Christian Missionaries
“My father, of course, was bringing the Word of God-
which fortunately weighs nothing at all.” (Kingsolver 19)
Missionaries from all faiths have traveled all over the world in attempts to show other peoples their ways. Christian missionaries in particular have struggled in their efforts to convert indigenous people. Simply bringing the Word of God, as Nathan Price does in The Poisonwood Bible, was and is not possible. With a conversion of faith comes an adoption of customs, morals, lifestyles, and even political views. Even though young Leah Price says that the Word of God weighed nothing, it was actually the heaviest burden the Price family carried with them on their journey. Every missionary who has brought the Word of God to the Congo region has been faced with many more challenges than they could have ever imagined.
The Poisonwood Bible provides a glimpse into each of the complex situations that are created due to missionary work in the Congo. It is the turning point for religious work in the nation and depicts the ongoing struggle between the Congo and the rest of the world. However, to fully understand the impact of missionary work in the Congo, the beginning as well as the future of this movement most also be examined.
The Congolese are a people who are rich in culture, very bright, and extremely diverse. For a long time, they were also regarded as being among the richest in natural resources until other countries exploited them. Africans in general had no need for prejudice, even when engaged in trade with other tribes or countries. Their practice of enslavement was merely a way to win a war or conflict. They treated slaves humanely. However, there was a great deal of m...
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...ze that the Congo had always been a bright nation on its own terms. Now, missionaries, not only in the Congo, but everywhere, are faced with the challenge to “walk forward into the light” with the people to which they are bringing the Word of God.
Bibliography:
RESOURCES CONSULTED
Democratic Republic of the Congo Consular Information. US Department of the State,
September 14, 1999.
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. Harper Collins, New York, NY: 1998.
Missionary House Bombed. Independent Catholic News, Vol 2. 9 June 1997.
Myers Harrison, Eugene. A Light In The Congo Darkness. Scripture Press, Fairfax, VA:
1954.
Presentation by Dr. Nkuzi Nnam, 31 October 2000.
The International Ministries Website. http://www.internationalministries.org
The New American Bible. Devore & Sons, Witchita, Kansas: 2000.
King’s Leopold’s Ghost, Belgium is known as the strongest country in search of a colony (Congo) for its own exploitation. Professor Landstreet defines forced labor as the most extreme form of slavery, work that people are compelled to do against their will and subjected to physical punishment if they don’t perform their work. In the following essay, I will be discussing the social structure, ideologies and power relations in context with forced labor. The scramble for Africa started in the 1800s to the start of the First World War (1914). Prior to the 19th century, the rest of the world knew very little about Africa, the Dark Continent.
Amin, Julius A.“Secular Missionaries: Americans and African Development in the 1960’s”. American Historical Review.Apr2012, Vol.17 issue 2, p559-560.2p.Book review.Web.30 April 2014.
Nathan Price’s unapproachable and counterproductive attitude towards the people in the Congo have pushed not only the Congolese people away from believing in Jesus Christ but have also pushed his own daughters and wife away from Christianity to believing in
Racism and slavery have always been a part of the world’s history, but sometimes people become ignorant to the severity of such mistreatment. This is proven in Adam Hochschild’s book King Leopold’s Ghost. People in Congo, Africa suffered many years of mistreatment brought on by King Leopold the second. King Leopold took what was theirs and made it his own by force and abuse. Eventually these people rightfully revolted in attempt to reclaim what is theirs and demand better treatment.
It is obvious that it was not the forced labor in Congo that caused massive uproar among Europeans and Americans, as forced labor was part of their history for centuries, but the extreme brutality that occurred there. However, the blatant disregard for human life was not unique to the Congo, and was found in many other European and American colonies. Characters such as E.D. Morel and Roger Casement publicized the horrors of the Congo, and it was spread throughout various countries. This was the first time that the “common” people were aware of the extent of the brutality and exploitation endured by
Reverend Josiah Strong's Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis inspired missionaries to travel to foreign nations.
Imagine a group of foreign people invading your home, disavowing all your beliefs, and attempting to convert you to a religion you have never heard of. This was the reality for thousands and thousands of African people when many Europeans commenced the Scramble for Africa during the period of New Imperialism. A great fiction novel written by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, highlights the responses to missionaries by African people. The African natives responded to the presence of white missionaries with submission to their desires, strategic responses to counteract them, and with the most disruptive response of violence.
Decisions, opinions, and beliefs become uncertain and doubt appears. Cultural values, that ware held for generations, are pitted against the missionary's sermons. Although the missionaries come with the desire and intention to help the underdeveloped Ibo village reach its pote...
... attention allowed economic exploitation in the Congo and its people devastated by human rights abuses, and even today the lack of international attention has caused many conflicts in and around the Congo. The economic exploitation of the Congo during colonial times robbed the country of wealth which could have been used to develop the land, and the lack of wealth has contributed to Congo’s poor standing in the world today. Lastly, the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State contributed to economic and political troubles during the colonial period and has continued into the present day, as human rights abuses are still prevalent in that region of Africa. Due to the lack of international attention, economic exploitation, and human rights abuses, the Congo Free State was harmful to the Congo region of Africa and its legacy continues to harm that region of Africa.
Missionaries were a contradiction, one that is not easily sorted. The goals and objectives of the missionary themselves were often purest of heart. Missionaries’ goals were to spread of the gospel, the convert heathens to Christianity and enrich the communities they work in by providing education and medical assistance. On the contrary missionaries were also often “agents of cultural change.” (Stipe p.1) They carried with them American ideals, democracy, individual rights, free enterprise, universal education, and delayed gratification. (Clifford Putney p.7)
In Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew records Jesus’ last words to His disciples these verses have become known as “The Great Commission.”Since, the giving of the Great Commission followers of Christ has left their own culture in order to engage another with the saving message of the Gospel. Numerous books, articles and blogs have been written on the subject of World Evangelization or Missions. One such book on missions is called, “The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends” this book was written by Michael Pocock, Gailyn Van Rheenen, and Douglas McConnell. All three men are experts in the field of missions; the writers have served overseas and are now currently engaged in equipping the next generation through teaching at Dallas and Fuller Theological Seminary. The authors bring a wealth of personal and academic excellence to their particular chapters as well as a passion to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The balance between academia and real world application make “The Changing Face of World Missions”, an informative and exciting read.
In conclusion, it is clear that the coming of Christianity to Africa was not greeted with open arms. While it granted Africans the chance to acquire new teachings, it also insinuated itself within politics, family, and traditions, utterly destroying them from the inside out. Having been detailed within novels by Achebe, Oyono, and Thiong’o, it is easy to see how these “pacifying” roles eventually led to a total conquest for all of Africa.
When Congo gained its independence from Belgium it struggled to develop and remained a weak state. There were many factors that led to Congo being unable to progress and create strong institutions within its countries borders. “Political divisions along the ethnic lines were prevalent, though this fact could be misleading. Ethnicity became the primary source of political mobilization i...
“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.”- Bishop Desmond Tutu.
As Marlow passes through the waters of the Congo, it is easily visible the trouble of the natives. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (20) Show that the holding of these colonies has started. The soldiers have come in and taken the inhabitants and are destroying them and taking from them the one thing they deserve over everything, life. The imperialists seem to not care about the Africans and are just there for their land.