“We risk our lives to get to them first because we believe we are more sympathetic agents of change than profit-hungry commercialists”.
Missionaries who venture out into the wilderness have some kind of motivation that connects with the message of Christ. Their attempts to reach those who have been “untouched” such as the primitives and native tribes are led with the purpose displayed in the quote above: to deliver the message of God before the commercialists make contact with the undeveloped tribes first.
Some might ask that wouldn’t the missionaries be destroying the cultures themselves in order for the conversion in religion. However, as Don Richardson states, “It’s true that we destroy certain things in cultures, just as doctors sometimes must destroy certain things in a human body if a patient is to live.” Missionaries do not have the intention to tear down the culture – they just feel the need to save the people by spreading the word of God. In another way, however, it sounds as if we are pushing Christianity into the arms of people who do not require it. It seems as if the unique culture and religion of that specific group of people is being muddled.
Don Richardson however, points out that missionaries do more than introduce a new religion and try to persuade them to believe it. In the article, he pointed out the question of “Should anyone go in?” (in tribes where people are not aware of the message of God) is obsolete, since someone will eventually. Missionaries strive to teach the tribes not only spiritual truth, but physical survival as well. The missionaries try to teach the people about money, language, medication, trading, and other skills to survive before they make contact with outsiders.
By reading Don Richardson’s article, I felt that sympathy is the key to all doors of missionary missions. Don Richardson says, “…part of my task was to give the Sawi a rational basis for voluntarily renouncing cannibalism before the guns of the police decided the issue”. This quote reveals that since the Sawi are part of the people under a government – a government that does not allow cannibalism, the Sawi need to stop killing and eating people. Essentially, Don Richardson is persuading the Sawi to stop their belief in cannibalism before they are forced to do so while being concerned with their future encounter with commercialists. As messengers of God’s word, I believe the motivation that missionaries have that gives them the courage to confront the wilderness is sympathy. Underneath sympathy, there would be teaching them about their own language, culture, and medication while naturally teaching the word of Christ. It is also par to their safety because the missionaries are, in a sense, preparing for their encounter with commercialists.
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11 comments:
It was very effective in your blog to include quotes from Don Richardson's letter. I understand your opinion about how missionaries are a kind of bridge between primary people groups and the rest of the modern world. I agree with you about how missionaries may be altering culture but are doing it for the greater good and with good intentions. Nice job.
I enjoyed reading this post, and I agree with your statements. It was smart of you to use quotations directly from Don Richardson himself and also add possibilities of what the other perspective would be. Kinda scary picture...
nice post and happy birthday!*^^
Hey Lucia =)
Your post was very engaging and interesting to read. I found that by using quotes and referring back to Don Richardson's own experiences, I came to understand more about what you were saying/your opinion. I agree with the fact that sometimes missionaries seem to push their religion onto people who are not necessarily in want/need of it. But, I also agree that as children of God we have a calling to fulfill and bring the word to non-believers. Good post and thanks for your thoughts~
ps. HAPPY BIRHTDAY <3
Very interesting post:]
I liked how you connected the quotes from the article with Peace Child.
"As messengers of God’s word, I believe the motivation that missionaries have that gives them the courage to confront the wilderness is sympathy."
I didn't agree with this quote at first but now I think missionaries do come in sympathy after reading your post. The missionaries' intention is definitely not to destroy one's culture. I believe it is righteous for missionaries to approach people in peace and simply introduce Christianity to them.
Great post! :]
Lucia!
I thought that this blog was very interesting because it has a very different perpective than mine. I liked how you supported your ideas with information from the research, I thought that made it more effective. My favorite part was "As messengers of God’s word, I believe the motivation that missionaries have that gives them the courage to confront the wilderness is sympathy." I never really thought about the risks missionaries take to help people, before I read your post. Thanks for sharing! and
Happy Birthday!:)
You really summed up Don Richardson's "Do missionaries destroy cultures?" article well. After reading this blog post, the big picture makes a little more sense. Thanks. I think it is very important that good intentions matter, but isn't that also one of the dangers of preaching the Bible? You may have good intentions but saying them in the wrong way can be harmful. I look forward to reading more of your posts!
You have an intriguing thought and it was interesting to see the connections you have made from Don richardson's letter. We have a similar thought and I agree with your statement that missionaries have to confront the uncivilized people with sympathy inorder to interact and deliver the gospel.
Wow, this post was amazing. It's just a minor thing but I guess I'm the only person who encountered missionaries that weren't Christians... I had several experiences with satan worshippers in Daejon, when I was in the Midkiff Dorm and they would constantly 'invade' into the building to force us into satan worshippers. If you were talking about the Christian missionaries, I'm in total agreement with all your ideas but there are some crazy people out of their minds in the world too... I guess I wanted to give examples of other missionaries. I really look forward to read other posts of yours.
The part where you used the quote explaining how doctors could break some of the body partss in order to find a way for the person to live was very interesting. Traditions and culture may be important because it's always been there with the people. But it is undeniable that things do change. I think people blame on the "converters" when they scrabbble some of the status quo. But really, the people aren't harmed by the changes, but actually can see the benefits that alleviate some of the difficulties they were facing before. I really enjoyed reading your post :) it actually made me think. hahhaa
<3
Tremendous job - many people were enthused by your words to respond.Mrs.Mc.
I agree with you and because you used a lot of Don Richardson's quotes it helped me understand more of where he's coming from. I love how you analyzed what he said and clarified the fact that missionaries aren't there to shove christianity into other people's faces but to just offer others help.
luv~
Jin
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