Reconciling Colonialism
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Date
Jan 9, 2024
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Uploaded by DrBoulderEchidna23
Reconciling Colonialism
Submitted to Dr. Chang,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
GLST 485
Engaging Tribal Cultures
by
Jessica Morales
November 8th, 2022
Intro
Christianity and missions tend to be a dicey topic within today's shift to secularization, even
when people reflect on the church's past mistakes. Missionaries were formally viewed as “Godly
Martyrs," who were resilient and faithful, but are now viewed as aggressive imperialists with an
agenda for political gain masked by the banner of Christ. The great commission is clear that we
should go into all nations, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” How do we
reconcile the dire need for the gospel to be spread with a stained view of history with elements of
dark and barbaric forced conversions? Paul states
“
How, then, can they call on the one they have
not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how
can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are
sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans
10:14-17) Can there be the preservation of culture as well as a conversion theologically? As
future church leaders, we can still conduct mission work and the advancement of the gospel
while simultaneously celebrating those who are different from us ethnically, culturally, and
socially.
The work and sanctification of the Gospel does not call us to ditch our God-given differences or
practices but rather to celebrate them. In revelation at the foot of the thrown, a beautiful picture
is painted through a vision given to John of every nation, tribe, and tongue, all standing at the
foot of the throne, worshiping the Lord. This is a beautiful distinction given to us as the church
as the Lord even in the resurrection of our perfect bodies there are still distinctions given by God.
The Lord desires that all people would be reconciled to Himself. For centuries the church has
been trying to fulfill the call to go into the world and make disciples in the nations and has made
great progress, yet even missions are comprised by human beings, who are affected by the fall.
There have been people who have done horrible things in the name of God but also have
misrepresented his heart entirely. Yet, this does not negate the dire need for the spread of the
gospel. For this purpose, we must first acknowledge so much of the good and social justice
brought forth through Christian missions movements, as well as the work of mission leaders and
future missionaries to take a step in acknowledging the shortcomings of past missions mixed
with colonialism as well as holding others accountable. The pride in believing that our culture is
superior to another is called ethnocentrism. As proclaimers of the Gospel, we need to be able to
humble ourselves, remove the ethnocentric view that everything we do is good or better than
other cultures and nations, and experience and learn that there is beauty in every culture and that
we must intentionally separate what we are not accustomed to and realize that it isn't wrong
rather than different. All cultures equally represent the fingerprints of God and the sin of the
world. We should learn to embrace and celebrate differences. Through practices such as the
inside method, we can engage culture through methods of affirming elements that are beautiful
and good and honoring God while offering ways that Christianity lends a better perspective or
worldview once relationships are established and Christ is shared. Any person or culture who is
not in submission to God will fall short and have great evil found in it. Any person or culture
without the love of Jesus will not thrive in morality even if it's hidden evils or practices that
wouldn't be noticed upon first observation. Yet, there are elements of every culture that is
beautiful and unique and have intrinsically been given by the Lord. To recognize our own biases
and worldviews there is an element of cultural
We must ensure that those we are sending out to
do cross-cultural missions are not only trained and developed in cultural intelligence skills but
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also have a passion for loving and serving the people they are being sent to, rather than trying to
change them. Before supporting and as a church putting our stamp of approval and financial
support towards local missionaries, it's vital to have an understanding of one's heart for the lost
and the gospel and a love for diversity and culture. The work of the gospel is done by faith in
grace through Jesus alone, not by works or any action of assimilation or cultural progression.
Intentional preparation before commissioning should be a level of accountability that the church
is progressing to. According to Radical’s statistics Missions organizations are moving towards
being the mobilizing and sending forces replacing the church when the model of sending in
scripture was done by the local church to support but also maintain accountability.
To reconcile the tension between the colonial missions' movements and fulfilling the call of the
great commission, it is essential to acknowledge the role the Christian missions played in
creating a forced uniformed political and social climate and norms across multiple continents.
Many Christian missionaries at the time cooperated with the political system to save face and
maintain status. Christians also assumed local indigenous cultures were inferior to European
education, language, and ideas because of ethnocentrism and a lack of cultural understanding.
Mission work and global engagement should be separated from colonialism. “Colonialism is
defined as “control by one power over a dependent area or people.” It occurs when one nation
subjugates another, conquering its population and exploiting it, often while forcing its language
and cultural values upon its people.” (Nat Geo). In practice, colonialism means one country
violently invades and takes control of another, claims its land, and sends people—"settlers"—to l
- to live there. The problem is that as people came to control the land of others, the customs,
culture, and religion were forced on the natives. How can we adjust our biases and cultural
norms that need to be what we see around us to embrace cultural agility and celebration?
Anton
Knuth
explains how the Jesuits viewed New France and natives as both “physically and
spiritually barren” and sinful because of the lack of shame and because of too much freedom.
Contractually, Jesuits believed they could save natives from their uncivilized history and
civilization through the sharing of the culture and practices in which they celebrated, thus
believing it was superior. Through the mistakes of past missionaries, we can see the productivity
of meeting locals or natives where they are. Instead of going in to change their culture, we can
empower locals to be missionaries in their locations as well as learn and live in the culture to live
it out.
The life scripture points us toward painting a portrait of humble service and how we can
assimilate to fit others' cultures rather than forcing others to change. 1 Corinthians 9:22 states,
“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by
all possible means I might save some.” This scripture feels counter-cultural to what the colonial
missions movement demonstrated. Paul in this passage is not saying that we should share the
gospel and force others to leave behind their cultures and traditions to embrace the gospel, but
yet Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. Having diverse cultural
backgrounds is not sinful by any means, but this scripture challenges the necessity of putting any
aspect of anyone's identity higher than the importance of sharing the gospel. When engaging
cross-culturally, especially in long-term missions, there has to be a level of assimilation within
the culture without abandoning beliefs or convictions. We can acknowledge what is good and
valuable within a culture as well as understand one's heart. How can we seek to reach those
different than us without immersing ourselves in their culture and learning and engaging with
what is important to them and the lives they live? It takes humility and intentional lives devoted
to serving and learning to actively engage. There are so many aspects to one’s culture, be it
socioeconomics, language, customs, or values. In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul is not suggesting that
followers of Jesus become more sinful and compromise their values and convictions to become
like those he intends to reach, but rather restricting himself from the things he is entitled to. The
picture painted is that we, as followers of Christ, must be willing to give up all things we may be
entitled to or have the “right” to do so that as many people as possible may enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. Craig Greenfield, in his article “Is Missionary Work Colonialism?” discusses that the
pains and the evidence stain of colonialism are associated with modern-day missions, but that
shouldn't prevent us from doing what the Lord calls us to. Paul writes in his evangelism strategy
that he didn't force anyone to become as he is; rather, he became all things that he might reach.
He even heavily discourages new believers from shaming others for not practicing things like
circumcision, when people at the time wanted to force others to do so because they viewed it as
right. This biblical principle gives us a great outline of what cross-cultural missions should look
like and that God does not call us to engage in colonialism or remove beautiful, dynamic cultural
practices but rather that the heart posture of those who once followed Christ will be changed
from the inside out. We should also transition into a church that has a healthy balance between
church discipline and radical grace and empathy. We need to have a structure within our
ministries and mission movements that is conducive to learning and growth, yet we must not
allow sin to be excused if unrepentant. In any form of ministry, people will make mistakes,
especially in contexts that are extremely different from what we are used to. As a culture, we
have trended toward this concept of cancellation culture as a means of saving face. Though we
can desire to bring justice to areas where people are abusing platforms, influence, or power and
should hold members accountable for serious abuses and unbroken cycles of sin, we need to
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demonstrate
grace
for
those
learning
and
experiencing
life
and
sharing
the
gospel
cross-culturally.
We can, as a church, reflect on the mistakes of past missionaries who attempted to force
conversion from the perspective of cultural superiority or even ignorance. As followers of Christ,
we must come to the understanding that we cannot force belief in Christ. If a person is forced to
believe outwardly, but inward regeneration has not happened, they have not truly believed
internally. Rather than forcing beliefs on natives, missionaries must learn to share the gospel in a
patient, loving way that's appropriate and relatable to their cultural context. Missionaries are not
responsible for people's decisions upon hearing the gospel message, but rather are responsible for
the sharing of it and allowing the holy spirit to move in the lives of those it shares. Missionaries
who
are
trained
in
cross-cultural
communication
will
learn
to
understand
different
communication patterns, including nonverbal communication and verbal communication. There
are no forced conversions and the church as a whole should be quick to call out the shortcomings
of people in the name of accountability. Questions should be raised about political movements
that force people to believe or even cause physical or societal harm or damage in the name of
Christ.
To prevent the repeating of past mistakes, the church needs to understand how the process of
colonialism began and how to “Indigenize” the gospel. There are many success stories of the
local empowerment of communities that have unique and diverse cultures and practices. “It
should be noted that the missionaries could not ignore the social basis of the existing culture.”
For example, the Soman peoples say, “In turning to Christianity, the Samoans have been
continuing to practice their established religion of observance.” They have to be seen as active
participants in their conversion, which has to be taken seriously “by those Western intellectuals
who still claim that it is a religion false to the Oceanic cultures.” This is an example of
ethnocentrism and why missionaries need rich cultural exposure and a deep understanding of the
fact that the gospel and scripture contain stories and truth that point all people from any
background to the gospel. Stories in scripture speak to people from every religious, cultural or
social background. The gospel is living and active and has the authority and power to change
lives. There can be authentic and contextualized forces of worship that is glorifying to God and
meaningful to the people it is coming from. God desires our authenticity and genuine worship
not scripted and forced worship. The form of worship and gathering we are privileged to have in
the West a product of our culture and preferences and when planting churches across different
ethnolinguistic backgrounds we need to recognize what parts of our faith and worship is
preferences and traditions versus what scripture calls the bride of Christ to be.
To glorify God through missions and the spread of the gospel, we have to check our intentions,
biases, and methods. Many times we can engage in beneficial actions with the wrong intentions
and
create
a
culture
of
self-elevation and savior complexes rather than elevating God.
Understanding our spiritual depravity to be able to reach those in the world is so important. We
can't view ourselves as superior socially or even spiritually, as we do not deserve the grace that
we have received, as we did nothing to aid our salvation but only Christ in the world. People are
not more sinful overseas or unreached than we were before the cross and blood of Jesus. We as
people who decide to lay our life down in submission to the Lord must understand that we are
undeserving to be used, but the privilege it is that the Lord chooses us to accomplish His
mission. Who are we to see the differences God has intentionally created and undermine them as
less than simply because they are different from ours?
Work Cited
Hill, Emily, et al. “Missions Pastor: Five Ways You Can Abandon Colonialism.”
Missions
Pastor: Five Ways You Can Abandon Colonialism – Missio Alliance
, 7 July 2016,
https://www.missioalliance.org/dear-missions-pastor-time-stopped-colonizing/.
Knuth, Anton. "Who Is the Subject of Mission? The Need to Decolonize Mission From the
Perspective of “the Margins”."
Transformation
, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378820914641.
Greenfield, Craig. “Is Missionary Work Colonialism?”
Craig Greenfield
, Craig Greenfield, 19
Sept. 2020, https://www.craiggreenfield.com/blog/missionary-colonialism.
Goulet, Rick. “Harvest of Souls: The Jesuit Missions and Colonialism in North
America,1632-1650; The Chaco Mission Frontier: The Guaycuruan Experience.”
Müller, Retief. “Mission and Colonialism.” Social sciences and missions = Sciences Sociales et
missions. 30.3-4 (2017): 254–278. Web.
“Bible Reference.”
BibleRef.com
,
https://www.bibleref.com/Romans/11/Romans-11-24.html#:~:text=Romans%2011%3A11
%E2%80%9324%20describes%20why%20God%20has%20hardened%20Israel,branches%
20have%20been%20grafted%20in%20to%20the%20root.
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Blakemore, Erin. “Colonialism Facts and Information.”
Culture
, National Geographic, 3
May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/colonialism.