How did Christianity change this culture?

Christianity did not change the Sawi culture at all. Christianity was Don Richardson's views on religion therefore meaning it was based on God

and the sacrifice He made by sending His only son to be sacrificed for us. Sinners. That is what Christianity is, but that religion is not what changed the Sawi culture. God changed the Sawi culture.

When you ask "how" did God change this culture we can look at physical aspects of change in the Sawi and of course their Spiritual change as well. Physically, the Sawi were barbaric cannibals that held treachery and betrayal as the highest and most honored act that could be done in their tribe. They wore loin cloths and skulls. They usually had multiple wives. They could only trust their families and no one else, and had a custom of giving a peace child between tribes to hopefully have the other tribe accept and have peace between the tribes, but only as long as that child was alive. The Sawi went from being this tribe, to hearing of the sacrifice given by God Himself, and changing completely. Making clothes for themselves, not practicing cannibalism anymore. They built a church for all tribes to come together and trust each other and worship God as brothers and sisters in Christ, and they started to learn the will and ways that the Lord wants them to live by and change different parts of their individual and personal lives that weren't reflecting God's amazing love through them.

Spiritually the Sawi went from having almost no morals in life at all and having their entire beings revolving around betrayal and distrust and uncertainty. To knowing a little sliver of the pain that God was feeling when He gave His son Jesus to die on the cross, and realizing that He is all that should matter in their lives and wanting and being hungry to learn of Christ and everything that He did and is wanting them to do right now. They went from being scared to eat over at one another's house because of the chance of a treachery and murder, to loving one another and forgiving unthinkable things that were done in the past and moving on to worship the one who gave the ultimate sacrifice for them. That is how God changed the culture of the Sawi people.

How different is your modern culture from the sawi tenants?

How different is my modern day culture from the Sawi culture that Don Richardson experienced as a missionary?

.............Well, how different is black and white? How different is summer and winter? How different are girls and boys? How different is up and down? How different is yes and no?

The answer is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

First looking at my modern day culture we can see there are differences in technology, job opportunities and money making, climate, location, language, and of course views on relationships, and probably many more that I just can't think of or won't take the time to name. My modern culture is American, and this culture is full of people that have way more than enough money and everything done for them making their life so easy that they couldn't even TRY to imagine the labor and pain that the people of the Sawi tribe must have gone through every day just to survive in Papua New Guinea.

The Sawi Tribe had no electricity, no books, no sports equipment, no queen sized beds, no money and no stores to buy anything from, no hair products and blowdryers and straighteners, no order in pizza, no expensive wedding rings or dresses or cakes or honeymoons, and no truly trusting

relationships outside of their families. This is just a beginning little taste of the depravity of the things that we so easily take for granted in my modern day culture.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how much stupid stuff there is in my life that I base my

schedule on. Some of the most important things in my life as a 16 year old teenage girl, are facebook, skype dates, relationships, the latest movies out in the theater, the latest gossip and news about celebrities, newest tv shows, latest music, latest ipod and phone and camera and laptop, how I do my hair and makeup and the clothes that I'm wearing. Now if I were to compare those

priorities to the priorities of a 16 year old teenage girl living in the Sawi tribe it would be: is my husband going to be safe as he travels to another tribe, will we have food to eat tonight, are my 2 children getting enough food, can I trust my friends who have invited my husband over to dinner, and is our tribe going to go to war and should I be ready to fight.

Compare those 2 typical priorities of 16 year old teenage girls living in those 2 places and you will see what I mean when I say my modern culture is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the Sawi culture.

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

The concept of the Sawi culture that really saddened and shocked me the most, was the concept of "fattening for friendship." Now, this concept is definitely way out of my brain capacity because I have NEVER experienced or even heard of this custom, until I read Peace Child. What this concept is, is basically forming a friendship over months or even many years with someone and really gaining their trust and not making them feel like they need to be on guard or worried about betrayal at all. And then, when the right moment comes, completely stab them in the back (literally) and kill and eat them. When this is done this is thought of as the highest honor in their culture and that betrayal is the coolest thing you could do there.

Like I said I've DEFINITELY never experienced or even heard of this before I read this book, but once I read it I tried to put myself into their perspective and that's just what truly broke my heart. I have many friends in my life. Some I've known for only 6 months, and others I've literally known for my entire life. I can NOT imagine having those wonderful friendships in the Sawi village and then one day hanging out with them and having them betray me in the highest form by killing me and dishonoring me by eating me! That's just unheard of! And I also could not imagine in my wildest nightmares, being the one that betrays my friends and killing and eating them. I would just never be able to live with myself and it breaks my heart to think that those friendships that were had were just a total lie and all focused on creating a deeper relationship just to make the betrayal even more drastic.

This is the concept that I just could not get my mind around in the Sawi culture, and when I read about this my heart broke just to think that this is the way that the Sawi used to live and many other cultures are probably still living like this today.

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

What Would Jesus Do?

This is a VERY well known saying throughout the world that has been made into bumper stickers, bracelets, necklaces and T-shirts. Needless to say, this phrase is seen all over the world and if you say W.W.J.D. most people will know what you're talking about. The funny part of this is, that if so many people know this saying even if they are or aren't in a relationship with Jesus, why is it that when

we truly need to ask ourselves this question when faced with a situation, we never do?

Interesting right?

Well, I believe that because this saying has become such a commercialized logo that is basically has no meaning anymore. It's become almost a stereotypical saying that you can relate with any Christ follower, AND already know the stereotypical answer. What Would Jesus Do for the Sawi? Well He would pray for them, and love them, become a servant to them, and do all He could to help them and teach them about the bible, befriend them, and let them know that they're not alone. Now this is a very good and probably spot on answer about What Jesus would do, but when asked what does Jesus want US to do for the Sawi, all most people are going to pull out of that answer would maybe pray for them because it's the simplest and most easy thing to do in our luxury filled lives.

But if you really think about it, what do you think Jesus really wants US to do for the Sawi people??

I think he wants us to do exactly what Don Richardson and his family did for them. Sacrifice the luxury and comfort of your friends, family, home, and life, to go and befriend them like Jesus would be living alongside them and personally teaching them the ways of Christ and what He did for them and how they are so special that someone gave up their life for them

that they don't even know. And that person is the creator of the universe. Living with the Sawi, SHOWING them that we love them instead of just praying for them back at your house, and basically throwing the life that you lived out the window, so as to hopefully help save theirs.

That's what Jesus wants us to do for the Sawi people, step out of our comfort zone like He already did for us, and let them know that they have a choice to live a much better life with their Father in Heaven.

What should society do for "uncivilized cultures" like the Sawi?

Uncivilized cultures are cultures that when compared to other cultures of the world, seem not advanced. I'm a little confused at what cultures are and aren't civilized cultures in this world, because I feel like according to each culture of the world if you were to ask one of the people apart of it would not feel like they have an uncivilized culture because a huge part of culture is the people that make up that culture.

When looking at the Sawi culture we see that there are definitely things that are apart of that culture that would never be acceptable in our own culture. The style of clothing worn, the housing, the customs of marriage and wives and children, the different feelings between different tribes, the custom of cannibalism, and of course the offering of the peace child. In the views of society all of these parts of their culture are uncivilized but it is not our place to 'change' the way that they live. What can happen though, is what Don Richardson and his family did by going and befriending their culture and letting them see what kind of lives they live and tell them why they live the way they do which is when the Sawi were introduced to Jesus Christ.

Seeing the way that Don Richardson and his family lived for Jesus Christ and how He really was the reason that they lived is what made his family and the Sawi's relationship grow even stronger. Then when he had befriended and accepted their culture enough to know the language and be able to tell them about Jesus through the example of a Peace Child, this was when the Sawi's lives changed. They realized what they were doing was wrong and that THEY wanted to make the decision to be different and change for God, instead of society TRYING to change them and make them live differently. From that point on, the Sawi grew more and more in their relationship with God and over time their customs within their culture have all been changed as well and people would not consider them an 'uncivilized culture' anymore.

What the story of Don Richardson and the Sawi people can teach us is that when society is faced with 'uncivilized cultures' it is not their job to make them change and be 'civilized'. Is it their job to love them like Jesus does and befriend them and show them that you care and respect them and their customs and also let them see your own customs and beliefs and through that will they have the right to decide how they want to live their lives because they've seen how others live and how they can live if they want to. And as Christians, we can be examples of Christ and His love by loving them and hopefully they will see this and want to have that Love and never ending Joy in their hearts as well.

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

Cultures are a huge part of anyone's life in the world. It is a piece of your identity that depends on your ethnicity, where you live, where you were born, and the community of people you surround yourself with. It is a huge part of who you are, and very important to each and every person in the world.Have you ever heard the song "Jesus loves the little children" ?

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the WORLD!

This song is talking about how God loves and accepts all of the cultures throughout the world. It does not matter what they look like, or what they eat, or what language they speak, He loves them all equally because they are ALL children of God.

As followers of Christ we need to do the same. When we are confronted with other cultures, we as Christians need to love them just the same as we love the people within our own cultures. That may mean eating what they eat, learning their language, abiding by their customs so as not to be rude or seem disrespectful. The most important thing that we can do is to remember that God made man in His own image, therefore all people of all cultures are the image of God and the last thing in the world that we would want to do is disrespect God because we love Him so much. Therefore, when confronted with other cultures we must love them as brothers and sisters in Christ and do all we can to respect them and the aspects of their own culture. Hopefully this will open the door for them to do the same for yourself and your own culture.

How does Faith relate to the world in which we live in?

Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do not see"

Faith. This is a word that we do not commonly hear in an every day conversation at work, or on the bus, or walking along the street, or even after the church service on sunday. It just doesn't seem to be the highlight of most conversations going on in the world. That seems very odd considering that Faith is the one thing that this world lacks and needs the most.

Our world is corrupted. We think that we have life all figured out. We think that we're sure of what we hope for and want for ourselves, and then we're certain of the fact that nothing in this world whether we can see it or not, knows what is best for us. We make our own plans, and we make our own money, and we love who we want, and we just do what we want to do, and yes we end up becoming rich billionaires, or famous movie stars, and we have everything in the world that you could ever want. And yet, every day all around the world people are committing suicide because none of the stuff that they were sure and certain that they wanted and needed ever seemed like enough. They could not find joy from those things and because they believed that they knew what was right and no one else, they had no one to turn to but themselves and thought that if this was what life was all about: feeling empty, having no one, and knowing that nothing in this world is going to make them happy, then what's the point of living?

So how does Faith relate to the world in which we live in? Well I don't think that that's the question that should be asked, because people have faith in a lot of different things in this world, but never are they rewarded for that faith. That question should be "How does Faith in God relate to the world in which we live in?" And the answer is it relates 100% to the world we are living in. Being sure that the person who created you will take care of you and knows what's best, and being certain that even though you can't see Him, He is definitely there and someone to put your trust in, is the way that every person in this world needs to think. Only then can they find true joy and happiness in life because by trusting and acknowledging God you will then feel His love all around you and never question or think you need something else to live, but instead have Faith that God is the only thing you need in this life. When you have that, you will not only live filled with the Love of God in this world, but you will move on and live for eternity with God in heaven.

The world in which we live needs to know and have this Faith in God.

Faith relates to them because if they don't have Faith in God then they have nothing because it is essential for them to survive in this world. It is our job as Christians in the Lord to be an example of Faith in God to the world and hope that one day they can realize they want to have this sureness and certainty in something that never fails, and that is the Love of God.