Who should we send to help the Third World Countries – NGOs or
Christian Missionaries? In an article entitled “As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God,” British Journalist
and professed atheist Matthew Parris, argues that to “leave the continent at
the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and
the machete” instead of Christian missionaries is an act of violence:
·
“Africa needs God…Missionaries, not aid money… [They]
are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem—the crushing passivity of the
people’s mindset.”
·
“Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced
of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply
distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international
aid efforts. These alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s
hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change
is good” (50).
·
“Christians, black and white, working in Africa,
do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind
of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be
better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate
missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the
faith.”
According to Parris, there are hardcore secularists who will
not give credit where the credit is due. However, Parris, who had spent his
childhood in Malawi, knows otherwise:
·
“It
inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But
travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to
banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my
African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to
fit my worldview, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.” https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/as-an-atheist-i-truly-believe-africa-needs-god-3xj9bm80h8m
In light of the above, if we are
really concerned about the people we claim to want to help, why do we fund NGOs
and not Christian missions?
Sometimes, we have to let the facts overcome and correct our
ideology. For this, I admire Parris. However, he is not alone in his assessment
of the positive impact of Christian missions. The
late theologian, B.B. Warfield, glowingly testified that:
·
Hospitals and asylums and refuges for the
sick, the miserable and the afflicted grow like heaven-bedewed blossoms in its
path. Woman, whose equality with man Plato considered a sure mark of social
disorganization, has been elevated; slavery has been driven from civilized
ground; literacy has been given by Christian missionaries, under the influence
of the Bible.
Professor of sociology, Robert
Woodberry, had done extensive research on missions. Many have concluded from
Woodberry’s years of research that:
· “Woodberry already had historical proof that
missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, let
nationalistic movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key
elements of democracy. (Christianity
Today, Jan/Feb 2014, 38)
Woodberry summarized his
findings:
· “Areas where Protestant missionaries had a
significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed
today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower
corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for
women), and more robust membership in non-governmental associations.”
Philip J. Sampson cites the improbable
testimony of Charles Darwin:
· “Human sacrifice…infanticide…bloody wars, where the
conquerors spared neither women nor children—all these have been abolished…by
the introduction of Christianity.” (6
Modern Myths about Christianity and Western Civilization, 110)
However, not everyone is willing
to give this despised group any credit.
· “The missionaries [to New Guinea] from the start
found themselves in bitter opposition to the white traders and exploiters,
whose attitude was expressed by one of them to John G. Patton in the words ‘our
watchword is ‘Sweep these creatures away, and let the white men occupy the
soil,’’ and who, in pursuance of their aim, placed men sick of the measles on
various islands in order to destroy the population through disease.” (Stephen
Neill, “History of Christian Missions,” 355)
Sampson adds:
· Disappointed in not finding the field of
licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they [the Western traders] will not
give credit to a morality which they do not wish to practice or to a religion
which they undervalue, if not despise. (111)
It seems that today’s secularists
have a lot in common with their predecessors, the Western traders. They too
seem to despise “a religion which they undervalue.” (Don’t let that talk about
the alleged “separation between Church and State” fool you.)
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