A Tour of the Missions: Observations and Conclusions

In Short

After forty years leading the Rochester Theological Seminary, Augustus Hopkins Strong embarks on a world tour across Japan, China, Malaya, Burma, India, and Java to observe global Christian missions. Traveling with his wife, who had previously completed the journey, Strong encounters vibrant local cultures, staggering ancient monuments, and complex colonial systems. Along the way, he weighs the spiritual promises of Christianity against the rigid structures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Part travel journal and part theological treatise, the book endures as a vivid, eyewitness snapshot of early twentieth-century Asia during a period of intense global transition.

The Story

Following his retirement from decades of academic and administrative leadership, Augustus Hopkins Strong sets out to visit the more than one hundred former students who have entered the foreign mission field. Rather than staying home to read the Encyclopædia Britannica, he chooses to circumnavigate the globe with his wife as his guide, leveraging her prior experience on the same circuit to navigate the geography and customs of the East.

The narrative opens with vivid impressions of East Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia. Sailing through the island-dotted waters of Japan, Strong praises the natural beauty of the landscape and the energy of its people, seeing the nation as a potential spiritual and cultural leader for the entire Orient. Arriving in China, he marvels at the deep-water harbor and bustling international commerce of British-administered Hongkong. Traveling down the Malay Peninsula toward Singapore and Penang, Strong records encounters with rubber plantations, diverse immigrant populations, and elaborate local customs, including a lavish thirty-thousand-dollar funeral for a prominent Chinese banker.

Entering Burma, the author inspects an extensive network of mission-driven primary schools, colleges, and seminaries. He observes hundreds of Burmese and Karen students singing Christian hymns and acquiring modern educations, highlighting the transformational role these institutions play for young women previously excluded from literacy.

In India, the narrative shifts toward a deeper engagement with religious architecture, social structures, and colonial governance. Strong visits Calcutta, where he compares the terrifying imagery of the goddess Kali with the clean, artistic arabesques of the Jain temples. Traveling through the ancient city of Benares, the rock-hewn caves of Elephanta, the quiet Towers of Silence in Bombay, and the massive temple complexes of Madura, he documents the visual and social realities of Hinduism. He credits the British administration with engineering vast networks of canals, railways, and postal systems that have reduced famine and fostered trade, though he insists that material progress alone cannot unite India's divided populations.

Continuing to Java, Strong travels four hundred miles by rail past smoking volcanoes, taking in endless fields of sugar cane and rice. He scrutinizes Dutch colonial policies, noting that long-standing strategies of economic extraction and social repression are gradually yielding to educational reforms inspired by democratic movements across Asia.

In its final chapters, the book shifts into formal theological argument. Strong mounts a defense of biblical authority, criticizing the modern German "historical method" of biblical criticism for replacing divine revelation with a secular evolutionary framework. He argues that true social progress—whether dismantling the Indian caste system, elevating the status of women, or establishing world peace—requires a personal foundation in the living Christ rather than relying on military force or mere intellectualism.

How It Unfolds

The journey begins Augustus Hopkins Strong retires from the seminary and embarks on a worldwide journey to visit his former students. Guided by his wife, he sails through Japan's Inland Sea and marvels at its landscape before arriving in the colonial commercial hub of Hongkong.

Cruising the Malay Straits Traveling through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang, the author moves past rubber forests and coconut groves while witnessing the peaceful coexistence of varied nationalities. In Penang, he pauses to watch the grand, costly funeral procession of a wealthy Buddhist banker.

Educating the youth of Burma In Maulmain, Rangoon, and Mandalay, Strong inspects mission schools and theological seminaries where thousands of children learn to read, write, and sing. He emphasizes the profound impact these institutions have on young Burmese women, who carry new educational standards back into their homes.

Traversing the temples of India Moving through Calcutta, Benares, Bombay, and Madura, the author surveys the contrast between elaborate Hindu shrines and clean Jain temples. He records the overwhelming scale of the Madura temple complex and the social impact of the rigid caste system on daily life.

Observing the Dutch in Java Traveling by rail through Java's volcanic backbones and cultivated fields, Strong examines the island's immense agricultural output. He contrasts older Dutch policies of colonial repression with emerging educational initiatives driven by modern Asian reform movements.

Defending the authority of Scripture Strong transitions from travel notes to theological analysis, attacking skeptical German biblical criticism. He contends that an over-reliance on inductive, secular reasoning strips the Bible of its divine inspiration and leaves society without a moral anchor.

Predicting social transformation The author concludes by asserting that real human brotherhood can only be achieved through Christian principles. He argues that faith will ultimately dismantle caste barriers, elevate women across the Orient, and empower marginalized classes to inherit the future.

The People

• Augustus Hopkins Strong: The author and narrator, President Emeritus of Rochester Theological Seminary. Armed with decades of theological expertise, he seeks to evaluate the practical impact of Christian foreign missions while recording detailed observations of global geography and culture.
• Mrs. Strong: The author's wife, who serves as his primary traveling companion, guide, and informant. Having completed the global tour years earlier, she provides context, manages travel logistics, and actively participates in ceremonial duties, such as laying the cornerstone for a mission hospital in Ongole.
• The Missionaries: A network of over one hundred former seminary students stationed throughout Asia, including figures like Dr. Heinrichs, Dr. James M. Baker, and Dr. David Gilmore. They work in remote posts to establish colleges, write indigenous textbooks, direct hospitals, and preach to local communities.
• The Asian Converts: Native students, pastors, and church members—ranging from Burmese schoolgirls to low-caste Sudra and Madiga believers in India—who embrace new educational opportunities and challenge long-established societal traditions.

In Its Own Voice

"I concluded to take my wife as my encyclopædia instead of the books, and this seemed the more rational since she had, seven or eight years before, made the same tour of the missions which I had in mind."

Strong humorously explains how he chose a personal journey around the world with his experienced wife over staying home to read reference volumes.

"The portico roof of Minakshi's Hall is supported upon six rows of carved pillars, each made from a single stone. There is an extensive 'Golden Lily Tank,' bordered by a granite corridor hung with cages of parrots..."

The author describes the architectural scale and sensory details of the massive Dravidian temple complex at Madura.

"Deduction will give us truth from above, whereas induction will give us only scattered facts on the horizontal plane."

Strong summarizes his core philosophical argument regarding the necessity of starting with faith in Christ when interpreting sacred scripture.

What It's Really About

Beneath its narrative of ocean voyages and train rides, A Tour of the Missions explores the friction between Western intellectualism, colonial empire, and traditional Asian cultures. Strong argues that material advances—such as British telegraph lines or Dutch agricultural schemes—are insufficient to reform human society without a foundation of moral transformation.

He identifies the Indian caste system and the historical subjugation of women as structural barriers to human flourishing, claiming that true democratic equality cannot take root through political decrees alone. Simultaneously, Strong mounts an academic defense of orthodox Christian theology against the rising tide of European secular rationalism, warning that discarding divine authority leads directly to a destructive reliance on brute force and military dominance.

Why Read It Today

This account offers readers a fascinating primary window into early twentieth-century world travel and global mission work written on the eve of major geopolitical shifts. Strong writes with the crisp clarity of a seasoned scholar, bringing an observant eye to the physical landscapes of old Singapore, colonial India, and volcanic Java. Readers interested in historical travelogues, religious history, and the mechanics of Western foreign missions will find rich detail in his firsthand accounts.

The book does reflect the firm racial, cultural, and religious biases of an American Protestant leader writing in 1918. Strong views traditional non-Christian religions through an unapologetically critical lens, and his unreserved praise for British imperial governance highlights the era's complex assumptions about Western influence. Yet, his sincere advocacy for female education, his sharp opposition to racial caste barriers, and his thoughtful descriptions of Asian architecture make the text a nuanced, valuable document of its time.