Category Archives: missions

Kony, New (White) Activism, and Playing in the Dark (Continent?)

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Tim McGee

Instead of discussing “Kony 2012” directly, I want to quickly look at one peculiar defense of it. Recently, Brian McLaren defended Kony 2012 and Invisible Children, saying

Posted in colonialism, ethics, missions, race | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Deadly Religion: re-membering the future in the French Atlantic Triangle

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Tim McGee

A struggle for possession of the fairest tracts of country took place, and the more intelligent and consequently the stronger races were the victors.  It was for the good of all the world that it should be so.  It seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Césaire, chidester, colonialism, family, fanon, missions, race, religion | 1 Comment

The Promise and Failure of "the Secular"

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Tim McGee

One of the strange features in the Milbank article discussed in my previous post was his mention of the necessity to physically defend “the physical space” of the church “in the name of secular justice.”  This surprising endorsement of “the … Continue reading →

Posted in colonialism, milbank, missions, religion, secularity | 1 Comment

On Milbank’s Imperialist Refusal of Difference

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Tim McGee

From the AUFS blog I saw that John Milbank has recently attributed the problems of “political Islam” to “the lamentably premature collapse of the Western colonial empires (as a consequence of the European wars);”  This should surprise no one, as … Continue reading →

Posted in ecclesiology, ethics, milbank, missions | 7 Comments

The Samaritan Savior: immigration, missions, and the foreign love of God (Part 1)

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Tim McGee

Tanveer Ahmad was born in Pakistan, in 1962, the fifth child in a poor family.  As an adult, he made his way to his brother’s store in Saudi Arabia and from there started traveling.  One time, he came over to … Continue reading →

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Can I wear your clothes? (missions and alienation)

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Tim McGee

Portrait of Nicolas Trigault in Chinese Costume, by Peter Paul Rubens, 1617 The early Jesuit missionaries to China translated themselves into the native garb. As a religious order, they first wore buddhist robes, projecting an image as new, religious messengers. … Continue reading →

Posted in barth, chidester, cixous, colonialism, identity, missions | 4 Comments

The Weakness of Christian Missions

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Tim McGee

“In the world of religions, the Christian religion is in a position of greatest danger and defenselessness and impotence than any other religion. It has its justification either in the name of Jesus Christ, or not at all.” Karl Barth, … Continue reading →

Posted in barth, chidester, missions | 2 Comments

The Irresponsibility of Christian Missions

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Tim McGee

In his discussion of the Holy Spirit, Barth claims that “the outpouring of the Holy Spirit exalts the Word of God to be the master over men, puts man unavoidably under His mastery” (I.2, 270).  When the Holy Spirit is … Continue reading →

Posted in barth, missions | 1 Comment

Natural Theology and Colonial Missions

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Tim McGee

I’m currently reading Savage Systems: Colonialism and Comparative Religion in Southern Africa by David Chidester. It’s part of a larger reading project which could simply be titled: “Oh no, I’m going to be a missionary….”. The critical aspect of the … Continue reading →

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