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George S. Benson
George Stuart Benson (September 26, 1898—December 15, 1991) was an American missionary, college administrator, and conservative political activist. After fleeing communist uprisings in China as a missionary, Benson became an anticommunist and conservative activist, taking stances against the New Deal, and later, racial integration. Benson served for many years as the president of Harding College, and oversaw a large propaganda network through his National Education Program, which sponsored short cartoons, "Freedom Forums" (gatherings of business people to promote the American way), and lecture tours for Benson.
Benson grew up on a Dewey County, Oklahoma homestead. His parents, Stuart and Emma, were devout Christians, never missing the meetings in the Taloga schoolhouse church held by the various itinerant preachers who passed through. They instilled early the values of hard work and self-reliance, so that by age eight he worked full days on the farm. George completed eight grades in nearby Bonto and a year of high school each in Seiling and in Claremore, where his janitor job paid the rent for the shack he lived in. The year away from home in Claremore was foundational in his resolve to serve God "above all else" and "regardless of where it might lead". After three years working on the family farm and teaching in nearby schools, George completed high school in Kingfisher.
Benson attended Harper Junior College in Kansas, later to merge into Harding College, where J. N. Armstrong was then president. He went on to earn a B.A. from Harding College in 1925, a B.S. from Oklahoma A&M University, and an M.A. in history with an emphasis in Oriental studies from the University of Chicago in 1931. He received several honorary doctorates including those from Harding University, 1932; Knox College (Illinois), 1948; and Oklahoma Christian University, 1968.
Benson started his career as a missionary to China for eleven years, 1925 to 1936. After only six months in Kwei Hsien, Communist propagandists arrived and "insisted that these intruders should be either killed or driven out". The Bensons had difficulty finding a boat to take them to Hong Kong because of threats against those who carried foreigners. After a year in Hong Kong, George Pepperdine offered them support to work in the Philippines. Benson pitched a tent in Pinamalayan and started preaching, making converts and establishing a congregation. Sixty days later, he left for Paglasan and then Baguio, where he followed a similar procedure. While passing through 30 years later, Benson "found the church at Baguio still continuing faithful to the Lord".
The Bensons returned to China in 1929, having heard that the situation there was improving. George taught English for a year at Sun Yat-sen University in Canton. Through this experience, he decided that "the most effective way to reach the Chinese people was through teaching English". Following masters studies that improved his understanding of Chinese history and culture, the Bensons returned to Canton in April 1932. Together with a growing team, they opened the Canton English Finishing School opened in February 1933, which grew to over 100 students by year-end. In 1933, the intensive Bible training short courses that had been conducted several times in 1932 were expanded and formalized as the Canton Bible School, starting with 14 full-time students. The three-year program included Chinese reading and writing in addition to the primary Bible instruction. As the students matured, they participated in evangelism work in the country, taught children's Bible classes, and taught children to read and write at a new "school for the poor" they had suggested. The English and Bible schools continued to operate until 1949. Another significant effort in Guangzhou was translating and publishing literature in the Chinese language, including an award-winning publication of J. W. McGarvey's Commentary on Acts.
Families that had joined the work in Canton included the Oldham, Davis, Whitfield, Leung, So, Ko, and Bernard families. Lowell Davis and Roy Whitfield had been in a missionary methods class at Harding that George taught winter 1931–1932 while on furlough. When Benson received Armstrong's invitation to the Harding presidency in March 1936, he was inclined to turn it down. But as the now-experienced team contemplated the quantity of missionaries that would be needed to "take the Christian message to the other great cities of China", they urged him to accept this role where he could "influence the recruitment and preparation of future missionaries for China".
After their first year in China, Sally wrote a short book, "Chats About China" to share their "first impressions" of the people in the "small part of South China" they had observed so the reader might "know something about the people on this side of the world" and "be interested in their soul salvation".
Towards the end of his career, Benson wrote "Missionary Experiences". He discusses preparation and attitude for effectively sharing the gospel, drawing on his and others' experiences in China, the Philippines, Korea, and Zambia as well as his "preparatory years" growing up in Oklahoma and in college.
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George S. Benson
George Stuart Benson (September 26, 1898—December 15, 1991) was an American missionary, college administrator, and conservative political activist. After fleeing communist uprisings in China as a missionary, Benson became an anticommunist and conservative activist, taking stances against the New Deal, and later, racial integration. Benson served for many years as the president of Harding College, and oversaw a large propaganda network through his National Education Program, which sponsored short cartoons, "Freedom Forums" (gatherings of business people to promote the American way), and lecture tours for Benson.
Benson grew up on a Dewey County, Oklahoma homestead. His parents, Stuart and Emma, were devout Christians, never missing the meetings in the Taloga schoolhouse church held by the various itinerant preachers who passed through. They instilled early the values of hard work and self-reliance, so that by age eight he worked full days on the farm. George completed eight grades in nearby Bonto and a year of high school each in Seiling and in Claremore, where his janitor job paid the rent for the shack he lived in. The year away from home in Claremore was foundational in his resolve to serve God "above all else" and "regardless of where it might lead". After three years working on the family farm and teaching in nearby schools, George completed high school in Kingfisher.
Benson attended Harper Junior College in Kansas, later to merge into Harding College, where J. N. Armstrong was then president. He went on to earn a B.A. from Harding College in 1925, a B.S. from Oklahoma A&M University, and an M.A. in history with an emphasis in Oriental studies from the University of Chicago in 1931. He received several honorary doctorates including those from Harding University, 1932; Knox College (Illinois), 1948; and Oklahoma Christian University, 1968.
Benson started his career as a missionary to China for eleven years, 1925 to 1936. After only six months in Kwei Hsien, Communist propagandists arrived and "insisted that these intruders should be either killed or driven out". The Bensons had difficulty finding a boat to take them to Hong Kong because of threats against those who carried foreigners. After a year in Hong Kong, George Pepperdine offered them support to work in the Philippines. Benson pitched a tent in Pinamalayan and started preaching, making converts and establishing a congregation. Sixty days later, he left for Paglasan and then Baguio, where he followed a similar procedure. While passing through 30 years later, Benson "found the church at Baguio still continuing faithful to the Lord".
The Bensons returned to China in 1929, having heard that the situation there was improving. George taught English for a year at Sun Yat-sen University in Canton. Through this experience, he decided that "the most effective way to reach the Chinese people was through teaching English". Following masters studies that improved his understanding of Chinese history and culture, the Bensons returned to Canton in April 1932. Together with a growing team, they opened the Canton English Finishing School opened in February 1933, which grew to over 100 students by year-end. In 1933, the intensive Bible training short courses that had been conducted several times in 1932 were expanded and formalized as the Canton Bible School, starting with 14 full-time students. The three-year program included Chinese reading and writing in addition to the primary Bible instruction. As the students matured, they participated in evangelism work in the country, taught children's Bible classes, and taught children to read and write at a new "school for the poor" they had suggested. The English and Bible schools continued to operate until 1949. Another significant effort in Guangzhou was translating and publishing literature in the Chinese language, including an award-winning publication of J. W. McGarvey's Commentary on Acts.
Families that had joined the work in Canton included the Oldham, Davis, Whitfield, Leung, So, Ko, and Bernard families. Lowell Davis and Roy Whitfield had been in a missionary methods class at Harding that George taught winter 1931–1932 while on furlough. When Benson received Armstrong's invitation to the Harding presidency in March 1936, he was inclined to turn it down. But as the now-experienced team contemplated the quantity of missionaries that would be needed to "take the Christian message to the other great cities of China", they urged him to accept this role where he could "influence the recruitment and preparation of future missionaries for China".
After their first year in China, Sally wrote a short book, "Chats About China" to share their "first impressions" of the people in the "small part of South China" they had observed so the reader might "know something about the people on this side of the world" and "be interested in their soul salvation".
Towards the end of his career, Benson wrote "Missionary Experiences". He discusses preparation and attitude for effectively sharing the gospel, drawing on his and others' experiences in China, the Philippines, Korea, and Zambia as well as his "preparatory years" growing up in Oklahoma and in college.