William Thomas Berger
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England
Cannes, France
William Thomas Berger (1815 – 1899), was a Christian starch manufacturer in London and owner of Samuel Berger & Co., a patent rice starch manufacturer, who became the first home (England) director of the China Inland Mission with James Hudson Taylor in 1865. At this time the headquarters of the mission agency was located at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, England. As the Home Director he was responsible for editing the Occasional Paper of the China Inland Mission and carrying on the work of sending more missionaries to follow Hudson Taylor to China.
At the time of the Yangzhou riot that brought unwelcome notoriety to the mission activity in China, Berger had to defend Taylor and his group from the attacks of the British press. Often, he had to assume this role with little or no knowledge of the current events in China due to the delay in communication with the missionaries overseas.
The Bergers resigned due to failing health and also due to his personal convictions which were similar to Andrew Jukes (in conflict with the traditional Christian principles of the China Inland Mission) regarding the eternal punishment of non-Christians. He remained a faithful supporter of the mission and a friend of Hudson Taylor until his death.
Trivia note: Berger sold the estate at East Grinstead long before it came to be owned by the unrelated Scientology group.
Part of a series on
Protestant missions to China
Background
Christianity
Protestantism
Chinese history
Missions timeline
Christianity in China
Nestorians
Catholics
Jesuits
Protestants
People
Karl Gützlaff • Hudson Taylor
Lottie Moon • Timothy Richard
Jonathan Goforth • Cambridge Seven
Eric Liddell • Gladys Aylward
(more missionaries)
Missionary agencies
CIM • LMS
ABCFM • CMS
US Presbyterian Mission • (more agencies)
Impact
Chinese Bible • Medical missions in China
Manchurian revival • Chinese Colleges
Chinese Hymnody • Chinese Roman Type
Cantonese Roman Type • Fujianese Roman Type
Anti-Footbinding • Anti-Opium
Pivotal events
Taiping Rebellion
Opium Wars
Unequal Treaties
Yangzhou riot
Tianjin Massacre
Kucheng Massacre
Boxer Crisis
Xinhai Revolution
Chinese Civil War
WW II
People's Republic
Chinese Protestants
Liang Fa • Keuh Agong
Xi Shengmo • Sun Yat-sen
Feng Yuxiang • John Sung
Wang Mingdao
Allen Yuan • Samuel Lamb
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
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