2012 marks three significant anniversaries in the history of Christian missions. Two hundred years ago, in 1812, Adoniram and Ann Judson set sail from the harbor in Salem, Massachusetts. They were bound for South Asia, and with their companions they were the first foreign missionaries to go out from the United States. One hundred years…
Portions of this essay are taken from Jason G. Duesing, ed., Adoniram Judson: A Bicentennial Appreciation of the Pioneer American Missionary (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2012). Originally presented at the Annual Meeting of the Andrew Fuller Center, 21 September 2012, Louisville, Kentucky. To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the…
This essay is to be published in Allen Yeh and Chris Chun, eds., Expect Great Things, Attempt Great Things: William Carey and Adoniram Judson, Baptist Mission Pioneers (Studies in World Christianity, Vol. 1; Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, forthcoming). Used by permission. The embrace of Baptist principles by Adoniram and Ann Judson in 1812 is…
Two hundred years ago in 1810, a young man named Adoniram Judson composed an extraordinary letter to the father of the young woman he wanted to marry. He wrote as follows: I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this…
What happens when missionaries are repeatedly faced with illness, kidnappings, difficult teammates and a myriad of unexpected and painful trials? To whom do they turn for help when the Hand of Providence brings a cloud of grief and confusion that momentarily shatters their Christ-centered perspective on the purpose of life and their call to take…
Joel DeHart served as an English Second Language instructor among Afghan refugees in Pakistan from 1987 until July 6, 1991—the day he was taken hostage. ((Joel DeHart, The Upper Hand: God’s Sovereignty in Afghan Captivity (Islamabad, Pakistan: Joel DeHart, 1994).Pakistan: Joel DeHart, 1994)) Joel knew several local languages and deeply loved the culture and the…
Fortosis, Steve. The Multilingual God: Stories of Translation. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2012. 205 pp. $13.99 Reviewed by JT English. English is the Assistant to the Director of Research Doctoral Studies and a current PhD student in Systematic Theology. What does it cost to translate the Bible into a new language? It costs the very…
