From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth Tucker



From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth Tucker

Introduction

Ruth Tucker's biographical masterpiece, “From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya”, plates the vast and flavorful feast of missionary history so expertly that the reader, though entirely satisfied, still craves more. The only flaw of Tucker's work ironically works to her advantage, for while she did not go into the greater depths of each missionary's life, the very brevity with which she shares their lives moves the reader quickly from giant to spiritual giant, so that, in a matter of pages, entire centuries have passed and entire regions and people groups have been snatched from the inevitable fires of Hell. Therefore, the following review will discuss only the positives of Tucker's work by identifying the wisdom in her formatting and the dexterity with which she handles the contentious issues of missionary history.

Discussion

Tucker's formatting in Jerusalem differs from that of many other history books for while she opens by following the chronological vein of missions history from the early church, through Catholic and Moravian advances, and up to missions in North America, she formats the majority of her book in other ways, bringing to bear the truly extra-cultural nature of the missionary endeavor. One format she employs is regional, splitting up mission's history into the various districts of infiltration. Another format is that of the diversity seen among missionaries beginning in the early nineteenth century as more women, students and “faith” missionaries began sacrificing all for overseas evangelism. She follows this format with another, describing specialized mission endeavors employed by medical, aviation, and linguistic teams, and she completes her book with a format that describes what has become the goal of many missionaries today, the nationalization ...