Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Perspectives 460, Do Missionaries Destroy Culture?
Please read and respond to the article, "Do Missionaries Destroy Cultures," by Don Richardson, found at http://mmcdaniel.jimdo.com/arlington-baptist-college/cross-cultural-ministry/perspectives-articles/. You will be required to respond to at least one other student's comments to successfully complete this assignment. Please ensure that you put your name in parenthesis if you post anonymously.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Missionaries affect a culture, but they do not destroy it. Missionaries come in and present something that causes change that something is Jesus. And that change is not always a culture change (although sacraficing babies might change) but that change is really a HEART change. Missionaries usually do not affect the culture other than changeing they sinful ways of the culture. And then again it really isn't the missionaries changeing the people. But it is Jesus that changes the people. The people of this world are lost in darkness, WE must bring them the light. "Missioaries, whose hearts overflow with the love of Christ, are the key."p462
When God is at work the dvil is trying to deminish it. There will always be critics. The will always be some minister's that do stuff that make others look bad. Missionaries are not there to destroy culture. As far I as I know they are taught to learn about that culture, love the people, and except them for who they are and at the same time show them the love that is avaliable from Jesus Christ. We cannot just stop reaching the world cause some critics think missionaries are destroying culture. We have a commission to fill
When Paul went into Ephesus, he did not go in with the mindset that he was going to "destroy the culture for Jesus." When the witches decided to burn their spellbooks (grimmores) they did it on their own accord. This argument of whether Missionaries destroy the culture has apparently been around for a while. It was an ongoing argument between Missionaries and Anthropologists in SPIRIT OF THE RAINFOREST. If the culture is changed it is because God is effecting change in the hearts of the people. However it is important to realize that those concerned with the "destruction" of a culture never mention this destruction via other sources such as child prostitution or diseases. Further, Why are they not concerned with the preservation of their own American culture, which changes every two years? While Missionaries may "destroy" certain things in a culture, they will never destroy a culture in its entirety.
Hawaii, I agree with you that it's not a culture change, but a heart change-that it's Jesus changing the sinful ways of the people. After all, the sin isn't in the culture, it's in the heart.
The key to the chapter is found in this statement, "The missionaries brought only changes required for New Testament ethics and for the survival of the people."
Missionaries like Hawaii mentioned effect but not destory a culture. By the way Hawaii's responce was dead on target.
Observing the two diffrent perspectives of Mcdonald and Richardson was very eye opening. I'm very glad that Richardson had wrote that letter. (JJ)
This article presented the question of whether or not missionaries destroy cultures. A man by the name of Hamish McDonald submitted an article about the supposed “destroying” of a tribal people group by missionaries in Irian Jaya after visiting the location to report about the aftereffects of an earthquake. This man’s view of the work of the missionaries was completely askew and his article was very misleading. The ultimate goal of missionaries is not to destroy the culture they are called to minister to, but rather it is to present to them the love of God and message of Christ that brings about the true heart change of those individuals which will in turn change or affect their culture. There are several things that are involved in reaching different people groups of the world, but none of those requirements call for the destruction of a culture.
J.S.
in response to Johns comment:
"There will always be critics... (but) we have a commision to fill."
Important thing to remember:
Critics will always hurt our pride; but they will never hinder God's plan.
I do not think that missionaries destroy culture. There are many times when missionaries do not understand the culture though, like Richardson says. If they do not understand the culture completely, then there are times that they may not be as effective then if they did understand it. Missionaries will have an effect on the culture but they will not destroy it. They can effect if for the better by bringing Christ into the culture. This is not destroying it or messing it up, but making a lasting impact that brings people closer to Christ. (Stacie)
Missionaries are not destroying cultures. Missionaries deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Scripture that may require changes in a certain people(for instance cannibalism or certain tribal rituals that may be unbiblical and not glorifying to the Father and are therefore sin) but as Jacob and James said these are more heart changes than "culture" changes. Missionaries may show and teach them what is right, but they aren't going to change those things unless they have allowed Jesus to get ahold of their heart and produce those changes in them. It can only come from God. "A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Ezekiel 36:26-27
In this article I can see how people would believe that Missionaries destroy cultures because of the way either the missionaries are trained or how they disrespect the history of the culture that they have come to witness to. There is a story about the Indian villages along the Canadian Coast and how the totem poles have been chopped down because they were mistake for idols. The missionaries are going in to change the heart of the souls that they are witnessing to. The history of the culture that has been demolished on account of being mistaken for idols are vital in a way to show how the gods were not the saving God that they now serve. It shows the history of how God almighty has brought them up from the wickedness of the world into the saving power of grace. The missionaries should respect the history of the culture and teach them about how idols are not okay rather than destroy their artwork that their ancestors had left behind. Missionaries need to be taught that the history is history and we are to change the future. Meaning we could allow it to be up so that they could inform their children of how much in sin they were by worshipping these idols but how when they found Christ now they are just peices of art.
Hawaii is exactly right in the fact that they don't destroy it but they affect the culture. Missionaries are really going after the hearts of people and after conversion then comes the lifestyle change.
Post a Comment