
then shocked to discover that those whom they had risked life and
limb to convert already had profound theological ideas of their
own. Kenneth Cracknell tells a tale of incremental changes to Christian
doctrine in order to accommodate the undeniable fact that God was
indeed working in mysterious ways - and not just in civilised Europe,
but entirely beyond the Judaeo-Christian world.
His accounts of entrenched attitudes amongst the theologians of
the day, their wrangling and disputes, and the new doctrines which
gradually took shape as missionaries returned from foreign lands
explaining that Christ had been at work before they got there, makes
for fascinating reading. So too, does the appreciation which many
early missionaries had for the faiths they encountered.
Naturally, as a devotee of Krishna, I was particularly drawn to
accounts of preaching in India. Whilst I have often heard tales
of myopic missionaries and their part in the domination of the sub-continent
by the British Raj, I had never heard of those who deeply appreciated
the godliness, serenity, saintly behaviour and self-sacrifice of
those whom they had come to convert. Successive waves of missionaries
wrote about the elevated doctrines they discovered: concepts such
as God's incarnations, contemplation and meditative states, scriptural
language and learning, along with magnificent temples and surrounding
priestly communities dedicated to the service of the Divine. All
of these things gave them food for thought, but also prompted much
discussion as to how God had wrought these religious ideas and behaviours
in the hearts and minds of men as yet untouched by both Old and
New Testaments.
Having been a member of a missionary organisation myself for more
than twenty years, I must admit to smiling in recognition as I read
of the constant disputation and search for higher meaning within
the body of Victorian theologians. ISKCON may not be perceived as
a mission by its own members, simply because most of us are preaching
in the country of our birth and not in strange and unfamiliar lands.
Yet because the nature of our movement is to preach Vaisnavism (and
to Vaisnavism, most would ascribe the term Hinduism), in predominantly
Christian countries, we are in fact, rather curiously, replicating
the efforts of those missionaries in reverse. Certain sociologists
have already remarked on the strange karmic arrangement of
modern-day Hindus preaching to Christians.
What intrigues me is how much of the theological discussion that
went on within the early missionary community finds its parallel
in a modern 'mission' like ISKCON. Taking into account certain theological
verities defined in Vedic scripture, the same level of debate, argumentation
and reconciliation is again at work, this time amongst Europeans
who liberally use Sanskrit terminology instead of Latin or King
James' Biblical English. Unfortunately, as in the case of our Christian
brothers of the past, theological wrangling is often generated not
by the desire for genuine empathy and understanding, but out of a
desire to preserve one's cherished worldview at any cost. As a consequence
of such pride, even discussions of God Himself can descend into political
haranguing and splintering within the faith community.
Kenneth Cracknell's book is thus an opportunity for us to learn
history, and thereby to not repeat it. It reveals that it is indeed
possible to love Christianity even more than Truth itself, and cautions
Christians not to resist change when such changes bring them nearer
to true understanding and practice. Vaisnavas can also heed this
caution. God does indeed live and speak within the hearts of others,
and a successful preacher is entreated to look beyond the external
differences of language, dress, architecture and culture to realise
this fact.
Justice, Courtesy and Love should also reveal to devotees
of Krishna that amongst the Christian community there have always
been, and always are, those who have deep and genuine respect for
Vaisnava bhakti, seeing it as non-different from their own
highest aspirations. Srila Prabhupada was always hopeful of the
message of Lord Caitanya being accepted by leaders of society, and
a reading of Kenneth Cracknell's book should prove to us that dialogue
with leading theologians, if undertaken with justice, courtesy and
love, will result in long lasting respect and understanding amongst
us all.
Krpamoya Dasa
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The Lost Art of Church Fund Raising
Publisher: Precept Press
Author: Ashley Hale
'A million dollars at the end of the rainbow.' I'm a believer in
sadhana bhakti. How about you? What I mean is that
if you find a pure devotee and follow his instructions carefully
to the letter, you are guaranteed success in devotional service.
And if you read The Lost Art of Church Fund Raising by Ashley
Hale and follow his instructions, you will find that pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow. It's a complete 'How To' on capital fundraising,
and it works.
With four decades experience in professional fundraising Ashley Hale
has given us excellent guidelines to achieve excellence in our fundraising.
In twelve point type on four by nine inch pages with plenty of white
space, The Lost Art is an easy read. Its forty-seven chapters
of three pages each cover everything from 'are we ready for fundraising?'
to 'sixteen ways to increase giving', 'the Minister's role' and 'the
eleven cardinal points'.
I especially appreciated Hale's emphasis on empowering the congregation
to do the asking, keeping the priest as a spiritually detached adviser.
The chapter headed 'Planning that works' should be required reading
for every ISKCON leader considering a capital fundraising campaign.
Hale also takes the reader step-by-step through the fundraising
process, beginning with searching for congregational leaders who
can spearhead the campaign, to seeking donor prospects. There's
even a section on the difference between excuses for not giving
and reasons for not giving, and how to react to both. This book
is both philosophically sound and practically useful.
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