Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-151).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, 2007. / Typescript. "December, 2007." Also available in CD-ROM. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-173).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-224).

No description available.

This study traces the development of the missionary movement in Europe and America as part of the cultural history which led to the arrival of American missionaries in the remote area of Nigeria which is occupied by the Bura tribe. The central concern is to assess the results of that contact between members of two very different cultures and to evaluate the changes in the Bura society which have resulted from the work of these missionaries during a period of fifty years.Differences in the material environment are most easily observed and marked change can be seen in such things as the common attire of the people, in the kinds and amounts of equipment available for use in ordinary tasks and in the style of houses in which many Buras live. Missionaries exerted considerable influence in many of these changes. Improved seeds and new farming methods, the training of carpenters and bricklayers and assistance in the development of orchards are other examples of the kinds of technological innovations introduced by the mission. But many of the changes which are more directly traceable to missionary influence relate to Bura thought patterns and particularly to changes in the religious thinking of the people.There have been two basic changes in this area of Bura life. One involves the communal structure of the group. The communal approach to a Supreme Being whereby one elder often spoke for the entire group was confronted by the Christian belief that every individual must establish a personal relationship with his Deity. In secular life there has been a lessening of forms of cooperation. There is also more physical separation of clans, families and individuals as persons trained in mission schools go out of the area for higher education or for job opportunities. The total impact has been toward a weakening of the community structure.Another basic change is in the belief about the nature of the Deity. The Buras had traditionally lived in a fearful world of threatening evil spirits in which a distant Deity and lesser gods nearby required constant appeasement. The Christian idea of a loving Father presents a very different viewpoint.Positive benefits to the Buras include a written language which has helped to unify the tribe and has been of major importance in the educational program which could be carried on in a familiar medium. Christian activities initiated by the mission have enabled the Buras to meet easily with members of other tribal groups. On the negative side must be included the threat of the loss of the traditional arts since dancing, and the use of local musical instruments in worship services were discouraged by the missionaries.The final conclusion, however, is that the missionary was the only agent of change who was concerned about the moral well-being of the Buras and who attempted to prepare these people to live in the novel circumstances in which they unexpectedly found themselves.

One hundred and thirty-four years have elapsed since the death of David Bogue, and one hundred and thirty-two since the publication of his memoir. No detailed study of his labors has appeared since that time. David Bogue (1750-1825) was the theologian of missions during the Great Missionary Awakening. From his academy in Gosport, which, as the London Missionary Society's Seminary, was the first school in that era to give specific missionary training, graduated many of the Society's ablest early missionaries. Bogue's Bible-centered curriculum, and his approach, which emphasized apostolic precedent, produced men who made solid achievements: churches were planted which became self-propagating; the Scriptures were translated into the indigenous languages; and seminaries for the training of native leadership were established. During the next two and one-half years a commission of the World Council of Churches and the International Missionary Council will be engaged in a study of the theology of missions. Therefore, a work on David Bogue is timely.

This thesis is concerned with the ways Imperialism (and consequently colonialism) has pervaded the indigenous �primitive� world. Protectorates and �the colonies� reflected imperialist ideals, expansion, territory, external revenue and power. Missionaries were the footmen of colonial policy. The relations forged between these evangelists and the indigene have been thoroughly studied and scrutinised. However, reported interaction has been about missionaries and the �native�, with less about that between the indigenes, individual and tribe, elder and young. The thesis intends to redress this imbalance in the Bay of Islands from 1814 to 1834. The following work is an examination of a process of social change in Aotearoa. In the early 19th century the physical, spiritual and intellectual contact made between Maori peoples and the European explorers, scientists, and missionaries involved a deliberate cultural entanglement. It is the processes of acculturation, assimilation, or simply misunderstanding that are of interest. The study will have several foci involving the reaction of peoples of the Bay of Islands to the missionary institution of religious education. Chapter One addresses the theoretical location of the peoples that interacted in the Bay, while the second chapter is a brief description of a Maori coastal society prior to the arrival of literate missionaries. Chapter Three is about the cultural and social engagements of Ruatara, Marsden, Kendall and Hongi. The final chapter is a biographical exploration in the life of Rawiri Tawhanga and his interactions with missionaries and Maori of the Bay. Fundamentally it is the indigenous interaction during the initial periods of external European contact and, therefore, the effects of internal societal change that the author wishes to examine.

Thesis (M.A.-Miss.)--Nazarene Theological Seminary, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-74).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, Columbia, S.C., 1995. / "The specific focus of this investigation is on the relationship between national churches and missionary organizations"--Leaf 1. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-255).