William Carey
An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792)
MissionaryBaptist
Section I
Multitudes of them have perished, and are still perishing in their sins, and that notwithstanding the light of nature, and the remains of Noachic tradition, the heathens are universally given to idolatry, and are as much in a state of perdition as any criminals who deserve the punishment of the divine law.
✦ Commentary
Carey's founding text establishes the theological premise: all non-Christians are in a "state of perdition" — literal damnation. This is not cultural critique; it is soteriological absolutism. Every missionary who followed was working within this framework: Indian religions are not merely different or inadequate, they lead to eternal punishment.
Themes
Heathen Damnation
Discursive Strategies
Heathen Darkness Metaphor
Source Type
Published Book
↯ Tracing the Causal Chain
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Missionaryinfluenced
Charles Grant, Observations on the State of Society among the Asiatic Subjects of Great Britain
“The Hindoos err, because they are ignorant; and their errors have never fairly been laid before them. The communication of our light and knowledge to them would prove the best remedy for their disorde...”
Carey's soteriological absolutism — all non-Christians are in "perdition" — provides the theological foundation for Grant's secular-sounding civilizational critique. Once eternal damnation is established, the diagnosis of ignorance and moral failure follows logically. The civilizing mission is conversion by other means.