Connecting with God...

How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to Faith? How do the Sawi Relate to faith?

- Faith is present in every society whether or not the people of the society is Christian or not; faith can refer to a belief, confidence, or trust in a particular person or idea as well as belief in God or in the doctrines of his words. Therefore I think we can assume that people around the world all relate to faith, and as Christians are able to introduce God to those who don’t know Him, they are able to connect their own faith to the Faith that God urges us to have. Therefore Don Richardson was able to make connections with ideas in Christianity with those in the Sawi culture to gain trust from the Sawi towards God. Don Richardson primarily relates to Faith by his Christian mindset gained since he was young, when he was in college. He definitely has Faith in God in all his pursuits and actions, and is faithful that God will help him convert the Sawi to true Christians.
The Sawi, who initially were unaware of Christianity, generally had faith in different ways from Don Richardson, as they had faith in their ordinary traditions and customs, such as the waness bind, the custom of gefam ason, and of course, the concept of the Peace Child. They primarily regarded treachery and head-hunting as usual occurrences and ideas to be practiced to become prominent or powerful, which almost is the opposite of what Christianity teaches. Don Richardson connects the idea of Jesus being the Peace Child for any conflicts in the Sawi World, as he states that Myao Kodon is God. Because the Sawi believe that abiding to the concept of Peace Child is mandatory in any circumstance, they gradually trust Jesus and Myao Kodon as their savior, dismissing all other spirits they have believed before. While the Sawi first had faith in their own spirits and traditions, they now have Faith in God and Christianity after Don Richardson introduces them to the religion.
I usually relate to Faith both in Christian and non-Christian terms; when I believe or trust that good things will happen, I relate to a non-Christian faith that allows me to have confidence. However, when I bring God into any type of belief or trust, I relate Faith in Christian ways. Sometimes, though, the Faith I have can be both in Christian and non-Christian aspects.

The issue of conciliating with different cultures

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

- Cultural diversity is virtually inevitable because people all over the world have different ideas and beliefs. People spread out throughout continents and countries since the beginning of civilization have developed different values, views, and traditions, creating diverse cultures. As there are many different cultures, there has been much contact among them as people of each type confront each other. For example, Europeans and Native Americans in the Americas had to confront each other during the Era of Exploration. These interactions often resulted in violence or treachery, as one group usually attempts to gain as much benefits as possible and disregard the concerns of the other. This was usually the case in the past, although many weren’t so extreme as for the consequences.
However, I think that when people confront other cultures, they should almost always consider the values and thoughts of the people of the other side before attempting to maximize benefits for themselves. When we acknowledge the interests of people who we meet in different environments with different ideas, they will most likely do the same. By doing this, I think Don Richardson was able to successfully convert the Sawi into Christians, as he adapted to their lifestyle and peacefully shared ideas with them, eventually introducing the God. If he tried to force the Sawi to become Christians without considering their situation or values, he would most likely have failed. We often say that when we meet new people, we should respect them, cautious of our actions, and not be fully convinced that our culture is best; we should do the same to people of different cultures. There are good things in other cultures that we may not notice quickly.

God wants us to...

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

- God primarily expects us, first of all, to trust Him that he will show us the way in introducing people of other cultures and faiths to Him. He wants us to calm and trustful that He will guide us to the best way. He implies through his words that when we confront different types of people and ideas, we should not fully reject them, but acknowledge their long-settled customs that cannot be changed so easily. Even if the other people are hostile towards us, we shall “Love our enemies” as Jesus says, do as much as possible to help them and forgive them even when they are arrogant or disrespectful. God expects us in any circumstance that we spread the love of God to people around the world by doing good for the people, as by charity or missions. Other cultures then will realize that Christianity is after all the true religion for all people and that God will save those who believe in him.
By these endeavors, God want us to spread the Gospel to everyone possible, while being patient even when some people may strongly disagree with Christianity. Don Richardson, for example, saw the Sawi actually praise Judas’s betrayal of Jesus since they value treachery and deceit. However, Richardson was able to use the idea of the Peace Child to convince the Sawi of God’s endless love and Jesus’s crucifiction. Like this, in crises when ideas of Christianity and other cultures significantly differ, God will help us to solve the problem. God expects us to be his messengers as well as students.

What can/should societies do?

What should society do for “uncivilized cultures” like the Sawi?”

- What does the society need to for people who are still uneducated, barbaric, and struggling to survive? First of all, it needs to help them survive. All its other pursuits would be futile when they perish. Second, it should familiarize the uncivilized people with the highly developed and civilized parts of today’s world, which may be very unexpected and menacing to them. One of the primary motives of today’s society is helping uncivilized people gain a better standard of living, and this will be possible when these people are familiar with the cultures of the civilized world around them. Without embracing the ideas of the rest of the world, they will not accept the benefits offered by the society. Then the society should introduce tools and methods of living that allow these people to survive more easily and gain better living standards. When the uncivilized people see the benefits of the civilized world, they will accept its ideas and cultures.
Society, however, should definitely not seek to gain profit and other benefits from uncivilized people, at least in initial stages of interaction. This usually leads to a disadvantage to the uncivilized, as the civilized will manipulate the resources and values enjoyed by the former. Profits from uncivilized cultures should only be sought once they are actually civilized and are able to understand how the society around them works. Mutual consent of both sides to trade and interact should take place before any profits are sought by the more civilized. In sum, society should first think about benefiting the uncivilized, motivated by generosity, like Don Richardson, rather than greed.

People on a mission

What do mission organizations do for these people?

- Mission organizations primary interact with these types of people in order to help them be acquainted with God and eventually embrace God’s love. The organizations send missionaries like Don Richardson to various parts of the world where people are not fully aware of Christianity, who therefore sometimes live in societies where cultures and customs often oppose to ideas promoted by the gospel. Missionaries in turn attempt to make connections with the cultures of uncivilized people in order to make the concept of Christianity more acceptable to them. During this process, missionaries also help these people significantly in medical or educational aspects, often raising the people’s standards of living.
However, above all these little things, what mission organizations truly do is ultimately save the people who are sometimes corrupted or strayed away from the right way to live. The organizations give these people a chance to accommodate Christianity into their everyday lives and therefore build a peaceful and stable society, which is usually better off than their former societies. Don Richardson, for example, spread Christianity not only to the Sawis but to many native tribes in Papua New Guinea, therefore promoting peace rather than hostility and cannibalism, which were dominant ideas constituting the lives of the natives. During the process he helped the people improve in terms of medical care, food supply, and other resources that increased their living standards.
Despite some exceptions, mission organizations basically send people around the world to spread the gospel to uncivilized people such as the Sawi and help them accept God into their lives, which will most likely promote general welfare.

Interesting aspects of the Sawis

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

- I was quite intrigued when I learned that the Sawi’s, along with the other cannibalistic natives around them, do not go head-hunting for daily food; head-hunting is rather an idea that determines the strength of a tribe over another, or the power of the individual who lead the “head-hunt.” Before I reading the book, I thought and assumed that cannibalism was the practice of killing men to supply one’s food supply. When I learned the truth, I was shocked and wondered how such a treacherous practice be a tradition to a whole group of people. I sometimes thought, “Wouldn’t a person living there actually be scared that he himself would be eaten?” But I realized that the practice was just another part of their culture, just as a part of my culture can totally shock the cannibals.
On the other hand, I was very surprised and amazed at how Don Richardson succeeded in converting many Sawis into Christians. At first I questioned the possibility of conciliation between the vastly different ideas of Christianity and cannibalism by a single man who had known barely anything about the people he was about to live with. However, as he learned the Sawi language and gradually made connections between Christianity and the Sawi culture, I was amazed at his diligence and skill in influencing the obstinate people dedicated to tradition. I was surprised at the numerous correlations that could be made between aspects of the Sawi culture and Christianity; they seemed to fit together solely for the purpose of the Sawi adopting Christianity. After all, this is another form of a miracle planned by God all along.

Comparing my culture with the Sawi's

How different is your modern culture from the Sawi tenets?

- As with most other cultures, my culture, which I can say is Korean-American, is obviously different from the Sawi culture in numerous ways. First of all, my culture does not promote cannibalism at all. People do not support any sort of killing of humans, and definitely not any eating of humans. Although the Sawis eat humans for purposes other than everyday meals, their practice would certainly not be accepted in my culture.
My culture also supports education of all individuals in primary and secondary schools. People receive education in subjects such as literature, math, sciences, or social studies; however, the Sawis do not receive any sort of education. Sometime it seems that they live to survive; their everyday lives seem to center around the search for food. In contrast, people in my culture assume survival, taking it for granted.
One important aspect of Sawi culture is that of the Peace Child. While the native tribes in New Guinea often live in fear of attack of other tribes, those who exchange Peace Children can enjoy a certain period of peace between them unless one tribe violates the promise of peace or any of the Peace Children dies. While this is actually the only way to guarantee peace for the Sawis, my culture usually, again, takes peace for granted, in the sense of people not attacking and killing each other. I live in a very safe and civilized society that has laws that substitute for promises made between native tribes such as that with the Peace Child.
The culture I live in, along with these few examples, is very different from the Sawi culture in many aspects.

The power of Christianity

How did Christianity change this culture?

- Before Christianity influenced the Sawis, the natives in New Guinea had a dominant culture of head-hunting and treachery, making them live constantly in fear. They had to toil everyday for survival, as men and women both were in search for food everyday, occasionally feasting on people “captured” from other tribes. Many customs were dissimilar from ours, such as the concepts of the Peace Child, waness, or gefam ason. Especially, the Peace Child is quite different because many people today in civilized countries take peace as an everyday situation, whereas the Sawis have to live alert everyday, aware of the possible attack or deceit of other tribes.
When Don Richardson brought Christianity to the region, the culture significantly changed, as many tribes including the Sawi embraced Christianity and its encouragement of peace. The Peace Child concept was no longer necessary as before, because Jesus became the eternal Peace Child who settled all conflicts between the tribes. The culture was not only influenced in terms of religion; Richardson and his co-workers brought many tools that helped the Sawi work more easily, such as the axe. Medication, primarily provided by Richardson’s wife Carol, helped cure many diseases that plagued the people for years. Another significant change in the culture was in architecture. Richardson engaged in a large-scale project building a giant “Sawidome” for the church building. Although it was the only building attempted to follow a semi-modern structure, it set the trend of establishing many more buildings like it, since it was much more larger and stronger than a regular Sawi treehouse.
Don Richardson, by bringing Christianity to the Sawis, helped change the culture of the people slightly more modern and make them prepare for the near intervention of the Indonesian government in their habitats. Most importantly, the people had a lot less reason to live in fear.

We can make peace without a Peace Child...

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

“‘Why is this necessary?’ I asked.
‘Tuan, you’ve been urging us to make peace-don’t you know it’s impossible to have peace without a peace child?’
I must have seemed very ignorant as I shook my head.
Ari was astounded. ‘Do you mean,’ he queried, ‘that you Tuans are able to make peace without…?’
He paused a moment in deep thought, and then suddenly his face brightened with insight. ‘Oh!’ he exclaimed. ‘I understand now. You Tuans never war with each other, so of course you don’t need a peace child.’
When Ari said that, a tiny bell started tinkling somewhere deep inside me. But it was very indistinct. I hardly paid any attention to it.”

- This passage particularly had a significant impact on me because it made me realize many things deeply. First, I realized that peace was something I shouldn’t take for granted. Although most people have lived in general peace for about half a century, it wasn’t easily achieved. It was in the expense of many tragic events involving many deaths of people. Moreover, there are still people such as the Sawi’s who have fear as a daily part of their lives, and had to risk a great sacrifice of giving a Peace Child in order to have peace. I was ignorant of the blessing of having peace everyday, not needing to worry about my safety but other things such as my personal welfare or education. God truly gave me this gift, and I should be aware of it from now on, always thankful.
Realizing this, I knew that I should use the gift to contribute to the world in many ways that I am able to. I have been living in idleness for a large part in my life, sometimes wasting away time, not knowing the privileged position I am in. I realized that the Sawi are in a much worse living status than I am, living in boredom, fear, desperation, and poverty. I wasted much of the opportunity given by God.
I also saw the courage of the people giving away their own children to benefit people of their group. They gave up great portions of their lives to form ensure peace between their tribes. I was awed by the sacrifice one can give with purely altruistic purposes, and reflected instances when I was selfish because of insignificant things. I felt guilty of being self-centered at times, disregarding the welfare of others. This passage allowed me to realize the mentality I should have, more focused towards promoting the happiness of everyone rather than myself.
The passage has affected me mostly in these three ways, and generally had a touching impact on my heart and mind. It noticed me about the various poor conditions people around the world, such as the Sawi, were living, as well as the privileges I have in life. I now know more efficient and worthy ways to live from now on.