Are Missionaries Using Secret Devices to Evangelize Uncontacted Tribes?

Daniel Todd Kamm

People have the right to be left alone and to live according to their own beliefs and values. Offering the hope of 'salvation' through christianity or any other means is not appropriate, particularly when people are misled to believe that their own thoughts and prayers (as right wingers like to say) and expressions of such are potentially and permanently "deadly" without the christian messiah.

If I am not mistaken, the son of man encouraged people to keep their spiritual lives personal and at home where these things are most important. He was not the one who said to go out and mess with other people.

Besides, the man was Jewish, so shouldn't that be what is offered, if anything?

We have so few indigenous peoples left who are not being exploited... but that's where the problem starts... send in the missionaries, then send in the people who will destroy their habitats, their ways of life and take every single asset or natural resource they have that could benefit them, and if any survive after disease and the destruction of life-ways... give them drugs, alcohol or whatever to keep them down.

The risks to indigenous folks from modern diseases are great... but... they may have some bugs that have not quite made it out of their isolated habitats too... check the history of certain venereal disease that made it back from the western hemisphere thanks to the early explorers... and here we are stuck with that Kennedy idiot in charge of the county's health... why don't we just introduce a new germ and say "Jesus made me do it....?!"

As for that poor boy who was killed reaching out to a group a few years back? I'm not one for blaming victims. He was young, and apparently his enthusiasm overcame his insight and judgment... including his respect for the law, and his respect for the autonomy of other people. He may have been able to offer a lot through his life had he lived... but we will never know now, will we?

These things are so messy. But whomever was dropping the word covertly into these folks territory? Jail.

Peace Out... Reb tk

Douglas Robert Spindler

Let's hope the tribes find and kill these Christian criminals like they done in the past.

Why is it Christians are always break the law and then lie about it?

Colleen McAllister

Sticking to the point of the above article I believe that whoever planted those devices in the restricted areas were in violation of the law and also of Jesus' command. We are to evangelize to those around us — not to every person who exists. The world in those days meant your world, those ares that you personally knew of or could travel to. These people need to stick to the people around them and leave the hidden people alone.

Melinda Fulk

I've always been against this kind of activity, but Christianity has a long history of "going forth and spreading the gospel". From their viewpoint, it's not just life and death, but a matter of salvation and the saving of souls - which has gotten more things messed up throughout history than it's helped. (But that's another article.) What I'm trying to point out is that while it's both illegal and, I'd argue, unconscionable, from a their viewpoint, it would be unethical, immoral, and wrong NOT to try to save them.

I hope they find out who did it this time, and throw at least a bit of the book at them, but it won't be the end. Some people are too stubborn for learning,

Ari Joseph Bertine

1. Electronics can also carry pathogens.
2. In Spanish and Portuguese? LOL! Yeah, I'm sure the uncontacted indigenous people are really impressed with a bunch of alien jibber-jabber noises. These folks speak Korubo and Chankueshko. Stupid missionaries.

Dylan Tuatha Le Danaan

I have never been able to give credence the whole idea of missionary work. it is rude and disrespectful to walk into another's home and browbeat them into following your path. Who are you to know what others are supposed to be doing?

Rev. BH

Also drop off Coca Cola, Sony transistor radios, Marlboro cigarettes, Nike sneakers, McDonalds burgers, etc. In time the Korubo will be just like us!

Force our beliefs, possessions and desires on the entire world. Sameness is the key to happiness and salvation!. Right?

Joseph Grieco

I'd be willing to bet when they find out who is doing this, they will be associated with the same folks trying to clearcut the Amazon Rain Forest for farming. However, in order to do that, they need to "indoctrinate" the indigenous people to make that acceptable to them.

Rev. Donut

No. Stay away.

I don't trust that "missionary"

I do not trust the outside people that went there in person or by air dropping something.

It's not about the tribe living their life. They are living their life.

Don't interfere.

It's about somebody wanting to get noticed and push their own agenda.

The dude would be better off refocusing his efforts to some inner city, there's plenty of opportunity there.

Tom Boocher

To claim to "preach the gospel" is to deny that the apostles and Paul fulfilled their mission fully 100%. Religions which take on this dead work and pull the specificity of biblical passages into a generic self-agenda fail to realize that the task Jesus gave just 13 men included the power to raise the dead.

Udaysree

I find it disrespectful when indigenous nations are not left alone. They have their own beliefs and traditions that are meaningful to them. Not everyone has to be a Christian. I would even go so far as to say its a form of violence against others just to convince them Christianity or Jesus is best. Jesus would certainly not approve of this kind of behavior as he is all love.

Reverend Paula Copp

Why do christians have to stick their noses into other people’s business? Why can’t they leave other cultures alone? Jesus said that if his message wasn’t accepted in a town, his followers should shake the dust off their feet and move on…

obere mchugh

if they made it illegal to get in touch with these people leave them alone, its a tribe that is isolated and who has been doing so by them self's for ever dont contact them as its not any one's business to try and give them the good word of your jesus christ and christiandom. as such they are indigenous and believe there own way that is natural.

Wesley Richard Hunt

ServantofJudgement you tickle me. And why do you hide behind the name as you do.

Lisbeth Kieran Bushey

I'm tired of users like ServantOfJudgement being allowed to continually violate the code of conduct and that there's no reporting feature.

That said, onto the article.

This was illegal, the people don't even speak Spanish or Portuguese, and this could have caused an outbreak of diseases these people have no immunity to. Missionaries need to stop breaking the law.

Daniel Todd Kamm

Wow, that turned into a conversation. I very rarely follow up with my posts, because it's easier to have my say than some silly argument over nothing.

But personal beliefs aside, personal intentions aside, proselytizing, evangelizing, or assuming a "mission" of some sort seems contrary to everything that the prophet "Jesus," said or directed his followers to do.

Especially in documents written long after he and all of his contemporaries were long gone, and they couldn't read or write either ...so what they left were word of mouth.

It seems to me that the prophet Jesus encouraged people to worship privately in their homes, and do what good they could privately, without drawing attention to themselves (which even today is a very long tradition in Judaism... the proper WAS Jewish after all... 1-1, person to person... because that's where real things happen... today as well.

It stinks that Jesus' teachings were able to be co-opted by the Roman Empire to service its imperialistic goals... expansion, subjugation, etc. Which is why our modern ideas of evangelizing, or assuming missionary work in effect has really been all about forcing our "inferiors," to our Western ways.

That's messed up... and a falsehood.

These aboriginal peoples across the globe are more G-d's children than any church stadium full of ... abominable messages and behaviors, and money collectors.

If one wants to serve others, there is no doubt plenty right next door that wants doing, and doesn't require the insertion of "wrong thinking" aimed at "saving" someone.

Bring a flashlight...a hammer...a drill...a plunger...whatever.

Or find a hobby making model planes out of aluminum pop cans...you'll do less harm... and G-d's children can be left alone and in peace.

Have a blessed and positive...

Peace, Out...tk

Bishop William Dusenberry, DD

As an ordained minister, in the Universal Life Church, (in which I’m also a missionary) in my denomination of the ULC (Secular Humanist Pantheism) we restrict our conversion efforts to those unable to comprehend even the most rudimentary understanding of basic science, we’ve elected, in stead, to wait until the child becomes a high school student, and in the process has studied the science of evolution, before exposing evolutionary sophisticated students to the fact that God, and Nature are the same, both in content, and the use of common sense,

James Riggle-Johnson

Do these people think their God would abandon people who have never heard of the bible or Jesus Christ? And is threatening the life of an entire civilization worth spreading religion? I don’t remember the bible saying anything about risking the lives of innocent people to spread the word. This has to stop!

Patricia Ann Gross

As one whose calling is for missionary work, this type of evangelism is not supposed to be the purpose of the work. The work itself is to be the message of Jesus (as in providing medical care or technical expertise to improve the lives of tribes/areas riddled by disease and at risk of being eradicated.) It is never to be done without permission. I understand that much of the history of mission work has been for the purpose of conquest, and supported by those that would benefit the most from it, so if you want to find out who is doing this, the easiest way is to follow the money. Who has the most to benefit from a "conquest" of these tribes? What natural resources do they want? The best way to do that is to convert the tribes so they move out so they can move in.

David Dorrycott

I reject you and your message. Now go away, forever.

Tom Herman

Breaking the law is unacceptable. These devices would make good fuel for bonfires.

Richard Schulherr

Religion is the root of all evil, and is exemplified by your aggression.

Delight Phillips

The line should be drawn, when you infringe upon the rights of others. Those rights remain the same, no matter what country it occurs in. I enjoy spreading the gospel and sharing bible verses. But, I don't shove my beliefs in people's faces. These indigenous tribes have been kept non-communicable for a reason. I believe what is being done is indeed a crime and should be fully investigated.

ServantOfJudgement

Always I hear Christians don't follow their doctrine. Continually judging Christianity against its mantra. Hate driven speech in a double barrel chain fed word machine gun aimed at gunning down Christians any time we poke our heads out. Take away the law and y'all won't hesitate to pull out the machete with a psychopathic grin.

Well, now that some Christians are following their doctrine by spreading the good news as Jesus The Christ commanded, the antichrists DON'T want Christians to follow their doctrine?

Jesus said you would do this. He knew you would even resort to murdering his followers as a handful here have expressed on several occasions. Oh how our Lord knows the psyche of fallen man. What total depravity, how Man loves his pigsty, putrid and vile.

You make the Bible and the existence of the Christ very very difficult to disprove.

James Trenton Smith

I will talk to whomever I want about Jesus...wherever and however I can reach them and I'll do it all day long...regardless of what any other "man" says...regardless of what the "law" says, and regardless of what the consequences may be. Oh...and a fight goes with it... The days of pushing some Christians around on these types of matters is over.

Rev. Carol M Anaski-Figurski

God works in mysterious ways! It's a gray area if modern technology is dropped by drones in a rainforest. Individually you have a right to believe whatever they want. Along with freedom of speech. It's no different than bibles not allowed in china but are smuggled in despite being forbidden. There's a yearning for Christ around the world. Even in Africa they closed all the churches that were not catholic. They only allow Catholicism. Other religions are taboo but still probably exist due to Gd's nature. So mote it & be blest be

Iden Charles Siegbert Hill

There's an outstanding movie titled 'The Gods must Be Crazy' about a bushman in South Africa who finds a discarded Coke bottle and the tribe don't know what it is so consider it a gift from the gods. Members of the tribe become covetous of the gift which causes aggressive dissension among them, so it is decided to return the gift. The movie is about the bushman, who found it, efforts to do so. It is a comedy mainly about Afrikaans racial stereotypes.

Clive Hessing

I support spreading the gospel to all corners of the globe now that it has reached every corner it needs to be fairly shared with everyone that way people can make their own chose whether to follow God or not. It is not any governments chose whether or not someone from anywhere can be exposed to the ruler of creation as well as the originator and author of all things good!

Patti Anne Lisenbee

These tribes cut off all contact with the outside world for a reason. They want to be left alone. What missionaries refuse to consider is that one puff of air from one person could wipe out an entire tribe in a few days. The entire tribe could be gone. Then what would the missionaries do? They'd have no one left to preach to. These people want to be left alone. LEAVE THEM BE, THEN! Even one germ left on one of those mechanical devices could decimate a lot of people. There's plenty of people in cities to preach to about your particular brand of beliefs, go bother them. At least they can tell you to F*** off!

Kevin Venteicher

would think such device would beneficial to them and the ones trying to communicate with them prayers

Religion as a Weapon is Wrong

If Evangelicals want to find people that need saving, they should check out the United States government. It is loaded with criminals, rapists, racists, pedophiles, protectors of pedophiles and liars. Murderers, drug dealers and violent people have been "pardoned" to go and commit additional egregious acts. A shooting of multiple police officers in Virginia today was addressed by Congress with "thoughts and prayers" and zero solutions towards mental health counseling or reasonable gun laws. Hegseth's pastor is a protector of a man that raped his own infant son. Look it up, that's who he follows as his religious leader. Indigenous people around the world need to be protected from so called Evangelicals spreading the word of Jesus, live their own lives without interference, and be spared by people breaking all 10 Commandments forcing upon them the Ten Commandments. I know Evangelical people that have traveled the world to spread the word and they are good people, however, I don't agree with underhanded tactics to reach people that don't want to be reached.

Leslie A. Hulberg Née Tomasura

This whole idea of spreading the word in such a manner is wrong. My native Hawaiian friend and every indigenous person she knows hates the missionaries for what they did to her people and her culture. We are also acquainted with some indigenous people within the continental United States and they too are angry at the missionaries who forced them to follow their faith and even forced them into schools thousands of miles from their homes. They are angry because they have lost their culture and the faith of their ancestors. Not to mention the abuse and death they suffered at the hands of these so called missionaries. I’m not a door knocker, nor do I impress my beliefs upon others. I live my life according to what feels right to me and I encourage everyone to do the same. However, if someone shows an interest or asks me about my faith, I will tell them. The main reason being is, at a young age, my mother decided that the faith she was then practicing, was the rightful one, and that all others were wrong. In her beliefs to save us, she constantly brought up her faith and her zeal in wanting us to follow. Instead, what she did was drive me further away from a deity than I had ever been previously and the last thing I ever wanted to hear was a “god speech”. If these so called people of faith really wanted to teach these people to believe (rather than conform), they should wait for these tribes to ask or be curious enough to watch the way the missionaries live their daily lives and decide if they want to emulate them or not. Otherwise they will drive a wedge between the missionaries and the tribes and the tribes will lose their individualism and replace it with forced conformity. If we look at history, we can see that this type of behavior never ends well.

Rex Hyrum Lee

Simply disagree... rex

obere mchugh

Its a shame that some one would think they need to drop in a recording of the wording of the "good" book to people who are indigenous and have lived that way since the dawn of time, they dont need christiandom as they have a probably tribal animistic world view, leave them alone, while i understand the ideals of mission work and spreading the word. its not always right, as far to many times its a cover for conquest and control. leave people alone. ive experianced being preached too in public and offered to go to church and so and so forth, have had them come to my door and i politly listen to the message being offered. ofcourse 9 times out 10 it generally stops once i say im a witch or if they come into my house to spread the word the quickly leave due to the very much Witch decore, altars and statues and other decor around my church/home. i have no problem listening and taking in there message but its my choice and as the people in this article are a protected people no one has the right to break the law to send messages of there savior and faith to people they want to convert as no one has the right too do so. while even the government says these people and there way of life are off limits to protect there culture and way of life. from the outside world just leave those who are non of your business

Penny Prentice-Best

The world is in need of kindness. There are millions living with hunger, homelessness, substance abuse, lack of health care. There are victims of violence and armed conflict who are in need of support. There are many ways to demonstrate love and compassion all over this earth to people who are truly in need of those. Is it really a good use of time and resources to try to convince people who live quietly apart that they would be better off if they became " true believers"? The Divine Presence is everywhere, is it not? Perhaps we should consider that it also has many faces and many voices. Where ever there is love, kindness, compassion, respect, gratitude, joy, beauty, Divine Presence is speaking to and through us. Even in the deep Amazon jungles.

Minister Dixon

Outreach should be Spirit led. Problem is too many Christians have not practiced listening. Jesus instructed His follow fishermen where to cast the net.for a harvest.

Gerard FitzGerald

I believe that when you go anywhere and proselytize you accept the risks, while Jesus and the Bible commands Christians to do so, "if they refuse to accept then wash your feet (dust off) and walk away. The only Christian groups that regular do this are the Mormans, and Jehovah's Witness.

What happened to all of the courage that so many profess to have? I have never had any person from any Church knock at my door and invite me to a service, I attend now but still