17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Job Well Done!, August 12, 2000
This review is from: The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture (Paperback)
Wonderful work done by two individuals who know the country of India well. Not only is it an accurate description of William Carey, but the history of India itself. I am currently reading it for the second time. It is full of alot if information about how truely the power of the Gospel helps set people free in spirit and industrialization. Great gift for those who are our Hindu friends!
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
more a tease than a substantial essay, by design, April 27, 2006
This review is from: The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture (Paperback)
The book was a gift, towards the ministries of mercy class i am reading for, as such it moved to the top of my TBR list.
It's a quick and breezy read, writing informally and meant to inspire and motivate more than a deep discussion on the topic. It's a collection of 5 essays, the first 3 by Ruth and centering on the place of women in Indian society and how important Christian was in their freedom for Hindu bondage, with particular attention paid to the issue of sati, or widow burning on her husband's funeral pyre. Chapters 4, and 5 are by Vishal and center on the crucial elements of Carey's Christian vision and how it made India's modernization possible. Chapter 5 is, by far, the best chapter in the book, i'd recommend reading it first. The book is suitable probably to the junior high level of reading and would make an acceptable Sunday School text on either missions, Carey himself or the entry of Christianity into India, this is it's nature target audience.
It touches on a number of significant theological themes but doesn't dwell on them in any depth, that is not the book's goal. But rather a consistent theme emerges that Carey as the genius who brings Christianity to India is responsible for the modernisation and de-emphasis on Hindu religious elements that kept the people both poor and enslaved to idols. There is a secondary theme that is not explicitly developed, but is perhaps more interesting, that is this Christianization is under attack in India and has been since the 1970's by both Hindu restorationists and postmodernists who would undo the accomplishments and force India back into darkness.
I found the book an interesting, if shallow read, i see their passion for Carey and his work as well as their desire for India's cultural renassiance as it incorporates Christian elements in the place of it's Hindi ones. I see how ideas i've met in other contexts can be of value in analysis here, but the book left me with more questions than answers. Mostly to read something more difficult and expansive from Vishal's word processor. I've learned something about Carey, i didn't know his 1st wife went crazy in the mission field and was locked in her room for 12 years. But would be interested in learning more about the influence of Christianity in Hindu India in the 19thC.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book., March 1, 2011
This review is from: The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture (Paperback)
Great summary of William Carey's life, good insight into the life of his first wife, Dorothy, and great application to present-day missions.
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