Missionary dies trying to reach an isolated tribe

6,361 Views | 128 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by diehard03
gordo97
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https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/11/22/asia/north-sentinel-island-john-allen-chau-diary-intl/index.html
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Seamaster
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I saw that and thought, "Man, for such a well traveled guy, he was very naive."

A few months ago a couple of Americans were cycling through the Middle East near Syria and were murdered by Islamists.

Both cases and many others like them involve incredible naive people who simply go though life oblivious to real danger and evil.
Sapper Redux
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Seamaster said:

I saw that and thought, "Man, for such a well traveled guy, he was very naive."

A few months ago a couple of Americans were cycling through the Middle East near Syria and were murdered by Islamists.

Both cases and many others like them involve incredible naive people who simply go though life oblivious to real danger and evil.


We already discussed the cyclists. They weren't naive or oblivious. They were on a normally safe road as part of a group. This guy was not like those cyclists.
Woody2006
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I hate the blatant narcissism it takes to treat uncontacted tribes as though they were wildlife in a nature reserve.
Cynic
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He seems to have been aware of the danger as he told everyone to not blame the tribe if they kill him.

Reminds me a little of The End of the Spear from years ago.
PacifistAg
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Based on the little I've read about this, I applaud him and his willingness to lay his life down to build relationships and spread the Good News of Christ victorious.
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planoaggie123
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PacifistAg said:

Based on the little I've read about this, I applaud him and his willingness to lay his life down to build relationships and spread the Good News of Christ victorious.


I struggle with this. If his heart was truly for these people he would have done it the right way. He would have done more research on the people, worked with government officials, etc. If after YEARS of going through a well thought out approach to contact them he was denied and still felt the Lord leading him there, I guess maybe. But even then a team of 1 honestly might not be the best strategy and being able to communicate seems to be a pretty important missing piece.

I hate to say it and could be wrong but I think ultimately he was an adventurer/thrill seeker who used mission work as a cover for doing something he knows was not allowed...
PacifistAg
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Quote:

I hate to say it and could be wrong but I think ultimately he was an adventurer/thrill seeker who used mission work as a cover for doing something he knows was not allowed...

Could be. I'm sure more will come out. If his motives were right, then I have no issue.
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PacifistAg
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AstroAg17 said:

So you think it's worth putting people in danger if it leads to them hearing the gospel, even if they don't want to be contacted?

That seems just awful.

I think, as a Christian, we have to live out the Great Commission. We've long spread the gospel to new regions of the world. Can it be done in way that takes into consideration things like disease? Of course. We don't know what precautions he took in that regard. But the fact that they want to be left alone doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I would imagine most places where missionaries have been killed didn't want them there, but that doesn't mean we stop.

I'm reminded of Harriet Tubman's comment about how she could have freed so many more if they had simply known they were enslaved. If we just stand by and do nothing to show them the way to freedom in Christ, then what are we doing here then?
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PacifistAg
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AstroAg17 said:

You can't take sufficient precautions for disease. That's one of the reasons people aren't allowed to go there. Believe what you want on faith. Don't endanger the lives of others on faith. Refusal to mind one's own business, even at the cost of lives, is a basic facet of Christianity.

A basic tenet is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without knowing anything else, it sounds like that's what he was attempting. Like many missionaries before him, he paid with his life. Is there risk that disease could spread? Yep. That has been the case any time a missionary entered a new region to spread the Gospel. That doesn't mean a people should just be ignored by the Church. Perhaps finding Christians to go in who are from that area near the island would help against it. I don't know. But, assuming his motives were right, i have no issue with what he did.

But clearly we're coming at this from two completely opposite perspectives.
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PacifistAg
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AstroAg17 said:

We are. I get it from your end. Hopefully you see how you seem like a monster to those who don't share your beliefs. That's a hat you're comfortable wearing? On faith?

I think most people don't see missionaries as "monsters". They may believe them to be misguided or naive, or to cause unintentional harm, but I think most are at least capable of seeing that the intent of most missionaries is good.

If one views a missionary who comes with pure intent as a "monster", then there's really not much that can be done to counter that.
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PacifistAg
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AstroAg17 said:

I'm genuinely curious. Do you understand why I think it's horrible? Would you think it was horrible if it was someone else's belief risking your life? It's a direct consequence of your beliefs and that's why your beliefs are a problem.

Yes, I understand why you keep insisting it's "horrible". If someone else's belief led to me losing my life but gaining my soul, then I'd be fine with it personally. Many early converts had their lives put in jeopardy just for accepting new beliefs.

There may be more effective ways to reach the North Sentinalese people, but that doesn't mean those who do try to reach them are monsters. If the Spirit put this call on this young man, then he needs to follow the Spirit's call. That the tribe members are willing to murder anyone that comes near, or that they may catch a disease, should not trump what he believes the Spirit has called him to do.
americathegreat1492
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This isn't some small, easily mitigated risk. Remember that some estimate around 90% of native americans died as a result of european contact and colonization, the vast majority of those from diseases.
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Frok
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I think you are being entirely over-dramatic. Sure what the guy did was foolish but insisting that he was a monster is ridiculous. I would say the tribe that brutally murders anyone they come in contact fits that description better.
PacifistAg
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And I would argue that a people who instinctively react to outsiders by killing them is a people in tremendous need of the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

Now, as I said previously, there may be more effective ways of reaching them, but the issue of them needing to be reached in the first place is pretty obvious from a Christian perspective.
unimboti nkum
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This idiot could have wiped out every person on the island and didn't even have the means to communicate with them. Nobody knows anything about the Sentinelese language.
kurt vonnegut
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If they have a concept of a connection between outsiders and disease, then their reaction may qualify as an act of self defense.

I'm not quite as upset about him as Astro, but I fail to find any real justification for his actions. At best, he was throwing his life away and at worst he was endangering people who don't want his help to satisfy his own ego. If God is just, then they'll be judged justly. Right?
unimboti nkum
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PacifistAg said:

If the Spirit put this call on this young man, then he needs to follow the Spirit's call. That the tribe members are willing to murder anyone that comes near, or that they may catch a disease, should not trump what he believes the Spirit has called him to do.
Yes. Yes it should. The hubris here is just astounding. "I know what's better for you than you do. God told me so."
Ags4DaWin
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PacifistAg said:


If the Spirit put this call on this young man, then he needs to follow the Spirit's call.

History is riddled with individuals who were deluded enough to believe their own ego was the call of the Spirit. At the same time it is not our place to judge because only God can know whether he was truly called by the Spirit. Although I would hazard that the fruit of the tree parable is applicable here. A tree that bears good fruit is a good tree and tree that bears bad fruit is a bad tree. Was the fruit of this man's actions good or bad? Certainly at this time nothing good has come of his actions. But who knows? 5-10 years down the road a tribesmember who participated in his killing may look back on these actions with regret and investigate the gospel of Christ. Unlikely but possible.
PacifistAg said:


That the tribe members are willing to murder anyone that comes near, or that they may catch a disease, should not trump what he believesthe Spirit has called him to do.


I have bolded the most relevant part of your post. What he believes is the important part here. The Spanish missionaries who believed they were saving souls by forcing natives to convert or face servitude or death, the people who instigated and carried out the Inquisition, the Catholics and Protestants who killed each other during the reformative years in England and beyond, and the Christians who killed suspected witches all believed they were performing God's work as directed by the Spirit.

Believing you are acting at the behest of the Spirit does not give you Carte Blanche and immunity from criticism.
craigernaught
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I don't understand why this story has captured so much of the public imagination or why it has brought about so much debate.

Interesting story though.
PacifistAg
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I don't disagree. This certainly could have been something other than the Spirit's call. No doubt. I'm trying to get better at giving the benefit of the doubt, especially with something that only God can truly know. Even if the Spirit's call, one could certainly critique the execution. As I've said, there certainly me be more effective methods. I am not going to criticize the desire to reach this group though.
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planoaggie123
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AstroAg17 said:

They wouldn't accept his request under any circumstances. The government isn't going to let you go proselytize to an intentionally isolated group known for killing visitors.


And I agree they wouldn't and there is a darn good reason (though I have my doubts he spent a significant amount of time working either with government or with other organizations to ensure his impact on the indeginous would be mitigated). I believe that God wants Christians to spread the Gospel but fairly confident he would want it done in a way that wouldn't endanger those who are needing to hear. Yes, Christians often now and in the past have risked THEIR OWN life to spread the news but should not be intentionally/knowingly risking the lives of the lost they are trying to save.
Woody2006
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Did this guy just think these people were gonna magically be able to understand English?
dds08
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I think I'll recuse myself from this discussion.

Have at it y'all.
Beer Baron
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The Rick Barnes debate strategy: recusing yourself from a discussion you weren't participating in and no one asked your opinion about.
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