Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 1999-1
On the Missiological Creation of the World: Some Personal Observations on Missiological Tools and Toolmakers Made in the Course of Preparing a Selective Bibliography of 200 Years of Missiological Reference
Maps not only represent but also create their own reality. Maps are “drawn” from a variety of vantage points, locating and identifying all important features of a particular cartographer's world, whilst ignoring, downplaying, or distorting the rest. This article was prepared as the presidential address for the 19–21 June 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Missiology (ASM). It looks at ways in which missiological reference tools of the past two centuries likewise bear the unmistakable imprimatur of their times. Each reveals as much about the cognitive terra firma of the mapmaker himself or herself as about the geographical, political, demographic, and religious topography and boundaries of the day.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsHannah1784An alphabetical compendium of the various sects which have appeared in the world from the beginning of the Christian aera [sic] to the present day. With an appendix, containing a brief account of the different schemes of religion now embraced among mankind. The whole collected from the best authors, ancient and modern. Boston, MA: B. Edes & Sons.
2.
AdamsHannah1801A View of All Religions in Two Parts. Part I. Containing an Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Religious Denominations, Which Have Appeared in the World, from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day. Part II. Containing a Brief Account of the Different Schemes of Religion Now Embraced Among Mankind. The Whole Collected from the Best Authors, Ancient and Modern. The Third Edition, with Large Additions. Boston, MA: Manning & Loring.
3.
AdamsHannah1817A Dictionary of All Religions and Religious Denominations: Jewish, Heathen, Mahometan, Christian, Ancient and Modern. With an Appendix. Containing a Sketch of the Present State of the World, as to Population, Religion, Toleration, Missions, Etc., and the Articles in Which All Christian Denominations Agree. Fourth Edition, with Corrections and Large Additions. New York: James Eastburn and Company; and Boston, MA: Cummings and Hilliard.
4.
BarrettDavid, ed. Forthcoming World Christian Encyclopedia. 3 vols.2nd edition.New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
BrierleyPeter, ed. 1996World Churches Handbook. Based on the Operation World database by Patrick Johnstone, WEC International, 1993. London, UK: Christian Research.
6.
CareyWilliam1792An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. In which the Religious State of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the Practicability of Further Undertakings, are Considered. Leicester, UK. Printed and sold by Ann Ireland and other Booksellers; J. Johnson, St. Paul's Churchyard; T. Knott, Lombard Street; R. Dilly, in the Poultry, London, UK.
HarleyJohn Brian1997“Power and Legitimation in the English Geographical Atlases of the Eighteenth Century.” In Images of the World: The Atlas Through History. WolterJohn A.GrimRonald E., eds. Pp. 161–204. Washington, DC: Library of Congress.
11.
HedlundRoger E.1998 Précis of unpublished paper, “Need for a Major Ecumenical Reference Work on Christianity in South Asia,” prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Missiology, 19–21 June, Techny, Illinois.
12.
JansenFrank Kaleb, ed. 1989Target Earth: The Necessity of Diversity in a Holistic Perspective on World Mission. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii: University of the Nations; Pasadena, CA: Global Mapping International.
13.
JohnstoneJill K.1993You Can Change the World. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: OM Publishing and WEC International.
14.
JohnstonePatrick J. St. G.1998a“Operation World—A Tool for Missions.” Unpublished paper, prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Missiology, 19–21 June, Techny, Illinois.
15.
JohnstonePatrick J. St. G.1998b Personal e-mail letter to Jonathan Bonk, 6 April. Forthcoming Operation World: The Day-by-Day Guide to Praying for the World. 6th ed.Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: OM Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
16.
LandesDavid S.1998The Wealth and the Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some Are So Poor. New York and London, UK: W. W. Norton.
17.
LimpicTed, ed. 1998Ibero-American Handbook 1997. A joint project of Comibam and OC International (SEPAL) produced for Comibam '97 in Acapulco, Mexico.
18.
MullinsMark R.1998 Précis of unpublished paper, “Handbook on Christianity in Japan,” prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Missiology, 19–21 June, Techny, Illinois.
19.
PakenhamThomas1991The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876–1912. New York: Random House.
20.
RothenbergJeff1995“Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents.”Scientific American272(1):42–45.
21.
SchnaarsSteven P.1989Megamistakes: Forecasting and the Myth of Rapid Technological Change. New York: Free Press.
22.
SherdenWilliam A.1998The Fortune Sellers: The Big Business of Buying and Selling Predictions. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
23.
SunquistScott1998 Précis of unpublished paper, “Dictionary of Asian Christianity,” prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Missiology, 19–21 June 1998, Illinois.
WhitfieldPeter1994The Image of the World: 20 Centuries of World Maps. San Francisco, CA: Pomegranate Artbooks in association with the British Library.
26.
WildstromStephen H.1996“Bulletin Board: Data Life Span.”Business Week 17 June: 22.
27.
WikeJoseph M.1998 Personal letter to Robert Coote, 15 May.
28.
WilliamsT.1823A Dictionary of All Religions, and Religious Denominations, Ancient and Modern, Jewish, Pagan, Mahometan, or Christian: Also of Ecclesiastical History. To which are prefixed, I. An Essay on Truth, the Causes of Error, & c. by the late Rev. Andrew Fuller; II. On the State of the World at Christ's Appearance, by Mrs. Hannah Adams, Original Editor of the Work. And to which are appended, A Sketch of Missionary Geography; with Practical Reflections on the Whole. The Third London Edition, With the Improvements of the Fourth American Edition, and many new Articles and Corrections throughout. London, UK: Printed for F. Westley; W. Simkin and R. Marshall; and W. Baynes and Son.
29.
WrightGeoffrey1998 Personal e-mail letter to Jonathan Bonk, 6 April.
