#3 what do mission organizations do for these people?
Throughout the world there are varieties of different missionary organizations helping out the “untouched” people. Brining them closer to the context of what is “right,” some organizations tend to invade and annihilate their cultures. Yes, it is true that missionaries do destroy cultures, as Don Richardson proclaims, “That [missionaries] destroy certain things in culture, just as doctors sometimes must destroy certain things in a human body if a patient is to live.”
The organizations attempts to give new values in life, of something that is worth living for. But as they struggle to bring new values into their life, the uncivilized people sometimes do not understand or misinterpret what the organizations are trying to accomplish.
Missionary organizations are interacting with these people by learning their language, customs, and values to find a cultural key which will guide them into Christianity. The missionary organizations also provide them with provisions and with the knowledge they lack; hoping to make them understand what the true values are and also hoping to light a new spark into their souls to bring them closer to God by spreading the gospel.
4 comments:
I agree with you that sometimes the people that missionaries reach out to "do not understand or misinterpret" the missionaries' intentions. I distinctly remember being ill-treated for coming into the Muslim culture with the Christian message when I was with a group of missionaries in Afghanistan. The fact that sometimes people misinterpret the intentions of missionaries is very true in this world.
I agree with you where you say that missionary organizations attempt to give new values in life. I also think there is more to the statement. The attempts that these organizations make, seem to come from sympathy in my point of view. Without sympathy, they would not feel the need to risk their lives in the wilderness to teach the wword of God. To light the spark into the "untouched" souls and bring them closer to God, it seems that missionaries need the heart of sympathy for the motivation to help the people come forward.
I really like how you had a definite answer in this blog; missionaries do destroy culture. You said that missionaries bring the knowledge they lack. I don't think that they lack knowledge, they're just weaker then us in some ways and in many ways they're stronger than us; it is just that we seem to have more voice in the world. Nice post though. Short and meaningful.
"The missionary organizations also provide them with provisions and with the knowledge they lack; hoping to make them understand what the true values are and also hoping to light a new spark into their souls to bring them closer to God by spreading the gospel."
I like how you worded this sentence. However, sometimes depending on the mission organization's true goal, they can serve different purpose. Intersting post:]
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