Cambridge Seven

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cambridge Seven in Chinese Clothing - 1885

The Cambridge Seven were six students from the University of Cambridge and one student from the Royal Military Academy who decided in 1885 to become missionaries in China:

Preparations in England

The seven young men had conversion experiences and were "born again Christians". At the same time they developed the idea of ​​going to China and spreading their faith there and helping the local people. Hudson Taylor's book " China's Spiritual Need and Claims " was decisive for their commitment . After they were accepted by Hudson Taylor on the China Inland Mission , their departure to China was scheduled for February 1885. Before they left, the seven organized a farewell trip for evangelism purposes and to promote their future work. During the course of this tour, they were nicknamed "The Cambridge Seven." The farewell tour was aimed primarily at students across England and Scotland, but even Queen Victoria received a booklet with the Seven's testimonies. Her departure was described in "The Evangelization of the World: A Missionary Band". The book became a bestseller and itself influenced missionary efforts in America . Robert Wilder's Student Volunteer Movement was formed there .

Charles Studd's brother Kynaston assisted the seven with their travel arrangements.

meaning

The conversion and the example of the seven was one of the grand gestures of missionary efforts in the 19th century. The men also became religious celebrities. Her story was published under the title "The Evangelization of the World" and distributed to all YMCA and YWCA groups in the British Empire and the United States.

Even if they only worked together for a short time, their initiative made the China Inland Mission well known in one fell swoop. The story inspired many young people to go to the CIM and other mission societies as missionaries. In 1885 the CIM had 163 missionaries. In 1890 the number had doubled and by 1900 it had reached 800 - at that time a third of all Protestant missionaries.

Further paths in life

  • William Wharton Cassels worked in China for ten years, then returned to England in 1895, where he was appointed bishop of a new diocese in western China . After returning to Sichuan, he lived there until his death in 1925.
  • Stanley Peregrine Smith was posted to northern China. He mastered Chinese at the highest level and excelled as a preacher. He died in China on January 31, 1931.
  • Charles Studd , one of the famous Studd brothers , a well-known cricket player at the time, who played against Australia in the famous Ashes series . He was sent back to England in 1894 due to poor health. He later worked in India and Africa and became the founder of WEC . He died in 1931.
  • Arthur Polhill-Turner was not ordained until 1888. He was particularly committed to people in the countryside and stayed in China even during the Boxer Rebellion and did not return to England until 1928, where he died in 1935.
  • Cecil Polhill-Turner , Arthur Polhill-Turner's brother, soon went to the northwest of China on the border with Tibet . During an uprising in 1892, he was almost killed along with his wife. In 1900 he was sent back to England due to health problems. He was told not to return to China. Despite these instructions, he returned to China seven times on long missionary trips. In 1908 he became the head of the Pentecostal Missionary Union in Sunderland and was one of the pioneers of the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain . He retired in 1925 and died in 1938.
  • Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp was evacuated due to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 but returned to China in 1902. In 1911 he returned to England and served in the British Army as a chaplain. His son also became a missionary in China. In 1935 Beauchamp traveled back to China, where he died in 1939 with his son.
  • Dixon Edward Hoste was the only one of the Cambridge Seven who had not been trained in Cambridge. He succeeded Hudson Taylor as director of the China Inland Mission and led the mission society for thirty years. He retired in 1935 but stayed in China until 1945 when he was interned by the Japanese . He died in London in May 1946. He was the last of the Cambridge Seven .

swell

  • Benjamin Broomhall: The Evangelization of the world : A Missionary Band; A Record of Consecration, and an Appeal. London: Morgan & Scott. 1889.

Works (selection)

  • Charles Thomas Studd: The chocolate soldier . Fort Washington, PA .: Christian Literature Crusade.
  • Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp: CT Studd, 1862-1931 . (Essay)
  • Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp: Days of Blessing in Inland China : Being an Account of Meetings Held in the Province of Shan-si, & c .. London: Morgan & Scott, 1887.
  • Stanley Peregrine Smith: China from Within . Or, The Story of the Chinese Crisis. 1901.
  • Arthur Twistleton Polhill Turner: A Story Retold. "The Cambridge Seven." With portraits and illustrations. An Account of a Mission in China. Compiled by AT Polhill-Turner. Morgan & Scott: London 1902.
  • Dixon Eward Hoste: A prince with God : Hudson Taylor's successor as general director of the China Inland Mission 1900-1935. With Phyllis Thompson; London: China Inland Mission: Agents Lutterworth Press 1949.
  • William Wharton Cassels: The claims of China on the Church of Christ . London: Church Missionary Society 1908? [Day of opportunity and the CMS, no. 2.]

See also

Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. , an architecture firm, also operates under the name "Cambridge Seven" .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ helped catapult the China Inland Mission from obscurity to "almost embarrassing prominence."
  2. ^ Obituary 1926

literature

  • The provocateur of God: Why a sports idol gave away his millions; the unusual life of missionary Charles T. Studd; Audio book. Wesel: Felsenfest / Kawohl 2010. ISBN 978-3-937240-95-4
  • Marshall Broomhall: WW Cassels, first bishop in Western China . With portraits, illustrations & map. China Inland Mission: London, 1926.

Web links