Source: Trevor Johnson, HeartCry Missionary Society
November 2018—a medically trained young man, John Allen Chau, was killed trying to go ashore to reach the unreached people of North Sentinel Island among the Andaman Island group. He is heavily criticized and even mocked online.
As Western civilization pulls away from its Christian moorings, we see a rising anti-missionary sentiment. This was brought home to me in a very personal way in September of 2018. After 12 years of service among the remote Korowai tribe, I was shocked to read this bold headline, “Ancient Tribe on the Brink of Being Wiped Out by Christian Missionaries.” In another newspaper I read these further accusations, “Fight for Survival: Ancient Jungle Tribe of Super-Strong Hunters Close to Being Wiped Out by Christian Missionaries.”
» Get Johnson’s take on the ancient tribe in question and the flawed assumptions behind the headlines. Article includes helpful links and addresses these myths:
Myth 1. Missionaries destroy cultures.
Myth 2. Missionaries coerce local people into Christianity.
Myth 3. Missionaries bring deadly pathogens which decimate tribal peoples.
Myth 4. Tribal people are pure, innocent, and in harmony with nature.
Myth 5. Secular reporters are unbiased and objective and report on these issues truthfully.