The Bible and mission in faith perspective: J.Hudson Taylor and the early China Inland Mission

Abstract

The thesis 'The Bible and Mission in Faith Perspective: J.Hudson Taylor and the Early China Inland Mission' by Christopher E.M. Wigram analysis the hermeneutical assumptions that underlay Hudson Taylor's approach to biblical interpretation, and the significance of his approach for the mission which he founded, the China Inland Mission. The thesis sheds light on a hitherto unexplored aspect of Taylor's spirituality. It also provides an instructive example of how sections of Protestant evangelicalism in the later nineteenth century reacted to the growth of biblical criticism; Hudson Taylor grounded the authority of scripture in its inner spiritual and Christological meaning, and was not afraid to emply elaborate allegory. It is set in the context of the cultural and religious influences that moulded new initiatives in mission and contributed to the rise of the Holines movement and faith expressions of mission.