The Surprising Lineage of Useful Knowledge

Irving-Stonebraker, Sarah

doi:10.2307/j.ctvfrxrx4.21

Cited by 1 publication

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“…It was by no means uncommon to see an intelligent chief muttering some prayer to a fly, an ant, or a lizard, which happened to alight or crawl in his presence. 37 My argument here develops one of Tomoko Masuzawa's insights in her seminal Invention of World Religions, namely, that the scientific apparatus for studying religion did not emerge to replace Christian theology, but rather, within it. Masuzawa contended that it was comparative theology that formed the foundations of world religions, because the very ground of comparison was already made in such a way to privilege the "unique and exclusive authority of Christianity."…”

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…He was adamant that the idols were in an "intimate manner … interwoven with their political, civil, and social institutions." 33 Further, Williams explained in detail, "idols … were different in almost every island and district. I do not recollect to have seen two precisely similar representations of the same deity, except those placed on fishing canoes.…”

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Then, reverting almost seamlessly back to the position of theologian, Williams argued that the idolmakers "professing themselves to be wise … became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image, made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to four footed beasts, and creeping things." 34 Indeed, when Williams came to describe the religious practices of the Polynesians, for example, he recorded, "they had the god of the fisherman, of the husbandman, of the voyager, of the thief, and of the warrior. All these are said to have been men who were deified on account of their eminence in such a vocation."…”

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these are said to have been men who were deified on account of their eminence in such a vocation." 35 Here, the concept of idolatry enabled Williams to do the putatively objective work of classifying the religious practices of the islanders, while at the same time, maintain that it was, therefore, false, because it wasn't Christian. For example, Williams was able to put forward a taxonomy of the types of religious objects of the Rarotongans.…”

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"The objects worshipped by them were three kinds-their deified ancestors, their idols, and their etus." 36 In a clever intellectual manoeuvre, idolatry became both a theological and an ethnographic concept: both normative and scientific. It identified not only the falsity of the islanders' beliefs, but also their cultural particularity, and these two characteristics were understood to be symbiotic:…”

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Theology, Idolatry and Science: John Williams’ Missionary Ethnography and Natural History of the South Pacific

Irving-Stonebraker¹

2018

Journal of Religious History

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This article contributes to the recent scholarly efforts toward a more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between Protestant missionaries and the practice of natural history and ethnography in the early nineteenth century. Exploring John Williams’ work in the South Pacific, I argue that not only was Williams practicing science in the form of ethnography and natural history, but that his theology was, in fact, central to his scientific work. Through a careful exploration of Williams’ account of his missionary activities in the South Pacific, I contend that Williams’ conception of idolatry served as an explanatory tool that shaped the practice of his ethnography. In the minds of missionaries like Williams, whereas Christianity’s truth was universal, idolatry was the worship of a false god: false because it was just a deification of a particular desire rather than worship of the universal God. This conception of idolatry shaped Williams’ contention, central to his ethnography, that the islanders’ religion was a product of their particular cultural needs. In this way, I argue, Williams used a theological concept to perform explanatory scientific work, contributing to the idea that religion is a product of culture, a notion that became central to nineteenth century studies of religion.

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Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Idolatry and Theologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations