Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission. Man-Hei Yip

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Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission - Man-Hei Yip


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as I-Thou, not realized to its fullest? What obstructs the disposition of I-Thou relation from happening thoroughly? I do not completely rule out Buber’s observation, for precisely Buber points out that self is where I am speaking from; a self-centric vantage point easily subjugates another I as an object. Buber’s argument in human relations is valuable, but it does not always guarantee mutuality in direct relationship with others. It does not specifically explain to us how we communicate with the other through our daily social interactions. The operations of Christian mission are far more complex than that. The problem of relational disorder in Christian mission exposes deeper issues in epistemological principles, theological orientation and praxis. We need more than metaphysical knowledge to address the ontological problem present in the civilizing mission.

      Similar to Cleall’s research focus, Webb Keane questions the epistemological privilege of the church over human value. Keane’s critique of missionary activity as a form of cultural aggression has taken a new twist on the subject of Christian mission. The entire Christian missionary movement is contingent on “certain semiotic forms and ideologies.” In traversing the perimeter of missionary encounters, Keane observes that

      Language is not innocent. The way that specific language is used, a statement made and a story told is all calculated and manipulated. The categories of modern/backward, cultured/barbaric, and so forth are implicated and constructed for the production of cultural representations that further condones binary oppositions against the other.

      The Christian Missionary Movement as a Constructed Discourse

      Discourses on the mission of God have been constantly misused to do harm to the other time and again. From the crusaders’ intolerance “in the name of God” to heathen conversion “for the kingdom of God,” the longstanding hostility to the other or simply xenophobia has not been removed from public discourses on the other. There is every reason to believe that the entire Christian missionary movement is something other than a sheer venture of holiness. The kind of violence done to non-Christians and people of different religious traditions not only exposes a problematic reading of the mission of God, but also creates a “reality” justifying the continual subjugation of the other. The reality of Christian mission is evidently operating within the framework of social construction.

      The procedures of social control are deposited into the character of reality, including the religious one. While maintaining the order of things, the process of identity-formation takes place in these socially constructed worlds.


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