书评：约翰·赫尔曼·巴文克的《宣教学概论》

有天晚上我告诉我太太，在这篇书评开头我会向读者发问：“如果你被困在孤岛上，你会带哪一本关于宣教的书？”我太太以她向来管用、经久不衰的逻辑性回答说，如果一个人可能被独自困在一个小岛上，一本宣教的书恐怕并不是随身携带物品的最好选择。

那么我们试着这么问吧：如果你打算将接下来的余生用来作一个被差派出去的宣教士，随身只能带一本关于宣教的书（除圣经之外），你会带哪本？尽管我不喜欢选哪个最好，不过我还是会不费什么力气地为自己选这本书：J.H.巴文克写的《宣教学概论》。

作者并非著有《归正教义》（译注：又译《改革宗教义神学》）的那位荷兰神学家赫尔曼·巴文克（Herman Bavinck），这位是他的侄子，约翰·赫尔曼·巴文克（Johan Herman Bavinck）。J·H·巴文克为我们清楚地勾勒了他的经历：一个忠心的牧师（他于1919-1929年在万隆和苏门答腊的荷兰教会牧会）、一名热情的宣教士（1929-1938年在印尼的爪哇岛宣教），以及一位认真的圣经学者（1938-1963年在肯本神学院（译注：又译坎本神学院）任神学及宣教学教授）。

然而让我如此喜欢这本书的原因并非他的家世或经历。而是因为他基于圣经，他柔和谦卑，在我们面对诸多令人不满、人本中心、实用主义倾向的环境下，他那颇有常识的洞察力。相比于那么多关于宣教的书都是些“保证宣教成功的十个研究案例及社会人类学所认可的步骤”，巴文克的书简直就是沁人心脾。

此书把我们引向何方？指向圣经

在书中的引言，他列出了希望解决的问题，这样你就知道此书将走向何方。问题清单的范围从基础到方法论：

“宣教事工的基础是什么？在圣经命令与应许的总框架内它占据什么位置呢？”

与我们一起工作的那些人的属灵遗产，我们是否允许自己去与之调和？

还有“宣教应该主要关注呼召个人悔改呢？还是应该优先考虑社会、部落、种族呢？”（第5页）

我想到的是，这些问题与我们今天的宣教多么相关，然而此书可是出版于1954年。

但我认为此书超越时空的秘密在引言结尾的评论中显示了出来：

宣教学的理论正是该关注这些紧迫的问题。答案必须唯独基于圣经的基础。因为宣教的工作乃是神的工作；我们的即兴创新是不被许可的。每一步我们都必须问神的命令是什么。虽然不是每次都能轻易找到正确的路线，我们的寻求肯定必须由神所说的话语来带领。宣教学理论的任务现在清晰地摆在我们面前。（第6页）

你明白了吗？他说：“答案必须唯独基于圣经的基础。”这就是将此书与现代那么多宣教书籍区分出来的原因。这本书从根本上扎根圣经，而不是作者对宣教禾场的经验与观察的想法。不是说这本书就不切实际——它当然是。但是它的务实想法是从圣经中升华而来，带着权威，而我发现在如今其他更实用主义的宣教书籍却相当缺乏这一点。

我想正是此书扎根圣经使得它拥有出奇的永恒品质。阅读它时，好几次我都觉得好像巴文克读了我们的邮件并且在解决当前宣教学的这些争论。处境化、核心语言、与非基督徒“圣书”的桥接、翻译困难、口传文化、文化帝国主义、社会科学的作用、道成肉身式还是使徒式的宣教——所有这些“热点”问题，以及至少提及到的更多内容。然而很有帮助的是，巴文克没有什么企图，因为他在很大程度上只是预见而不是参与这些辩论。

但如果你认为本书只是一本关于宣教概念的神学感想，那就大错特错了。经验方面的内容是巴文克通过在东南亚花了二十年作牧师和宣教士所展示的事实。然后他并没有把那些经验和观察形成他方法的基础，好像其他那么多书那样，他把那些经验放在一边儿，总是顺从神话语的权威和丰富。好像学生一样，他们可以举手问问题；他们不许像教授那样写下课程内容。其结果就是整本书都是用持久、审慎、思考圣经的内容来解决实际的问题

概要 

全书分为三个部分。第一部分涉及宣教理论（基础，方法，目标），其中大部分是从创世记到启示录的宣教圣经神学。对于一本从荷兰语翻译的书而言，这部分真是惊人得温暖人心，能言善辩，时而翱翔，默想神在万民中的荣耀，光这部分都值回书价了。这部分还包括了有帮助的默想，教我们如何将圣经融入到我们的处境中，并且警告人们不要削减福音令人讨厌的本质。

在第二部分中，巴文克展现了传福音中令人归信的方面，他所谓的“反驳论证”（elenctics），这是从希腊单词elengchein来的，意思是“责备”或“带来的耻辱。”他把它描述成福音传道工作的劳苦，在圣灵的引导下，带来“认罪及悔改的呼召。”（第222页）那些在穆斯林或印度教徒中间工作的人应该会发现，这对他考虑知罪是有极大帮助的，穆斯林本质上看罪是无知愚昧的，而印度教徒看它是虚幻的，自我误解。巴文克全面彻底地在他论人类如何在假宗教崇拜中试图遮掩他们的罪恶感（按照罗马书第1章的方式），以及我们如何通过圣经用爱心来暴露它。

第三部分阐述了宣教的历史并展望未来。回顾历史这部分恐怕是本书最不平凡的一部分，有点儿大头钉的感觉。但它仅有全书309页中的30页。而同时巴文克对未来的看法是非常谨慎的、古旧的，又恪守圣经地乐观的。在结尾处他说我们必须在神里有信心，而不是在我们的分析或者策略上。

我们知道，宣教事业不是一个人的事业，我们必须考虑我们的人力并且数算人力，但他是耶稣基督的工作，虽然通过我们作为器皿，但主才是那位亲自召聚的。我们把盼望建立在此之上。在此我们感觉身处神迹的前沿，正因为如此，每一时刻都能有格外的惊喜临到我们。（第308页）

一些不可少的批评

到现在很显然我真的很喜欢这本书。有没有缺点呢？嗯，是的，作为人类撰写的书总是会有那么点儿的。这书在某些地方（至少对我而言）有点过于学究了，部分是因为它在回应一些我闻所未闻的已故荷兰人的著作，而且我恐怕也不会读。不过幸好这些讨论篇幅简短，仅限于前言。

此外，我花了好一段时间才能弄明白巴文克所说的“反驳论证（elenctics）”究竟是什么意思以及它为什么那么重要，但他最终赢得了我的认同。另外，他似乎对20世纪30年代和40年代的欧洲教会的合一趋势也有点不加批判。诚然，在他写这本书的时候，那场运动还没有多少恶果成为现实，针对削减福音以达致最大化可见的合一，他听上去只是做了简短谨慎的注释。总而言之，最后的历史部分相比此书其余部分来说差了些，而结论也显得虎头蛇尾。

书有所值

最后，本书恐怕不是某些读者所期待的。巴文克努力通过经文来找到宣教方法，这可不仅仅是剪切粘贴的工作那么简单，这意味着读这本书需要思考、研究、洞察和祷告。如果你是位牧师或者宣教士，将此类书籍带进工作将会花费许多，嗯，功夫。它可不像那种“怎样做”的书那样会给你明确的方法、过度的断言，以及仅仅一些“已被证明有效”的步骤。

但如果你想要一本关于宣教的书，是能在整本圣经中深挖来寻求实用原则的；如果你希望将你的宣教方法置于圣经上下文并且借鉴圣经的方法；如果你想要一本在福音中保持神的荣耀作为宣教的首要目标的书，那么这肯定是给你的书。

本文作者 Andy Johnson

Andy Johnson是国会山浸信会的牧师之一。

约翰·赫尔曼·巴文克的《宣教学概论》

【英文原文】

Book Review: An Introduction to the Science of Missions, by John Herman Bavinck

The other night I told my wife I was going to begin this book review by asking the reader, “If you were going to be marooned alone on an island, what one book on missions would you take?” My wife, with her always-helpful, unfailing sense of logic, replied that a book on mission might not be the best thing to take if one were to be stuck alone on an island.

So, let’s try this: If you were going to be sent out for the rest of your life as a missionary and could take along only one book on missions (in addition to the Bible), what one book would you take? Even though I don’t like superlatives, I have little trouble naming that one book for me: An Introduction to the Science of Missions by J.H. Bavinck.

intro to science of missions

This is not the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, author of Reformed Dogmatics. This is his nephew, Johan Herman Bavinck. In J.H. Bavinck we find a writer who is able to draw on his experiences as a faithful pastor (a Dutch congregation in Bandung, Sumatra, 1919-1929), a passionate missionary (in Java, Indonesia, 1929-1938), and a serious biblical scholar (Professor of Theology and Missions, Kampen Theological Seminary, 1938-1963).

Yet it’s not his pedigree or experiences that make me like this book so much. It’s his biblical focus and his humble, common-sense discernment in the face of so many unsatisfying, man-centered, pragmatic alternatives. In a day when so many books on missions are about “ten research-tested and socio-anthropologically-approved steps to guaranteed missionary success,” Bavinck’s book is a tall glass of cool water.

WHERE’S THIS BOOK GOING? TO SCRIPTURE

You get a sense for where this book is headed in the introduction as he lists the questions he hopes to address. The list ranges from the foundational to the methodological:

“What is the basis of missionary work? What position does it occupy within the total framework of Scripture’s commands and promises?”

“Is it permissible to accommodate ourselves to the spiritual heritage of the peoples among whom we work?”

And “Ought missions be primarily concerned with calling individuals to repentance or should it give priority to the community, to the tribe, to a people?” (5)

What strikes me about these questions is how relevant they are to missions today, and this book was published in 1954.

But I think the secret to the timelessness of this book is exposed in this comment at the end of the introduction:

It is with such urgent questions that the theory of missions is concerned. Answers can be given solely on the basis of Scripture. For the work of missions is the work of God; it is not lawful for us to improvise. At each step we must ask what it is that God demands. Although it will not always be easy to find the right course, our search must surely be led by what God has said in his word. The task of the theory of missions now clearly lies before us. (6)

Did you catch that? He said that “Answers can be given solely on the basis of Scripture.” That is what sets this book apart from so many modern books on missions. This book is fundamentally rooted in the Bible, not in ideas taken from the author’s experiences and observations on the mission field. Not that the book is not practical—it certainly is. But its practical ideas rise out of biblical texts, giving it an authority that I find lacking in most current, more-pragmatic books on missions.

And it’s this biblical rooting, I think, that gives the book an almost eerily timeless quality. Reading it, I felt at times as if Bavinck had been reading our mail and was addressing current missiological controversies. Contextualization, heart-languages, bridging from non-Christian “scriptures,” translation difficulties, orality, cultural imperialism, the role of social sciences, incarnational vs. representational ministry—all these “hot” issues and more are at least hinted at. Yet what’s so helpful is that Bavinck doesn’t have an axe to grind, since he’s largely anticipating rather than participating in these debates.

But you’d be mistaken if you thought the book was merely a theological reflection on the idea of missions. Experience matters, and the fact that Bavinck spent twenty years in Southeast Asia as a pastor and missionary shows through. Yet instead of letting those experiences and observations form the foundation for his method, as so many other books do, he keeps those experiences in their place, always deferring to the authoritative and sufficient Word of God. They are permitted to raise their hands and ask question, as students do; they are not permitted to write out the course curriculum, as a professor does. The result is a book that addresses practical topics with sustained, careful, biblical reflection.

OVERVIEW

The book is divided into three parts. The first part addresses the theory of missions (foundation, approach, aim), much of which is a biblical theology of missions from Genesis to Revelation. For a book translated from the Dutch, this section is surprisingly heart-warming, offering an eloquent, at times soaring, meditation on the glory of God among the nations, which alone is worth the price of the book. The section also includes helpful meditations on how Scripture should shape our contextualization, and warns against minimizing the essentially confrontational nature of the gospel.

In the second part, Bavinck reflects on the convictional aspect of evangelism, what he calls “elenctics,” which is from the Greek word elengchein meaning “to rebuke” or “to bring to shame.”  And he describes it as evangelism that labors, under the Holy Spirit, to bring “conviction of sin and a call to repentance.” (222) Any who work among Muslims or among Hindus should find his consideration of bringing awareness of sin immensely useful, given that Muslims essentially view sin as ignorance while Hindus view it as illusory, self-misunderstanding. Bavinck is exhaustive in his reflections on how humanity tries to hide their sense of guilt (a la Romans 1) in false religious worship, and how we can lovingly expose it from Scripture.

The third part addresses the history of missions and his outlook for the future. The history section is perhaps the least extraordinary part of the book, having a bit of a tacked-on feel. But it’s only 30 out of the book’s 309 pages. And Bavinck’s view of the future is simultaneously cautionary, dated, and optimistically biblical. He ends by saying we must have confidence in God rather than in our analysis or strategies:

We know that the missionary enterprise is not a human undertaking, in which we must take into account our forces and counter forces, but it is the work of Jesus Christ who will gather to himself, through our instrumentality, a congregation out of every nation. It is upon this that we base all our expectations. Here we feel that we are on the border of a miracle, and it is for this reason that at each moment great surprises can overtake us. (308)

A FEW OBLIGATORY CRITIQUES

It should be obvious by now that I really like this book. Are there any downsides to it? Well, yes, as a humanly-authored book there are always some. The book is overly academic in a few places (at least for me), in part because it’s responding to the works of a few dead Dutch guys I’d never heard of nor will probably read. But much of this discussion is mercifully short and is confined to the preface.

In addition, it took me a while to figure out just what Bavinck meant by “elenctics” and why it was so important, but he eventually won me over. Also, he seems a bit uncritical in the history section of the ecumenical trends in the European churches of the 1930s and 40s. Admittedly, not many of the worst fruits of that movement had materialized by the time he was writing, and he does sound a brief cautionary note about minimizing the gospel to maximize visible unity. All in all, the final history section is weak compared to the rest of the book and an anti-climactic conclusion.

WORTH THE WORK

Finally, this book may not be what some readers are looking for. Bavinck’s effort to find missionary methods in Scripture is no mere cut-and-paste job, which means that reading this book takes thought, study, discernment, and prayer. If you are a pastor or missionary, putting this kind of book to work will take a lot of, well, work. It is not one of those “how to” books with clear methods, extravagant claims, and simple “proven” steps.

But if you want a book on missions that digs deep into the whole Bible to find its practical principles; if you want help placing your missions methods in a biblical context and drawing your methods from the Bible; and if you want a book that keeps God’s glory in the gospel as the chief aim of missions, then this is certainly the book for you.

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