The Great White Missionary
Someone I'm following on Twitter alerted me to a very interesting blog post by Greg Laden. Greg is an anthropologist working in a remote region of Congo. The post is instructive at many different levels. It's long, but I encourage you to read it for a variety of reasons. I'm going to give you two reasons to read it. The third point is why it made me mad.
(1) Greg provides a scary portrait of a particular missionary. (I am assuming that the story is true and reasonably accurate.) The man he describes should not be running around Congo. He is stealing money from his church supporters in Oklahoma. He is hurting the people he comes into contact with. He is hurting his own family and himself. I suspect he probably hurt a lot of people in his hometown. Perhaps that's why they gave him money for his "mission". It was money well spent to get him out of town.
(2) Greg also gives Christians (that's me and most of my readers) great insight into how many in his field view us. It's worth reading for that alone. Check the comments as well.
(But now for a critical point about Greg's piece and the reason I'm posting.)
(3) Greg is just as bad as the "great white missionary". Part of the trouble with the "great white missionary" is his arrogance. It's also the fatal flaw of Greg's post. Arrogance and no compassion.
Greg and his friend judged, belittled, made fun of and lied to this man and his family. And then posted it for the world to see. The "missionary" was no angel. Neither is Greg, the anthropologist.
In the end Greg judged that man "was not a typical missionary, because most of the missionaries were not rogue like he was, but rather, part of a larger and highly organized effort. But he embodied much of the hypocrisy institutionalized in the larger organizations, personified it, made it real, palpable, and more overtly despicable."
Greg - Most missionaries are NOT like this guy. I know a lot of missionaries. We all have our flaws (anthropologists do too). But most missionaries I know love the people's they live around. They spend tons of time and money, blood, sweat and tears, building hospitals and arranging medical care. Helping people get clean water and some education. Fighting alongside oppressed peoples for political, economic and spiritual freedom. Most institutional missionary agencies are probably the opposite of your characterization.
Why must we always judge harshly that which we don't understand?
There is room for criticizing Christian mission? Yes. Trust me - we Christians do it all the time. Are we helping or hurting? What is the role for evangelism? What is God already doing? How can we help?
I just wish you'd seek to understand before painting us all as idiots.
(1) Greg provides a scary portrait of a particular missionary. (I am assuming that the story is true and reasonably accurate.) The man he describes should not be running around Congo. He is stealing money from his church supporters in Oklahoma. He is hurting the people he comes into contact with. He is hurting his own family and himself. I suspect he probably hurt a lot of people in his hometown. Perhaps that's why they gave him money for his "mission". It was money well spent to get him out of town.
(2) Greg also gives Christians (that's me and most of my readers) great insight into how many in his field view us. It's worth reading for that alone. Check the comments as well.
(But now for a critical point about Greg's piece and the reason I'm posting.)
(3) Greg is just as bad as the "great white missionary". Part of the trouble with the "great white missionary" is his arrogance. It's also the fatal flaw of Greg's post. Arrogance and no compassion.
Greg and his friend judged, belittled, made fun of and lied to this man and his family. And then posted it for the world to see. The "missionary" was no angel. Neither is Greg, the anthropologist.
In the end Greg judged that man "was not a typical missionary, because most of the missionaries were not rogue like he was, but rather, part of a larger and highly organized effort. But he embodied much of the hypocrisy institutionalized in the larger organizations, personified it, made it real, palpable, and more overtly despicable."
Greg - Most missionaries are NOT like this guy. I know a lot of missionaries. We all have our flaws (anthropologists do too). But most missionaries I know love the people's they live around. They spend tons of time and money, blood, sweat and tears, building hospitals and arranging medical care. Helping people get clean water and some education. Fighting alongside oppressed peoples for political, economic and spiritual freedom. Most institutional missionary agencies are probably the opposite of your characterization.
Why must we always judge harshly that which we don't understand?
There is room for criticizing Christian mission? Yes. Trust me - we Christians do it all the time. Are we helping or hurting? What is the role for evangelism? What is God already doing? How can we help?
I just wish you'd seek to understand before painting us all as idiots.
