The Integrating Gospel and The Christian: Fiji 1835-67

Alan Tippett s publications played a significant role in the development of missiology. The volumes in this series augment his distinguished reputation by bringing to light his many unpublished materials and hard-to-locate printed articles. These books encompassing theology, anthropology, history, area studies, religion, and ethnohistory broaden the contours of the discipline. This volume contains two manuscripts. The first, The Integrating Gospel, combines a historical ethnolinguistic study of Fijian language, an examination of Fijian culture patterns in interaction with the church, and Tippett s own firsthand experience as a communicator of the gospel to specific receptors at a specific place and point in time. From this, Tippett is able to extrapolate broader ideas on contextualization and methods of gospel transmission. In The Christian: Fiji 1835 67, Tippett addresses the establishment of the Christian church and the spread of Christianity in Fiji, with special attention to Ratu Cakobau. In this brief but in-depth study, Tippett presents a strong case against the understanding that Fijian conversions to Christianity were primarily political, as he offers evidence of the genuine religious and spiritual experiences behind these conversions."