Post #9

What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

When I began reading Peace Child, I felt as if I couldn’t really connect with it. The whole story was way out there to me. I mean, how often in my life have and will I ever meet a head hunter or cannibal - most likely never. So I took this book on looking at it as if it were fiction. To me, it was just another interesting story I could say I had read. All I did was make remarks such as “WOW” or “ummm ok, they are weird and just wrong”. However, during our last English class, one question made me think and change my whole perspective on the story. I remember the question was something like, “are we any different than the Sawi?” Then I realized how self centered my thoughts until that point had been. I perceived myself as being a civilized individual and far greater in every way than the Sawi people. I was wrong. I am just as treacherous and barbaric, just in a different manner. I don’t use my hands to kill, but my mouth – which God sees as the same since no sin is worse than another. What makes us revolt their customs of treachery is the pride they take in it and their lack of secrecy concerning it. In a way I think they are better than us because of that. Hiding what we know is wrong seems worse than the Sawi being subconsciously unaware of their actions.

post #8

What do you believe and why?

This is a very broad question.

I believe that every single person searches for happiness. The Sawi’s believed it to be by following superstitions so as to not anger the evil spirits. Many people currently try to find happiness in materialistic items. Christians believe that Jesus brings them the chance to receive everlasting happiness in heaven. I actually feel like part of each of these beliefs are a few of what make up my belief.

Although it seems silly to have superstitions, I can’t help having them. Although I try to tell myself that they aren’t true and remind myself that God makes everything happen for a purpose and that not every person who breaks a mirror gets seven years of bad luck, society and scary movies have placed a huge impact on me having them. I don’t necessarily search for happiness through superstitions but rather try not to go against them so as not to lose any more happiness I already have.

As for materialistic items, they satisfy me for a certain time period – a split moment. This happiness sometimes distracts me from the true path to happiness more than any other, but I believe it adds some spice to life. For example, I think we live to eat rather than eat to live. It is one of the things God gave us to enjoy and make us happy.

Last but not least, GOD – what I believe to be the ultimate and underlying source of happiness. It is what we all should be living for because if there was no God, what would the purpose of living be when we know we are all going to die someday. Also, no matter what we love or believe, it all leads back to something greater than us – a God. We love food, people, animals, pencils, clothes, computers, etc. Where did it come from? Everything points back to the question of the beginning and therefore to God.

So I believe in God.

post #7

Are primitive cultures, like the Sawi, necessary in our present world?

I don’t think they are necessary. Why? Because the rest of the world was perfectly fine without knowing about the Sawi. It wasn’t like they cared about them. More than anything, I think the governments wanted to convert them into a modern day type of society. Primitive cultures are therefore not absolutely essential. However, it would be nice to have a few and remind us that we don’t need all our advanced technology to survive.
If the primitive cultures disappeared, I don’t think their culture would be completely destroyed, so I think they would be fine intermingling with the rest of the world. All the other modern cultures were once primitive cultures. It’s just, they adjusted little by little as time passed for a good cause. No one culture can be isolated forever. Making reservations for certain cultures is weird to me. It’s as if they are a zoo, and if animals don’t like being in one, I’m sure people will feel the same.

Post #6

Choose a representative passage from this novel that holds particular significance to you. Type it in and comment on its significance.

In many of the legends that the Sawi people tell to their children around the campfires, the heroes are men who formed friendships with the express purpose of later betraying the befriended on to be killed and eaten. p. 8

This passage is in the author’s introduction, but it really caught my attention and reminded me of the songs I was sung when I was a child. Although they aren’t the same message, they seem just as bizarre to tell children. The songs that came to mind which I danced around the campfire to were “London bridge is falling down” and “Ring around the rosie." They sound like such cheerful nursery rhymes but their meaning is far from it. “Ring around the rosie” refers to the Black Plague and how people died from it. In the same way, the Sawi children enjoy legends that are vile and repulsive to the majority of societies today.
It seems hypocritical of me to ridicule their legends of idealizing men who betray and cannibalize or head hunt other humans, as my own culture sheds a positive light on one of the worst natural disasters in history. "Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye' when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5). We choose to point out other people’s faults, yet tend to ignore our own.

Post #5

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued / reviled / saddened / angered / surprised you?

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued / reviled / saddened / angered / surprised you?

I was surprised by the way the Sawi people reacted towards the missionaries when they first arrived. I expected them to appear barbaric and exhibit some type of aggression towards the “tuans” because the first part of the book described their cannibalistic ways and how highly they idealized treachery. The whole conception Don Richardson gives of the Sawi’s culture until the meeting point with the missionaries is certainly not a depiction of a benevolent society. So it was a bit shocking when I read that they were scared of them and hid. Although it was the first time seeing people of different skin color, have weapons, tools, and items they had never seen before, it intrigued me as to why they had not grouped together to destroy them. I understand how they could think that the missionaries were some type of God because of their modern day items, but like they said, the ancestor’s stories left no advice for what to do with the new comers. Even though they were confused wouldn’t it make sense for them to kill the missionaries as they passed their territory because that is what they did to the other tribes. I just thought the Sawi people would rid of what they felt uncomfortable with and feared.

Blog #4

What do mission organizations do for these people?

Mission organizations are done to reach out and help people who have not been reached yet. It is not for personal gain as so many people often correlate it with. They are actually the opposite, for the most part. Of course, missionaries do gain happiness and joy beyond some people’s imagination when they are successful in preaching God’s Word and seeing people accept Jesus Christ. However, they do not try and take advantage of the people for their lack of developed knowledge the modern world has.
So their main purpose is to introduce Christianity to people while trying to preserve the valid parts of their culture in regards to what the Bible claims as fine. In cases such as the Sawi people in The Peace Child, they are doing this as well as progressively holding their hands and guiding them to the path the rest of the world is following and living by. What the missionaries do is try to rid of satanic practices such as cannibalism and the whole idea of treachery not only for the purpose of satisfying God, but in a kind manner so that they can be prepared and warned without a shock when the government and so called humanitarians come in and kill them with little warning.
Although there is a controversy about whether or not missionaries destroy people’s culture, I think that it is unfair to put them in the spotlight because eventually, society will intrude their ways and beliefs upon them without compassion. It is inevitable to stay isolated from the developing world forever. Missionaries aren’t even forcing a change on the people. They are showing them and it’s their choice if they want to accept it or not.

Post #3

What does God expect us to do for other cultures and faiths?

I used to think that it would be better if Christians didn’t preach and send missionaries to places that never even heard of God or Jesus before because I had the misconception that they could get a free ride to heaven. However, the Bible clearly states that the only way into heaven is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Therefore it is Christian people’s responsibility to show love by telling the World about Jesus and how he is the atonement for us being morally deprived.

God also expects us to spread his Word properly. Forcing it upon others can provide a misleading stereotype of Christianity. The emphasis shouldn't be on making a certain church or chain of Christianity bigger, but rather the hearts of people. I think it's hard to pinpoint exact steps to take when introducing God's Word to other cultures and faiths. It depends on the culture and faith. Don Richardson's way of approaching the Sawi's would probably completely different than if he preached to a Korean Buddhist today.

I think that God wants to see an effort more than anything. God knows everything and whether we are trying to fool him or not.

Post #2

How does Faith relate to the world in which we live?

All people display acts of faith either subconsciously or consciously in everything they do. It can be from something as simple as eating the cafeteria food to ones belief on the reason we live. What I mean by this is that faith is a matter of trust, and all people live off of it.
When looking at faith in religious terms, we all acquire it, even the atheists. The atheists believe there is no God, but this thought in itself is faith. The Christians, Buddhists, nihilists, you name it, are all based on faith. Although their faiths are different, each religion tries to find the answer to why we are here, where we came from, and what is wrong with the world.
Having faith is what keeps people in the world motivated to live and rely on each other. No one faith is known to be the ultimate truth as there is no solid proof for any one, and therefore the reason it’s not called a fact. Because of the existence of faith, it allows the people of the world to induce hope and happiness and truly is a key to the world in which we live.

Post #1

What factors of your native culture have informed your religious world view? Explain the impact of these factors

Growing up in a Mexican household for the first eight years of my life, I was sent to a Catholic school and attended mass every Sunday. My grandparents raised me strictly in regards to their Catholic faith, and although my parents were not as persistent about it, they agreed to follow through with my grandparents wishes. I said my prayers every day and studied the Bible at school, but it was a role I followed. I had no passion for any of it. The language they used during mass was incomprehensible for my minuscule brain and I felt disconnected. All Mexicans I knew grew up just like me, and I concluded that religion was something people did in order to fit an appearance and not be a minority. I always thought to myself, why do people care so much about religion, a man named Jesus, and God when there are much more interesting and fun things in the world such as toys, Disney movies, and theme parks.
However, my opinion changed once I moved to Korea. Being secluded from my grandparents and uncles I used to live with for so long, my parents discontinued trying to teach and guide me through the Catholic faith. Soon enough, my immediate family became apathetic towards religion, and I became so confused and lost. For a while I felt relieved to have my Sundays free, but it was only short lived. I started questioning the purpose of living and naturally fell back into the habit of praying. I prayed to God, something I believed to be in control of everything. When conversations relating faith and who is protecting us in regards to the metaphysical world, my parents would tell me how they believe their ancestors were watching over us and how it seemed more rational and logical to say that they cared more than God because we are descendants of them. I lived with this idea for four years until I became reintroduced to Christianity when I transferred to TCIS.
At first, I was reluctant to accept anything the school preached because it was completely different than the way my elementary Catholic school was. Instead of having worship in a church that sung holy old fashioned boring songs, and had priests leading the services in such a formal way, TCIS sung modern songs, spoke in a friendly manner, and had chapel and church in an atrium. I liked it here so much more than at my old Catholic church, but when so many staff talked negatively about Catholicism, I felt myself create a barrier with what the school believed in because I naturally was defensive of my past as I yearned for it more and more the longer I was away from it. During my first two years at TCIS, I felt myself being tugged in different ways. My mom’s Japanese culture of honoring the ancestors versus Christianity, and within Christianity, which one to choose from, and the possibility of some other religion boggled my mind.
Now, I claim to be a Christian, but sometimes I doubt my faith because I still feel I don’t know enough. However, I am still young and believe that as time goes by I will understand and learn more to grow in my faith. I guess, the culture that I first grew up in has impacted me the most, and although I am currently in a place where there are opposing religions, God has purposely placed TCIS along my path for a reason.