Religion: Christianity in Asia

• Share

As the clouds broke over the countryside around Williamstown, Mass.. five Williams College students out for a walk scurried for the shelter of a haystack. There, while the rain droned on, they earnestly discussed three topics: religion, Asia, and their future. Before the storm ended on that summer day in 1806, they had decided to dedicate themselves to the work of bringing the Gospel "to a barricaded heathendom" in foreign lands.

From their resolution grew a society of students pledged to the missions. U.S. Protestant churches soon joined in to form the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which started the last century's mass movement of U.S. Protestant missionaries to the world. Last week 17 Protestant ministers from the lands reached by American missionaries met at Williams College to mark the 150th anniversary of the haystack meeting. Their topic: "America's new role in the world church." That role has sharply changed from the condescension toward the "heathen" of the five Williams students. In a joint message, the bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church have put it thus: "Plainly, a deep-going reorientation in the method and spirit of our mission is called for. Only Asians can carry the weight in witnessing for Christ to Asians. We cannot plant our church and our institutions in Asia and then take pride because they are ours."

While the Williams meeting was in progress, the World Council of Churches met in Sydney, Australia, to weigh a similar subject: Christianity's plans and strategy for Southeast Asia. In the night sky, during the meeting, big searchlights formed a luminous cross, but the council's mood was less glowing. A note almost of supplication toward Asians and of stern self-criticism were evident. Said Yale's Dean Listen Pope: "Divided and rent asunder in its own life, the church itself speaks in broken accents and sometimes seems to add to the confusion of tongues. The nations of the world might understandably reply to the church's plea for international unity and peace: 'Physician, heal thyself.' " Nevertheless, the council mapped out a huge task: "We believe that Christianity in southeast Asia may well prove the pacemaker in international diplomacy in the next ten years."

Billy Graham, sweeping through India last week, more or less pointedly in the path of Russia's politico-evangelists two months ago, was one Western Christian who seemed all set to pick up his share of that burden (see above).