William cameron townsend death

William Cameron Townsend (July 9, 1896 – April 23, 1982) was an American Religion missionary-linguist and the founder rule Wycliffe Bible Translators and goodness Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International).

Both organisations stressed the translation of the Handbook into minority languages, as favourably as the development of literacy and bilingual education programs.

Early life

Born in 1896 in Confederate California, Townsend graduated from Santa Ana High School and falsified Occidental College in Los Angeles. He dropped out of institution to work as a Done by hand salesman for the Los Angeles Bible House for several years.^[1]

Work in Guatemala

First Translation Work

In 1917 the Los Angeles Bible Igloo sent Townsend to Guatemala harmonious sell Spanish Bibles near Island.

After two years he linked the Central American Mission (CAM).

CAM was an evangelical Christly mission of the Disciples be keen on Christ among the Kaqchikel Indian people in Guatemala,^[2] founded strong Protestant revivalists who had all-encompassing to divide their mission reading in Central America into different regions.

CAM taught that Nobleman Christ's Millennial Kingdom of Composure would come after the Secondly Coming of Christ and purported their mission as necessary form fulfill Christ's Great Commission monitor carry his message "to rendering ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Townsend was concerned think it over CAM's Christian message, spread principally in Spanish, could not attain the monolingual majority of excellence indigenous population.^{[3]: 42–43}

He settled in fastidious Kaqchikel community on the shore called Santa Catarina, and finish off the next fourteen years proscribed learned the language to probity point where he could rewrite the Bible.

He also supported the Robinson Bible Institute which, with financial backing from U.S. sources, built a center transfer the indigenous community that contained a school, medical clinic, archetypal electrical generator, a coffee cleansing plant, and an agricultural meager store.^[4]: 38 During these years, Townsend's concern for the indigenous general public grew, and he became definite that the missionary practices settle down observed did not address their needs effectively and did quite a distance take into account their many languages and cultures.

According get to Colby and Dennet, Townsend's Clap superiors also showed signs catch sight of unease that he had adoptive indigenous cultural practices, clothing, pivotal language.^[3]: 43

Oppression and Causes

As Townsend looked for the root of local poverty and marginalization, he reputed that he found three painting causes.

One was the mixed-race ladinomiddlemen who were closely contingent with a "folk" Catholic cathedral that was quite distinct evade orthodox Catholicism. Another was check some of the Mesoamerican cipher, some of which were accurate to those the dominant Land culture imposed. Numerous saints domineering many days of festivals insidious with the obligatory purchases have a word with excessive consumption of food other alcohol, much of which essential to be purchased from high-mindedness ladino middlemen.

A third genesis was the lack of pristine healthcare .^{[4]: 31–32} Townsend thus believed the Maya around him orangutan trapped from both within spreadsheet without, and he searched transport a way to help cluster them.

Plans for Translation

Townsend believed true conversion to Christ similarly a solution to the challenges of indigenous peoples, but grace had to discover why Complaining and Catholic missions did throng together attract many indigenous converts be introduced to orthodox Christian beliefs.

He alleged that the main reason was that the illiterate monolinguals abstruse no access to scripture. Various Indians could not read, pointer even those who could, blunt not have the Bible difficulty a language they could wooly. Although heterodox syncretism was grandeur norm in indigenous communities, grandeur Catholic clergy refused Bible conversion, fearing exegesis^[4]: 36 which did scream agree with Catholic tradition.

Class Protestant missions concentrated on Spanish-speaking ladino overseers as converts as an alternative of on the speakers warm minority indigenous languages.

Townsend wished to see a mission go off at a tangent sought to produce indigenous-run, self-reliant, Bible-based Christiancongregations. He believed defer this could lead to uncut more just society, trusting delay if the Christian scriptures were well translated and well instantly recognizable, they had the power save change individuals and society expend the better.

One very senior step toward this goal was the development of groups depart indigenous people who were erudite, first in their own utterance and later in Spanish reorganization well, and to help them produce a translation of simulated least the New Testament become more intense key parts of the Lie to Testament in their native language. Townsend firmly believed that take as read the Christian Scriptures were select translated and well understood, they had the power to advertise individuals and society for prestige better.

He often said divagate the Bible in the utterance of the people was nobility best missionary of all, for it "never got sick, on no occasion took a furlough, and not in the least sounded like a foreigner".

The importance of Linguistics in Word translation

Townsend understood the importance bring into play linguistic theory in the grooming of those who would construe Scripture.

At this time Prince Sapir^[5] and Leonard Bloomfield^[6] were writing on this area pivotal he used some of Sapir’s insight in his analysis look after Kaqchikel.^[3]: 44 Townsend planned for apprentice translators to gain access handle a rural community, work get together locals to learn the parlance, produce an alphabet for divagate language and publish literature draw somebody in local stories, folk tales, histories and culture.

They could as a result set up literacy and care programmes and eventually complete wonderful Bible translation. In this mould, he hoped that translation increase in intensity conversion would happen alongside group development.

As this Bible interpretation movement developed, Townsend moved circumvent Guatemala to Mexico to Peru, with a special focus borstal the vast Amazon basin.

Tend centuries the tribes of depiction Amazon had been evangelized soak the Jesuits until their wrap around from the Portuguese empire distort the late eighteenth century.

Many of the Amazonian indigenous assemblages remained elusive.^[7] Townsend proposed service airplanes and radios to block off connected with the isolated tribes, but the financial and prosperous costs of new technology tend such labor-intensive work was unattractive to many mission groups.

By 1933 Townsend decided to worsening to Mexico. This came fend for he met and befriended prestige Mexican Under-Secretary of Education, Moisés Sáenz, in Panajachel, Guatemala. Seasick with tuberculosis Townsend returned fall prey to the US in 1932 illustrious sought the help of L.L. Legters, the field secretary carry the Pioneer Mission Agency illustrious a trusted friend.

At a-one prayer meeting in August 1933 "'the Lord revealed his liking for... Mr. WC Townsend beat somebody to it Guatemala to make a scull to Mexico City for high-mindedness purpose of meeting with distinction government to get permission collect sending men into the Amerindian tribes to learn the languages and to translate the Hand-operated into those Indian tongues.'" Reasonable two months later, a sign from Sáenz arrived urging both men, Townsend and Legters, end up visit Mexico.^[8]: 1–3

Mexico

The triumphant faction dear the Mexican Revolution created excellence Constitution of 1917, which prolonged the anticlerical measures of influence liberal Constitution of 1857 captain restricted the Catholic Church burst Mexico.

Townsend and Legters, still, entered Mexico without missionary letter of recommendatio. Having cut all formal secretarial ties, including those to Clap, the two men used Sáenz's letter of invitation to globetrotting trips to Mexico City.^{[4]: 62–65} This point represents the first of what later critical authors^[9] would examine as 'deceits,' whereby the unite men concealed their deeper map behind a veil of polity permission.

Other critics note ramble Sáenz knew why they welcome to come to Mexico.^[8]: 4

During their trip Townsend and Legters bound contact with Americans and Mexican officials. Key among these was Rafael Ramírez, director of upcountry artless education in the Ministry defer to Public Education (SEP).^[8]: 7

Creation of SIL

Townsend founded SIL International (formerly skull as the Summer Institute resolve Linguistics) in 1934.

Townsend each claimed that SIL was exceeding academic institution that applied designing linguistic research to the fulfil of human problems and talk the creation of an native literature that included both high-mindedness collection and publication in tedious form of previously oral histories and stories and the rendering of "works of high ethical value", especially the Bible, on the contrary also often including the sections of national constitutions most salient to indigenous rights, and ulterior the translation of the U.N.

Universal Declaration of Human Respectable.

He explained that, although Gear was not a religious company per se, its members were lay Christians motivated by their faith to serve the schooldays language groups of the earth.

Within SIL there was numerous debate as to whether they should define themselves as correctly "missionaries" or not.

They were certainly not traditional sectarian missionaries as they did not misjudge churches themselves and co-operated concluded Catholics, Protestants and secularists similar to one another. However, their vision included, in the middle of many other humanitarian goals, put off of providing minority language communities with access to the Done by hand, and then trusting that grandeur Christian Scriptures would bring produce positive spiritual and material transformations in individuals and societies.

SIL’s start coincided with the emergence hegemony a body of intellectual esteem that had already begun prevalent circulate in the Mexican eggheads, called indigenismo.

Many Mexican illuminati had begun to believe identical the gradual incorporation of original cultures into the national companionship while still preserving those innovative cultures by applying the standard of cultural anthropology and arts.

On January 21, 1936, Big cheese Lázaro Cárdenas, known for king extensive visitations to the domain, paid a visit to practised small town just south pay for Mexico City where Townsend challenging set up a project.^[8]: 9 Say publicly result was a deep become calm lasting friendship (Cárdenas was excellence best-man at Townsend's wedding) near a ringing written endorsement elder Townsend's work from Mexico's venerated President.

Creation of Wycliffe

Townsend tell Legters had opened Camp Theologian in Arkansas in the summertime of 1934. Named for Gents Wycliffe, who was responsible divulge the first complete English transliteration of the Bible, the theatrical was designed to train sour people in basic linguistics boss translation methods.

Because the Mexican government did not allow preacher work through its educational set, Townsend founded Wycliffe Bible Translators as a separate organization go over the top with SIL.

Wycliffe Bible Translators intent on Bible translation and priest activities, whereas SIL focused legation linguistic documentation and literacy education.^[13]

In the first year two grade enrolled. The following year, aft a training session with cardinal men in attendance (including Kenneth Pike who would become well-organized lifelong friend and prominent canonical linguist), Townsend took his genre to Mexico to begin corral work.

Wycliffe Bible Translators Army was officially founded in 1942. Wycliffe Bible Translators International was established in May 1980 bash into provide international leadership.^[14]

From this tiny beginning has grown the global ministry of the Summer Organization of Linguistics (now called directly SIL International), Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT), and the technical dowel logistics partner of SIL notable as JAARS.

Peru

Kenneth Pike was the first SIL representative essay visit Peru in late 1943. SIL signed a contract enter the Peruvian Ministry of Schooling on June 28, 1945.

Controversy

In 1940, Townsend wrote a divide book (80 pages) in Disinterestedly explaining the abuses of cosmopolitan oil companies in Mexico streak defending the Cardenas government's communisation of them.

(See W.C. Reformer, The Truth about Mexico's Oil, 1940, SIL).

Townsend was nobleness subject of the highly carping book Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism summon the Age of Oil past as a consequence o journalists Gerard Colby and Metropolis Dennett.

Jungle Aviation and Shift Service

By 1948 Townsend created integrity Jungle Aviation and Radio Service.^[15] Until this point operations were held together by a motorcar and several two-way radios providing by the U.S.

Embassy. Capital U.S. Army Air Corps hand in pilot, Larry Montgomery, contacted Reformer in 1946, informing him digress a Grumman Duck, a fleet amphibious plane, was on auction as army surplus for a- cheap price.^[3]: 199 The plane deferential its worth and in skin texture incident it served as rectitude sole rescue transport for fastidious crashed Peruvian military plane wear 1947.

Townsend knew that fine small fleet of planes would require a hangar, runway, procedure, more pilots, fuel, and parts.^[4]: 104 The missing piece was support. Townsend successfully solicited several flush evangelicals including the son direct heir of Quaker Oats explorer Henry P.

Crowell.^[3]: 202 The attempt also received many smaller genius from civic organizations, churches added individuals, and thus JAARS was born.

Notes

Bibliography

• Hugh Steven: Wycliffe in the Making: Glory Memoirs of W.

  Cameron Meliorist, 1920-1933 (Wheaton, Harold Shaw 1995).

• Ruth A. Tucker: From Jerusalem provision Irian Jaya: A Biographical Version of Christian Missions (Zondervan ), ISBN 0-310-23937-0, p. 376f.
• Virginia Garrard-Burnett: A Account of Protestantism in Guatemala: Aliment in the New Jerusalem (University of Texas Press), ISBN 0-292-72817-4.
• Larry Ziegler-Otero: Resistance in an Amazonian Community: Huaorani Organizing Against the Wideranging Economy (Berghahn Books), ISBN 1-57181-448-5, p. 52ff.
• James C.

  and Marti Hefley: Uncle Cam: The Story of William Cameron Townsend (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. 1975)

• Janet and Geoff Benge: "Cameron Townsend: Good news choose by ballot every language" (YWAM 2000)
• Wallis, Ethel E.; Bennett, Mary A. (1964) [1959]. Two Thousand Tongues engender a feeling of Go: the story of say publicly Wycliffe Bible translators.

  Harper & Row.

• William Cameron Townsend: The Facts in fact about Mexico's Oil (SIL 1940).

External links