It is popular among today’s secularists to portray Western Christian missionaries as damaging to native populations and their indigenous cultures. No one would argue that missionary activities have at times been misguided. The Western church model, typically inappropriate to other cultures, has too often been forcibly applied together with the gospel of Jesus. This needless exporting of Western cultural trappings has resulted in great harm in many places. But is it fair to paint all missionary efforts with the broad brush of condemnation because of these mistakes of the past? Or to put the question another way, has the net effect of the preaching of the gospel been positive for those populations that embraced Christianity, despite the failings of some missionaries? And is it possible that such positive effects could be noted even by a skeptic, one who doubts the gospel message itself?
“Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset.”
“... 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. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.”
... only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it”
Fascinating declarations coming from such a well-known atheist. Of course, he throws a bone to his follow-secularists when he writes, “It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package.” Say what? Salvation is the very heart of the package, not just a “part”. Nevertheless, Parris’s admission that the God of the missionary is just the medicine Africa needs is all the more remarkable in light of his stated aversion to the message of salvation!
Parris is very clear. The missionary message, and the deeds inspired by it, get more mileage than relief funds, secular NGOs, the U.N., education, etc.
I have a Canadian friend who has long maintained that the best thing a Christian can do for Africa is to go there, even if only for a short time. Wayne leads teams of North Americans into Liberia, and Sierra Leone two and three times a year. The teams sometimes number 20 or 30 or more. The airfare for those teams could feed thousands of orphans, maybe build a school or two, or staff a small hospital for a year. When practical folks like myself point this out, Wayne objects vehemently. Our “ministry of presence” is simply invaluable, he contends, and Matthew Parris offers his own unique “Amen!”
