Showing up on the Sentinelese people's shores was tantamount to genocide; the microbiome he carried with him almost surely would have wiped out the inhabitants. He studied the island closely, he surely would have known this.
Put simply, he care more about glorifying himself than the survival of the people whose beliefs he sought to 'correct'.
7
At it's core this is about one group of people represented by the preacher wanting to impose their way of life on to another group of people the sentiles. Even though there is high probability that this might kill all of the second group and is also illegal !!!
This just shows how selfish the preacher and his group are! All they care is what they want irrespective of their actions impact others.
25
And so we all are appalled at what happened, both that a life was lost and that there still exists this absurd notion that indigenous people, living peacefully, are "lacking" Christianity and need the white man to sail in with salvation.
I can think of nothing more Christian than respect for indigenous people. It was thoughtful of this young man to quarantine himself so as not to possibly introduce a virus to these people, but his lack of respect for their own beliefs and his arrogance in believing that experiencing God and living purposeful peaceful lives cannot happen without Christian proselytizing and conversion are just breathtaking.
Oddly, many of the folks in this line of work are big supporters of the "stand your ground" laws in Florida, and supported George Zimmerman big time. Yet indigenous people, on their own remote island, who bridge the language gap by shooting an arrow into your bible and having their leader stand on a rock and clearly express that they want you to leave their home, don't get the same respect.
This was not murder. This was self defense. They tried, in every way, to convince this missionary that he was not allowed into their home. He brazenly came in anyway. Not only did he lose his life, but he caused innocent people to resort to violence, which is harmful to them and their community.
42
Chau was a nice man.His death is a tragedy. Nonetheless he was clueless. He put the lives of indeginous people in serious danger. Any simple disease he might brought to that island would have wipe them out. He did not show respect to their laws and customs. He assumed his religion was superior and had to be forced on other people. He was a criminal himself. Of course he did not deserve to die but he broke a lot of sacred laws.
14
I wonder when the infection of the Great Commission will cease. I abhor the evangelizing of any kind of religion. It is an assault on humanity. It must stop. I'm trying to feel sorry or sad for this young man, but I can't. What a waste, to lose your life for religious nonsense, sad.
22
The fact that there are 130000 of these arrogant, intrusive people out there peddling fairy tales is highly disturbing.
47
Can we stop hearing about the actions of this selfish person and get back to real news? Missionaries are modern colonialists.
28
Arrogance, period. He put all of the islanders at risk of death. Ignorance is dangerous, but we all know that as the ignorant have elected a clown to rule us.
15
A fluff piece on a person who knowingly exposed fatal disease to an entire tribe. Maybe the US can't be too hard on his actions because it is Europe's and Christianity's history in a nutshell. It was OK if indigenous people died of our disease---as long as they were saved first.
11
“Remember, the first one to heaven wins.”
That sums up this sad tale of arrogant delusion perfectly.
11
He did not learn two important things apparently - humility, and respect towards other cultures. His arrogance caused his death.
17
I’ve just finished this story. The arrogance is breathtaking. Mr. Chau planned to illegally impose his beliefs on an isolated and protected population. (No human conflict ever arose from this sort of behavior, right?) And to frame it as a contest to get to heaven? Presumably, Mr. Chau said this “playfully”. But it seems to inform his obsession to convert the “savages” of North Sentinel. How is any of this acceptable?
20
More than a few times, the Apostle Paul knew when he was not wanted and left the town as stones flew in his direction. He and his traveling companions were roughed up by people. Jesus said to those he sent out that if not welcomed, then take the dust off their sandals. Here John Chau did not listen to those words.
John Chau knew that these people did not want him near their island. He was warned repeatedly and I wonder if he had a martyr complex. To try to force one's faith upon a people that warned him not to come near is reckless. I am saddened to hear that he was killed and he knew the risks.
In 1993, an American Denomination sent me as a church worker to a foreign Protestant Denomination. That I was under the instruction and care of the native Bishop and head of that denomination. My denomination had gone past the missionary phase and dealt with this denomination as an equal.
I can blend in with the native population and have seen the missionaries coming into the area. There are the smugness and arrogance that smacks of superiority. They live among themselves away from those they are to supposedly 'save'. And no I have not gone native! I can discern good and bad within that society.
This was a needless death and those 'Evangelicals' better think long and hard for their mortal life. And they should take the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples when he sent them out.
RTHB, Jr.-Master of Divinity (M.Div) 1999.
8
Another story of impetuous youth.
9
I hope Jon Krakauer decides to write a book about Mr. Chau, his education and background, and modern missionaries and their training. Missionaries are a large part of our history and I would like to understand this story with Krakauerian depth.
4
Perhaps the islanders are a little more advanced than people think and know exactly what a bible is and what it represents. Perhaps they wanted nothing to do with Christianity and all it meant. This was social Darwinism in all its glory. But maybe it was "Gods" plan all along.
6
I am not religious, but am extremely spiritual. I also find the idea that these islanders needed what John Chau wanted to give them to be both laughable and offensive. Spiritual truth is available to everyone, everywhere, no matter how isolated - they don't need a book or any particular ideology to find it. In fact, these islanders may have spiritual wisdom far beyond the vast majority of us living in modern society.
However, one of the first things I noticed when this story first broke and I saw a picture of him was just how radiant and joyful he was. His soul practically burst through the screen. And the way people talk about him - the way that they felt truly seen in his presence - that speaks of a beauty, authenticity, and grace within him that should not be dismissed because of the circumstances that led to his death.
Anyone who has truly had a calling (from what I would call the Divine, or Awareness, what he would call God) understands that once it's received, there's not a lot you can do. It is not a goal that you're given so much as a truth infused into the core of your being that you are helpless to ignore. I can't tell you why his calling was to do this, but I do know that talking about this in terms of it being a bad or stupid "choice" is missing the point entirely.
I do think that with enough guidance and mentorship he could have unearthed a different approach to fulfilling his calling, but ignoring it was never something he was going to be able to do.
7
Perhaps I'm overly cynical, but I suspect there was an element of self-aggrandizement for Mr. Chau. He hoped to be recognized in his community as "The man who brought Christianity to the 'pagan' Sentinelese."
11
The notion of a persuader traveling the globe to convice others of your messiah is not only faulty in concept but borders on un-grounded. It is almost harassing and menacing in nature, considering that all he approached did not ask for or solicit his pleadings.
When I see another human being the last thing on my mind is to persuade him or her to see things my way. It's really quite arrogant if you think about it.
8
So, a man hears a knock on the front door and when he answers it, there's two young men in white shirts and dark ties standing there. "Have you heard the good news", one asks? "No, I haven't", replies the homeowner. "Come on in and tell me". They're all sitting at the table and neither of the young men are speaking. "So what's the good news",asks the resident? "We don't know what to say" replies one of the young men. "We've never made it this far".
13
Why has NY Times not interviewed members from the different Indian church communities? What do they think about this kind of "proselytizing"?
India has many robust and ancient Christian communities, why not ask them what they do and what parameters they operate within?
Why didn't Chau contact or coordinate with them?
There should be much more investigation of Chau's home church training in the US. They are seriously culpable if they sent this man out to do what he did, with their encouragement.
12
I have very little sympathy for this man. He went severals times to a place he was prohibited to go, was already injured once, and still went back. Sorry, but that’s just not ok. He broke the law. Leave these people alone. That the media is spending this much time on this is unacceptable and complicit.
8
I thought the headline was a little too snarky. Chau already paid for his mistakes, no need for the NYTimes to insult him.
With that said, I agree with the many comments regarding the arrogance of missionaries present and past. But it’s do unto others as you would have them do unto you, right? I think we should interpret missionaries’ behavior as a cry for help, when they come knocking on our doors they wish for us to convert them to our beliefs. Ask them where they live. Ask them if they are tired of spreading lies. Of being fools. Then show them the path to true enlightenment: [Religion of your choice]. I’m agnostic, was raised Christian, but am considering learning the major talking points of Paganism just have something interesting to talk about. Who’s with me? Extra credit: grab your phone, video the conversation, and post to your favorite social media platform.
2
John Chau planned to supplant whatever god that the North Sentinelese may have with his own god. In this plan, we are told, he was motivated by nothing but love for the islanders. Very touching, this love that seeks to destroy target population's religion and culture.
Why do we assume that his intended proselytes reacted in hostility? Perhaps they too were acting out of love for Chau. Maybe they knew that if they let him hang around on the island, he'd have a change of heart and lose his own religion.
5
I am amazed at the attempt to justify this action as an act of faith . This was a religious bigot who committed criminal acts in the name of faith . The people who helped him aided and abetted this criminal . They are equally responsible for this reprehensible and inexcusable action. I thought we had left the medieval times behind us .
6
I grew up in organized religion, and I understand the psychologically ignorant frame of mind he spent much of his life in.
He didn’t know that he didn’t know.
8
The arrogance of "missionaries" like Chau is staggering, and his death is not surprising. Why he thought the isolated people of North Sentinel would welcome him is a mystery. And, even more ridiculous was his assumption that they needed to hear about Jesus, without whom they lived successfully for thousands of years. His action was not only illegal, but presumptive. The ridiculous "missionary training camp" set him up to believe he could succeed. His hubris kept him from accepting the warnings of those more experienced and less fanatical. His actions threaten to expose the tribe to diseases that may kill them off as police attempt to retrieve his body. If the police do decide to land on the island, no doubt they will be armed and the result could be that the islanders will be killed. All thanks to Mr. Chau. There's no doubt that some will view Chau as a martyr, but in reality he was just an incredibly naive and foolhardy man overcome with pride and hoping to make a name for himself.
4
I do bemoan his, and any death. At the same time he was so arrogant to ignore the illegality of it and the desire of that particular society to be left alone. But as it was described in another article he went to bring Jesus to the tribe. He decided his wish to impose his religion on these people was the only thing that mattered.
By the way, the others who helped him prepare are conspirators who assisted him in the cause of breaking Indian law. Why don't people just leave those islanders alone?
3
Missionaries of all types are evil. They go to places where they are really not wanted with a goal of "converting" the natives residents to whatever random religion they (the missionaries) subscribe to. Along the way they change cultures and eradicate what were previously reasonable ways to live.
Mr. Chad got exactly what he deserved.
4
Why do christians have to inflict their myth on people like the Sentinelese? Why does Western civilization think bringing its form of industrial zealotry is required of all people. They’re not the ones polluting the earth or waging war.
5
Religious fanaticism at its worst! I have as little sympathy for Chau as I would for a suicide bomber who blows himself up n a crowded marketplace.
The Sentinels, with a population of fewer than a hundred, are hunter-gatherers who do not know how to make fire. Since their population has been dwindling, they may need some totally unobtrusive science- and knowledge-based help, with advice from anthropologists, not from Bible thumpers.
5
All I can think of is The Book of Mormon on Broadway. The show captures the blind optimism and blatant arrogance in this story.
3
It is the height of arrogance to think that the People of North Sentinel needed saving. His idea of bringing Jesus to them is noble but the fact that these people would be exposed to germs that they are not immune to. That they can they could all die before the next generation could really experience God’s love and benevolence did cross his mind. The whole population could have met God quicker than Mr Chau would have wanted. I applaud his faith and desire to bring God to the people but I hope his presence did not hurt those people. I feel bad he died. But those people should be left alone. They do not need to meet God so quickly.
“I don’t question his motivation, I question his methods,”. Surely you can’t be serious.
2
Many Americans would shoot first if someone came on their property. Why do some missionaries think that trespassing in others' space is OK?
(25 US States have "Stand your Ground" laws).
5
There is nothing honorable about risking your life based on an absolute fiction.
In many ways responsibility for John Chau’s death is as much the religious community’s as it is his own. It is the fault of the religious community because they brainwash children that god(s) exist and do not properly teach them scientific facts and critical thinking skills. It is also the fault of Mr. Chau because there is a wealth of information on the internet that should have decreased his extremism and, hopefully, made him into at least an atheist.
Also, in many ways, Mr. Chau and the North Sentinel people are (were) both living on an island. Mr. Chau lived on a fictional island that is known as religious-dogma, while the North Sentinel people literally live on an island. The N. Sentinel people get a pass on their own religious extremism because of their geographical, linguistical, and technological isolation.
1
But they said they did not feel guilty.
“I don’t,” Mr. Ramsey said. “He had a higher calling that he was following. I don’t have any regrets.”
It's statements like the above that makes it so hard to understand so called "Christians." What he had was a death wish and someone,somewhere should have stopped him. He's with God now and everybody's happy. How strange. How sad.
5
Religion is a man made cultural meme. The very nature of religion is divisive because most religions teach that that they are the one true religion and everyone else is bound for perdition. So, they have an evangelical bent. Unfortunately, they have historically exported their religion with force, disease and cultural destruction. So much bad has been committed by humans in God's name. Jesus must be spinning in his grave.
1
Who is caged and who is free? This little island may be the last place untainted by the hubris of those who have direct access to God's directives.
4
Christian Missionaries have managed to give themselves one of the worst reputations on the planet. They forget the most fundamental element of faith pointed out by Christ: man’s free will. When free will is ignored then one is only promoting ones self. God becomes nothing more than a prop giving an ”answer” to unanswerable questions. This boy was warned and knew he was violating other’s free will and he paid the price for his foolhardiness. He and his enablers are guilty of an impardonnable sin for which he has paid the price while they are left to “justify” their sin. No martyrs here.
2
I don’t like that the article tries to paint him as a pious missionary. His story should be framed within the context of mental illness, or not at all. Also just generally fatigued of hearing about this guy. Enough already.
4
Such profound arrogance, invading an ancient culture that has chosen to remain isolated to convince them that you know what is best for them. Repeating the same assumptions Europeans have had toward indigenous people since Columbus.
4
This sort of willing martyrdom is no different than the activities of terrorists or the members of islamic fundamentalist . In the end, death is an expected part of their lives- often welcomed as foreordained, and each one is sure they will sit on the right hand of god to spend eternity in bliss .
It is the ultimate bribe and payoff . Martyrdom was how Christianity conquered the Roman empire and once they were in power-they made suicidal martyrdom illicit, out of fear that all the converts would prefer eternal bliss with God to life in what all considered a sinful and evil life.
Note to missionaries and evangelicals: leave people alone. If your fairy tales make you feel good, that’s understandable. Self-delusion goes a long way. Your “work” is nothing more than indoctrination, psychological manipulation, and control by way of bizarre story telling and a highly questionable sense of superiority, all which perhaps mask some serious personal issues of your own. Your ways show no respect for the ways of life of others. Your ways are the right ways in your minds. The world would be better off if you kept these thoughts to yourself and respect the mental and cultural dignity of others. You might learn something when you stop telling others how they should think.
6
If Americans are responding to barefoot hungry children on the Mexican border by labeling them ‘invaders’ and shooting tear gas at them, why shouldn’t these natives consider a grown man invading their island despite many warnings a serious threat? He admittedly wanted to change their beliefs and way of life - aka destroy their ancient culture - and was a legitimate threat to their community. The hungry kids at the border pose zero threat to anyone but we have called out the military to defend us from them. What is wrong with the world?
7
Is it a murder or killing a home invader?
That island is the tribe's property. I assume that they have the right to defend their houses. I am sure there are cases in the US that people shot those breaking into houses illegally.
2
Scissor & safety pins? I guess it lures the “natives” every time. Except this time. Chau’s arrogance was astounding.
9
In fairness, if John Chau had stayed closer to home and tried to preach that Christian missionary stuff to, say, the people I grew up with in North Jersey, he would’ve met the same fate.
6
Let’s use our imaginations, and try to see this from the point of view of those inside what Mr Chau referred to as “Satan’s last stronghold”.
Your people have lived on this island since time immemorial. They are not ignorant: word reached them long ago of wars of devasation and conquest beyond their seas. They know of the invasion of other islands, the destruction of those peoples’ way of life and their enslavement.
They remember how powerful and ruthless warriors came to their own island in the time of your great-grandparents and stole some of your people. And now, in your own days, you see gigantic, terrifying flying things that not even the arrows of your best bowmen can pierce. Again and again they come: the net is closing in on you.
Outsiders watch your island, and some land there. Who can say what their intentions are? Are they preparing to invade? You try to reassure the children, but you know that before long these dread people will come to destroy you as they have destroyed all else, and you too will be killed or enslaved. It is only a matter of time.
Your elders have taken counsel: what should you as a community do? Should you submit, or should you defend what you have? And for all your fear – for you are few in number, and you know they are many – you decide that whatever may come, you will not bend the knee. You will fight to protect your families, your land, and your way of life.
And so you watch, and wait.
8
This is just another example of Western Christian arrogance. I’m not sure why so-called missionaries think it’s okay to try to change other peoples’ beliefs. These people are not savages; they have their own social structure and have lived that way since their beginning. Who are we to say they need to change? Sorry, but he deserved what he got.
5
This has nothing to do with spreading “The Word of Jesus.” This is insanity. It would be like venturing into the jungle, without any weapons, and then being attacked by a hungry Tiger, and then blaming the Tiger for not realizing that this was a person of faith.
This has nothing to do with good versus evil. These people only know one way to live from the time of their birth to death. It drives me crazy when so-called Evangelicals think they’re going to change the world just because the carry a Bible. The Creator of our Universe was here 2000 years ago, and the Natives crucified him; and They were the so-called “Holders of the Truth.”
These antisocial peoples are best to just be left alone. If they’re searching for truth, beauty and goodness, trust me, they’ll let us know.
2
Missionaries enrage me. Their arrogance that their views are the correct ones is hidden behind a veil of false modesty. He should have given the people the same respect shown to them by the Indian government. Instead he is arguably a front runner for the 2018 Darwin Awards.
7
No sympathy for those trying to impose their religion on others. None whatsoever.
5
I don't know if John Chau was mentally ill...only those that knew could say.
But I do know that his arrogance and disregard for the lives of others was an abomination.
While there are those who will try to wrap his deeds up with bow of Christian innocence and good intentions...I feel the bible he held in his hands as he walked on the shore of the island was no different than a gun a religious fantastic might bring to synagogue, a church or to any gathering of non believers with the intent to kill.
There is no doubt that John Chau would have been quite familiar with the history of death, brutality and enslavement missionaries just like himself have brought to indigenous peoples the world over....and the risk of disease and stress he willfully attempted to bring to these innocent islanders was no different than a rifle.
Believe in a god if you must...but do not force others to belief with you....if history has taught the world anything...is that religion is the greatest killer and brutalizer of humanity that has ever existed on this planet.
3
Missionary boot camp complete with fake villages and villagers speaking "gibberish" - 'nuff said! Missionaries are still looking for The Dark Continent, I guess...sad...but with much of that area accounted for already, I guess the last holdouts against organized religion are actively sought (e.g. how Chau located and identified the North Sentinelese as worthy subjects (among the few primitive/pristine/untouched peoples remaining to spread the Good Word among...)...
3
That is the problem with people who insist on imposing their viewpoints on people who don’t want it. He should have respected their privacy and left them alone. The people warned him to stay away and he paid the price. He was foolish.
2
Live and let live. To invade a population that has made it clear that they wish to be left alone is no service to any god.
4
Many have expressed sympathy for Mr. Chau's family, and for the fishermen - and for the Sentinelese to the extent there is concern that germs may have been introduced.
I don't think I've seen anyone mention that quite likely there is a person, or perhaps more than one person, on the island who is also traumatized by these events. It seems to be assumed that these are savages who kill people without qualms - hey, you wandered onto my island, I don't know you, I shoot you, I go back to my campfire and sing tribal songs and dance tribal dances like every night. Happy savage.
These people are human beings, and they have a culture and a society. It is highly unlikely that whoever shot that bow and arrow feels nothing about it. It may well have been a life-changing, and possibly extremely disturbing, experience for that person, even if completely sanctioned by the community.
We know that our own soldiers return from war traumatized by what they have seen and done. We might spare a thought for the Sentinelese in this regard as well. Aside from the trauma the community is probably feeling because of the threat they repelled (for now), they most likely feel regret and even grief over the man they killed.
We will likely never know all their thoughts and feelings about the matter, but we must assume they experience normal human emotions.
163
Although I would never try to enter a place where I was unwelcome, I do spend plenty of time on remote islands in the Philippines; and while it is not the primary purpose of my travel, when I'm there I am always trying to convert the Catholic population to atheism.
Hopefully, we are staying ahead of the curve and more people are leaving religions than joining them!
15
@Celeste
In some countries Atheism is illegal too and you can get lynched pretty quickly for preaching Atheism. Best is to practice what you believe in and steer clear of preaching, proselytizing or getting into uninvited discussions on religion. Religion is a divisive topic, period and should only be discussed with like minded people or people who have invited you to discuss your beliefs or point of view.
5
Missionaries, Stay home and preach to your supposedly Christian lawmakers to follow the gospel. I am disgusted by the zealotry of this young man, even as I am impressed with his preparation. If only he had devoted so much energy to something useful and not something that was based on the assumption that he has all the answers.
16
There is a kind of arrogance and the delusion of immortality here, which I would like to excuse due the man's relative youth. I understand he was 26 years old in an era where human maturity appears to generally sink in later in life than in some previous generations. I'm sorry this young man died, but he had no business going there: twice. He saw the first time that hostility awaited him should he return. Jesus himself said that if we encounter a situation where the Christian message is not welcome, we should "shake the dust from our feet" and move on. This man was certainly following something, but it was not necessarily the teachings of Jesus. I'm sadly reminded of Herzog's film of another youngish man who headed out to the wilds of Canada to live with Grizzlies. He and his girlfriend were both eaten alive. While there is love in these stories, there is also an imbalance, a not listening, a lack of awareness, and a kind of delusory high. I'm sorry these sorts of things happen.
8
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." --Matthew 10:16.
Mr. Chau was propelled by faith, but faith alone is not sufficient to deal with the challenges of the world, as Jesus counseled. No one deserves this kind of death, but the signs were there that Mr. Chau could benefit other groups in other parts of the world who would not likely threaten him. In the end, Mr. Chau suffered from the delusions of being young, and lacking an authentic sense of what risks are worth taking.
3
While the loss of life here is tragic, it's one thing to risk ones own life for a cause, but to risk the lives of the islanders, "whose immune systems have been isolated so long that some experts say they could be wiped out by the common cold" is simply unconscionable. Like it or not, many missionaries are starting from a place of condescension, "I know better than you do what is best for you." If Mr. Chau really respected these people he would have left when they asked him to.
9
I really have little sympathy for this young man. The islanders have made it very clear over many years that they wish to be left alone. They made it clear to him when he first landed (illegally), but he insisted on walking smiling into the arena. For all we know, the islanders have their own religion and are devout believers, peaceful, reverent and loving, except when someone absolutely refuses to respect their right to privacy.
5
I view with foreboding the inordinate coverage that this young man’s death is receiving. Firstly, what we are being presented with here is the the very definition of colonialism: the frisson engendered by the image of a ‘civilised’ – and Christian – man meeting his untimely end at the hands of ‘uncivilised’ – and non-Christian – natives who rejected his blandishments.
Secondly, the majority Christian reaction to Mr. Chau’s death that I have seen appears to be one of challenge and response. That the people of this island refused his mission is like a gauntlet being thrown down to them, and we may be sure that they will not be slow to accept the challenge.
Expect flotillas of ‘missionaries’ arriving on their shores to take up his ‘work’, and to avenge his death: but next time round, they will bring more than their bibles. As indigenous people the world over have discovered to their cost, refusing the demands of missionaries is not an option.
12
Fifteen minutes are up. Time to move on. This is not news of any importance.
Peace be up him and those he loved.
6
Various people close to John Chau aided and abetted his fatal and misguided attempt to this island. Should they be held responsible for their encouragement of Mr. Chau's mission? Just as the Fisherman are being held responsible for providing transportation.
9
John Chau sounds like he was a passionate young man who was unfortunately so committed to the delusion of saving souls for Jesus that he died needlessly.
I do not doubt his sincerity and passion, but I am gobsmacked by how throughly indoctrinated he was in a religious narrative that he felt was more real than anything else. He was aware enough to know that he was putting his life at serious risk, and he was also aware that he could be a vector for disease that could wipe these people out, and yet he continued on.
Why?
Because he was religiously indoctrinated into believing an absurdity. That absurdity was more important to him than his own welfare and that of these people, and that is a dangerous form of insanity.
In our age, we must put aside our delusions, and see things as clearly as possible, because trapped in our delusions we will not be up to the challenges that lie ahead.
I'm sorry that John died, but I am even more sorry that the disease of religious delusion infects so many people's thinking, and so deeply.
9
Missions and conversion outreach are necessary efforts for fundamentallists of all stripes. It addresses the gap between the idea that their beliefs are the literal truth and the only path to eternal heaven and the consequent realization that such a view consigns billions to damnation because of arbitrary geographical happenstance. Hard to make that congruent with a just and loving omnipotence.
So the zealous few go on missions abetted and funded by the lazier hypocritical majority who use this support to whitewash the psychological and moral dissonance of their supernatural ideas. Completely perverse, yes, but like so many things religious, driven by a certain barbarous logic.
8
I am sure his purpose was consciously pure, but inherent in all activities like this is a certain amount of hubris. How can it not be, when one is trying to change another person because of his/her’s own “superior” beliefs?
1
There's a lot of self-serving misinterpretation of sacred texts; for too many, God (by any other name as well) serves as themselves writ large, faults and sins and all. Reality, truth, and even love can never compete with the need to buttress one's ego with a supernatural endorsement.
One of the worst is the ego need of missionaries to deconstruct the lives of others and remake them in an 'acceptable' way. It's xenophobic, it's disrespectful, it's often racist, and it does harm.
I'm sorry that this young man and so many others get caught up in such practices. I wish someone could be held legally accountable. This was such a preventable tragedy.
Fix your own faults and help those around you, with love and respect for who they are and what they believe. That's all any decent human being needs to do.
2
I worry that giving yet another front-page story to this will only encourage more adventure seekers to try to land on North Sentinel island. The islanders have never asked for anything from anyone and have made it clear they just want to be left alone. There is nothing wrong with them or their desire to be left in peace on their island. There is no reason for anyone to break the law and go there.
Knowing that Mr. Chau received actual training to specifically break the law of India and land on the island is shocking. Further investigation by the Times about whether other people are receiving similar training to visit more remote sites might be useful, but please stop glorifying Mr Chau and running all of these smiling photos of him that make him seem like a brave, daring adventurer to be emulated. In addition to getting himself killed (after the islanders warned him away twice - they did NOT kill him on his first two landing attempts), he caused a lot of trouble for an isolated tribe, got several fishermen arrested, and has presented the Indian government with an international "situation" that they tried to prevent by enacting very specific laws against this years ago.
8
oral of this story: One needs to mind one's business and respect others and others'rights
Orface the consequences.
Even a child knows that!
3
All of the commenters lauding the "noble savages" have little insight into human nature, although well-meaning. As in all primitive societies, a small group of old men probably rule as dictators-high priests on that island. As in most of world, if the island's youth had a chance to see modern life, they'd throw the top old man into the sea and rush off to get scooters, air conditioning, internet and movies.
They'd probably double their life span as well and get modern health care for their future children.
It may not last, but we are fortunate to live in the most prosperous era of human history, life span doubling since 1900, 2 billion lifted out of poverty in Asia and Africa since 1945. 80% of humanity live lives of ease and healthy existences that even richest human of 200 years ago couldn't attain. Yet commenters carp, carp, carp.
As Thomas Hobbes expounded, people living in "a state of nature," led lives that were "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." And remember, 50%-60% of babies never lived to two years old.
I'll put up with garish McDonalds and Burger Kings in exchange for modern science, 98% of kids living to adulthood, our easy and safe existence, our care for elderly rather than sending them off to starve once their economic usefulness ends.
Christian missionaries, not intentionally perhaps, gave their lives and laid the foundations for all we enjoy.
2
Missionary evangelism and imperialism go hand in hand.
Somerset Maugham wrote many a story about missionaries in the Pacific islands and East Indies.
Rain is a classic short story to be read and may refresh minds.
3
I think John Chau has succeeded in turning many more people OFF from Christianity and certainly his brand of it, than he would have "saved" by reciting the Bible, in English, to a small island of people who speak a language that is probably nothing like English.
So, to those few people who want to hold him up as an evangelical hero, you're probably saluting the wrong flag, as Americans say.
8
Ever since I was a child in Social Studies class, the notion of missionaries has eluded me. I always wondered, Why can’t people keep their religious beliefs to themselves and Why in the world would someone in Africa or India with their own beliefs, language, and culture, want to hear about Christianity? Well 45 years later, my thought process hasn’t changed...except to get stronger. What a self-centered, self-righteous act. If all victims of missionaries had been as aggressive as these islanders throughout history, perhaps the world might be better off today.
9
“He was caught up in a dangerous set of ideologies that helped drive him to do something so unwise,”
Some Christians understand the limits of what they can do for their faith, and some don’t. This poor kid didn’t.
A life lived in the pursuit of arrogance. An obviously able and determined young man who spent all his energy in trying to gain an opportunity to impose something alien on a small group of people who, in the few times that they did have contact with outsiders, were abused and kidnapped. A group of people who are actively shielded from outside influences by the Indian government. Who the Indian government wants to give the freedom to live their lives according to their traditions. Who, furthermore, have made it abundantly clear that they do not want outsiders even to communicate with them. What a waste, what a terrible waste.
4
Unfortunately, the old saying holds true: Pioneers end up with arrows in their backs. Obviously what this man did was reckless and ill advised to say the least. I'm sorry but it is hard to have a lot of sympathy for someone so stubborn and ignorant. While we can admire his zest for his mission and life in general, it was a terrible mistake to try what he did.
Delusion can be a jealous force, crowding out reality. Obvious in the case of our president. More relevantly, obvious in the case of this young man. Mr. Chau reminds me of the deluded wilderness lover in the film “Grizzly Man” who took himself and his girlfriend into the Yukon, thinking he would have a marvelous relationship with the grizzlies. The result was the same in both cases. They did not recognize the barriers.
2
I agree that this folly has been given far too much media coverage and hope it doesn’t inspire other copy-cats who “want to be the first.” In my view The Great Commission does not involve going to isolated and legally protected islands, knocking on doors or forcing your beliefs on the unwilling. Instead, it simply involves living your own life with unconditional love, compassion and understanding in which others are treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Always. It should be the kind of humble life that simply inspires others by your example. Trying to shove salvation down people’s throats, is totally irresponsible and simply brings your religion into disrepute.
There have been some styles of missionary work, tho' certainly far from all, that in centuries past have equated non-Christian peoples with uncivilized ones, where individuals in a community either worship the missionary's way or the wrong way, the godly way or the pagan way, and in the case of the latter, a people must be converted, almost regardless of the cost. The worst of this dogmatic thinking lead to abominations that included violence and killings.
There is a hubris, a theological arrogance, to Chau's self-styled mission that I think of as belonging to this past.
But the attitude of this misdirected young man, and those who actively supported his plan, represent some of the worst of this. Chau ignored the needs and clear wishes of the North Sentinel islanders to be left alone. In certain ways, his attitude was not much different than that of brutal colonizers and conquerors, except with a theological rationalization and modern-day twist.
I would very much like to hear from some more "mainstream" Christian missionary leaders on their views of Chau's approach, whether mixed or in general agreement. Is his kind of mission accepted, and acceptable? Is this how you go about civilizing the stragglers of this world? I keep thinking of how Chau's first contact with the islanders was, in the words of this story, to "preach," rather than listen.
2
As others here have commented, now the entire world knows about this little island and its inhabitants. I fully expect the island to be invaded by more missionaries, thrill seekers and adventurers. The latter groups might find it thrilling to fly over the island in an ultralight; expect an invasion of drones and of course more missionaries who fancy themselves smarter than Mr Chau.
Further I find nothing to admire about missionaries the likes of Scott Lively who, as part of spreading the gospel, also spreads hatred of LGBTQ "others".
Nice going, missionaries.
As one commenter said so beautifully, god already loves those island people, and all people, so leave them be.
2
I was quick to dismiss John Chau as foolish and evn arrogant, but reading about him in more detail, he does come across as genuine in his beliefs, and a warm and kind man, but certainly also blinded by a strain of naivete. But it's also frustrating to think that while he believed that he would be "delivering" them by opening them up, in fact they are better off being isolated and living with what appears to be self-sufficiency than plunging into the matrix of this so-called "modern world". Think about it, the Aborigines of Australia were just fine before Europeans settled there and tried to impose on them. Now many Aborigine communities seem more subject to poverty! Few are invested in truly helping them out. It would be the same for the North Sentinelese. Did John Chau think rich nations would genuinely care in the least about them? What money would they receive? None! What they have now is luxury, what they would get is poverty. As another commenter has posted, moreover, it will likely be these isolated tribes anyway that will survive impending planetary-scale disasters, and thereby hopefully become more enlightened stewards of this planet.
3
I haven't read the comments yet, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has nothing but scorn for this delusional "mission." Those islanders clearly want to be left alone, and they deserve to maintain their own lifestyle and identity. The last thing they need is Christianity. I do not want to read about any efforts to retrieve the body of this extremely misguided individual. Everything about the whole situation is deplorable.
4
Life for the people of North Sentinal Island will now be forever changed for the worse, thanks to this self-centered, deluded young zealot. And what a heartbreaking tragedy that is--for the people he invaded!
When I consider how unlikely it was for this population to be able to survive, intact, without interference from the Indian government, pirates, reality show hucksters, adventurers, yuppie vacationers, tourist venders with fly overs and drones, et al, I think they were already amply blessed.
It was pure ego and adventurism. Witness the selfies, his statements about the 'last stronghold of the devil', and other indications that, for him, this was first a challenge, and only secondarily, about these people. Never did he consider that what God really wanted him to do was to leave these people be.
I normally don't endorse killing people; but he was warned repeatedly, in no uncertain terms, yet persisted, even covertly. He lacked humility, was prideful, and he gave those people no choice. For me it is clear that he wanted to be a martyr. For the effect his actions will inevitably on these islanders, I consider him little better than a suicide bomber. Love and hate are both blind, and aren't so different if the end result of either is ruinous to others.
No, he didn't bring smallpox; the devastation will come to them through the world's attention, with, apparently, the NYT at the top of the list. Why do I fear that in two years I'll fine a writeup in the travel section?
2
The only real question given the devastating impact of missionaries over centuries is why they are permitted to enter any country.
5
Mr. Chau was on a lifelong mission to kill himself albeit for Jesus. Is there a difference between suicide via religious addictions or suicide via opioids/drugs? Sadly he needed psychological counseling not religion training/counseling. The adults in his life are guilty of not seeing a young man in need of help. Perhaps he thought “no one has ever helped me so I’ll do the ultimate and help the most remote of people”. Others like Mr. Chau who are lost in the void of life turn to religion for solace and guidance. Sadly it didn’t help him at all.
All Nations and the laughable 'training camp' for teaching people to 'witness Jesus' to hostile groups. Unless All Nations has discovered a universal sign language that magically makes all able to sign with all, then it's another hustle to add to the unending list down the ages.
No Gurus, No Masters.
3
This is the age old story of colonization: cultural and physical domination over a people perceived to be different, weaker, primitive thus less intelligent an therefore acceptable prey for exploitation. Judging by the current occupant of the White House whose transactional view of the world is undeniable, the soulless, repulsive and heinous intentions of Mr. Chau are a sign chilling sign of the times. Good grief. How could such a privileged young person be so heartless and contemptuous? I find it interesting that those defending Mr. Chau's actions in the name of some sort of religious cause then talk about this in terms of 'winners and loser'. This seems antithetical to any religion or spirituality that I know of.
3
Epidemiology aside, Chau had no right to impose his beliefs on an entire culture, regardless of who they are or where they live. Theological imperialism has spread more disease and discord in history than any other source. Let them live in peace, we've got precious little too offer and to much to hurt them.
2
I'm sorry, but this person deserved what happened to him. He violated one of the great moral laws of this planet: live and let live. He violated that law by invading the privacy of the islanders with the intention of 'changing' them. He also violated the fifth commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother. His parents warned and asked him repeatedly not to go. His behaviour reminds me of so much that is wrong with Christianity, which presumes supreme power over everyone and everything simply because they think 'God' is on 'their side'. Christianity errs horribly by spreading its narrow version of the world to people what don't need or want it- and further trying to enshrine its repressive dictates into law.
1
This naive young man will very likely be the demise of these people. His actions were thoughtless and self-centered; he had no right to try and foster his belief system on others. I feel sorry for his family and friends. He could have done so much good in the world.
1
As I got out of my car in a busy part of town, I was approached by a Muslim cleric, dressed neatly in robes and carried what I presume was the Koran. He said I was a very lucky person.
I responded "I know," and resisted the urge to follow up with "do you know how hard it is to find a parking spot here?!"
He smiled and nodded, and went on his way. As an agnostic, sometime atheist, sometime wanting to believe, I would never have been converted. But we both walked away from the encounter with mutual respect.
Missionaries need to learn the art of the soft-sell. R.I.P. John Chau.
2
Thrill-seeking, ambitious and selfish people like Mr. Chau give real Christian missionaries a bad name. Prudence, a cardinal virtue, was absent in the life, learning and actions of this young man. Mr. Chau wanted to "save" the North Sentinel Islanders but disregarded a fundamental human and religious concept called "respect". Mr. Chau did not respect his own gift of life but carelessly disregarded its worth and destroyed any potential to help others by choosing to live dangerously. Mr. Chau held no respect for a group of North Sentinel Islanders who only sought to be left alone.
There are Christian missionaries of all over the world that give their lives to people each day and make impacts in the lives of the poor motivated by the Gospel and its values. These people are the real heroes. Mr. Chau wanted headlines and fame; both were purchased at the price of his life.
T. N. Pandit, an Indian anthropologist, made contact with the North Sentinel Islanders multiple times and because he approached them with respect he lived to write about it.
1
Did Chau try to emulate the five missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians in So America (1952?).
Besides breaking a law, Chau had 1.2 billion Indians in India to spread the Gospel to?
Is there such a thing as: 'cost effective' activity among missionaries?
" the first couple also said they “will remember President Bush for his devotion to family — especially the love of his life, Barbara.”
Thus the true face of the so called evangelical, unfeeling, without sorrow or empathy. That at no time did any of his friends, comrades etc. mention to him the harm he may have been bringing to those he claimed to be trying to convert is shameless and follows a pattern of so called christians thru out this country's history of enslaving, kidnapping, and forcing their beliefs on others based on a character in history of whom their is equal doubts on both sides of his actual existence. Only this time the natives won.
Sorry, but I have no sympathy for John Allen Chau. From reports that I have heard, he seemed like he was as much a thrill-seeker as he was a Christian missionary.
And it is especially ironic that as Trump and his fans curse illegal immigration, illegal immigration was exactly what Chau was trying to do. He had the audacity to decide he could single-handedly get through to the people of North Sentinel Island even though they have repeatedly shown a hostility to outsiders, as is their sovereign right.
Now, the veneration of Chau as a noble missionary will increase the chances of other zealots setting out to convert and thereby destroy the people of North Sentinel Island. You'd think we would have learned after Columbus.
1
Yes, there’s a large gray zone of odd, Quixotic notions that may or may not be crazy. But on either side of the gray, there’s black and there’s white.
This man was out of his mind. And dangerous - if he HAD succeeded in gaining physical proximity to the Sentinenelese, he likely would have exposed them to microbes that might have wiped them out (cf. Native Americans, Decimation of).
This was a very silly and misguided way to die. Apparently he knew well the infectious disease risks that he brought to the islanders but, after a lame attempt at self-incubation in his room, he still insisted on making his unwelcome overtures so he could take credit for "saving" their souls with his infectious religion. History shows that these first contacts with isolated people never bode well for those contacted. If you really want to show respect for other people you will learn to take no for an answer.
2
I don't feel bad for John at all. He has ruined the lives of the fishermen (who should not have helped him) and their families. He recklessly could have brought illness and disease to people he had no business pestering with HIS belief in HIS religion. The people who support this missionary business would be livid if thousands of missionaries were here in America trying to convert them to Islam, Hinduism, or trying to convince them to be atheists or agnostics.
1
Mr Chau's story reminds me of the Grizzly Man. Both put themselves in harm's way, thinking they would be successful in their mission because they were special. Instead, they were foolish. Just as the Grizzly Man should've left the bears alone to live their lives, so missionaries and others leave the Sentilese alone.
1
This story reminds me of those early Christians in the the first several hundred years after Christ who almost seemed to seek martyrdom through their faith-based advocacy confronting the powerful.
@Dan: why does Chau remind you of the early Christians?
The situations are totally opposite.
Chau was a man from a powerful elite society, going out to people who seem powerless by contrast.
He could have stayed and proselytized right in his home country. But he wanted fame and glory reaching out to the hitherto isolated Sentinelese.
Breathtaking and shocking arrogance.
2
Of course it is sad when a "well-meaning" person is killed. But it is the height of arrogance to think one's own supernatural beliefs are superior to those of another, let alone superior to reason. But Chau knew The truth, never mind anyone else's ideas or experiences. This degree of evangelical religiosity is delusion. And in what possible way could these islanders' lives be improved by converting to Chau's way of thinking? Oh, I forgot, they would be rewarded with a place in "Heaven"!
But if heaven is as great as its promoters say, why do the vast majority of evangelicals I know wear seat belts? They avail themselves of all the modern health care they can access. Some go so far as to set up Go Fund Me accounts to get others to help them pay for it. Seems a lot of effort spent to delay going to "paradise."
The last time a proselytizer rang my doorbell, I politely told him I was happily atheist. He looked downright shaken, and hesitantly asked, "Oh, my, really? What...happened? You suffered a trauma?" I shook my head and replied with sincerity, "My parents took me to church when I was a young child. As I matured, I got to thinking. And found I couldn't stop!"
2
John Chau appears an over zealous man on a mission to a place he was not welcome. He had no business going into a known hostile country trying to force his beliefs on others.
Practice your religion within your own religious community.
Leave everyone else to their own beliefs. I hope the man is not going to be made into a Christian martyr. He is a cautionary tale to mind your own business.
1
I imagine being around Mr. Chau was like growing up in UT (as I did) where there was always someone of the "predominant" religion ready, willing (however not able) to convert us apostates to the "true religion." I have no tolerance for the idea of religious missions or missionaries. Having grown up among people who felt entitled to spread their faith around the world and who often returned from their missions more closed-minded and nationalistic after their return (U.S.A, U.S.A.!!!), I'm afraid my patience is running a little thin for this story. Salesmen are bad enough. Religious salesmen are the worst of all.
3
There are still thousands of disparate religions in the world, and the majority of followers of any particular one tend to believe that their "god" is the one true God, and their beliefs the only correct ones. This grotesque view is of course statistically impossible (I have it on good authority that the Malagasys who honor Zanahary are backing the right horse) In my travels I have asked Christian missionaries why God created people with other beliefs and customs, and why she was wrong to do so. And finally why they have the audacity and arrogance to try and undo the work of their creator. Naturally they turn to their big book of nonsense to justify their offense.
2
This sort of thing has been going on for hundreds of years. I'm at a loss as to why Christians are so driven to overlay their beliefs on the great unwashed. It's the biggest ego trip in history. This latest paean to overzealousness is probably more egregious than most, but it won't for a second stop these overripe zealots from going into places they're not wanted to share ideas and values that are not only unwanted but unnecessary. These people need to figure out that if you poke the bear, sometimes the bear will poke back.
3
When are Christians going to get it that it's not their right to go around converting the masses? ENOUGH! They seem to think they have the obligation to convert "sinners." They need to get over it. The world isn't "theirs."
2
Missionaries should be denied visas abroad, all faiths included. They are essentially intrusive (aka rude), ill informed, and/or potentially create social damage. There are so many worthwhile endeavors close to home. Locally religious groups constantly raise funds to travel to Mexico to build a school when there is a food, housing, and school funding shortage with local families. Insane. Exotic poor make them feel superior.
2
If this man were a school shooter, we would be having an angry conversation about his mental health and whether he should have had access to guns. I think there could be a mental health component operating in this young guy’s story that deserve some respectful thought. He sounds possibly like manic bipolar guy. He is the right age for emergence of that illness.
Missionary work with the intent of converting people to a religion. How is this still a thing?
In my own country and in many others - missionary's were absolutely abysmal to the indigenous people they were there to 'help'. Separating families. Forbidding them their customs. Punishing them when they spoke their own language.
Have we learned nothing?
Yes, this man was young - but he was not a child. I'm not glad he died. I'm sad for his family. But so-called 'missionary work' is simply wrong. Arrogant and wrong.
4
Darwinism at its' finest. Just because one is superstitious, that does not give one the right to impose ones' ridiculous beliefs on people who clearly want to be left alone.
1
I feel sad and sorry for a young guy who meant well, but did not live long enough to escape the religious indoctrination and brainwashing of his youth.
It takes serious hubris to be a missionary.
If there is one thing this planet needs to do, it is to disassociate faith and virtue, and expose faith for what it is: a servile weakness, a refuge for cowardice, a willingness to follow with credulity people who are in the highest degree unscrupulous.
I can hear it now, cowardice? I'm not referring to the reckless act of going to that island. I'm referring to the cowardice of not facing the abyss, throwing a shroud of religious nonsense over physical reality.
108
"It united his two interests: traveling to far-flung places and serving God."
He is not serving God, he is serving his religion. It is much the same as those who claim to have a degree in theology, or to be a theologian. They did not study God, they studied human concepts of God -- religion. Nobody has studied God, in fact nobody can be sure there really is a God other than by faith, which is belief in something that cannot be proven.
2
I find the author's perspective extremely paternalistic. Yet he claims the opposite -- that it is paternalistic to "deny people there the same things that just about the whole world has agreed it wants, like education, health care and technology". Unbelievable. I guess I understand now how this country can be so divided in our opinions.
The idealism of youth is a wonderful thing. Too bad he held onto it too tightly. A great tragedy for all involved.
3
One can criticize John's methods and even his faith until the cows come home, but this young man, by all accounts, was an exemplary person. In our faith, the Christian faith, the fruits or the evidence of a true believer are consistently expressed love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Even at a young age, John expressed those things consistently and he had a desire to share the person, the Lord Jesus Christ, that transformed his life, and helped make him the fine person he was.
The reality is that all of us, including the Sentinel people, need to be a little more Christ-like in our behavior. As much as ever, the world needs love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
4
@sam ogilvie
I agree that the world needs more of the qualities you list and that they are qualities we all should strive to embody. But the assumption that others don't or won't know of or value or live such qualities unless and until they hear the Christian Bible -- and your particular translated-into-English version of it -- is supremely arrogant and unchristian. And uninvited or unwelcome proselytizing, particularly of people who already have been traumatized by others of your kind before you, is not loving or patient or kind or anything but selfish and narcissistic.
As for the Sentinelese and their unkind killing of Mr. Chau, Christendom, like some other religion-powered groups, has a long history of violently repelling the influence of other faiths and the kind, loving, patient, gentle, self-controlled, modest people to whom God (or however one refers to Goodness) has visited and manifested in ways or forms other than in the person known as Jesus (actually, he was known by his Jewish Hebrew name, of which Jesus is a very rough try at transliteration); I pray that you will lend your kind and loving voice of peace and gentleness to persuading those who wish to impose their religion on others (for that is what uninvited and unwelcome "sharing" is: an imposition) to instead humble themselves before God and to recognize and honor that people and souls may be "saved" by Goodness that comes in many forms, not just evangelical (or other branches) of Christianity.
1
@sam ogilvie
There are plenty of other religions, thoughts and/or beliefs that spout love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Who's to say that the Sentinel people don't have their own version of so-called Christian values and morals? Secondly, who's to say that they SHOULD have those kinds of morals and values? It is an isolated culture that has operated and functioned on it's own for years and years.
When someone is threatened, human instinct is to defend oneself. The people of this tribe clearly felt threatened by John's presence - as was demonstrated on numerous occasions by other predators - and his actions were immature and self-serving.
It's awful that he was killed. I feel for his family. However, John was selfish and egocentric. Perhaps what is lacking from humanity today is a quiet respect for an individual's thoughts and beliefs.
1
@sam ogilvie In your interpretation of the christian faith this is so, but I've lived around many people who would condemn your version of Christianity. Their god is a judgemental, vengeful god and there is plenty in the bible to back them up, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. " Who is right?
1
Perhaps his mission was accomplished. An open dialogue is a conversation and a conversation about Christ and his followers, regardless of the opinions given, be they good, bad or indifferent are all, in essence, for God’s good purposes and glory. Since the young man believed he was a spirit being in a natural world then by definition, his mission is complete; he did what The Holy Spirit compelled him to do, whether he knew the outcome is immaterial in the natural.
4
Except for the unintended, but predictable, detrimental consequences to others involved.
22
Part 1
Faith is like delicate flower, it withers under the glare of scrutiny and apple to apple comparisons. It was what parents give in childhood. To convert and change someone’s faith is to destroy that person’s childhood and thus destroy self-esteem.
In India, thousands of saints/sages like Jesus existed and exist even now, in every corner of the country. They radiate the same love and peace, perform similar miracles and put the faithful on the right path of attaining higher qualities and joy.
So, many non-Christians have great respect for Jesus. Yet it disturbs them when missionaries convert locals into Christianity, and eventually it leads to political/social chaos.
While spirituality is about universal truths of life, creation etc. religion is particularly related to Geo-Climatic context and hence the practices/rituals are tuned to them. So, to impose foreign religion is to take away the symbiotic relation to the place.
12
Who decided *this* is front page material?
I don't pay for the NY Times for this kind of "reporting." The article you had on him when he was killed was appropriate. To write a fawning article about a deluded intruding religious fanatic is way over the top. In particular it's presented on the front page of the paper and the internet.
Very disappointing.
95
Don't be so disappointed. Reading over the thought-provoking comments, it is clear to me this article, this topic, is engendering deeper thoughts, and soul searching... aleays a good thing in my book.
2
@Joe Sabin There is a simple solution to your ire. Don't read the article!
2
Mr. Ramsey has no regrets? I'm certain those five fishermen do. I know I regret that the adults in this child's life all along the line, didn't step in to keep him alive. Looking at the facts of these islander's lives and history, and then ignoring it is bad enough, but imposing our kind of religion on them is even worse and precisely where evangelicals go wrong. If there is a God, I would pray that He or She open the minds of all religious leaders to embrace rather than reject different beliefs; if we are to come together in this age that is the Godly path and no other.
47
@ijarvis
"If there is a God, I would pray that He or She open the minds of all religious leaders to embrace rather than reject different beliefs"
Actually, humanity used to have that. The ancient civilizations were syncretic and pantheistic. The Romans let you practice your religion as long as you pay your respects to theirs, which most people gladly did because the more gods you had on your side, the better.
Then somebody invented monotheism and it became the fashion to kill people who did not believe in your version of the supreme being.
I feel sorry for all the people who loved him but have to wonder who is at fault here. How can anybody who has received a solid education and went to college seriously believe in the concept of being missionary? Of course, he was brainwashed and probably a little too obsessive. This missionary boot camp sounds like it is straight out of a B rated comedy. Really, savages talking gibberish? That in itself is a clear warning sign how deluded those folks are.
60
Well put. Also let us not forget the influence micro-versions of such religious zealots have on our current political climate, hence imperiling all of God's creation--i.e climate change denial.
Mr. Chau broke the law. PERIOD. He was a guest in India and he BROKE THE LAW. He chose this end. These people clearly did not welcome him and his arrogance got him killed. Religion is like tea--have some if you want.
60
Religious fanaticism mixed with enlarged ego and unlimited beef jerky, what could possibly go wrong?
81
Those tribes believe in some ancient superstitions like communicating with gods and spirits, people rising from the dead, miracle cures and the ritual consumption of human flesh and blood.
They should, instead, be converted to Christianity, so they can believe in some ancient superstitions like communicating with gods and spirits, people rising from the dead, miracle cures and the ritual consumption of human flesh and blood.
103
@Colin
Sorry, reacted hastily to your post. It was actually very good on second reading.
He knowingly went where he was certain to be killed. Sounds like a suicide. People commit suicide for a range of reasons.
30
No sympathy at all for a very misguided man.
38
@PeterH
We should remember the missionary was a kid and without doubt had a host of abusers who set him on and kept him on this path to his own destruction. The Old Testament God wasn't wrong when he warned the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons. In fact it was one of his favorite threats and if we look we can see it being played out in the modern world, whether He's up there directing traffic or not.
It's the compulsion to get to heaven that makes evangelicals believe they have the right to interfere in other people's lives, no matter how much pain and damage they cause along the way. For example - it's not enough for an evangelical woman to choose not to have an abortion, she and her male counterparts must actively try to prevent other women from making their own decisions. Another example, Kim Davis, the government clerk who felt compelled to prevent gay marriage, believing she'd go to hell otherwise. And now, this poor, misguided dupe, Mr. Chau. I don't see a lot of respect, or care, for others in any of their actions. It's all about them and them getting to heaven and it's criminally selfish.
52
Yes, Mr. Chau could've infected the people of North Sentinel island with diseases that their immune systems had no answer for. But he was also bringing with him the disease of organized, Christian dogma that would've done even more damage. To be a missionary is to assume that all people should subscribe to the rules of your cult and that they are living an empty life, waiting for you to come enlighten.
That is not the case, of course. Coldheartedly, I say that every missionary that dies and or is murdered trying to spread their beliefs is a good death. There is no more proof that 'everything is right in the world' when a missionary is slaughtered. The presumption that your twisted beliefs must be foisted on the rest of humanity is a crime that should always be punished with death.
28
The Asian and Indian press report that two American missionaries -who have since left/fled India- encouraged this delusional and unstable individual to proselytize the peaceful indigenous inhabitants of this island.
24
we're so arrogant. to a fault. to our peril. nobody on a remote atoll in the middle of nowhere wants your religion if they've survived and flourished this far as independent self-driven and -supported people. live your life. enjoy it. leave others alone.
30
If he wanted to do something dangerous to prove his love of his god, then why didn't he just volunteer in a cholera camp?
22
Why are you giving this story so much space and ink?!
It is a crazy amount of coverage on a foolhardy action. Missionaries are not a special breed. This man's behavior was basically hubris. And the Times is sensationalizing it in a typical Eurocentric fashion.
37
Are these missionary schools in it to serve, or to dominate?
15
As usual, Mark Twain said it best... here are some of his thoughts after spending time in Hawaii (from Roughing it, 1872)
"...the missionaries braved a thousand privations to come and make [the natives] permanently miserable by telling them how beautiful and how blissful a place heaven is, and how nearly impossible it is to get there."
"How sad it is to think of the multitudes who have gone to their graves in this beautiful island and never knew there was a hell."
37
“I don’t question his motivation, I question his methods,” said Richard Albert Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
This is why I hate Evangelical Christians and consider them evil. If Christians think I’m singling them out, they’re right, but not exclusively. I feel the same about orthodox Muslims (Islam has a very small liberal wing), ultra Orthodox Jews (at least they don’t try to convert people), Hindu nationalists, Bhuddist nationalists in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and any other religious zealots (I forgot to mention Mormons) causing mischief instead of minding their own business. I wish they would all go to heaven as quickly as possible and leave the world to the rest of us sinners. To me, the Rapture seems like a great idea to get rid of a bunch of highly exclusivist, arrogant (please substitute the epithet(s) of your choice) as efficiently as possible. They would all think they are one of the chosen, going to an elaborate celebration at the pearly gates, only to discover upon arrival that they are indeed cherished guests, to be feasted on by the hosts.
21
I think only Jared Kushner in black underwear could reach out to these islanders successfully.
12
The cancer that is . . . Oh never mind!
4
Enough with this guy already, NYTimes. Not sure what your fascination is with this civilization-destroying, cultural hegemonist wannabe. He had no respect for these people's beliefs or customs in his zeal to impose his religious beliefs upon them.
30
Modern day colonialization
Was a bad idea in the past, it’s still a bad idea in 2018
21
There is a saying, from an African I think, that goes ..... When white men came they had the Bible and we had the land. Now we have the Bible and they have the land.
I can understand the urge to help a fellow human being live better, live longer and possibly live a happier life. To develop friendships. I've never understood the urge to spread religion. Who's the beneficiary?
25
As a Canadian expat whose politics probably lean further to the left than your average Democrat, I must say: the anti-religion liberal echo chamber is ringing in my ears. Does anyone here even stop to consider what they are writing? However misguided you may think this young man is, the fact is that he approached these villagers with non-violent intentions and took significant precautions to avoid harming them even accidentally. And they shot and killed him on sight. Is it really necessary to come here an insult him as a fanatic or egomaniac?
The irony of it all is astounding: commenters come here, a public forum, and complain about someone else's views, claiming that it's offensive to believe other people's views are wrong. Perhaps your view offends me - did you consider that? And on and on it goes.
This man died for what he believed in - spreading Jesus' love to the remotest parts of the world. His aim was a humble one - his goal was not to televangelise to millions but simply to reach out to a handful. This man was open-minded - he sought to immerse himself in their culture and understand them personally. Whatever you may think of his methods, his death is to be mourned and his spirit is to be commended. Shame on the rest of you for your anger, your hubris, and your close-mindedness.
13
I have to disagree with you. Open minded people “live and let live” and this man was not that. He did not go there to learn their culture, he went to teach them about Jesus(according to his journal). The islanders did not kill him on sight, they warned him first in the only way they knew by a warning shot and yelling but he went back again. He also broke the law( which by the way was on recommendation from anthropologists because the other tribes that have mixed with locals have not fared well) and he jeopardized the livelihoods of the fishermen.
Although it is wrong to say he deserved to die, most people are angry for giving him much attention in a positive way which might encourage others to do the same where as in simple terms he was nothing more than a criminal who intentionally broke a law of the country he was visiting. Perhaps you arrogantly believe that only Western countries laws are to be followed?
2
You're missing - or ignoring - the most vital point. Several points, actually, but so it goes. We call that a strawman argument, worthy only of being ignored. However, I'll take the bait and point out what you failed to mention for the benefit of those who might not immediately spot the dishonesty inherent in your comment.
The first and most vital point: He wanted to understand their language and culture *so he could change that culture by removing their beliefs in favor of Christianity*.
He did *not* want to be a passive observer, merely learning about them, which is what you're making him out to be by talking about what he wanted to do while busily ignoring *why* he wanted to do it. He actively went with the clearly stated intention of actively changing an unknown but not insignificant part of their culture.
There's also the detail that staying alone in a non-sterile room in a hotel with scores of other people and shared air circulation for eleven days does absolutely *diddly-squat* in ensuring that he didn't kill off half the tribe. And even if that was somehow magically enough, he then ruined it by traveling for several days with five men *who had taken no such precautions*.
One last thing you merrily ignored; The vast, *vast*, majority of comments are anti-evangelism and anti-my-beliefs-are-better-so-you-need-to-change-yours. Not all, but most. Would you want Mr. Chau moving into your house without permission to "understand" you and evangelize to you? No? Exactly.
1
@Sam-He didn’t come to them with an open mind and to be immersed in their culture, quite the anti-thesis. Prosthetizing the Bible imposes not just scriptural law on these people, but the introduction of Judeo-Christian thinking. This fundamentally metamorphizes their way of life. Was it alright he got killed for spreading his beliefs? Of course not, but I haven’t seen any comments here advocating for ending his life. Instead, everyone here is pointing out his untimely demise is a natural consequence of his decisions. If one falls off a bridge, you expect the effects of gravity to catch up with you. Similarly, if one travels to an uncontacted people’s home, who have traditionally killed outsiders, one would expect the same fate.
2
He had no business being there.
10
Why do people always have to force their religion on other people? Let those who believe believe and those who don’t don’t
16
"The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world." Max Born.
23
Charles H. Bush
This is a very important quote about human delusion and the evil of manmade religion, Charles.
Thank you for sharing it.
2
Isn’t interesting, every young American or young foreigner growing up in The USA wants to be adventurous. Generally Americans are entitled thinking their have more rights than others. What do we call this? Suicide by stupidity?
6
a very simple lesson here respect other people's cultures
15
John Chau was a criminal, not a victim. His act was an obscenity, not a mission. His name should only be uttered to discourage others from invading precious autonomous cultures, not to mitigate his damage.
16
A quick search in the NYT app shows 9 articles about John Chau since 11/21. I hope I don't see a 10th one but I have a feeling I will. I don't think publishing all these articles about some one who didn't care for the safety of the Sentinelese is doing any good to either the family of John Chau or the Sentinelese. And the tone of this article especially reeks of western savior complex.
17
I've lived in Africa with moderately remote peoples and seen first hand the damage and the good done by missionaries of various stripes. The long term damage is disastrous even coming from people more intelligent than this Chau.
Missionaries tend to be so convinced of their righteousness that they are blinded to any interests in those they wish to convert. They are consumed by a sort of institutional disease of the ego that is politely called belief or fervor. It not only attacks the individual egos, but that of the group who see themselves as supermen. It is akin to the sort of aggressive sense of superiority that condenses into food for dictators, fascists and those who see the world as a place that should submit to them and their brilliance.
It is not driven by dumbness, but egomania, religious or political, institutional or personal.
Let Mrs. Ho or the Ramseys go get his corpse. Don't risk the life of some innocent Indian policeman.
21
It always disturbs me when religious beliefs can lead one to commit suicide. Hopefully others similarity afflicted will stop to recognized that they have no right to force others to accept their beliefs.
5
Agree with those who fear that all the PR about this place will lead more fools to do what this guy did and thus truly endanger the indigenous people. If ever a place needed a force field a la Star Trek around it for protection, this place does now.
Missionaries shouldn't be visiting/invading far-off cultures to "educate" them, it should be the other way around. Isn't that, shouldn't that, be obvious? And I gotta wonder: Did NYT produce this misbegotten piece of you-know-what, complete with silly sidebars from self-selected subjects/missionaries who responded to the paper's call for interview subjects, on the theory that this might somehow explain how--bear with me here--Trump got elected? These missionaries are almost exclusively evangelicals. Evangelicals put Trump over the hump. Wouldn't surprise me at all if, in some glass-walled conference room deep inside NYT HQ, there was a decision made to proceed based on the notion that this might help readers understand evangelicals whom we've never really reported on in any meaningful sense before.
Well, the evangelicals and everyone else seems to be saying that this is obvious rot, and it is. Why the plug wasn't pulled on this waste-of-pixels project is beyond me.
6
It is nothing but arrogance and selfishness that propels these "missionaries" to engage with people who are perfectly happy with who and what they are.
If his idea of "winning" was being the first one to Heaven, then he got what he wanted. By the same token, the people of Sentinel Island got what they wanted as well, to be left alone.
The remaining question is, who will be the next missionary to heaven?
8
Had John Allen Chau been a Roman Catholic, he would have deserved full canonization from the Pope. May John rest in peace.
The more we learn the harder it becomes to have sympathy for the mistakes of the individual.
However, I am becoming incensed to learn of the cult practices of the missionaries who used him as a pawn and distance their responsibility by hiding behind a mans confused love for Jesus.
A cult poisoned a mans mind and drove him to criminal suicide... that put an entire is the shared reality. How is this a beautiful story of love??
When the rest of the world commits crimes in the name of love, they are criminals, not righteous lovers. Please stop romanticizing selfish idoicy.
6
“Remember, the first one to heaven wins.” sounds like any young suicide bomber who plots to die for their religion. Do all faiths absolve or forgive suicide by proxy?
21
Our Sunday morning for years, were inturrupted by bunch of well-dressessed folks knocking on the door and asking if We thought if peace is possible and then tried handing over pamplets. Our polite anwers did not dissuade them until one day I muster enough courage or rudeness to tell them not to bother us.
I would never impose my religious beliefs on another human. This religious fanatism and intolwrence. They are milder, christian version of ISIS or Taliban.
Enough is enough.
9
Imposing your religion on someone else is against my religion (Judaism). I hate being the object of proselytizers, whether in person or remotely, like when the LDS tries to baptize Holocaust victims. I hate when simply being different is taken as an affront to another religion, like the phrase "happy holidays," or when we put a menorah in the window and get pranked.
I get that proselytizers have good motives and come from a very different place than I do. One of the nicest people I ever knew showed up at my college dorm room to proselytize. I told her that I needed to learn my own religion better, then I could consider another. She backed off, which to me was showing true respect. As with Chau, you need to back off when there is resistance, sooner, not later.
The remaining remote cultures of the world are precious and arguably smarter and better to the earth than "civilization." They deserve respect and privacy.
12
Are we suppose to feel remorse? This person knownly took a trip to an island full of, rightfully so, hostile natives and expected to convert them to HIS religion. Despite knowing that there is a risk of death to himself but also death to the natives who don't have a built up immune system to combat foreign diseases and he still took the trip to the island. He did this all in the name of HIS religion. I don't know if I can feel sorry for him.
12
Why is this cow being beaten? Hasn’t enough tragedy and destruction been induced as historically documented vis-à-vis colonialism? Leave them to themselves and their reality. At least someone can be spared the madness of this Trumpian Special Olympics.
4
Your article makes this sound as if it were an innocent lark by a great idealistic guy.
Again and again, contact with outsiders has had devastating consequences for indigenous peoples around the world.
Your article should have referenced some of the long, long history of how religions—especially Christianity—have killed and destroyed innocent peoples in the name of God.
NYT, what are you thinking of?
9
A perfect storm of delusional thinking, obsessive fixation, and unmitigated arrogance.
I’m not a Christian, but to jeopardize the very existence of an entire culture seems like one of the least Christ-like things one could possibly do.
Ironically, there are unmistakeable shades of karma and fate woven throughout this utterly predictable tale of human folly.
10
This world is in dire need of healing, and religion was never a cure for anything. Resources spent to indoctrinate with bogus myths should be spent differently.
10
John Chau was extremely selfish and arrogant. He risked bringing disease and death to an ancient protected tribe to fulfill his own religious ambitions
8
Why is stuff like this not called out as crazy just because it’s associated with Christianity.
5
Christianity is no friend to indigenous man. It has wiped out most indigenous people around the world. The people on this island may have been aware of christian symbols and if they saw anyone with these symbols, it's quite possible it would have frightened them and made them hostile. If this were the case, and it very likely was, it is yet another case of self righteous christian zealotry and religious chauvinism. He and his trainers should have known better. Sorry to have to say it that way.
6
Who define civilization, the missionaries? I believe this another kind of religious terrorism, shoving your faith on poor and ignorant in the name of God. God never existed and it is the creation of Satan (Bad person) to control the mind and asset of others. The best example "Sale of Indulgence" in 15th century.
4
Why bother with the Sentinel Islands? He could have gone to Syria and tried his luck there.
11
The news media has had a field day with this story; now the NYT gives extensive coverage and a plug for perky jerky (certainly this was coverage they couldn’t have dreamed of). Yet the elephant in the room - mental illness - has not been raised. I’ve observed the mentally ill homeless frequently obsess on religious topics and wondered if this points to a link of mental illness and religious obsession? This missionary’s act seems no different from the mentally ill on the street. The sad thing is that journalists and the public are glamorizing it.
5
One of the sad truths of this world that most followers of Judaic religions like Islam, Judaism and Christianity feel that only their religion s are true the rest are untrue.And converting non believers to their faith is a worthwhile endeavour!
Missionaries are an anachronism in this modern age!
This young man lost his precious life unnecessarily
6
@DEVASIS CHOWDHURY
Not Judaism. It is a non proselytising religion and if you are not born into it it is extremely hard to convert. Judaism sends no missionaries.
2
@DEVASIS CHOWDHURY
You are mistaken about Judaism Judaism has no proselytizers. Judaism never organizes individual or communal efforts at conversion. It is anathema to the religion. Judaism also makes it very difficult for anyone to convert to it, requiring an enormous amount of time and mental labor before a prospective and unsolicited convert is allowed into the faith. Please get your facts right. Judaism has never considered, as you assert, the attempt to convert others either "worthwhile" or theologically sanctioned.
2
I recommend that members of these christian missionary groups be forced to watch “Book of Mormon” as part of their training!
5
I feel sorry for the young man and his family. I do not rejoice in his futile death.
The Sentinelese defended themselves from a perceived threat. Given the destruction of indigenous societies over the last several centuries, they are right in staying away from us. We can only offer them trinkets, death, diseases, and slavery.
Leave them alone!
10
If anything, he had a “higher calling” to introduce pathogens to a population never before exposed to them. This neo-colonialism is appalling, as if missionaries can’t just try to convert members of inner cities.
15
Why are we still reading about this man, like some sort of canonization? Chau's quest to bring a backwards story of guilt and shame to people who managed fine without hearing it was only superseded by his arrogance that he was, quite literally, on a mission from god. Logically his death on the shores of Sentinel Island would mean a) no god or b) the almighty wasn't on board with the harassment of said tribe.
Either way, stop turning Chau's project or zeal into something noble or righteous - it never was. It certainly doesn't need lofty obits to inspire others.
27
In another life I knew people like. Jim Elliot is revered in those circles. Lots of guys wanted to be him. Such arrogance and ignorance and a desire to be a martyr for their faith. Missionary work has always been a colonizing and imperialist activity. Sad to those types of people still exist and young people know about him. He was killed in the 1950's.
10
One video on YouTube that purports to show anthropologists from India making contact in 1991 shows they had some success, in that they didn't get attacked. They brought a large number of coconuts to the inhabitants who occasionally made aggressive displays but did not attack the anthropologists.
1
Tragic but entirely preventable, if it weren't for his religious arrogance — ignoring laws and multiple warnings. He lacked respect for the people of North Sentinel, who needed no 'saving' and desired no contact, and it cost him his life.
14
This man was in need of psychological counseling and instead of that received direct and indirect encouragement from christian evangelicals. We hear the "tut-tut, but he was on a mission" nonsense. But his behavior was unethical by many standards and illegal to boot...and puts other live at risk.
Perhaps the most troubling part is if the missionaries really cared about people instead of ideology they would spend the time and money this took...and is now taking....to help the millions who need and want help and are dying waiting to receive it while this misguided boy dies on what he felt was a grand adventure. Let's quit the hero worship and call it what it is...a crazy stunt that went awry.
13
Alternate view: The women and children on the island very much wanted to meet this curious foreigner, but the domineering males went ahead and killed him.
Why assume all of the islanders supported repudiating Chau and killing him? What if the outcome represents the desire of just a few very powerful members? Would that change our perception of the situation and its outcome?
Anne,
I can't stop thinking about your reply. But this young man wasn't an anthropologist making an assessment. He was on a rescue mission. His rescue mission, however. wasn't about establishing democracy or installing an equitable economic system. It was about establishing a specific religion which in itself comes with a history of patriarchy.
It's probably a pretty safe bet, but do we know for certain the North Sentinel Islanders are a patriarchal culture? Is there a means (by some sort of watercraft) of escape from the island should there be dissenters?
Where is W. Somerset Maugham when we need him? Mr. Chau, bless him, doesn't sound from his biography as if he had obtained the type of education one would hope for when embarking on structurally changing people's lives. His reference material seems to have been from only one source.
Your suggestion is an interesting one. I somewhat doubt it would have been entertained by an ardent religious promoter, however, whose mission was to sell his product. Whether it would be needed or useful or even damaging is always a question when we buy into something. Is it worth it?
3
No, it really wouldn’t. The hypothetical curious women and children have no immunity to disease. The germs he carried could have decimated the population of the island.
1
What makes you think their society has the same inequalities between sexes as our own?
Better to not assume this group is foolish in the way most modern social groups can be.
1
The Indian government should abandon attempts to retrieve his body. No one else should be asked to risk their lives due to his premeditated foolishness.
19
The consensus among NYT response writers seems to be that John Chau deserved the death that he got and the islanders were perfectly within their rights to murder him - after all, who isn't annoyed by those self-righteous "Holy Joes" approaching people everywhere you go?
I feel differently: I admire John Chau's courage and selflessness, a very rare commodity in today's superficial and mostly cowardly world. If there is one faction that likes to keep human beings in a tiny island petri dish to keep inbreeding and butchering hapless intruders, there some of us who believe that all humans deserve the benefits faith and modern medicines, diet, and law.
For those more-or-less Christians out there who think that John Chau should have stayed away, I would remind you of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew and all the rest of the heroic figures who took Christianity to other vicious, primitive people and lost their lives in the process. Like John Chau, they were all heroes who knew what they were in for and went anyway.
I think we should remove them from the island and get them jobs in New York city with a 9am to 7pmer, 6 days a week. Let these stupid islanders learn the true way of living. We're so beyond these stupid, misinformed, blasphemous islanders. Not sure what your God is but mine is the correct one: it's the almighty Dollar for which I want them to scarifice their lives for.
11
@independent
Selflessness?? It is the ultimate act of selfishness that drives these people. That your belief system is the only correct one and you have a duty to ‘save’ those who do not share it. Selflessness would be leaving them alone and not having them be your exciting project. Selflessness is working at your local soup kitchen without evangelising.
4
Years ago I lived in a (very interesting) neighborhood that had both a Mormon base house and a Hell's Angels house. The Hell's Angels never once rang my bell insisting I needed to buy a chopper, drink a ton of beer, and begin engaging in bar fights in order to be happy, or live my best life. For that reason I much preferred them as neighbors.
The religious dictum that insists on proselytizing as a component of participation is nothing but sheer arrogance dressed up as "helping". If someone who was not raised in your religion is meant to "find" it, they will. The loss of this young man is a tragedy, and a preventable one at that.
20
This is what happen when one grew up of having it all, he/she goes out and seek hardship.
1
Mr. Chau should have tried to sell his wares to the millions of atheists living right here in the USA. Instead, he went to a protected island and killed himself. I only hope all this publicity doesn't make more people try to go there and endanger them with diseases they are not inoculated against.
12
My Condolences to Chau's family on his death.
However, NYT needs to stop sensationalizing this episode, this only eggs on more missionaries to attempt to make contact with the tribe. India has had a very complicated relationship with missionaries, not least because of historical forced conversions. I'm a liberal and believe in the freedom to preach and practice one's religion, but this kind of fervor to seek out people and entice them with gifts with an end goal of conversion is imperialist.
The company article to this, by Ernesto Landono says 'North sentinel is nominally a part of India'. I take affront to that. In school we are taught about the tribes of the Andaman's and their protected status. These people are Indian as far as I'm concerned and they wish to be left alone.
Some decades ago, the Jarawa were integrated and we all know how that turned out. Sometimes people are happy left to their own small culture and community.
If at all someone is to attempt to make contact, it should be anthropologists, with permission from the Indian Government to understand their culture.
John Chau is being potrayed in NYT articles almost like an adventurer or explorer like Columbus. Perhaps that is apt since these explorers only colonized and killed natives. John Chau was lead by a fervor to convert people and leave their culture behind, please do not celebrate this NYT.
18
@Harshit
I agree with everything you say, except the condolences to his family. His family and the teachers and guides with whom they chose to surround him are directly responsible for his death.
There are I'm sure children who are born with genetic problems, but I strongly suspect that they are rare. Most of the horrors we find in the world are the product of nurture, not nature
The U.S. authorities ought to start an investigation on all of Mr. Chau’s friends and associates who knew about his illegal & dangerous mission, which not only cost Mr. Chau his life, but also endangered the natives of North Sentinel Island.
If they knew he was going to do something illegal & dangerous, even if in a different country, they are responsible for his death by not notifying the authorities.
Mr. Chau is dead, otherwise the Indian authorities ought to have hauled him up and thrown him behind bars.
12
It is dismaying to see so many articles for this particular incident by the NYtimes. The articles all appear upbeat and sort of convey an admiration for this young man. Imagine other impressionable young people inspired by this rather extreme reality. It is sad that religious organizations and their heads almost always remain in safe pulpits while sending out fragile young people to do their bidding. It is time religious organizations stopped trying to portray people with different methods to find peace as savages or uncivilized. It is time parents open their eyes and realize how important it is to not force their children into blind faith. This was about an American who snubbed the laws of another country. As Americans, we have tear gassed illegal immigrants who were trying to scale the fences outlining our nation, surely we can understand the hostile sentiments of the native people of little island in the Andamans protecting their territory. The real losers in this story are those poor boat people who were dazzled by a lot money and are probably in trouble with the Indian police.
10
Martyrs are killed for what they believe. The Sentinelese did not kill John for what he believed, they did not know what he believed. They killed him because they saw him as a threat to the tribe.
John Chau was not a martyr. He was self-absorbed, reckless and his "mission" hurt his family, friends, the Indian fishermen (their families) and the Sentinelese.
Christian zealotry turned a man into a murderer; did John consider that?
17
Thanks to all the publicity this incident has been getting globally, the risks posed to the North Sentinelese tribes increases each day. Matter of time before adventure seekers and such assorted fools, hire boats and try to get as close as they can to North Sentinel Island to take photos, throw stuff in the water, play loud music and generally do everything to get the attention of this tribe. While the Indian coast guard can only do so much, now suddenly the world knows about this island - unlike some of the other reclusive tribes deep in the Amazon Basin, this small island can be easily reached from Port Blair (45 kms.) and curious stupid people will do anything for that instagram moment
6
After reading the story, it is clear that the only people who should be prosecuted are those who taught and encouraged Mr. Chau to become a missionary. They essentially are a cult and they bear full responsibility for having "trained" him for the sort of mission that led to his death.
13
People have a right to privacy. Go help anywhere else
5
Why is this so news worthy? Sure, its interesting and unusual, but this individual brought his fate on himself. It was practically suicide. As opposed to the countless other tragic deaths occurring hourly across the world through no fault of the victims.
1
Cultural arrogance, plain and simple. He sought, ultimately, to be a martyr, and instead, he is just dead and will have no further contribution to make to a world in need. Leave these people in peace. The fishermen who took him there are not the issue-- its the religious zealots who helped him get there (with their "training camp") that are to blame. They should be ashamed.
9
Just how are 130,000 “missionaries” funded? Surely not from parishioners alone.
3
One death versus centuries of cultural and social decimation at the hands of missionaries. Where is the outrage and sorry over that?
5
Another win for Christianity and the collective delusion it has brought on this world.
3
If anything other than religion was pushing such behavior in a young man, it could be called a mental issue.
Such proselytism is definitely delusional in my book.
3
He had absolutely NO business trying to convert those people. Would he like it if they tried to convert him to their way of life?
Now he is where he wants to be..... with his God.
6
In my view these evangelicals are like addicts. They want everyone to partake in their drug of choice. Why? Why do addicts and cultists need to have others buy into the myth and narrative of their addiction? I feel sorry for Chau and his family, and others who have been brainwashed by religion, but at some point you must be mature enough to see reality.... Maybe just leave the rest of alone and live with your own problems, live your own life and leave the rest of us in peace. We don't want to be included in delusions, myths, cults or religions.
8
“I don’t question his motivation, I question his methods,” said Richard Albert Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
No, it's his motivation that was deplorable. It takes unparalleled arrogance for a kid to presume that he knows what's best for a society that has been around for thousands of years. Only religion can instill that kind of arrogance in a person.
7
He almost, or may have brought outside disease to the tribe which could wipe them out entirely. Did he ever think of that? Doubt it
3
Abrahmic religions presume that they have answers to everything and by proselytizing they will change the world to their way of thinking. Unless you let individuals to discover themselves, you are going to create one sick world of homogeneity. Stop doing this, stop funding from Vatican, Saudi Arabia....The Universe is a beautiful place as it is, people are wonderful as they are...stop meddling outside, focus inward and just change yourself if at all you want to change anything.
6
"In 2015, he made his first of four trips to the Andaman Island chain, basing himself in Port Blair, the main city..."
Who was funding these trips, and what did they know (or should have known) about John Chau's misguided, unlawful, and arguably unethical plans to this tribal group to evangelical Christianity?
4
Chau couldn't possibly have been so naive or optimistic, knowing the history of this island, to think he could bring "Jesus" to these natives. He's 100% responsible for his demise. Maybe Oral Roberts should have a course on the dangers of being a missionary?
At the same time, it's wrong to arrest the fishermen--they weren't actual "accomplices"--he likely would have purchased a boat to get there, if needed.
Are there any international laws that prevent what the Islanders did? Naturally, it would be impractical to indict them for Chau's murder in an International Criminal Court. Perhaps some cultures or countries can legally kill any intruders with no repercussions...especially when they don't have any legal system. They're best on their own.
This sad story must have Hollywood execs and book publishers falling over themselves for the rights.
4
John Chau's behavior reminds me of the Biblical story of Aaron's (Levite) sons and the price they paid for believing that they knew how to serve God better than than God knew how God should be served.
In their arrogance and youthful hubris, they brought the wrong kind of fire and in the wrong way, and it blew up in their faces.
Sounds familiar. Passion is like fire. Current and would-be Christian missionaries, take note.
2
Mr. Chau could have done so much good by
working charities, building houses, working soup kitches, helped under privelaged children with homework or coached them soccer or some other after school activities or help forest fire victims or some other natural cality.
But, No! He wanted to be a Hero by saving these aboriginals on their own land by giving them "good news" they did not need. It's not just arrogance and misguided. He broke the laws and committed crimes.
The headlines including NYT would have been "a trespasser, an illegal intruder met with his fate" if this were to US land.
The Aggression, entitlement and arrogance.
So typical!
6
Mr. Ramsey feels no regrets - not for the fact that his friend lied, illegally entered someone's country, put at risk an isolated tribe that has no resistance to germs, and certainly not for his racist and arrogant assumption that anyone who does not believe in organized western religion is somehow incomplete and in need of rescue.
Why can't we keep religion private, like I was told -- apparently incorrectly -- was the consensus in America as I prepared to come here as a young man 18 years ago?
6
The Indian government's policy is to leave the Sentinelese alone. People keep coming to them...not the other way around. They aren't interested in anything "we" have. And if by chance someone managed to persuade them of the joys of consumerism...cars, iPods, liquor...it would destroy them. They did what they do best. Protect their privacy. Sad as it is, John Chau was in the wrong. He knew it. He sneaked out at night like a teenager, and we all know how egregious their executive judgement can be.
While Christians have the duty to preach the good news, to proclaim the Gospel, we need to come to terms with the plurality of world religions and diversity of human cultures. There should be a healthy respect for this plurality rather than aspiring through proselytism to a single universal religion or culture. The later speaks of ego to me, not Christian duty.
2
The type of cultural genocide perpetuated by these abusive Christian groups through so-called missionary efforts is horrific and should be addressed, and it truly sickens me that such ventures are increasing. This man's delusional self-importance perfectly represents the dysfunction within evangelical Christianity that caused me to flee from my own upbringing in a sect espousing similar endeavors.
6
@Andrea I so totally agree!
I don't care what the culture is...you can't just kill people for proselytizing. Aboriginal status shouldn't excuse murder. Enough with the romanticizing. This is criminal conduct.
1
@mr isaac
The Sentinelese didn't kill Chau for proselytizing; they had no idea what he was saying or why he was there.
They were simply defending themselves against an invader, just as I would do if a stranger came into my house. Chau got exactly what he deserved.
His dead body (which the Sentinelese dragged by rope) has likely placed their entire population at risk due to pathogens. You cannot defend Chau's assault on them in any way, or make this the fault of the Sentinelese.
9
This story really annoys me. Due to his arrogance, this Mr. Chau put these people at risk. What was he thinking, that they would drop their arrows for crosses and be saved? I think it's amazing there is still a group of people that are untouched by modern life.
6
John Chau was just one more dangerous religious fanatic. He endangered a wonderful ancient group of people, twice. Once as an arrogant missionary and a second time with attempts to recover his body. Let his death be a lesson to anyone who wishes to share their religious beliefs with others. Passion is great but be respectful.
2
Evangelicals are a funny lot. From Pat Robertson saying the brutal murder an American journalist is acceptable because the people who sanctioned it buy from Boeing to this adventure minded fellow willing to risk infecting the lives and rights of an indigenous people for a lifetime supply of jerky. It’s absolutely frightening to think that there are 130,000 of these people out and about in the world giving people very skewed ideas about Americans.
4
How sick.
He was putting an entire population at risk of disease and death for his own personal adventure. There is nothing admirable about this hubris filled 'mission'.
He ruined the lives of the fishermen he coerced into bringing him there. He couldn't wait to destroy the lives of the Sentinelese.
The Sentinelese saw what missionaries did hundreds of years ago and never forgot. They protected their lives. Good for them.
5
Reading about such people, the words that come to mind are: naivety, selfishness, ethnocentrism, close-minded etc.
like, what makes it so difficult to put themselves in other peoples shoes?
4
Putting aside his presumption and law-breaking... the biological risk he imposed is staggering. It's like he thought that he was so brave, so right, that God wouldn't let a little thing like microbes and naive immune systems mess up his game. The ethics of missionary work aside, you do not walk into a group of people to do anything, no matter how great you think it is, when your very presence could kill them. I keep thinking of the horrible descriptions I've read of the Native Americans who were slaughtered by smallpox, and I'm hoping the people of Sentinel Island are not suffering any similar fate. Hoping he wasn't a strep carrier. Hoping he wasn't shedding herpes virus. Hoping his skin bacteria were as benign as they could be.
10
It bugs me that people interviewed for this article and some comments defend Chau as being “loving” or “noble” and “trying to help the tribe.”
Why do the Setinelese need help? Isn’t it up to their leaders, as grownups, to ask for it if they do?
Grownups can decide for themselves how they want to live. The “helping them” view treats them as primitive children needing wise Westerners who know better.
There’s nothing noble or loving about any of this. I do see a lot of hubris, though.
6
will the U. S. missionary community support the families of the local fishermen who have been arrested? Or will those poor families be sacrificed to the imperialistic impulses -- I mean, the "higher calling" -- of American Christian missionaries?
4
Chau's story is a sad reminder of the arrogance that seems to infuse so many missionaries across the centuries. What Chau professed as love for the people of North Sentinel Island looks a lot like contempt for anyone who didn't see the world through his peculiar prism.
6
So if society should be respectful of indigenous people, and leave them at peace, shouldn’t society be respectful of other’s way life and not subject your beliefs into other’s?
In an unrealistic world the answer would be yes, but society has become a media circus with an infinite number of side shows of distraction consumed by many like laced kool aid.
Mr. Chau's Kimmy Schmidt-esque aplomb is enviable, but there's an attendant arrogance there a la Chris McCandless. As Mrs. Halen indicated, he seems to have not cared how many people he hurt with or roped into his essentially illegal act/righteous pursuit.
1
1. As much as we should know about how self-important these missionaries are, I don't wan't to hear another thing about this young foolish man. Enough.
2. Regarding the quote “Having a conversation with John was like having a conversation with someone who reached out their hand and put it on your heart to feel the way it beats”. I bet most normal people would have seen right through this, and slowly walked away. There, there, take your little "save the poor souls" speech somewhere else Johnnie.
As I've said commenting on another article, his body should stay right where it is, buried in the sand. No sympathy from me.
3
He had no right. None. And he knew it. And went anyway.
3
Like an antihero from Voltaire or Vonnegut, this young man, blinded and arrogant with the superiority of HIS particular brand of religious fantasy, absurdly chose to try to foist it on others. How sadly misguided.
Doubtless, if vastly superior aliens were to land on earth, he and others like him would have tried to /save/ them, too. Maybe he should have warmed up with a little proselytizing in Kabul first.
I look to the day when benevolent aliens, or widespread understanding of science, or WHATEVER, will rid us of the scourge of religion and make us own our destinies without the fantasy of the Cosmic Nanny.
4
Very sombre story. Maybe he shouldn't have tried that hard? But what do i know? As a christian i am reminded of the words of Jesus in Mathew 10:14 (If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.)
3
I don't see how Mr. Chau, in his mind, could so conveniently let himself off the hook for doing MANY illegal things (repeatedly!), nor how he could square his illegal behavior with his idea of serving God.
Not only did Mr. Chau commit illegal acts deliberately, he also caused others "sin," even while knowing that the fishermen and THEIR families would suffer if they were found to be helping Mr. Chau.
This is not normal behavior, and it should not be normalized.
From all I've read, Mr. Chau strikes me as someone who had a God-complex. At a minimum, one can say Mr. Chau was fixated/obsessed, and rather naive/foolish.
Jesus Christ did not force anyone to believe in Him nor to follow Him. Yet Mr. Chau believed he had to "convert" 50-100 people - and not just any people, but THESE particular people, half a world away! How many more people could he have helped right in his own home town - not by converting them, but by serving their needs with love and concern?
Mr. Chau's legacy is this: he is dead, the people who helped him are under arrest, and the people living on that island are now likely to be targeted by others who want an "adventure" or who just want to get their name in the newspapers.
There is nothing to be proud of here, and all those in the USA who helped train Mr. Chau for what they KNEW was an illegal mission should feel the heavy weight of their part in making this happen.
2
A "higher calling"? Forcing yourself on people who clearly want to be left alone? It seems to me Mr. Chau was on a huge spiritual ego trip. He wanted to be The One Who Converted the Sentinelese, knowing that he was courting death. If I recall correctly, one gets no spiritual credit for seeking out martyrdom, in order to be "the first one to heaven".
2
What intrigues me is how large must a population be to avoid being ruined by a small gene pool. Now that this zealot has put North Sentinel on the map, so to speak, how long will it be before others go there to scratch whatever itch that compels them? The comments reek of the ‘noble savage’ mystique. My sense is that the islanders’ lives are a laboratory for what it means to literally lead a life that is nasty, brutish and short. If the Christian mindset is concerned about that, there are plenty of such lives closer to home that could benefit from their ministrations. There are such organizations about and some do much good without trying to convert anyone.
Dear Christians, Evangelicals and religious people of ALL stripes:
Please leave the world alone and keep your religion to yourself and within your circle of people who choose to believe in a god, gods or a father-in-the-sky, or whatever. Why would a god need humans running around preaching about it and trying to force people to believe in it? That kind of mythology has no place in the public sphere -- and it definitely has no place in a protected tribe of another nation.
Most of us have grown tired of prissy-pious misguided attempts at converting and preaching. It's annoying at best. I'm an atheist but I don't preach to strangers, corner neighbors, or annoy colleagues at the office trying to de-program them.
Your cult is not wanted.
3
Why no one stopped this delusional, sociopathic narcissist from his self-serving “mission” remains a mystery. If he had survived he would deserve a lengthy jail sentence for endangering a dwindling people who have clearly expressed their wishes not to be trespassed against, and for exploiting and endangering those who brought him there. I’m sure his big American money was difficult to decline. If there were an afterlife, it is hard to believe his actions would merit entry to heaven.
2
Let's also not forget that in Africa (Uganda, mainly) the virulent anti-gay sentiment was fomented and turned into terrorism by evangelical Christians (google Scott Lively). They found a way to sow hatred where there was only mild indifference beforehand.
3
Please write a story about people who go on medical volunteer trips to help people who want help, spending their own money to get there and using vacation time to do it. They are more deserving of the attention.
7
The title says it all. The bootcamp analogy clearly indicates the underlying attitude of evangelicals: invade and conquer. Love and serve is a convenient subterfuge. The related piece on missionary reflections also shows how many of these foot soldiers are arrogant, ignorant, immature and irresponsible. It is high time to regulate these organisations. Freedom to practice one's own faith is not a license to proslytise irresponsibly.
3
Matthew 28 commands Christians to go and make disciples of all nations and teach them everything he commands. The "Greatest Commandment" in the Gospel of Matthew is to love the Lord God with all our being...and to love our neighbors as ourselves. John Chau's body is a terrible danger to the islanders. Even though he took pains not to get a cold or infection, he should have known he could wipe them out just by being there. Jesus hardly wants Christians to cause the death of an entire people in the name of spreading the Gospel. John was brave to answer the call to be a missionary, but calls should be confirmed by other Christians. Confirmation involves more than the approval and encouragement of one's peers. It includes being accountable for one's actions.
Knowing the region, I know that there is a reason why these peoples are isolated and kept at a distance from local business and politics.
I find it hard to believe that the indigenous tribes on this island have no beliefs and do not believe in whatever deity they find supporting to their life.
I am quite certain that they do not see any reason to switch to belief system they have no reason to adopt and that is completely alien to their world.
So there is no reason other than power and an entirely uncalled for ego trip why a missionary should go there and make the tribe a member of his church.
This is what caused millions to die when churches of old and new went to natives around the globe over the past few centuries.
A power play and an ego trip.
Let's just hope that at least some others will learn from this death that the days of missionaries are over for good.
Let this be a world class example on how stupid religion makes believers.
The world has more than enough religion based wars, it does not need another one, not even a small one in a remote island in the Adaman Sea.
2
Proselytizing does carry risks.
Maybe missionaries should these groups of "innocents" alone?
After all, history shows us a long list of damages (e.g. - persecution/tyranny, disease, etc.) raught by missionaries forcibly spreading their brand of Christianity as vanguards of a "better life".
Mr. Chau’s missionary zeal is the product of an arrogance and self-righteousness that ignores the human rights of others. It’s an old attitude in the history of religions which caused much suffering in this world. Thankfully most Christians currently eschew such missionary efforts and false zeal.
1
Another example of living a religious fantasy. You'd think the older more mature adults (if that's possible for religious fanatics) would've got this guy into some kind of counseling about the reality of life. His father is a psychiatrist?
Perhaps, his father should've made his son watch the movie "Grizzly Man".
Hard to feel bad for anyone involved in this "mission". The primary offender is dead and his enablers have to live with the guilt, or at least sorrow. I hope the fanatics learn lessons from this but I'm not optimistic.
1
At the risk of glorifying irresponsible and deludedly self-righteous behavior, publication of this man's misadventure may serve to spur reflection on the prideful messianism that fundamentally underlies the missionary compulsion. To my mind, proselytizing is nothing short of cultural arrogance. People should mind their own business. Save your own soul, if that sort of thing comports to your beliefs - that should be plenty a life-task for anyone.
Something strange here....How does a group of 50-100 people, without any technology, protect an island about the size of Manhattan from the very, very few who dare to try to step ashore? (By the way, check out the many reviews of the island on Google Maps.) The bird's eye view of the island shows miles of beaches, and you would think it would take days for the inhabitants to realize an outsider came ashore.
1
It's hard to sympathize with this evangelist. He broke the law of the land. He has gravely endangered the last few members of a tribe that may not have any immunity to the germs that he carried with him from "civilasation" along with the Bible. In doing so John Allen Chau has shown the hubris that is so typical of most evangelists who are sure that the humans they seek to convert are inferior beings.
I've heard commenters say that his intentions were pure. I disagree. His intentions as far as I can see were fuelled by hubris and arrogance. He showed no respect for these people by automatically believing that he knew better than they what was best for them. And he ignorantly put their lives at danger by exposing the native people to his pathogens.
Although this whole affair is tragic because he was obviously the victim of extreme Christian brainwashing, I have a hard time conjuring a lot of sympathy for someone as ignorant as he was.
1
If someone comes to your door to talk about a specific topic and you don't want to talk about it, you say no thank you & close the door. When the person comes back and tries to push in the door as you are shutting it again, you call the police. It is hard to see that this case is any different, except that the islanders were their own police. It is even harder to see how this rudeness and arrogance glorifies God. Indeed it does the opposite.
2
This young man exhibits very rigid and somewhat obsessive thoughts. I wonder if he was also mildly delusional. His father is a psychiatrist - I wonder if he had any concerns for his son’s mental health.
1
Missionary (noun) - a person sent on religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.
While the death is tragic, it highlights cult-like missionary recruitment requirements of some Christian sects (e.g. - LDS/Mormons, evangelical, Catholicism).
I get annoyed that regardless of how many times I tell door-to-door Mormons to please make a note to stop visiting my home, they return. I dislike all violence, but this secluded tribe certainly sent a clear message to Christian proselytizers ... we didn't invite you to visit, leave us alone and we don't want news of your (imaginary) deity.
Key phrase here is “pure expression of his faith.”
A faith, where a pure expression of the same, leads to a person’s death, is a sick and here deadly faith.
The missionary boot camp sounds like the idea of people who believe they are of a superior form of humanity who just have to learn how to deal with the inferior members.
Religious expression can be good. Sometimes it is evil. Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist. Sometimes the purest expressions are nothing but evil with a sweet joyful smile.
1
This is the very same school of thought that sent Europeans to our very land centuries ago. The Europeans decimated the local people with disease all with the guise of bringing Christianity to primitive people. It’s centuries past due time this behavior stopped. I really wish Christians would learn how to respect the rest of our religions and customs. Their missions and proselytizing are disrespectful - this church led this young man to his sad death. No religion is better than another - our beliefs are all heartfelt and deserve respect.
1
I wish the media would leave this alone. By now, I am sure that thee are "adventurers" around the world who now see this as a challenge. This arrogant and delusional young man may very well have triggered the end of Andaman Islanders...These people have been surviving for tens of thousands of years (by best guess) so the mentality that these folks need "saving" is idiotic. Throughout history, missionary quests have rarely, if ever, resulted in good for the native people they have "saved"...Imagine a people who have survived thousands of years, who are still in harmony with their environment needing saving... It is the "Modern" world that needs to be saved. From itself!
1
This is cult-like behavior, and it is being romanticized by the rest of the cult. The man was raised and trained to be a danger to himself and others. I feel bad for the fisherman who’s lives he damaged and the people of the island. He forced the people of the island to kill again. He damaged a culture that can never be replaced.
1
How can one force one's beliefs onto others?Would Mr. Chau and missionaries accept teachings of Buddha or Bhagavad Gita or Koran or Torah??
I think it's irresponsible of institutions that brain wash it's trainees and put them on misguided path. It's illegal to trespass another soverign nation and criminal to endanger aboriginals.
India has,every right to protect its sovereign land and protect its people esp. aboriginals.
International community should come together to establish rules to stop this aggression.
1
The story sounds vaguely like Christopher McCandless from the book "Into The Wild", a person unprepared for and caught by some of life's difficult realities.
1
Chau's mission was foolhardy, but he seemed like an immature 26 year old, so I don't fault him for it. He lived (and died) his dream.
"Only the good die young." RIP
Mr. Chao lived in what's commonly called a "fundy-bubble". A fundamentalist bubble. He was not prepared for any kind of reality. Playing missionary in the woods with rubber toys was no match for reality. Those who prepared him are as naive as he was.
2
I am a Christian so I understand the culture John was coming from and his motivation though I completely disagree with it. From a public health perspective I am shocked that John and his encouragers were not aware of the massive risks he posed to this small vulnerable population. He very likely could have wiped them out within months with a single transmission of any common disease. to me that is akin to manslaughter at the least. I'm ashamed and frustrated that Christians are complicit in doing this kind of premeditated harm. God is bigger than this - he knows these people and has compassion and love for them. He is there with them. They are not "unreached".
1
Interesting how evangelicals are so quick to flout the law when it serves their purposes. No wonder they voted for Trump in droves.
2
He got what he was looking for. A good option was to leave these people alone.
Given that some children who were kidnapped long ago were returned to the island after watching their elders die on Port Blair, I wonder if the islanders are just terrified of disease? Dragging the body with a rope seems to indicate they knew not to come in contact with it. Sounds like they are just trying to protect their own lives by killing foreigners.
Goodness. A man died. Whether you agree with him or not, he sincerely wanted to help these people. The callous cruelty about his death shown in some these comments worries me. Please show some sympathy.
1
@BK They don't require "help". It could literally kill them. They did what was right for their own survival.
1
I fail to see how he was saving the Sentinelese or from what. His unbridled arrogance did not provoke him to ask that question.
Why the focus on Chau? We all know his motivations. Nothing revelatory there. Why not write an article about the lives he ruined - those of the families of the fishermen who could not refuse the handsome payment he offered? Did they deserve to be casualties in Chau’s quest, with their families permanently broken, emotional well being ruined and income wiped out by a “noble” foreign missionary?
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
2
This story is so very sad and I am surprised by some of the heartless comments I have read. I can't help but feel sorry for the needless death of the loving, brave, and young John Chau. He appeared to be strong in his faith and had a lot to give to the world, but his judgment was clouded, either due to his youth (he was 26) or due to his extremely strong desire to witness to others about Christ despite the very real threat of death that he faced in this instance. The Bible tells Christans to witness to others about Christ, but you can't make other people listen to the message if they don't want to hear it. After his first attempt to communicate with the tribe was rebuffed, he should have wisely left the island. When you are young, though, you feel invincible and he probably didn't really expect to be killed. I am sorry that John's family lost this dedicated young man, I am sorry that the fishermen are in trouble, and I am sorry that the tribe felt disturbed and threatened by him to the point that they killed him. There are no winners in this story, but I don't see any villains, either.
65
@Sophie,
you will understand the reactions here when you try to look at the issues from the other side and try to translate it into something you can understand.
Just put yourself in the shoes of the indigenous tribe.
You know your world and you believe in certain deities and you have one set or reality that you know to be true.
And then someone comes and tries to tell you that you are completely wrong and have to switch to an entirely alien belief based on something that has no connection to your life whatsoever.
Any you also know that in the past these types came with weapons and tried to force their will onto your clan.
So what you do is logical, you fight back and you fight for what you believe and know is true.
The 21st century version of this story can be seen live in all parts of the world that currently fight against IS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and other extremist religious missionaries.
So the reaction by these indigenous tribesmen is only too logical as you would do the same if you were on the receiving end of a missionary of an alien belief system who in real life only wants to extend the reach of the power of his religious clan.
You kill it before it grows.
And that is what happened here.
25
@Sophie, Well said. But the villains here are the evangelistic group who had coached him to this daring act. Sadly, your mention that "you cant make other people listen to the message if they don't want to hear" is seldom echoed by the present day evangelistic. Even after this tragedy, nowhere the group he belonged is acknowledging his foolish act.
27
@Sophie, needless? Yes, all his actions were needless and reckless. He could have avoided “needless” if he wasn’t listening to funny voices in his head about an Imaginary Friend.
15
I don’t understand why he felt the need to violate these people’s privacy. The people who participated in sending him there should be ashamed of themselves and share some of the blame for his death.
The whole concept of missionaries should have died with colonialism.
9
As someone who grew up with an evangelical mother, I can attest to the difficulties of growing up adoring your parents, then realising you have not been prepared at all to live in the real world. I felt betrayed. To be evangelical, in my life, before I reprogrammed myself, was to live with delusion style thought processes. It can be a very dangerous thing to commingle the real world and evangelical thinking.
10
Organized religion could well be one of the best-marketed and most destructive concepts in the history of humankind. Catholicism ( and others ) harboring clergy with pedophiliac desires. Catholics vs Protestants conflicts often leading to destruction and war, Sunni vs Shia conflicts often leading to destruction and war. Christian vs Muslim beliefs often leading to destruction and war. Christianity vs Judaism vs Muslim vs Other beliefs often leading to destruction and war.
Deep religious conviction often leads to an “us vs them” mentality which often leads to near-hatred at a local level. A rogue missionary undertaking his desire to promote his religious beliefs to an extremely isolated tribe on a remote island, even though there were warnings against such an undertaking - hopefully, the tribe will not undergo more attacks from the outside world ( ie. retrieving the body ) as a result of this missionary’s zealous actions.
So, for all the destruction, why does the USA gov’t provide tax exempt status provided to organized religion that is influencing gov’t policy. Organized religion was globalized centuries ago. Why not have religious organizations only provide comfort and support at the local community level. Why do local communities need to “report up” to the various hierarchical levels of a huge global organization’s coffers. Why not place the funds into aid organizations directly, rather than offering aid along with religious undertones.
5
Instead of becoming enchanted with Matthew's "Great Commission," the myopic Mr. Chau might well have been better served to have considered the secular observation of Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis that "the protection afforded to thoughts, sentiments, and emotions . . . is merely an instance of the enforcement of the more general right of the individual to be let alone."
Some people want nothing more than to just walk away, to live simply in a hut by a pond or an island, so as to detach themselves from a madding crowd without being intruded upon, followed or, very often, to avoid being asked stupid questions by overbearing governments or zealots intoxicated with supernatural or mythic dreams of universal salvation.
3
Reminds me of the star of "Grizzly Man:" A good-hearted, naively misguided young man whose foolishness was conflated with idealism. Left unprotected from themselves by others who knew better but we're too soft-headed to stop them, these guys put others in harm's way and paid with their own lives.
1
It’s time to stop glorifying this man. He chose to risk his life, the lives of the men who helped him, and the lives of the island’s residents because he believed he knew better. He was so self-righteous as to ignore the laws of India and the warnings of the people he claimed to want to help. By continuing to portray him as naive, adventurous, and worthy of admiration, news organizations encourage others to emulate him. He isn’t a hero, he isn’t worthy of adulation, and his personal faith was not more important than that of the people he believed needed to be educated and converted. He was no better than the colonizers and missionaries of prior generations and centuries. And he’s not worthy of celebration.
11
This story highlights the need for Christianity to return to its roots, as a spiritual path of humility and service to those in need, rather than a path of colonization, exploitation, and persecution that has wrecked havoc on countless communities. What did Mr. Chau think he was going to accomplish by entering an environment and "preaching gospel"? Likely he had no real skills, or capacities to share with these people and would have been far wiser to offer himself as an actual servant to learn from their real world skills of survival and subsistence. But truly his presence would have likely been a burden in a society where providing for oneself is paramount. Consider a young man who does not know how to fish, hunt, trap, build a shelter, start a fire without a lighter or match, heal wounds, and so on, coming into a fully self sufficient society and parading that he had come to "help" them. Pure Foolishness.
1
It is unfortunate a family has lost a loved one, but I cannot get past the fact that he lost his life because his faith made him wreck less.
1
In a related NYT article, on how some 300 missionaries and former missionaries think about Chau's death and his behavior that led to it, a young woman said, "If anything, I think this situation has begun to make me analyze my own priorities and determine if I too am willing to risk everything to reach those who don’t yet know God," another said there's a mission-motivating mythology about being a rugged individual out on a conquest (seeking to conquer). Another spoke of how he (and he says others) must put concerns about their own safety aside if they are indeed called by God to do something somewhere, without any mention of concern about the safety of those he "ministers" to or how one rightly discerns what is a call from (or to) God from what is a call from one's ego or from the church group's ego. Yet another man insisted that he is much more scared by the thought that there may be even a few people on the planet who have not heard (his version of) the Christian gospel than he is scared of just about anything else, presumably including causing the deaths of other human beings.
For the life of me, I cannot fathom what is so frightening to these people about the idea or possibility that someone else, particularly someone living thousands of miles away, with no means or observed desire to invade or otherwise harm anyone, let alone people half a globe away, might not have heard about Jesus. Why is that so threatening that they think nothing of damaging others' lives? Jeez!
5
Please. Please. Please. We've seen this with every indigenous group when outsiders encroach. The indigenous people simply die or get wiped out.
I find it astounding that this misguided (he's not alone) person's death is actually causing folks to debate whether indigenous people need to be left alone.
Really? Isn't the answer clear cut? They need to be left alone. Please respect the Sentinelese' dignity and right to self determination.
Another missionary said, "I believe if someone is truly called by God to do something, they must do it". It's just sad to see this sort of zealotry. I'm sad that people like these are not going to leave the Sentinelese alone.
1
While a sad story, Mr. Chau understood the risks involved and was foolish to think that he knew better than anyone else. His death while tragic he has only himself to blame and should not be celebrated, but held to account for his foolish actions. The Sentinelese were due respect, which Mr. Chau failed to provide and paid for it with his careless actions.
This aggressive approach to other cultures reminds me of the religious individuals who come to my door repeatedly to recruit members even though they are always turned away. They refuse to respect our wishes.
Apparently John Chau is the son of Patrick Chau, a psychiatrist in Vancouver, Washington. The elder Chau has not come forward to explain his sons aggressive behavior with the islanders who want to be left alone. Both father and son are graduates of Oral Roberts medical school.
As an American expatriate for fifteen years, I’ve noticed that Europeans perceive Americans as very religious unlike other developed western countries. Europeans, including the British, rarely discuss religion with friends and consider the subject off limits. The door to door religious campaigners are very unusual here in France.
It appears the islanders gave John Chau fair warning to withdraw but when he refused they attacked him with bows and arrows.
This lesson in life has enormous importance for all of us. The world would have less conflict if we all respect each other’s privacy, freedom, and independence. By giving his life, John Chau has inadvertently taught us a life saving lesson!
2
In the mental health field John Chau would be described as obsessive with grandiose ideas. Yet in evangelical circles the same behaviours are seen as an expression of faith something to be in awe of. I suppose it all depends on the lens through which his behaviours are seen.
1
In a related article, the Times quotes a 22 year old missionary from South Carolina: "The goal is to change hearts, not to change cultures."
I imagine that Chau would have agreed with that young woman from South Carolina. It is, of course, a profoundly arrogant and unrealistic sentiment. Before embarking on his mission, did Chau think through the impacts of his missionary work on the North Sentinelese culture? Did he consider that conversion would likely destroy their culture utterly?
Or would that have even mattered to him, as long as the islanders were "saved"?
In recent years, an increasing number of crimes committed against indigenous peoples have been reported. Many were committed by those representing the religion of the "enlightened" peoples.
2
It's attitudes like his that fueled the entire colonial period, justified by the sense that can only be described as entitlement. I come across such people every day in my life, those who think they have a right to impinge upon my person with their person. Who are these people? They are rude, boorish and think I care about them when I really could not care any less.
One commenter noted how invasive it is when neighbors think they can lie in wait for the moment when we come out of the house or have the unfortunate experience to come home and not batten all the doors. This happens in all sorts of social situations where these offenders can not be put off the phone or in person interactions by normal prosocial cues, such as "I gotta go now," and they immediately bring up a new topic. I'm at the point of just saying that I just told you I need to go, please let go of my arm.
The lack of decorum is a result of antisocial behaviour and poor upbringing.
2
I'm so sick of Christians acting like their religion is better than others. It's just one religion among many, and it's by no means the most moral. There needs to be more push back against proselytizing which I find immoral, selfish and narcissistic.
3
It took 25 years for Indian anthropologists to make a contact with North Sentinel people. Even after these many years of preparation, Indian anthropologist Mr. Pandit was about to be stabbed by a sentinel boy during the visit. That forced the Indian team to retreat. From that, India stopped all contact adventures. Mr. Chau grossly underestimated the situation. Evangelistic groups who had prepared Mr. Chau should undergo deep introspection for his action and they deserve a condemnation.
1
I cannot believe this is still news.
Young missionaries are responsible to the biggest crimes in our history, on both sides of the Atlantic.
So, why do we care so much about another "true believer" who was blind to the needs and life reality of other people that he, probably, believed to put on some right path?
At the same time we complain about islamic or buddhistic missionaries in our countries.
I, personally, could not care less about yet another religious missionary who does not care about foreign culture, standards, rules, and just goes straight here and there believing in some weird better world where he and his missionary friends are convinced that they are chosen to convert as much people as possible to his interpretation of some god?
It's embarrassing and a good sign of stupidity, if you ask me. What a waste of life time and the ability to read.
1
I am angry that the fishermen were arrested and accused of leading him to his death. Totally unfair and ridiculous.
Sorry I think missionaries should stay at home with like-minded people and leave the rest of the world alone.
1
This situation was terrible from the start. I understand that John Chau genuinely meant well, but there was no way that his actions could have had any positive result for anyone involved. It doesn't matter how good your intentions are if they lead to mass death and the extinction of an entire people.
I'm sorry for Chau's family and the families of the men arrested, but I'm having trouble scraping up much sympathy for Chau himself. Who knows how many lives his actions have ruined?
There are so many people in the general population that he could have tried to convert. That tribe was probably one of the least corrupt groups of people he could have found, not having influence of all the negative garbage in media and the lure of money... the stuff that genuinely causes "sin." He could have done so much good anywhere else, spreading the concept of love and forgiveness and the need to help others.
Instead, he endangered the lives of this entire tribe. There is no getting around how wrong this was, no matter one's take on religion.
2
Grandiose thinking...the young man's father, a psychiatrist, is not wise enough to recognize his son's delusional thinking. A danger to himself and clearly the islanders feared this stranger was a danger to them. A lot more to this story than the reader is privey to from the article. Maybe he was comforted by missionary zeal as his life was ending...this young man needed an intervention ...the story of the islanders may never be told. And that appears to be their message ...but what an amazing history it must be.
Well-meaning missionaries with a fervor to bring Jesus to everyone should realize that He simply isn’t welcomed by everyone. John Chau died because he was foolish, and because he was a victim as well: a victim of a missionary camp. These organizations do more damage to the spread of religion than they realize. Insisting that everyone on earth must be Christian is the height of folly, and it got a self-deluded young man needlessly killed.
The most glaring detail conspicuously absent from this story is any mention of his relationship with his own family. Only that his father was mostly unaware of what he was doing. Even the accompanying photos do not include many of his family, save a 15 year old family picture from a vacation. I suspect that he had real issues with these relationships and would have better served his faith and his own soul by cleaning his own house and building his relationship with his immediate family. He left a load of sadness, despair and misery in his wake. For what?
This guy reminds me of the subject of “Into the Wild,” a person so convinced he knew everything that he wouldn’t listen to - or respect - other people. No means no.
3
What is wrong with these people who encourage this kind of "missionary activity "?
"Mr. Chau attended a Christian high school and then Oral Roberts University, a fundamentalist Christian school, where people remembered how positive and open he was.''
To think that Mr Chau could break Indian Law and enter an area reserved for folk protected by International Law is utterly disgusting.
I am open to debate Christian fundamentalism.
There can be no debate concerning Indian Law.
I opine that the best thing for these folk is to avoid climate change.
I am Roman Catholic and have testified under oath against the Roman Catholic Church.
The best thing about being a Mick is the right to dissent.
I enjoy praying in private afforded by the monastic tradition.
The hatred and/or contempt expressed for this man, especially in comments in The Washington Post, is chilling.
Apparently many actually believe, or at least want to give the impression they believe, that if you ring their doorbell and ask to speak with them about a topic they do not wish to discuss you deserve to be murdered. I admit that being shot at is a sign I would have taken to go in the other direction. That does not justify the shooting. Apparently the killers felt they have the right to prevent anyone on the island (or off the island) from hearing the message. It may be small consolation to Chau's loved ones, but in his death he appears to have gotten his message out, at least in part, to far more people than he was likely to have reached alive.
1
The Sentinelese were standing their ground.
2
@Mark W. Miller I cannot consider the islanders as "killers" any more than I would think you a killer for protecting your home and family from an invader. Chau was an invader into their home, their culture, literally threatening their lives. They are not "killers" in our modern sense of the term.
I am sorry for the loss of life, not for Chau himself. ALL religion needs to die. The world will be a more peaceful place when it does.
1
Imagine being a stranger in any town of 50 to 100 people who have known each other for centuries? It's miraculous that this place even exists with all the environmental challenges for them to maintain substance. Adding any additional people was probably never sustainable.
3
This guy had mental problem and his family was partially responsible. But heck, he chose his path and he didn't hurt others except himself. So he was a decent human being by today's standard. No, he was no martyr but he was no zealot bended on killing others for his perverted faith either
3
@Bos "he didn't hurt others except himself"
Really? Just his body being on that island could cause the death of every individual there. And what about the fishermen and their families? Do you think they have not been devastated?
I attend Catholic Mass from time to time and will hear about the Gospel of the Lord. But I know the lives of the people in the congregation and they are not pestering others about the so called good news.
It is many years after Jesus died. Perhaps we can accept that few Christians proselytize any more. And maybe the entire idea of proselytizing needs to be revisited. For centuries now, it has been mostly an effort by the stronger to impose of the weaker. Maybe well intentioned, but still wrong.
8
What you’re missing is that Christ directs you to proselytize; if you don’t why believe anything he commands? Or is it more comfortable to just pick and choose the commandments you like?
Mr. Chau seems like a wonderful and selfless young man. But I am disturbed, as always, that such young people are taught to believe that their religion, their way, is best for everyone else in the world. The astonishing lack of humility in this received world view led an otherwise moral and generous young person to believe that he had much to teach members of an established culture on the other side of the world. Rather than the other way around. The moral impovershment thus inflicted on him and others seems as tragic as its consequences in this case.
13
Not sure why you are disturbed by the obvious: every religion teaches they are the only way and perpetuates itself through conversions.
I see him as a decent but utterly deluded young man: a look around the real world would show that when outsiders enter isolated societies to "save" them, what they bring is a connection to a larger world which will overpower and destroy all that the group has left. These societies don't gain material prosperity or acceptance, but lose their culture and structure that has kept them intact. If the group wants assistance, that's fine. But surely in this day they have a right to say no?
Even missionaries, whose goal is to spread a religion, which they believe is superior to the old ways, should observe the medical proviso for action: First Do No Harm. maybe even obey the laws of the land in which you are a guest.
11
The thing that most disturbs me about this tragedy is the legal jeopardy now facing the fishermen.
Mr. Chau knew what risks he was taking but the fishermen didn't have any idea how just treacherous this journey would be for them.
21
I am an Indian citizen living legally in the USA. In the day and age of Trump, I would like to highlight another potential issues, immigration laws. As an American, he must have a visa to visit India. It does not appear that he had permanent visa to India, therefore I assume that he had a temporary visa.
1. If he had a missionary visa, which is the appropriate visa type, for his intended activities, I want to identify and prosecute the organization that sponsored or invited him for this visit.
2. If he was only on regular tourist visa, like many other missionaries, he just made another crime. Missionary activities are clearly prohibited by tourists. They must apply for the missionary visa.
Please also highlight the possible immigration violations by American citizens in other countries.
77
Read other articles; it has been widely reported he was on an expired tourist visa. If India was as vigilant with visas as Trump wants to be here, this could have been avoided. But the Indian bureaucracy needs a massive overhaul Trump style.
spot on. most.american missionary organization think they are above the law of foreign countries. India has every right of pursue them in the us.
3
@PrincessLeia
By the same token, are all the people currently in the US, with expired visas or no visas, the fault of the US Government?
1
I grew up in the church, but I gave my faith up many years ago. Reading about John's passion and dedication to his faith makes me wonder if I gave up too easily. I long to one day live a life as fearless and passionate as his. May his life and death serve a greater purpose.
7
His life was fearless? More like careless. One's ungodly self-absorption is manifest by insisting on pursuing one's passion and will to the glory of fearlessness even when doing so greatly impinges on others. Didn't Jesus preach love and graciousness, not imposition and selfishness?
I too hope young John's death will inspire others -- inspire them to be more thoughtful and considerate when planning travel, inspire them to proselytize only if, when and where they are invited or at least welcome to do so, and inspire them to "minister" by helping people in concrete, not liturgical or theological, ways by living and acting in a loving and respectful manner, which is not the same thing as reading the Bible to people who are not already Christian or who have not specifically requested that you read it or preach it to them individually.
Please, people, try to honor the fact that there are very good, loving, kind, righteous, generous, contented people in the world whose souls are intact and just fine without being exposed to Jesus; and try not to fall into such human arrogance that you cannot accept that what you call God's Grace can and does embrace and infuse billions of people through other means than the gospel that speaks to you and through which you find yourself embraced in Grace.
1
@Josh R Hi Josh, That fearlessness you see in John is available to anyone who receives and rests in the unconditional love that Jesus has for them. A different John put it this way in his letters (1 John 4:18) that perfect love casts out all fear. When I know Jesus loves me, I don't fear what man can do to me.
The passion you see in John was his response to the love he received from Jesus. When you experience the love that frees your soul, you can't help but want to tell others, and live on Jesus' good purpose and mission for your life.
God's best to you. Matt
@Josh R
It would be better for you to volunteer to do some clean-up at Chernobyl if your suicidal urges lead you to some sort of absurd martyrdom. At least that would be more useful than getting slain by some anonymous tribesmen who seek nothing but peace and solitude.
1
He broke Indian visa law by preaching on a visit visa. While visit visa can be obtained easily, religious preaching visa is tough to get. His church and people who knew about his plans should be on the Indian blacklist for future visas.
88
He was enabled by many as is the case with most acts of narcissism.
Thinking John’s death was a waste misses the beautiful picture of Christ that John's life and death portrayed. This humble and quiet young man from Washington gave up the western life of comfort that so often we take for granted, to pursue a life of living and helping a hunter-gatherer society, in hopes that his love would open their hearts to also receive his message of Jesus’ love for them. Their distrust of anyone outside their society, led to their killing the one who had simply dedicated his life to love and help them. That is a pretty good picture of the life, death, and love of Jesus.
John inspires us to love. His life and death preaches a willingness to love at all cost. They remind us to allow Jesus to love those around us. To reach every corner of our world with the passionate and uncompromising love of our Savior. Jesus may not have called you to display his sacrificial love on a beach in the Andaman Sea, but he did call you to display his sacrificial love to your neighbor. Either way, it does require one to lay down his life.
As a former missionary, and as a father and pastor, I understand John's passion and his perspective. I hope you also will see how his life and death can encourage and challenge you.
He will be missed but not forgotten.
8
It is hardly loving to intrude into another's home and trespass on others' property, particularly with the attitude that those people are lacking and with the narcissistic intention of turning them into a version of oneself. It is astoundingly unloving, and even hateful, to do so knowing - or should have known - that one's presence there would be not only unwelcome, but likely to cause actual and well-founded terror in one's fellow human being there AND highly possible to cause physical pain and suffering, death and even complete annihilation of the entire small society because you carelessly ignored the fact that you'd be introducing bacteria, fungi, and/or viruses and/or other toxic or hazardous material (like plastics that don't biodegrade and they release toxic fumes if burned) to the area and the innocent and vulnerable human beings and other living things there.
Doing that is NOT God's work, though it may be the work of of something often described as the antithesis of God. And it most certainly does not honor and respect the fact that those hunter-gatherers are also "created in God's image" and probably are living in much closer relation to our Source than any of us ever will.
2
I don’t know. The missionaries have not worked out so well for most cultures they come into contact with. Christ’s love may be passionate and uncompromising, but it has had a tendency to come with side helpings of smallpox, racism and oppression, which seems like a questionable way for Him to show it.
1
@M Bachtold, no, I'm sorry, he gave up nothing. He lived a privileged middle class life which provided the luxury of adventuring at the expense to his grieving survivors and preyed-upon targets. He laid down his life unnecessarily which is grossly immoral because of the harm and pain it inflicts on others. Evangelicals have rationalized their self-serving pious ethic as serving god, They need to step up and transcend this un-insightful theism.
1
His determination to contact and ‘speak the name of Jesus’ to an isolated people living on a protected island is a shocking sign of arrogance and ignorance. The people of the island in question were known to be averse to visitors and militantly defensive of their homeland. That this one guy thought he should try to breach that clearly-articulated barrier is, frankly, bizarre. That he was killed is tragic but not surprising. I am low on sympathy for him. He could have used his energy to help people who were welcoming of help. Instead, he decided to impose himself on people who explicitly rejected foreign “help.” Done.
108
@Margaret
couldn´t agree more!
It´s a tragic death, but the attitude looks myopic and patronizing to me, the culmination of cultural ignorance.
Imagine someone coming to the US from a remote island to work as a missionary and try to convince Americans his/her beliefs are superior.
Funny idea, isn´t it?
In this otherwise technology driven world, where people are possessed with their gadgets, we should be very happy to find people living for the past so many thousands of years, unaffected by what has happened around. The best service that we do to these people is to leave them ALONE.
There is no official data as to how many of them are left now. When countries with "advanced technology" suffered when tsunami came in 2004, these people survived it out of their sheer instinct they have developed all these thousands of years.
They may or may not have a religion. But they are certainly children of the Almighty and they are sure to get into heaven, given their innocence. However, I do not justify killing of Chau. These people do not even know about murder. They feel threatened when their privacy is invaded. They do not know any other reaction than this.
16
What Mr. Chau did was appalling and criminal. US media chose never to even hint that Mr. Chau committed visa fraud, broken local law and showed scant respect for the Andamanese and Sentinel tribes. India specifically has different visa categories for tourism and for religious activities. Indian law specifically forbids professional preaching or proselytizing when on a tourist visa. Mr. Chau must have thought that answers to a higher authority and does not need to obey visa rules. Then he had no qualms about traveling to and illegally encroaching protected areas. I wonder if an India ever did something like entering US under a false pretext, say on a student visa and then snick into a reservation to preach Hinduism, what would be the reaction from US authorities and press. Sure there would be a clarion call to immediately throw this terrorist into Guantanamo bay.
94
Indeed, there are Evangelical-dominated school districts in the US that have banned or tried to ban kids doing yoga because they are worried it's a "pagan" influence.
1
@Anur Darb. thank you. He would have been better off if he had been arrested and given a few years to cool off in and Indian jail, long enough to see the error of his evangelical zeal.
So many feel well-prepared to assign blame or absolution here. Both seem incommensurate to the chasm between the people on the beach and the one swimming to it.
5
Several decades ago the Rockefeller family lost a young man who was not missionizing but interested in collecting scientific information on an island people. He also perished. Some people just want to be left alone and will do anything to stay that way.
14
He was an invader. His training was militaristic. His mission was to convert this society.
It is sad that he fell under the delusion of evangelicalism. It is tragic he was killed.
The blame falls squarely on the All Nations evangelical corporation. The stated mission of this group is the "plant" churches.
It is understandable that the response to the All Nations missionaries was to protect and defend themselves. They are used to invaders and acted to protect themselves.
66
If you are not a Christian who knows and understands the Great Commission you can not understand the motivation of this missionary. I have friends, who in a similar way, have left a comfortable life in North America to live in a much less desirable place to tell others about Christ. One can not call themselves a Christian and not identify (to some degree) with the desire of John Chau to share the Gospel with others. Jesus's words in Matthew 28 leave those who call themselves Christians no choice.
4
@bmathew. this is the kind of self-aggrandizing religious zeal that is most repulsive to rational people who understand that we can limit our minds or open our minds.
Really appalled by your categorization of any place as less desirable. I’d urge to leave your judgement to yourself. I’ve been to Andaman and it’s paradise.
And how sad it is that your holy book promotes people to commit suicide for the ‘greater good’.
Jesus also said in Matthew 10:14 if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave.
Mother Theresa advised people who expressed desire to work with her, to return home and do the same good work in their own communities.
A person may have many desires, but acting on them is not always the best for others.
Some people enjoy to be martyrs. A few weeks ago we had Khsaoggi and now we have John Chau. Both got wide publicities about their death stories. Media also enjoying reporting bloody stories. I didn't read the stories but only the captions. I hate to read sad news. We need more cheerful stories. The whole world is in a sad situation. Hunger, poverty, wars, and never ending mass shootings.
1
@Mclean4 Kashoggi is not like Chau. He didn't know he would be killed if he walked into the embassy. He would not have if he had known. Chau knew he would be killed and needlessly let it happen.
1
perhaps you should consider reading the articles, rather than just the headlines (or at least don't admit that in this forum) for a few more facts about Mr Khoshoggi before being so dismissive about his death.
1
My only question pertains to why this indigenous tribe had to
be converted. I am sure the tribe had its own religious
beliefs, complete with rituals and traditions. Zealotry cost
him his life. Why not accept a small tribes right to live and honor whatever invisible forces they may believe sustains
them. Zealotry would be wise to remember aspects of the
Bible, especially the gift of discernment. A lack of proved fatal.
42
A few commenters remark upon whether John Chau deserved to die for his actions. Perhaps a better question would be was his killing justified. Here, in the U.S., about 25 states in the U.S. have some version of a "stand your ground" law, under which one may wield lethal force if one feels oneself to be in imminent danger. Given the dangers of outsiders to such a isolated group of people and their presumably dwindling numbers, the actions of the North Sentinelese who killed Mr. Chau would be quite reasonable under such a law.
40
what is it that drives these "missionaries" of any faith to impose their own onto others? if one is born into a faith or wants to join voluntarily it is fine. why try so hard? it is intriguing and undesirable.
28
This merits media attention to serve as a cautionary tale to all religious zealots who want to ram their dogma down the throats of other people. These islanders made it so clear that outsiders aren’t welcome that the Indian government passed laws to ensure the safety of anyone who might be tempted to engage them. The fact that he got killed is a shame, but it’s his own fault. He knew this was a likely outcome. And yet he insisted on invading these people’s world simply to aggressively assert his own beliefs - while also posing a health risk to their entire shrinking population. It’s sheer arrogance shrouded under the guise of ‘salvation.’
There should be consequences for those missionary trainers and religious organizations who knew his plans and enabled him to do it. Those third parties need to do their part to make it clear that such invasions and biological threats are not ok - especially when it’s outlawed and threatens anyone’s life.
47
Evangelical missionaries believe "God," the god of the Christian bible knows everything, remembers everything that has happened, keeps tabs on what is happening now, and knows everything that will happen. Everywhere. (Of course, in their world "everywhere" we know as the planet Earth.) Nothing else in the Universe (which, by the way has existed for something like 6,000 years) matters.
If this belief is accepted at face value, "God" knew John Chau was doomed to die this way from the moment of Mr. Chau's conception. It was, in fact, God's will.
9
I think this sad story shows that Marx was right about one thing - religion is like a drug. For some people, religious faith offers comfort and relief from pain. For others, it's an addiction that leads them to behave recklessly, hurting themselves and, at times, others.
20
I'm reminded of Magellan's reception in the Philippines. Sometimes the locals are just not into what you're selling. RIP John Chau, but I'm sorry that your faith overruled your common sense (why would you do this alone?!)
10
Why do it at all?
1
Are you recommending going in with an army to colonize the island and force your beliefs on the people?
Mr. Ramsay says he has “no regrets.” But Mr. Chau exploited the poverty of local fishermen who have wives and children, by bribing them with his American cash resources. Those men now face criminal charges, in a country with no social services for their children and dim prospects for the wives. It’s a pity that Mr. Ramsay feels no regrets even for these families whose lives were destroyed—for what purpose?
57
I just don't get why there is so much fuss over the death of a religious fanatic who had the world-class arrogance to ignore historical evidence and the advice of experts, and impose himself into the lives of people who have purposefully struggled to remain apart from "civilized" society just because he decided he was charged by God with changing them. His gall was mind-boggling.
50
@Michael. You don’t get why there is a fuss and then go on to cite the reasons for it. It’s a fascinating story.
@Michael
Not gall or arrogance but naivete and blind faith, which lead, as they so often do, to widespread grief and suffering.
I agree that this young man’s actions were arrogant. I would add that they were terribly painfully naive and reckless. Not only did he endanger the livelihoods of every single person who helped him rent the boat to the Island (who may be charged with manslaughter depending on Indian laws), as many others noted he may have exposed the entire Island population to something they have no ability to combat.
Here is a question that I can’t understand: didn’t anyone say to him point blank: what is the purpose of going to this Island with a totally isolated population to preach the gospel, if your very presence could wipe them out entirely as a civilization? If someone did and he didn’t listen, then he wasn’t just naive and reckless, he was profoundly irresponsible.
28
Every time I hear about John, I can't help but think he was blind to his privilege.
11
What does "blind to his privilege" mean? What was his privilege? I am asking this with sincerity because I don't understand what you mean.
1
Lets just be honest this missionary proselytizing is based and built on racism and arrogance. Mr. Chau was bringing the notion that the Sentinelese are somehow inferior in their culture,language, beliefs and practices and were destined for eternal damnation. He would save them by making them believe what he believed. He did not care that he could possibly wipe out the whole tribe in the process of this grand conversion and redemption. This illustrates the true folly of colonialism and how it has led to the disappearance of tribes cultures and whole civilizations. I am sorry to point this out but the demise of this young man was of his own doing and amounts to addition by subtraction.
27
@Marian, completely agree. Evangelism is based on paternalism, which is repulsive to its victims.
I live in the very south of Argentina/Chile and I am sadden by Tierra del Fuego's history's similarity to this story at hand.
They were a privatize society, only interacting fairly recently with western culture. A canoe people at the coast and guanaco hunters further in. Besides a few run ins with Cook, Fitzroy and are in, The "western" history starts more or less with missionaries with Allen Gardiner and the South American missionary society. His story and those who came after him are eerily similar to the one at hand today. Like Mr. chau he made a few trips / attempts to better understand the people. Like mr Chau,the people he encountered rebuffed visitors violently. Like mr Chau their interactions with earlier British may have had something to do with it (Fitzroy decided to take back a few Yaghan people to the uk and then brought them back to South American with Darwin, it appears in the 1800's people were also taken from the Indian island). Ah did I mention Allen Gardiner died? Chased from his landing spot he and his companions retreated in their whale boat and died months later hiding in a nearby cave. The next missionaries met their fate when the locals lit the church on fire one Sunday killing the lot (except one guy still out on the boat at anchor)
I find the similarities worrying. Until now I have looked upon the Tierra del Fuego history as history- Thinking, hoping it was history, but it looks like it's not.
4
I found this which appeared to describe the problem well:
"Like centuries of self-aggrandizing missionaries before him, Chau saw himself as a humble servant of God. He sought to use his waterproof Bible to compel those he viewed as savages from their perceived godlessness. Their worth extended only as far as his ability to coerce them into accepting his beliefs. This is piety weaponized into a tool of domination and supremacy, meant to crush nonconforming cultures. It’s what white Europeans did to indigenous people and enslaved people to tame and control them."
"He did not die in defense of his religion. Instead he made a fatal miscalculation in deciding that his way and his God were the only acceptable path. He cared more for his flawed ideas about saving souls than about respecting lives."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/11/27/missionary-didn-die-from-tribesmen-arrows-was-killed-his-own-arrogance/
74
So sad. A completely misguided youth and a vulnerable culture. The people who ran that missionary camp share much of the blame. Mr. Chau could have used his motivation and energy for great good in the world. He sounds like an amazing person who became obsessed with a plan to do something no one else has. Was it religion or mania? The story reminds me of "Into Thin Air." I hope the missionary world can learn from this.
37
I must admit this topic has fascinated me since it hit the headlines. As a doctor I always value life, so no one deserves to die unless sanctioned by law. Mr Chau fatally appeared to be quite naive and really didn't research this tribe thoroughly. Why would he think a tribe that's been isolated for tens of thousands of years would understand Xhosa? From what I've learned the tribe interacts with outsiders on their own terms. With the Indian anthropological expeditions they were tolerated, never really welcomed but nothing lethal occurred over decades.The Primrose shipwreck salvage in the 90's informs us that they had peaceful interactions with the salvage crew and routinely boarded the vessel and requested flat metal scraps (presumably to fashion arrowheads) over 18 months. After the warning arrow (a universal language) he should have left permanently.
21
This entire business of proselytizing has got to stop, especially in this day and age when religion is no longer the dominant force is everyone’s lives. It surprising and unfortunate that an industrialized and scientifically advanced country like the USA harbors armies of missionary zealots acting like its still the year 1542.
Apparently all the religious kool aid was insufficient to drive the message across Mr. Chau that being a responsible citizen entails respecting laws, and others’ right to privacy and self-determination.
91
Personally, I like my privacy and it repulses me when people knock on my door uninvited to solicit religion. I go to church and my faith is between me and God. I don't need someone bothering me with any religion or when I am on my personal property in my own home. We have an older couple across the street and when a member of our family is outside, they come across and ask personal and invasive questions or make flagrant comments which I personally find quite invasive. Being civilized I would never think about throwing anything at them. However, I have to diplomatically make sure I shut my garage door after pulling in and not answer the door when I know any strangers are soliciting. One non-verbal warning should suffice and if we can't be smart enough to see someone does not want to be bothered, I guess this North Sentinel culture leveled up and took matters into their own hands, which unfortunately cost Mr. Chau his life. We really need to respect others boundaries (ie. personal private property or island) and step back when we see the signs. An arrow in a Bible and a man with a flower crown saying "I don't want to engage with you and go away" are very clear signs.
420
@Marie I agree. But ( to be precise)what the man with the flower crown said is an interpretation. No one outside, after all, understands their language
4
@Marie
I have a No Religion / No Soliciting sign at my front door. A few weeks ago a pair of older male proselytizers beat on the door anyway, disturbing our sleep — and got haughty, then belligerent when I angrily pointed out the sign.
These people aren’t Christlike; they are self-dealing grifters after our time and money, and should be prosecuted as such. Tired of cons being protected because they’re shielded by “respect “ for superstitious mumbo jumbo.
36
@Marie Amen.
9
What do you call an organization that patiently and methodically trained, financed and dispatched one of its operatives to deliberately break the laws of a foreign country, while putting its citizens in legal jeopardy and others in grave danger from infectious diseases?
If a foreign government sent one of its agents to deliberately break US law and spread communicable diseases in an American community, what will be the response of our government?
64
A religious person once rang my doorbell and wanted to talk about Jesus. I told her I was atheist but would listen to her if she listened to me. She turned around and walked away.
I guess religious people think only they should get to talk about their beliefs.
94
@Somewhere
Happened to me as well,seem it's their way
the highway!
@Somewhere
Good strategy.
@Somewhere
My grandma told her neighbor she would take a Watchtower if the neighbor took a Catholic Digest.
Nobody converted anyone but they had tea together every week for years.
I can't for the life of me understand why this guy has gotten so much attention. Haven't we known for YEARS--decades, centuries-- that forcing one's own views on others always ends badly? Live and let live is the only way to go.
41
@M Yet we believe that some clever people in an office building in Moscow were able to create internet memes that imposed foreign ideas on millions of Americans and changed the outcome of the 2016 election.
1
I respect he went through all those trainings and hardships with probably good intention. However, I do not understand how he did not care for the dangers the Sentineles were facing with him being there. The training center program seems to focus on old fashioned imperialistic missionary work. Missionary work is dangerous adventure but not the other way around. Be woke you guys.
4
The islanders' response was not irrational. It's entirely possible that their numbers were decimated in the past by an interloper carrying germs to which they had no resistance. They tried to warn him away. He was tragically misguided.
21
Keep Mr Chau and his actions apart. Has anyone thought about how this news is being discussed in India? Majority of Indians have always viewed evangelicals with a dose of skepticism and mistrust. Violence against missionaries is not unheard of. And India has a right wing government at the national level now. They are going to use this news to further grow the animosity of the majority of Indians against their Christian neighbors. So, evangelicals, you are not helping.
10
It’s true that proselytization is just as unpopular in India as it is here, but your assessment on a general animosity towards Christians is wrong.
I’ve spent many years in India; for the most part Indians of all religions live quite peacefully together. For the most part, it’s a tolerant, peaceful country accepting of several major world religions.
5
Keep Chau & his actions apart?
What?
So much for Christian “responsibly.” But we already knew that in the USA with Trump.
Evangelical leaders in particular have outright LIED in order to promote someone that would do their bidding.
I'm late to this, so I've been able to understand how other people feel. I'd just like to weigh in with a rather more sympathetic take on John Chau.
This is such an echo chamber, so it's not hard to work out the sentiment here: he persisted in imposing his beliefs on people who wanted none of it, and he ignored their very clear warnings that he did so at his own peril.
But try to see things as he did, for a moment. He was a Christian in a way that very few of us are. So many commenters have said, it's wrong to impose your beliefs on others, and they have a point. A very good one, but it isn't the last word.
John Chau's faith wasn't based on belief, it was based on knowledge. And he followed its inescapable logic. Jesus Christ said, in his Great Commission to all who believed in him, go into the world and make believers of all nations. There were no ifs and buts. No provisions for opting out. Absolutely binding on everyone. This was why John did what he did. It was what he had to do.
Like many other Christians, my faith comes with reservations. I wouldn't go anywhere I wasn't wanted. But i understand too this isn't what Jesus said he asked of me. What he asked of John, John did. If John was right, if his faith was based on knowledge, not just belief (Dallas Willard, folks), he did absolutely the right thing, and like so many other missionaries over the centuries, died a martyr's death.
6
@J J Samuel
Faith is not based on knowledge. It may be based on what one thinks they know being passed off as truth, but it is more damaging than real knowledge.
As Will Rogers said, "It's not what you don't know that will hurt you, it's all them things you do know that just ain't so."
14
And it was completely unnecessary.
A waste of a misguided human life.
1
Religious convictions ARE NOT based upon empiric, fact-based “knowledge.”
They are, as you actually inadvertently pointed out yourself, based on FAITH.
Clearly, Christian fundamentalist “believers” are convinced that the Bible represents the word of God & the literal truth & therefore “knowledge.” This is of course despite its various contradictions, even within the New Testament.
They thus consider the Bible (& their often peculiar particular interpretations of it) the source of “knowledge.”
For example, I’ve been told by a former evangelical missionary that certain evangelicals believe that Jesus didn’t actually make or drink wine in the Bible. It was really only grape juice. Why? Because apparently certain parts of the Bible criticize intoxication.
So somehow the parts of the Bible that mention Jesus & wine are false. Even though the Bible is apparently the literal word of God. Obviously, those that believe this can come up with all sorts of excuses for why Jesus had nothing to do with wine yet the Bible is the literal word of God.
1
Imagine Sentinelese showing up on evangelical missionary doorsteps for the purpose of converting the inhabitants to the Sentinelese religion. A better idea might be for would be proselytizers to let people decide their spiritual beliefs for themselves. Some may believe this fine young man is now in a better place, but no one knows that for certain. For my money Mr. Chau and the Sentinelese would now be better off if he had stayed at home.
7
If for no other reason than that of sparing an endangered population diseases to which they have no resistance, the truly caring action is to STAY AWAY.
Breath-taking arrogance sometimes comes to a bad end.
13
On a trip down the Rio Napo in 1972, I was hosted for a pleasant few days by the folks at the Summer Institute of Linguistics mission at Limon Cocha, Ecuador. They told me that the motivation for their missionary work was the belief that the second coming of Christ wouldn't happen until all human souls had heard the word of God. That simple.
3
That simple?
That ludicrous.
Is there actually anything in the Bible that strongly supports this belief?
@Alice Not being a Christian, I don't study the Bible, so I wouldn't know. I was just passing through on my way down the river to Peru.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Christian’s instead helped ensure that the sick get health care, the hungry get fed, the homeless get shelter, the old get a safety net, and those persecuted from other countries have a place to go?
57
@Paul in NJ
It's interesting that you think Christians aren't doing these things. In fact, they are. However, these acts of kindness do not negate the great commission given by Jesus to His followers
Mr. Chau did what he thought was right--and it was certainly consistent with Jesus' commission.
The Bible says that, "The wisdom of God is foolishness to those who are perishing." It may be that Mr. Chau's actions were completely in accordance with God's plans. God, after all, has decreed that all will die. Mr. Chau just did so sooner than most.
1
@Thomas A. Hall
When you explain it this way, perhaps the world would be a better place if more evangelical Christians adopted Mr. Chau's approach to fulfilling God's commission.
Christians do all of that and do a lot of them. I am not a Christian but sone of the religion’s history not withstanding, it does a lot of good things in the modern world.
Must be a slow news week. This presumptuous "soldier of the lord" did everything wrong in real life and paid the price. His remains should remain where they are. The tribe reacted the way he was warned they might. No other coverage is necessary.
19
“I don’t question his motivation, I question his methods,” said Richard Albert Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
Well, I question the motivation and wisdom of whatever group it was, most likely of people older than him, who prepared and trained him for this trip.
20
Religious colonialism has no place in contemporary society. We understand the physical and cultural damage it inflicts upon its victims. I wish someone had spoken to Mr. Chau about arrogance, both cultural and personal.
28
We only should feel sorry for Mr. Chau in the sense that he was brainwashed by whatever church of which he was a member. He exemplifies the arrogance of Westerners for the past millennium who think that they have somehow been imbued by "god" to spread "god's word" to native peoples -- when all they ever brought to their missionary work was misery and death. Hopefully Mr. Chau did not die in vain -- presumably his death will serve to discourage other self-proclaimed missionaries from venturing to places where they have no business.
20
I have heard much to about how he could have potentially spread deadly diseases for which they have no immunity. The foundation of this argument seems to be based on comparing the Europeans and Native Americans during the first centuries of contact. However this assumption seems flawed for the following reasons: 1) many of the contagious disease of the 16th century are either eradicated or any American who have been vaccinated, 2) the Sentilese are of African descent and if we continue the 16th century analogy, like the slaves they had stronger immune systems for Euroasiatic diseases, 3) while their life style may be millenia that doesn’t mean that they have been millenia without some exposure. I would be keen to hear this subtopic further elaborated by epidemiologist.
Furthermore could it not also have been the otherway around, they have diseases that could kill the outside?
26
@W. Waybright I think you are missing the point. The issue is that he was not only reckless with his own welfare, but also the welfare of those he proposed he was going to save.
1) The concern isn't that he would expose them to 16th century disease, it is that he would expose them to modern disease. 2) Anyone interested in gathering research participants to test your theory? 3) As you suggest, it could be said the other way around, but this again misses the point: they didn't engage--he did. So in your scenario, rather than kill all of the tribe, he would have brought the tribe's hypothetical diseases back to to us, and then killed all of us.
50
@W. Waybright In the late 80's The Brazilian government organized a sophisticated mission to meet an uncontacted tribe which included doctors, nurses equipped with, drugs, airlift capabilities and field hospitals. After contact half the tribe still died from disease. No one knows their immunity so why risk it unnecessarily?
56
1) We still have plenty of contagious diseases that don't harm us very much, but could be more deadly for them. It doesn't have to be smallpox. Though frankly, I don't know enough to answer this question with confidence.
2) They are of African descent tens of thousands of years ago. That is likely enough time for new diseases to develop on the Afro-Eurasian Continent. New diseases these people would not have been exposed to.
3) This I agree, they probably had more exposure than the Aboriginal Americans. But their exposure has still been greatly limited. If it was a large enough population on the island, it might not matter as much. But as it stands, the population size / genetic diversity of the island probably can't handle a new disease well.
4) New diseases usually come from contact with animals or from mutations of a disease that exists in a population. The cold getting passes around, changes as it moves around. You need enough people to maintain the disease and let it mutate. or you need regular contact with a large enough population of animals (farm animals). It's possible a new disease could develop from the island, but unlikely. Look up on google "Why was there no ameripox". Or something like guns germs and steel. Even in a large population like the americas, a crazy disease didn't destroy Europe.
19
This man committed a horrible, pre-meditated crime. Shame on the nytimes for crafting it as a story of bravery and dedication to a cause. He could have single handedly driven into extinction a unique part of this amazing world we live in. Forget politics or religion - we as a species need to actively discourage behaviors that directly cause death and destruction.
His horrible, potentially genocidal crime is a case study for psychiatrists/anthropologists trying to further understand how a society (USA) reacts with anything other than condemnation to practices that actively seek to destroy a civilization, no matter the motivation.
As one of the ~8m American living abroad, I find this article, even more than the crime itself, to be yet another data point indicating the dark depths of the issues confronting the USA. So very sad to watch from afar.
Nytimes: News needs to be objective, please stick to that. You are reaching a large audience and you must take that responsibility more seriously. This story’s editing exemplifies how even the “liberal” media in our country is afraid to call out the pure insanity of things like boot camps that train people to commit crimes against humanity in the name of g@d.
Jesus, take the wheel!!!
48
Objectivity doesn’t “call out.” It simply states. Based on this reporting, not in spite of, I found his behavior horrific and sad. I found the reporting did a good job of getting into the mindset of him and, perhaps most importantly, into his community. Even those who thought he was headed into danger are complicit.
10
Please show respect to Mr. Chau and his family. After all, he went there with nonmaleficence intentions but he died at such a young age. His tragedy told us that people should have good judgements even though they want to help others. What if he went there with a group of people instead of himself? What if he left the gifts on the beach until the islanders showed acceptance?
American admire adventurers. If Mr. Chau was able to connect with the islanders, he would probably cheered as a hero. Unfortunately, the story went to the opposite ending. Now, as the news shed international spotlight into this tiny island, how much longer can its indigenous people remain isolated? Can the governments set up policy to prevent another tragedy?
1
@Angela
Do you not get that the government already had a policy which this man schemed deliberately to violate?
36
@Angela Absolutely not. He committed a criminal obscenity. Play your 'what if' scenarios on yourself if an unwanted intruder camped on your land, breeched your door, demanded conversion to his religion. How long would you wait to strike back or call 911. Any defense of Chau is hubris and hypocrisy.
India HAS a policy of no contact. This poor impressionable young man defied all of that because of what he had me told by his church. Look at the church. There lies the response.
In the book of Acts, Paul has his assistant, Timothy, circumcised to gain acceptance of the Jews to whom they will preach. Without that gesture, they would have no credible and any words that they will preach will fall on deaf ears and be wasted.
Mr. Chau went to North Sentinel Island without gaining their acceptance nor having any thought of showing respect for the islander's culture. His death is tragic, but hardly unexpected given the arrogance with which he pursued his goals.
6
Misionaries are part of the 19th Century.Their impertinent claim to superiority of their believes is as a decadent devise in a plural, world wide, society.
14
wow arrow through the bible. that’s a pretty clear message.
33
@austin richard, sounds like he took the wrong meaning. Instead of "Lighting never strikes the same bible twice," he got "The bible is my shield!"
1
@austin richard They were saying their god loves him and he should listen! And save his life!
I expected more from the New York Times. Please stop celebrating Christian white men devoted to erasing the culture and believes of others. Indigenous people are disappearing. Their language and culture never recovered from the era of men just like the one that this article is dedicated to. The NYT covers some of these stories. The case at hand was a great opportunity to highlight how manic devotion of one person could have disastrous effects on a community and individuals. Instead of dedicating top headlines to a criminal, because that's who he was, how about you write about the five fishermen whose lives he destroyed. Do better.
43
While I thought this article was well written and very important, YES to an article about the fisherman as them being in trouble is messed up.
A misguided Mr. Chau recklessly and knowingly trespassed and broke the law in spite being warned, and endangered the lives of the natives all to promote a religion with no more substantiated basis than the Aztec religion which Christian imposition killed hundreds of thousands through infection, violence and slavery - oh, yea, and conversion - five centuries ago. Mary Ho should be ashamed of herself for teaching the imposition her flavor of religion onto others.
Imagine having people from all sorts of religions and cults trying to impose their thing on you? That's crazy!
Mr. Chau did not deserve to be killed, but he should have preached his beliefs only to those who want to listen and not impose it on others who don't. You do not see Freedom From Religion evangelizers going to the Vatican, Mecca or Sunday school. Chau wanted to "immerse himself in the culture" ... and destroy it by doing so.
"in awe of what he was trying to do"? That's a pure expression of their arrogance. And I DO question their motives.
Just because a resuscitated Jesus is claimed to have said "Go and make disciples of all nations, ..." PLEASE leave me out of it! Get your Great Commission and do something productive, for a change.
130k American missionaries!!! What a waste.
17
Thank you to the reporters who tracked down the friends of this young man. No matter how you feel about him, this story shows that he approached his mission by carefully planning and preparing. This was not someone who went “off his meds” and made a sudden, impetuous trip overseas.
On my Facebook feed I get a post called Catholic Saint of the Day. The names of the saints are familiar; you probably see them on the churches and schools in your community. The attached stories explain how many of these saints were tortured in merciless and creative ways because they dared to bring Christianity to other people, and the ruling regime felt the need to respond swiftly and harshly because it was threatened by these different ideas.
I am also reminded of William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English, which was a capital crime in England. He also was murdered for his work, even though the later (entirely legal) King James Bible relies heavily on his scholarship.
Unlike the other short-sighted commenters here, I applaud Mr. Chau and his mission. He was on the right side of history, you are not. For those who worry about the spread of disease, remember that we have medicines and hospitals, and smart medical researchers who were not afraid to go up against AIDS and Ebola. Many of those hospitals carry the names of the saints who were tortured and killed to bring the Christian word to others.
3
Stop!
Prying open doors not yours.
You have no right!
Tend to your own house
Not others’
Not mine.
Misguided opportunities
Are not windows for your godly spiel.
Platitudes voiced of no meaning
Threaten
Destroy.
Your proselytizing is unwanted.
No welcome mat
No invitation to change
Our beliefs,
My soul.
Handwritten letters promote
Your convictions, not mine.
Speak to your own tribe
Not us,
Not me.
No invitation to foist your faith.
No outside intervention.
Divinity is built within
No conformity
Demanded.
Personal intimate convictions
Constructed private solace
Furnish our home
Serene
Sustaining.
Leave us and me alone
We, I am vulnerable
Your dogma impedes
The me.
The we.
* My writing is based on my reaction to the account of a Vancouver missionary killed by North Sentinel Islanders and a Jehovah Witness letter delivered to me. November 2018
9
I have been an avid and enthusiastic reader of the NY times for 29 years and it is a disgrace that the Times has taken upon itself to provide such extensive coverage to a man whose choices not only led to his demise but will now embolden others to be equally foolish and cause more harm to the tribe.
The Sentinelese Tribe deserve to be left alone. For missionaries to believe that their beliefs are more valid, pure and important than others is a grotesque misuse of the Christian faith. Jesus would never have condoned such an act.
While John's death is very sad and I feel for his family, I cannot seem to understand why an esteemed newspaper such as the Times, would provide so much coverage for such an insignificant piece of news when unimaginable horrors are occurring daily that are much more news worthy. Shame on the Times.
30
@Gary Oberoi
Times keeps publishing these stories because readers are fascinated by them, they keep reading them and keep commenting on them. The John Allen Chau Vs the North Sentinelese have been the most read stories on the Times and have gone viral on the internet.
In a sense the story has all the ingredients of a great opera. There is a single minded villain, out to convert the world to Christianity, then there is the isolated tribe, armed only with bows and arrows, who could be wiped out by a single germ from the most fleeting contact. The perfect underdogs to root for.
In a sense John Allen Chau represents all the missionaries that all the great religions sent out over the centuries to increase their flock and the North Sentinelese represent all the indigenous people and tribes who were converted, assimilated or wiped out over the centuries.
Both sides seem something of an anachronism in this modern world.
As a Christian, I'm not too sure it was God's will that he died that soon and that way...
2
@C, exactly. You just can't know. So please don't pretend that you do. It's called epistemology: knowing if you know something and knowing when you don't. Fundamentalists have completely rejected it.
I'm so confused why believers in God and an afterlife mourn when someone dies. Don't they believe in an afterlife and their God?
8
“Those whom the gods destroy they first make mad”.
— Apocryphal
It troubles me to say “he deserved what happened to him”, but he did. He invaded, and was destroyed for it.
Oh, but he was doing Good Works, some might say. He was on a “mission from God” (borrowing a priceless “Blues Brother” line). His heart was pure.
A “missionary”.
Some people who proclaim it are actually deluded enough to believe it. Others are grifters and con-men on the make. And the inhumane, often bloody record of Catholic missionaries in the New World who, basically, aided and abetted genocide in the name of Christ indelibly taints the word to such an extent that merely saying it gives me pause.
Those tribesmen didn’t kill Chau. Arrogance and hubris did. His.
15
When did Jesus risk mass deaths of non-Christians by infection? When did Jesus bribe fishermen to break the law under cover of darkness, causing their arrest and financial hardship for their families? When did Jesus put rescuers' and first responders' lives at risk? When did Jesus ignore ministry to everyday people in order to target the ultimate "aliens" as stunt props?
Conservative evangelism can excuse any emotive behavior as "hearing" a "calling" to "expresses" one's "faith". Uniquely among Protestants, this sect creates uncritical followers, depraved leaders, and unmeasurable corollary damage. They consider man-made climate change to be doctrinally impossible, sponsoring the single largest threat to lives worldwide. They support Israel to hasten the end days when all Jews will be destroyed. Many don't believe in democracy nor science. And no mentor ever taught John Chau the basics of infectious disease, although John's missionary aspirations would clearly sicken or kill the people he sought to "save".
The Ramseys, Mary Ho of All Nations, the Joshua Project, the educators at Oral Roberts U., and American evangelicals at large: You killed John. You nearly killed off the Sentinelese. You credulously reinforced John's childish "faith" -- which commanded disrespect of the Sentinelese' faith. You set in motion entirely predictable catastrophes to be suffered, unsurprisingly, by a multitude of others.
22
@Andrew And they get to do all this as a non-profit organization that pays no taxes!
15
According to the Pew Reports, the fastest growing segment of religion is the "Nones", those who have no religions, do not attend, are not interested, and actually feel a bit uneasy about the whole spiel.
I can count on one hand the number of articles that the Times has written on them or on their atheist cousins, and I have been taking the Times for years, first as delivery and now online.
I can only surmise that the religious leanings of the staff of the Times is either evangelical or Jewish.
That's about all they write about.
They must not know any atheists.
I suspect they think that we sit around all day just waiting for a chance to jump on an article like this -
- which I find akin to a cult, right down to the opening Kansas story.
That's something Jim Jones did with his "White Nights" raids and everyone had to wake up and run around screaming in terror, even if they knew it was just "practice".
And, no, Times, I am not begging for an article on atheists.
You'd muck it up.
This is simply a sad story of a deranged young man and all the people who got off on his madness and criminality.
Enough, Times.
He's dead. Don't encourage others to do the same.
10
I feel bad for his family but this is what delusional will get you. Hopefully he didn't infect the island with disease.
7
Right wing Christians who support this guy trying to foist his personal philosophy (and possibly mortal germs) should actually support the indigenous folks. All those supporting the “Stand your ground” laws for crazy gun fanatics should see this incident for what it was, people feeling threatened and then firing away, albeit with arrows...
Here’s a thought...live and let live.
6
I remember 27 years ago being in the Ecuadoran countryside. I had walked for hours away from a small town when it started to rain. So, I hopped on an old bus which took me down a dirt road back to town Sitting in the back of the bus were two young Latter Day Saint (Mormons) missionaries in their signature white shirts, thin black ties and their name tags. All I could think was,"Just what these impoverished people need; a new god."
What arrogance, to think that a new god will give people what they REALLY need.
17
I have no respect for these kind of zealots. Enough damage and slaughter has been done in the name of Christianity especially also in the Americas.
16
With God supposedly everywhere, what was this guy thinking tromping off into some remote jungle? He’s lame or something? Missionaries have a lot of nerve.
8
I read elsewhere that Chau called this island “Satan’s last stronghold.” There are beliefs among evangelicals that certain things must pass before the return of Christ. Having reached every last person with “the Good News” is one of these things similar to the belief that Jews must have full possession of Israel.
7
He deserved his fate. He was told not to go there. He did. C’est la vie.
11
... my tap* are with the islanders not with this guy!
[tap=thoughts and prayers]
4
Arrogant first world thinking and pure ignorance and mindless about other cultures. Stupidity leads to his own death.
13
Beware the missionary.
He has no value for you, except as his flock.
He will impose his 2000 year hypocrisy on you.
He will destroy your culture, your belief systems, and your way of life, systematically.
All in the name of another god (deliberately in lower case) by which the missionary wields power over the people.
The indigenous belief systems in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Australia were destroyed by the missionary, leaving the people with nothing but obedience to their colonial masters' wishes.
Granted, some missionaries may be good people as our President would say.
Let's not lionize this guy.
What right does this arrogant man have to characterize these people as the "last strong hold of Satan?"
Puh-lease!
31
This is where religious zealotry and mental illness collide. “My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you" and some safety pins were going to do the trick? Megalomaniac. Extreme narcissist. Supreme arrogance. Delusional. Just mind boggling.
50
What is stunning, is how Chau through he could communicate with only English and Xhosa. Linguists have no clue about the Sentinelese language. Pictionary? Charades?
But believers will say God would have found a way to communicate if it was his will. Guessing it wasn't the day for translating.
“Missionary Boot Camp?” Seriously?
18
Darwin Award Winner ?
22
All Nations, the "school" that trained Mr. Chau, is the typical gays will burn in hell fundamentalist school. It's all there in their mission statement. So they train their pups to spread their hate even in places where they are not wanted. Certain places carry the death penalty for outsiders that are not wanted. I just get woken up and ask them politely to move along to the next house. I'm a Christian and nothing about forcing oneself onto people with a message that denigrates Christ's vision of radical inclusion and love is consistent with the God I know and love. My faith leads me to a place where I have far more in common with the atheists who lead ethical lives than Mr. Chau. May he rest in peace.
14
The arrogance that these proselytizing missionaries have is breathtaking.
If I find it offensive when others try to convert me, I can only imagine what these indigenous tribes thought.
The leadership of this Kansas City missionary training center are responsible for Mr. Chau's horrific death. Sending people out to convert others to your g-d/lord/higher being is highly irresponsible and offensive.
My cousin lives in a neighborhood that constantly has missionaries knocking door to door. She gets rid of them quickly with these words; "My wife is Jewish and I'm Catholic, and we are dykes."
No other communication is needed.
34
I guess he didn't think about what might happen to the fishermen whom he persuaded to break the law for him. Their families may never fully recover from the fallout.
If ever a man was paving the road to hell with good intentions, it is Mr. Chau. Surely God already loves the Sentinelese, or they wouldn't have survived so long exactly as they are. Why is that never enough for fanatics?
30
This unfortunate young man was twice a victim. First, brainwashed that he had to be without fear of death to promulgate his religion and second, as a victim of homicide.
I sincerely hope that the Sentinelese islanders will not become victims, as well, for they are the true innocents in this sad story repeating over and over again. 2018.
8
I didn’t read anything about him enacting any laws. Hint: look up the word promulgate.
A fool and his life are soon parted. He had no reason being there apart from his own religious hubris. He got exactly what he was asking but in the process he also endangered the people he hoped to "save" by drawing this extra attention to them. As others have observed the Christian religion and missionaries in particular have caused a lot of suffering and pain through history by trying to force, or actually forcing, their beliefs on others. In this case it backfired but in others it led to the end of whole civilizations.
9
With all the publicity of this sickening story, as commented upon here, other deluded people are sure to try to contact these people, who are now probably doomed. I only hope that the Indian government will step up their protection of the North Sentinel people and severely punish future arrogant "missionaries".
20
It is time for Christians to stop shoving down their religion down the throats of non-christians. I have zero sympathy for this person. Even if we keep the religious kerfuffle aside, there was no justification for taking these massively dangerous and miscalculated steps. As he found out, Christ is not going to save you if you are acting foolishly.
15
This story shows the folly of missionary work. They go out into the world to convince people that their way of thinking is better. Well, it’s not. The very idea of a superior way of thinking is egoistic and spiritually bankrupt. Missionaries should leave others alone. Their God isn’t everyone else’s.
24
I am intrigued.
The zealotry that led to Mr. Chau's death is not intriguing. Many die of zealotry without arrows from mysterious islanders. He was a zealot; he caused his own death.
I am intrigued by the amount of coverage and attention the NYTimes has given to this. Zealots die every day.
Perhaps the NYTimes is suggesting this is a parable for zealots who are not as obvious as Mr. Chau.
5
The broad themes of this story might not be unusual but the details certainly are. I feel like you’re being willfully naive when you say you’re mystified by the attention it is getting. It seems pretty obviously a compelling story, sad as it may be.
3
I can’t get over the sheer arrogance of an evangelical movement that encourages people to barge into vulnerable little cultures that simply want to be left alone. There aren’t many left in this global village. Shouldn’t they be cherished and protected rather than homogenized? Disrespectful!
18
Just reading "The Harm Done by Religion", a very interesting but disturbing book. If religious prosleytizers aren't wanted in a country then they should stay home.
The only wall that needs to be built is the one re-building the wall of Separation of Church and State.
9
90% of humanity worships an invisible being who seems to despise them, but maybe that just isn't a great sales pitch in paradise.
13
He jeopardized the lives of every person on that island by potentially bringing in disease and bacteria their immune systems are not evolved enough to handle. Shame on those who sent him. Jesus is NOT the answer to everyone. Each regilion has its purity and meaming. Born agains forget this.
11
That's the problem with "missionary boot camp" (and other religious nonsense)- it doesn't deal with reality. Mr. Chau was himself a victim of religious abuse which he was primed and ready to inflict on others before his demise. All would-be Christian evangelicals ought to look in the mirror and try to escape the arrant stupidity into which they have been brainwashed. Sad story, but traditional fundamental religion does tend toward abusing everyone.
10
“The number of American Christian missionaries going overseas has increased to around 130,000 today, from 57,000 in 1970...”
You mean it’s only gotten worse? I grew up in that 1970s “world missions” environment where evangelical Baptist churches enthusiastically sponsored these cultural aggressors.
Once a year, the missionaries would come home for fundraising time and my own church would sponsor “educational” fairs where lily-white Americans (it was then still broadly white, conservative Southern California) created booths for each country of the “mission field” featuring traditional costumes, foods, and music. They celebrated everything about the cultures they were appropriating except the belief systems. In fact, there were often displays highlighting how “wrong” these beliefs were while celebrating the missionaries’ success in supplanting them with Christianity.
Even as a young child I sensed a big disconnect. Why are the cultures okay but not the belief systems? Some of those wrong ideas, like nature worship, actually seemed to make more sense to me than the 2000 year-old Middle Eastern desert tribal stuff I was being fed. The bewildering and, frankly, creepy scene just accelerated my precocious skepticism of Christianity and fed my fascination with the “lost” world beyond the church’s myopically disastrous superiority complex.
Sad as it may be, this man got what he deserved; little pity for him or the industrial church complex that made him.
20
“Remember, the first one to heaven wins.” That pretty much sums up this guy's delusional, self-indulgent thinking.
OK, Mr. Chau, we are mighty impressed. Congratulations, you WON!
15
Goodness. That is very cruel.
1
The thing that led this decent young man astray, imho, is the fundamental flaw of soi disant "Christian" evangelism, the notion "We know and you don't."
Evangelism is institutionalised insolence, a slap in the face of everyone it encounters. That it kills its best representatives, e.g. poor silly Mr. Chau, is a second wickedness added to the foundational one.
12
This fantastic recklessly tried to spread many diseases to the indigenous population of Sentinel Island, and christianity was the most virulent one. Fortunately his death means the islanders can remain uninfected for awhile longer.
7
If you truly believe in an unfailingly just Universe (and beyond), one would have to know that the Sentinelese would be welcome there long before the zealots.
1
I have no doubt he was a good Christian. But more than that, I think he just wanted to be famous.
He succeeded.
5
How is it that an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent creator of the universe, to whom there is nothing more important than “belief” in his/her/its existence, would need help spreading the “word?”
14
This zealot planned and carried out crimes against a people in service to his religious beliefs. He sought to yoke them to the most tyrannical brand of Christianity, the kind that will hunt you down over 1000s of miles to convert you. There's nothing virtuous about that or pitiable about his death.
15
He was a thrill seeker looking to enter the record books by achieving a novelty. The basic american male machisimo of "just do it" was responsible for his death. It rarely serves anyone well.
If you take away the "christian" thing, which we're supposed to respect for some reason (after all the murder, rape, slavery and looting missionaries have facilitated) — then he looks like anyother bungy jumper in a canyon in Laos.
Tropical Islanders are the low hanging fruit of missionary stories. There faiths are easy to destroy because they're based upon such a deep ignorance of the world beyond the Ocean's and the objects and complexities of our science appears like magic.
If he had wanted to save people any large american city has hundreds of homeless addicted to opioids but where's the instagram selfie glamour in that?
19
Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook and..... John Chau..
2
Blissfully ignoring that pesky ol’ “germ theory” of disease... this young man decided that bringing HIS mythology – one of tens of thousands of versions that have existed in human history – was more important than... well, anything. And if it took killing off every single one of the Sentinelese, so be it. He was going to bring them “Christianity”.
My understanding is that it is reasonable to suspect that the people of this island have lived there, virtually isolated, culture intact, for something like 55 THOUSAND years. That would make THEIR culture about 53,000 years older than Christianity.
I don’t fault this poor delusional kid. I fault the breathtaking hubris of the mythologizers who planted the idea in his head in the first place.
8
What a delusional individual, and heartless, to only be concerned with his own safety, and not that of the tribespeople he may have wiped out with germs they did not have immunities to. I’m sure he thought God would protect him and them, so again I say, what a delusional and dangerous type of person. I’m not going to celebrate his death, but I will celebrate the fact that it appears, so far, his careless actions at least did not directly hurt or kill the tribe. The missionary group that provided his ludicrous “training” is absolutely culpable in his death and the brainwashing that led to it.
4
Religious zeal like evangelism is close to mania (and is often a feature of manic episodes) to begin with; I wonder if Chau's apparently fixed obsession/delusion about what he was going to accomplish with these indigenous people veered in to frank mental illness territory.
8
Chau had no concern for the well-being of Sentinelese people when he chose to force himself and his beliefs on them. He had traveled to the Andaman islands multiple times, so he certainly knew how "contact" with the outside world has devastated the indigenous people on the other islands. A quick Google search shows that only a tiny fraction of the original populations survive. Some groups have gone extinct in less than a century. Isolated peoples typically lack immunity to lots of diseases that are common elsewhere.
John Chau knew that he would bring death and misery to the Sentinelese. He just didn't care; brownie points with his deity and bragging rights to his fellow evangelicals certainly is more important than the lives of a hundred or so "pagan savages". /sarcasm
13
This is a sensational story, that in this day and age one man can still be taken down by a tribe in such a primitive manner. What he did was dumb, regardless of his religion. But what about the islanders, primitive people don't generally have the right to kill. They as citizens have no more right to kill than anyone else, really. It's interesting.
2
Ignoring his religious hubris and the fact that he was warned ad nauseam against endangering himself, did they not have the right to defend themselves against diseases that could have wiped out their entire population? Is his single life worth more than all of theirs? As I see it he had all the choice in the world and left them with very little.
3
What a huge amount of condemnation and ugliness in the comments here. Mr. Chau absolutely should not have done what he did, but the fierce contempt and scorn that I see here at the news of his death is appalling. You're not morally superior to the people you deride.
7
@OfficeWorker, but Chau thought he was superior. To the law. To this tribe. To the laws of science. To common sense. That is why people are reacting this way.
5
How do you, then, define moral superiority? Neither myself nor anyone I know would decide to endanger an entire population by exposing them to diseases to which they are not immune simply to force a subjective mythology upon them but sure, we're all equally morally inferior.
A character from the Andamans features in the Sherlock Holmes story "The Sign of the Four" https://bakerstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Andaman_Islands Arthur Conan Doyle could have told John Chau how his mission would likely end.
2
A bit of editorial discretion is necessary by publications like NYT to not sensationalize the story, and to definitely not romanticize the offender John Chau.
Increased media attention is only going to threaten the North Sentinelese, who are completely unaware of the buzz, unsuspecting of what else might wash up their shores, lack military or medical means, and definitely cannot argue their case in a court of law.
472
@Harsh In a similar vein to what I was considering concerning an evangelical victim complex that could be intensified by this article. This does seem a bit sensational for the times to feature so prominently, but it {is} good reading.
8
@Harsh
'One AMERICAN death!' Will our skeletons be asked their nationality? When will people learn all pain counts?
Missions were direct, active helpers for colonial rule, (which depended completely on slavery, loot and drug trafficking, especially to China, the Goa Inquisition and similar) which many missionaries today defend up and down on the net. today one sees missions defend any actio to acquire anything in the name of the Christian god. For themselves!
The church and its pedophilia is finally being examined but not the awful effects of their helping colonial rule: creating a powerful group of locals which felt it beneth it too speak a local language properly, feel clever because it speaks English and is essentially suitable and bred by mission schools to admire the west, be ignorant of problems and be grateful for crumbs off white MNCs' floors. The white CEOs make money, the browns do the work! Such browns are well trained to submit...and ensure profits go west!
5
@HarshI I completely agree. Chau's story strikes me as one of ego, above all else. Imagine the illusions of grandeur implicit in the fantasy that you, and you alone, will be the sole outsider to bring the truth of your god to a remote people who make clear their aversion to outside influence. Chau seems to have been misguided at best, and a megalomaniac at worst. It's unfortunate that his self-centered choices have exposed the North Sentinelese to this level of international exposure.
15
This sadly, but powerfully illustrates the underbelly of evangelism, belief, and "following;" the suspension - not of belief - but of reality.
Our focus needs to be on whole-hearted acceptance, empathy, and understanding...not conversion.
Sadly, there is just as much "pseudo" and dysfunctional religion and spirituality in our world now as there is dysfunctional government, banking, Wall Street, marketing, media, technology, etc.
The world is calling for us to wake up to our self-created realities, take responsibility, and stop trying to "fix" others, when what we really need to do is heal ourselves, work in community with one another, and redirect our individual lives and the world around us to serve and support our shared humanity.
3
I am a minister and have never believed in forcing my views on anyone. The same foolishness that led Chau to believe that his faith was superior - led to his death. I send the islanders peace and harmony in their sacred space. I wish Chau's family and friends strength and light as they process his death. I pray that the fishermen be freed and not held responsible for Chau's poor judgment. We all have a right to religious freedom, even those who look, act and speak differently. God is love, and that love is everywhere present, even on the remote islands of the world: no one needs to deliver it.
762
@CeeMar
Just as Ibrahim/Abraham shared his faith with the locals in Canaan to mixed results, modern members of the Abrahamic faiths all support the idea of simply sharing their faith.
I recommend that CeeMar learn at least the basics about Christianity's Gospel Message.
3
@CeeMar I am not totally unsympathetic towards the fishermen, but I do think they should be punished. If they are not, then more Americans are going to go out there. This young man could have been arrested and deported once his intentions became clear. The fishermen enabled him to commit a serious crime. I think others should see that there are consequences.
11
@CeeMar beautifully written and much appreciated.
17
The consensus among Times readers posting comments on this story appears to be that Mr. Chau doesn't deserve a lot of sympathy. I don't know. It wasn't too long ago that missionaries of various beliefs would rather aggressively approach passengers in airports and train stations to promote their religions (anyone in the Tri-State area remember the disciples of Hare Krishna and Sun Myung Moon who seemed to be ubiquitous in the pre-Giuliani Times Square days?).
There seems to be something about having the punishment fit the crime. People used to parody Times Square preachers and fantasize about punching them in the face. But that would be a disproportionate response. I very much disapprove of what Mr. Chau did, but I'm not sure the death penalty was an appropriate retribution for his acts.
35
@Metaphor Did his slayers see it as retribution, or merely defense from an invader? Seems to me this country, among many others, took offense at invasion and worked to repel it. Violently.
51
@Metaphor Sadly his punishment fit the crime. We was not wanted there and should not have been there. He risked infecting the tribe with diseases to which they have no immunity. Contact could have been fatal to the entire tribe. Sounds harsh, but the punishment actually fit the crime.
43
You're ignoring the fact that he could have wiped out their entire population by exposing them to diseases to which they have no immunity. Surely you don't think that his single life is worth more than all of theirs. After countless warnings from off and on the island he proceeded - what choices were they left with?
45
Perhaps this young man's needless, heedless death will be a cautionary tale to the Kansas City, MO group that "trained" him. In any case, religious obsession is not a strength, but a vulnerability. The young man was exploited and his family and friends should look into holding group leaders responsible.
18
Just like how gunmakers should be responsible for the effects of their products, the organizations that instilled John with the dangerous outlook that led to his death should also bear responsibility. It’s disturbing that all throughout this article there are quotes from people who still think he was right to be doing what he was doing. The real tragedy of John Chau is that he spent his entire life around people who had no respect for people with different beliefs.
18
The small population of humans on North Sentinel Island (and other small indigenous groups of humans in isolated places), who live in harmony with their environment, if they can survive for another 100-125 years, may be the last best hope of the human species surviving climate change and resulting wars.
"Primitive" people can sustain life without destroying the environment. Leave them alone. When current nations are destroyed, most likely by atomic war, these people may survive because of extreme isolation. They may establish a better human culture than the ones we created and are so busy obliterating.
They've survived this long. It's possible that their descendants could create something better. The North Sentinelese may be the heirs of the planet. One tiny flicker of hope for the human species.
250
Very well said!!!!
17
@Myrasgrandotter Beautifully stated. Thank you.
11
@Myrasgrandotter, I am not so certain your sentiment is not just a product of first world values. All of us have the choice to head out in the wild and give up dental care, deodorant, and diapers, but experiences in the Amazon and a millennium of human contact have shown that people are largely the same around the world and prefer their children's lives are better than their own and life expectancy moves up past 35 years.
6
I don't question (and even admire) his fervent, youthful idealism. As a father who has lost a son, I can deeply sympathize with his parents.
But what in God's name are they teaching in his fundamentalist college that makes this remotely OK?
Sadly, he became radicalized in his own willful, yet naive way, and even if his intensions were benign. Zealotry of many forms now seems to be a part of the age we are living in, making an awful return into what was once purported to be another Enlightenment.
10
Missionaries corralled me at my 50th high school reunion. At first I didn't know that they were missionaries: it turned out they sought my return to the church of my youth.
So I asked a defining question. "Which document do you place in higher authority over your own life: the Bible, or the U.S. Constitution?"
"The Bible!" one of them blurted out. "Well," I replied, "for me it's our constitution. Which makes me the most patriotic person at this table."
At this point, six adult men stood up from their chairs as one, then departed the venue as a group. Leaving me and my partner greatfully alone.
15
Why these people? Why can’t we respect people who want to be on their own? Boggles the mind - with so much pain and suffering elsewhere in the world where his skills could of had the impact he craved.
7
Sometimes not doing or non-action is the holiest thing you can do. I am curious about what spirituality the indigenous people of the island had, but I am deeply saddened by the grief suffered by those left behind and by the obtrusivness of John’s decision to intrude. When I think of all the cultural invasions by people in the name of Jesus, it is heart wrenching and smacks of religious superiority.
4
I share sentiments expressed below that this was a wrongheaded mission - admireable may be but a very foolish and hate to say, a selfish mission.
This young man may have been following Matthew - but he forgot the simple creed of respect for others.
I sympathize with the families of these fishermen who are now in prison.
Folks who should be in prison are the ones like Ramsey's who knew of these plans and did not alert india - "not fully legal" does not absolve you of responsibility.
Or for that matter - even these folks who run these camps.
Religion does not override laws - laws are in place to protect folks from enforced religions or dogma as much to protect religions.
Finally, while this report and others in NYT have been the best among all newspapers - I wish we would just drop this story.
I am spending winter in Mumbai - a NYT story on India gets widespread publicity here and often is reprinted in some newspapers.
I am afraid this continued publicity will force or entice a local official to take harmful action against these "leave us alone, for God's sake" folks.
And they indeed need to be left alone.
3
I wish the islanders well and hope they are able to continue their culture free from outside intervention for many years. Hats off to the Indian government for policies allowing the islanders to defend their way of live.
10
Mr Chau showed not not "a higher calling" but the height of selfishness, arrogance, and delusion. He followed his stubborn belief that he could save these people (and have an adventure, which was doubtlessly part of the "calling"), even though he knew there was a high probability that he could wipe out the entire population with a single disease [staying alone in a room for 11 days does not kill all your microbes], that those abetting him would face criminal sentences and their families would be left without a bread winner, that his parents would grieve. At the same time it can only add fuel to the anti-Christian sentiment felt by many in the area. It's not surprising for a young person to make irresponsible choices, but it's astonishing that the adults he came into contact with in his missionary training knew of and encouraged this. They hold their belief is more important than laws or any possible harm to the people they say they want to "save".
548
@Haiku R height of arrogance. amazing that no one stepped in and tried to really slap the fantasy out of this deluded child. hate to say it, but what a foolish mission he undertook. ship of fools.
8
@Haiku R "Arrogance" is the exact work that came to mind for me. So much of accepted, organized religion nibbles at cult activity, and this young man seems to have been indoctrinated. There was no reason to bother and endanger these people, especially after they'd made it quite clear they didn't want visitors. If your religion tells you it must be done in order to "Save" them, you need to look at your religion. They very likely have their own religion. And even if they don't, why did that bother this young man so much? What business was it of his? I grieve for his family, and for the loss of someone so young, but his actions were stupid, reckless and immoral.
2
@Haiku R "Arrogance" is the exact work that came to mind for me. So much of accepted, organized religion nibbles at cult activity, and this young man seems to have been indoctrinated. There was no reason to bother and endanger these people, especially after they'd made it quite clear they didn't want visitors. If a person's religion tells them it must be done in order to "Save" others, they need to look at their religion. The islanders very likely have their own beliefs. And even if they don't, why did that bother this young man so much? What business was it of his? I grieve for his family, and for the loss of someone so young, but his actions were stupid, reckless and immoral.
1
I find this all so odd. Then again, I am not religious.
Why, again, do those that 'have religion' feel the need to press it -- and especially 'their' faith -- on others?
All religions are exclusionary by their very nature. "My" god or faith is better / truer / more valid than 'yours.'
To impose on these native people, who clearly do not want interlopers in their society, especially those with a 'message,' just seems -- pointless and inconsiderate.
I suppose some will see this determined young man as a martyr. Or a saint. I just see him as confused and naive. Maybe, mostly, young.
All very sad, really. May his family find comfort going forward.
8
Even those of us who are not mental health professionals can generally recognize signs that distinguish religious faith from a disordered personality. How was it that so many apparently loving and caring people around this poor soul allowed him to spiral downward toward certain death? Did it not occur to them that farce and tragedy are not mutually exclusive?
3
The governing principle on which he operated was flawed.
It’s always a tragedy to lose a brother of any kind.
I’m not quite sure why anyone would think the Sentinelese needed “fixing”. Were they broken? Without social media or decent processed food?
The simple life they lead rings true to those of us who stare at the pavement’s grey and dream of Innisfree.
There are also many of us in the world (hundreds of millions) who need and will take accept help. Humility to take the less glamorous charitable acts.
2
If only the the Conquistadors had all met the same fate, and every other colonial foray by all of the groups of humans on the Earth, the end result would have been a tremendously smaller scaled micro-civilization, localized and living in harmony with Nature, peacefully communicating and exchanging ideas for the betterment of mankind, rather than the global monster of exploitation of others and destruction of Nature that we now have. The root motives of this individual spawned the mega culture of War and Greed.
9
Until a week ago you could have asked all 330 million Americans to identify North Sentinel Island on a globe and no one would have come within 500 miles.
And this guy decides to go there to hand out Gideon bibles?
Last I checked the core of Christianity and the root of Jesus' message was to feed the hungry and clothe and shelter the poor. One doesn't have to travel too many miles in our country alone to find people in need. Yet this guy thinks proselytizing to ~ 50 people minding their own business on their own Island in the middle of nowhere is what "god" wanted?
I disavowed the Catholic church in which I was raised years ago for this among many other reasons.
10
I think one thing that’s missing is discussion of that in this young mans culture, nothing bad could happen to him because he was Good. He likely discounted all warnings not only because of the hubris of the young, but the shortsightedness of the believer.
2
My mother hated missionaries. She always said, "Why don't they leave those people alone? Their religions are probably just as good as ours."
She wasn't being anti-Christian. Rather, she was being universalistic in her thought, many decades before that became fashionable in the United States. And for that matter, I too am universalistic when it comes to religion. I'm a Presbyterian, but I find it hard to believe that our God is so small as to deny love to people who are not specifically Christian.
I too am appalled by what happened to Mr. Chau. But I think that all churches' tradition of sending missionaries into ANY area ought to be questioned. I always graciously welcome Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon missionaries, and others into my home. But I also make clear that I have my own faith within Christianity and no intention of changing that. I would Jews and Muslims, but they don't go on missions here. But the more I know about other faiths that have the same God, the better. And of course I am interested in completely different faiths. But I seek those out, and I would no more try to influence Hindus, Buddhists, or people of faiths I've never heard of than I would take wings and fly into a mountain. Because I know these people are fine, and that their "salvation" (a word that makes me uncomfortable anyway) doesn't depend on me. As my mother said, they're fine.
No one should dismiss a religion other than theirs as having no merit. Looked at that way, why become a missionary?
7
Having read all about John since his death, I am in full admiration of his singular focus to follow his calling, but feel very sad for his family.
2
Currently the aindian police are hoping to collect Mr. Chau’s body and gather evidence for his “murder” investigation. This conjured images of handcuffs and barristers and paparazzi — all the trappings of a modern murder trial. I imagined law enforcement storming the island, rounding up suspects, hauling them back to the mainland and parading them through court. For what? How can the Sentinelese be held responsible for killing a live threat to their culture? An individual attempting to impose Christianity to an isolated civilization is bad enough. Far worse is subjecting them to our civilized brand of public retribution. The real criminal is not the Sentinelese people but the man who sought to undermine their way of life.
226
@pampdx From the looks of it the Indian police and government have no intention of forcing themselves on the Senitelese. The police has suspended its effort to retrieve the body and it doesn't look like the body will ever be retrieved.
I just hope Mr. Chau did not bring deadly diseases with him.
5
@pampdx They are not holding the islanders responsible but the poor fishermen, who knew it was illegal to go there. The armies of missionaries, such as Christian evangelicals and ISIS, should be illegal. Why do we need to be lectured at parties about Jesus and God?
NE of India, which is quite poor, is being invaded by Christian missionaries. In the name of God, they can enter areas which are forbidden to normal civilians.
3
@pampdx I agree. Further, for anyone to risk almost certain death to collect Mr. Chau's body is a travesty. The body should be left on the island where it's owner insisted on taking it and the people of the island left to live their lives in peace.
2
Doesn't sound so Christian to me; sounds naive, aggressive, and suicidal:
Matthew 10:14
New International Version
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.
Reminds me of the Jesuits and colonial religiosity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJDuicFyJPg
5
Not reading this. Not giving this man more attention. Leave this story in the trash heap of history.
9
Mr. Chau destroyed more than just his life through his reckless actions.
Arrogance should never be admired.
17
How hard is it to just leave these people alone? That is all they want. I really have no patience for missionaries doing this kind of thing. It was selfish of him to disregard their warning to him, and also to think that his faith is better than their own lifestyles and philosophies. Just cultural arrogance. I am sorry such a young man wasted his life on such a foolish and wrongheaded quest.
11
Trying not to get sick?!? The Islanders have no immunity to outside diseases. He may have infected and killed them no matter what he was trying to do. His religious mania does not give him the right to kill an entire culture.
10
What an utter insult those mock-non-Christian missionaries are to the billions of human being in the world who are not evangelizing christians! And a stain on the rest of Christians.
How they can believe that God or Jesus wants them intruding on others and belittling others’ way of life and call to Source is beyond me.
2
First of all, how does he know Jesus has not, in fact, already visited these people and signed off on their way of life? That doesn't even matter though, because Chau only wanted them to live HIS interpretation of Christianity, a huge problem with proselytizing evangelicals. So I wonder, had he been welcomed, how would he have them change? Let me guess. First, women cover up your breasts. Second, stop dancing. Third, devote most resources and manpower into building a church. Fourth, stop speaking their native tongue and switch to English (because that's what Jesus spoke). Fifth, figure out which amongst them are sinners, unholy, and deserving of condemnation. Sixth, open up the island to religious tourists. The numbers probably can go on and on with no real benefit to anyone on the island except for the incoming "Christian" saviors. Honesty, the chutzpah.
10
What an arrogant man! What gave him the right to force his religion on other people? He was told the island was forbidden, yet he "risked his life" to steal their souls. It is past time that Christian missionaries stop coercing people to accept their beliefs usually by offering charity and then reneging unless they accept Christ. Christian missionaries have destroyed enough cultures by forcing their religion on others even when they are told they are unwelcome. He got what he deserved and no further efforts should be made to recover his body. Leave these people alone. They have their own religion.
10
Stop making this guy out to be some sort of hero. He violated the Andaman Islands' rules on visitors, disrespected their customs, possibly exposed the islanders to diseases that could literally wipe them out (have we learned nothing at all from our past?), all in the name of whacked out, discredited beliefs that have brought nothing but damage and misery to people around the globe for millennia. No. More. Missionaries.
8
So a person who’s intent was not to bring any harm, you celebrate his death with such words as “ wise to nip this dangerous problem in the bud”.
Humanity needs less commentary from quasi, wanna be philosophers.
What a pointless waste of a life. A totally avoidable death, the product of delusions of religious grandeur.
Missionaries are not messiahs, they are interlopers with an inflated sense of their own importance.
6
What a profound shame that this promising young man's mind was hijacked by religious fundamentalist nonsense.
By the way, how many of the "Christian" zealots would have put their own lives on the line?
2
This case is not very much different from that of the Ohio guy in North Korea. In both cases we can observe 2 (indirect) behavioral issues, both of which are not illegal: stupidity and suicide.
3
For some reason this reminds me of people who try to feed grizzlies. Certainly there must be some tiny part of their minds saying "Beware, that's a large carnivore!" but the big stupid part ignores the growling and still wants to share a hamburger and take a selfie.
If someone shot arrows at me and yelled in an angry voice, I wouldn't need a translation to understand the message.
7
as an atheist living in a relatively secular country, i couldn't help but laugh at most of this article. black underpants? scissors? beef jerky for life? old testament theme parks? it reads like some bizarre tv script from the coen brothers. yet the hoffifying aspect is that this young man died so unnecessarily - while others of his ilk egged him on. there are undoubtedly many more deluded, arrogant individuals who want to inflict their collective belief onto others with absolutely no regard for their culture or own belief system(s).
10
At the end of War of the Worlds, the aliens start dying not because humans were winning but because they were dying from disease.
Mr. Chau isn't the brightest guy.
2
Fanaticism and common sense do not go hand in hand.
4
The absolute arrogance and hubris of these religious zealots turns my stomach. These are the same types that support gay conversion and believe they are not wrong.
5
When you think that your beliefs trump all others and that you can do what no one else can--convert people who have made it absolutely clear that they will kill anyone who tries--and you still go ahead, then the people who enabled you are really accessories to your murder. Those missionaries in Kansas who knew what he was going to do should be ashamed of themselves. They took a deluded young man and aided him in his insane thinking.
5
This is the plot of "Book of Mormon" but with an alternate, and unfortunate, ending.
In the brilliant musical by the creators of the animated series "South Park", Mormon missionaries visit Africa and, hijinks and humor aside, conclude that their religious hubris has prevented them from understanding, and respecting, another culture.
Though Mr. Chau was well-intentioned, as all missionaries no doubt are, his religious zeal blinded him to the reality of other cultures and worldviews and he paid the ultimate price.
2
It's pretty ironic that he brought his Stone Age superstitions to a Stone Age culture, and got killed for it.
If there is a God, he apparently has a sense of humor.
22
Well played, Eric !
5
He thought he would use dental forceps to remove arrows?
He thought he would personally translate the Bible into a language that no one other the islanders understands?
He sounds delusional - perhaps grandiose. There seems to have been a component of mental illness here.
26
All Nations is based out of a co-working space called PlexPod. PlexPod also hosts other religious organizations. The owner, Gerald Smith, has his own shameful past with another religious organization, Nazarene Publishing House. Mr. Smith has been exploiting people’s money in the name of religion for over thirty years.
https://www.kansascity.com/living/religion/article1779293.html
6
These people, whether Indian Ocean or Amazon, have made it clear, that they want no trespassers. The results of such trespass,,, Indian boarding schools where it is forbidden to speak their native language, Canada. Native peoples that are shuttled from their native home to a 'reservation' hundreds or thousands of miles away,, because someone wants their island for a resort hotel. United States. Bounties placed upon living humans, to reduce their population. Australia. Bushmen of South Africa hunted for sport. South Africa.
Leave them alone. That is their home. That is their decision. All ambassadors should be shot on sight. I am in complete agreement with them. The 'civilizing influences' are completely untrustworthy and deadly dangerous for their carried diseases.
Leave them alone.
11
Religious zealotry and blind to the obvious. Sound familiar? I've got a few neighbors I can introduce you to....
6
is this story the complete sum of western history? seems so.
5
This guy gives Jesus a bad name.
Stop trying to give him and his self involved actions a depth they do not have.
7
Ignorant. Offensive. Irresponsible. Selfish. Illegal. But above all, deleterious. The island is now permanently in spotlight. So, now, other religious zealots will try to infiltrate the island carrying diseases that will wipe out the tribe (that is, if this kid hasn't already exposed them to disease).
This story seems one-sided. It doesn't examine why and how these kids become so indoctrinated into fanaticism. Is it insecurity? Is it a need to control others driven by fear of the unknown? Is it just as a result of not having been exposed to the world outside of the church? What went wrong in his life?
17
Sorry, but this guy wasted his life. Religion is wishful thinking for those who are too uninterested or too lazy to learn science. Science is truth.
8
Arrogance. Leave these people alone.
4
I wonder if he ever considered that they pray to their own God, and would never visit Washington State to force them to do the same.
5
Darwinism, that he probably didn't believe in, at work.
11
The superstition and delusion of religion knows no bounds.
Right now, thousands of children in Yemen are starving to death.
If he was willing to be in harms way, why not go there to do something useful?
10
Christian Crusaders have a well-deserved horrible reputation throughout the history of civilization.
Look at the political and cultural damage that evangelical Christians have done to America just since 1980; they have almost single-handedly warped the country into their right-wing gutter of deranged religious fantasy and thrust a veritable anti-Christ into the country's leadership throne.
The North Sentinel people were wise to nip this dangerous problem in the bud.
87
I admire Mr. Chau's fearlessness in choosing a game to play that was, for him, big enough and worthy enough to wager his life for it. (I'm not saying that I agree with his choice, but I appreciate the spirit of it.) I also admire the Sentinel people for keeping their promise to the world that visitors will lose their life as a penalty for visiting where they are not wanted. Chau and the Sentinels had/have a strong relationship with their word.
To those who complain about the missionaries, I hope very much that you have the experience, at some point in your life, of finding something that you are so moved to share with others that you can hardly be quiet about it. Then you too will find freedom from the smallness of complaining about people whose lives are big enough that they cannot stop sharing.
7
Indeed. Agreed with the sentiment on finding something beautiful and moving enough to want to share with others. For me, it’s been physics.
The difference is I share it only with those who are interested in and open to it.
19
Their “sharing” has resulting in centuries of decimation for native peoples all around the world. How generous.
2
@Botetourt
"Sharing" is a rather malevolent euphemism here.
3
I'm not going to pretend that I care that this nut was killed. The idiot intentionally ignored the law and went where he wasn't wanted, wasn't needed, and, worst of all, where he endangered a tribe of people. The Sentinelese have a right to their homeland and the right to defend it.
55
@Josh Hill, my niece and he husband were Christian missionaries in Morocco for years and it too all had to be done covertly because it’s illegal in Muslim countries - supposedly they were writing a travel guide, was their cover. Now just try and imagine Jesus as a cat burglar. A black stocking cap and face paint is certainly less becoming than a crown of thorns, I think.
Mr. Pandya, the anthropologist, suggested that the islanders were saying this to John Chau:
“I don’t want to engage with you, go away.”
This is the same way the majority of humans feel about evangelical Christians....we wish they would just go away and leave us in peace.
Some people just have to learn the basics the hard way.
107
I have mixed feelings about this. On the ones and, as a practicing Episcopalian I admire Mr. Chau’s commitment to the Gospel and his bravery. But on the other hand, I wonder why those of our faith feel the need to proactively convert others who may not welcome the effort. Why do we assume ours is the one — and only — true faith? We all worship, or choose not to worship, the same God. There are many paths to reaching Him.
20
@Mark Siegel
Or even better ....not reaching "Him".
24
We don't choose "not to worship the same God." We simply don't believe in a mythological man in the sky and all that it represents.
3
@Mark Siegel Or "Her."
My late father was a seminarian in his youth, and became a volunteer loosely connected with the Methodist Church in his later years. Part of this included six years in Russia, raising funds to rebuild and maintain orphanage buildings and establishing a music program for the resident children. He insisted upon offering his services freely, without any proselytizing or mention of his spiritual beliefs- he was there to give of himself, not to religiously influence those around him. As an atheist, with every passing year I come to appreciate his selfless actions more- he was truly a Christian being. The contrast between his perspective and that of the determined, bible-brandishing missionary is stark, and profoundly unfortunate.
37
@Danielle
Your father was a good man.
12
@Danielle
I was a longtime atheist, but I am not an atheist now. But I agree with you and your father wholeheartedly. If you want to go somewhere and give, that's wondrous: give it with a free heart and with nothing expected in return. But if you're intending to help educate people, be sure it's education and not indoctrination. And I would put missionary work in the latter category.
In short: Don't give if you expect anything in return. That's not really a gift.
6
Thank you. His photo sits on my illustration desk at all times, keeping me mindful of my great fortune of having known him.
1
This is a sad story all around. Sad for the family and friends of the young man who died. Sad for the fisherman who he induced to break the (very rational and humane) Indian law, and for their families, who may now be destitute and fatherless. Sad for the islanders who are now subject to increased risk - of cultural destruction, of criminal prosecution, of disease, of death - from the outside world because of the attention this is generating.
All of this was foreseeable but this young man chose to put his religious views ahead of all of these other interests. If any good comes out of this, perhaps it will give pause to his coreligionists before taking similar risks with their own, and others’, lives.
36
Regardless of what one might think about what he did - I can’t help feeling for his family. No one seems to be mentioning them very much, but what a tragedy for anyone to endure.
4
This does not really make sense. Many parents have children who have died. His parents are among many who are suffering. They are not suffering more. Nobody writes stories about the other parents.
Can we consider the narcissistic aspects of this man, and this type of evangelism? For someone who dedicated himself to god and to christianity, it seems to me a colossal waste of effort. How much more productive his time would have been spent just helping the poor, or counseling the broken, instead of literally invading a culture that made it clear they didn't want outsiders coming in? To me it speaks of the enormous conceit of many religious zealots: that their own beliefs are superior to anyone else's.
This is exemplified by this quote: “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.”
I was raised to be a christian but I gave it up a long time ago and this is the main reason. How about, instead, respecting every human being on this wide earth. You are one of many. Believe what you want. But respect others.
166
I am not an evangelical, and I don't wish to be insensitive or disrespectful to the memory of this poor soul, but reading this it is hard for me not to think that this kind of mission amounts to religious imperialism. I am curious: are there not evangelical ethics around leaving people alone when they don't want to be converted? The belief that everyone needs to be saved seems to conflict with respect for those who believe otherwise (diversity) and simply want to be left alone. Can anyone shed any light on whether there are applicable evangelical ethics? It is terrible that this happened, but not surprising based upon what I just read.
127
As someone whose house has a front door, I can assure you evangelicals have no “ethics” that compel them to stop harassing those who have no interest in buying what they’re selling. We just become a project to them.
4
@Mark
Evangelical ethics? Hah. A true contradiction in terms. You do recall they all support Trump, right? The same ones who become obscenely rich preying on their parishioners? Evangelical ethics. I can't stop laughing. Please know that there is no "light to be shed" on evangelical ethics because there are none.
4
@Mark
" are there not evangelical ethics around leaving people alone when they don't want to be converted?"
No; what you are saying is the direct opposite of evangelism.
4
American commercial/religious interests have been launching missionaries toward the rest of the world for at least the past 206 years. And Americans would be wise to learn the trouble that has often resulted from such activity.
27
While I’m deeply sorry for this unnecessary loss of life, every inch in my body refuses any missionary ideas. How can someone be convinced to to good by intruding and imposing their personal beliefs? I’m horrified to learn that the number of missionaries is growing.
67
@Peter Missions have plenty of money, clout, employment, travel, etc. Tax free.
A truly misguided young man!
Who is to say that the men and women of that remote island don't already have a religion of God's choosing? God gave us many religions for His reasons which we clearly do not understand - when we assume we know better than God we pay a heavy price, sometimes with our lives. Very sad story.
40
So a person knows that it is illegal to enter into somebody’s house but wants to do that anyway. His first couple of contacts are rebuffed, including warning shots in the form of arrow attacks. Upon which he decides to do the intrusion at night, and gets killed in the process.
While tragic, this is exactly what happened. Pretty sure if you do that to someone here you will likely get shot and killed, or if lucky get away with a 911 call.
Don’t they teach this at the Kansas boot camp Mr. Chau attended not to do illegal things.
66
@VS
What's frustrating is that because this is a religion, all of this is footed by the taxpayer.
1
As I grow older, I see religion generally does more harm than good with its unwavering dogma. I had previously felt better about buddhism, until the recent revelations regarding the Rohingya genocide. These religions all need to go - toxic brands of spiritual imperialism that they are.
70
Unlike intrusive Christian missionary actions, what has happened to the Rohingya was not done in the ‘name’ of Buddhism. More to do with more ethnic differences.
3
Yes, throw the baby out with the bathwater!
2
Involuntary manslaughter charges should be brought against the leaders of this missionary organization. And not only for the tragic death of Mr. Chau, who was led down a fool's path; but also for deaths of any islanders from diseases.
Whether disease is transmitted by Mr. Chau himself, or spread by the officials who feel they now must breach this island's privacy in response to a fool's errand, it should be a crime.
It was illegal for Mr. Chau to trespass in the first place, but he has already paid the ultimate price for that. His extremist missionary organization reeks of cultism.
57
What arrogance shown by Chau and his church group. I'm sorry he met what was probably a painful and a premature death, and am sorry for his parents. But he was truly misguided, lacking respect for the cultures and faith of those islanders. Nothing admirable about that blindness to another community of people.
63
In my native Buddhist country, we all are very scared of missionaries. Missionaries entice our kids with ice creams, video games, and English language lessons: all innocent-looking activities. What kind of parents would forbid kids not to have those? Then, they slowly draw our kids into Christianity. For example, English language lessons might use Jesus story as a study materials. Video games might be about Jesus life. Soon, they draw one by one. They do that with the adults too. It's all look like an industrial complex designed to wipe out every other culture from planet earth.
As our community grows weaker and weaker, we become angry and start to hate and discriminate against the missionaries. Then they complain how bad we are not to have "religious freedom." They lobby the US Embassy against us. I do not know why. We never did anything against them... But they use latest discoveries in psychology and sciences just to wipe our culture out as efficiently as possible...
292
It’s interesting you mention ice cream and video games.
When I was 14, I was seduced by the evangelicals with Dairy Queen milkshakes and burgers, the latter being a novelty having grown up in a vegetarian, Hindu household.
We were fresh immigrants to the US and new to the strong evangelical culture of Oklahoma, so my open-minded parents gave me the freedom to go mix, learn, explore.
On the day before I was to be baptized, I asked my bible school teacher if Hindus who had been born before Christ went to hell. (Needless to say, I had to explain that Hinduism was a lot older.) The response was, “yes, honey; they’re all burnin’ in hell as we speak”.
My 14-year old self couldn’t quite see the logic in this. She dropped the burger and the milkshake and scurried on home to some tasty sag aloo, daal and yogurt. She left the images of flesh-melting, hell-pit fire at the Dairy Queen too.
46
@SWH
As they are doing here. Except here, we are footing the bill, adding insult to injury.
1
@Quantummess
That's an amazing story. How does one reconcile Christian love and compassion with the need to imagine fellow human beings...burning in hell for eternity. It's almost like something other than love and compassion is at work there.
"The blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven shall see the torments of the damned, in order that their bliss may be made greater to them." (This statement is attributed to Thomas Aquinas, of all people. SMH.)
4
This such a sad, crazy story!
Look, he sounds like a reasonably nice guy.
But yet again: religious beliefs, zealotry, and the ridiculousness that “my” belief is the only way, comes into play.
I’m sorry, but to me he is not a martyr. He is just another guy, not unlike the Taliban or ISIS, trying to force a belief system on people not caring or interested.
True, he didn’t have weapons or behead anyone.
But the zealous instincts are crazy, and dangerous for all sane people. It’s evident every day.
68
@Gsoxpit
In fact he very well may have carried weapons in the form of disease. His DIY quarantine is evidence enough that he knew this. So many comments speaking to this tragedy but truly to risk the very survival of these people in order to save them when so many others exist to be “saved” without posing an existential threat, is itself incontrovertible evidence of the unrighteousness of this endeavor. Youth breeds such misconceptions but his co-conspirators here in the US should be held accountable for this transgression in the courts of international law.
2
I'm appalled by the tone of this profile. What this man did was not only illegal but unbelievably arrogant and colonialist and showed total disregard for the lives of the North Sentinel people. It should not be couched in a soft-focus profile of him as a "joyful adventurer." Enough already with the normalization of diehard evangelicals that neither recognize nor respect any other way of being in the world.
610
@amc898
Here Here! This is the height of arrogance on his part. I'm sick of being inundated with evangelicals.
17
@amc898 I didn't read it that way. I think the tone was driving home the overall cluelessness of this young man as he went on this ill-fated journey full of hubris.
8
Every time I read about this guy, I think about the missionaries who ring my doorbell. I tell them I'm not interested, they go away, and they don't come back the next day.
Why didn't Mr. Chau treat the Sentinelese with the same respect? And what systemic forces back home encouraged him in this regard?
858
@Valerie
Actually when they come to my door and I say I'm not interested, they don't leave. They continue with their spiel until I'm rude about it, then finally leave.
42
@ValerieAgree. The article says the local tribe is tremendouslu hostility, but I would say Mr. Chau's activities along w All Nations were rather hostile. To invade an indigenous tribe that did not want visitors, let alone germs that could readily wipe out their population is crossing a line. Maybe All Nations should stick to its own country and be better off trying to infiltrate Mar-a-Lago and preach morality.
82
@Valerie The systemic force of self-righteousness, which the American culture has in spades.
47
Why must we keep seeing stories on this person? At best he personifies my long-held opinion that humans are unique not for our opposable thumbs or large brains, but because we alone can hold onto a wrong idea despite all evidence to the contrary.
63
Good to know the practice of Colonialism is alive and well. When we learn to stop interfering in indigenous lives?
40
It is unfortunate that this young man was not taught to respect the wishes of other individuals. Again and again, in history, are tales of Christian missionaries pushing their God's will onto others who don't have the power to resist. Evangelicals don't seem to recognize that "No" means "No". It's too bad that the fishermen were arrested. I hope they arrest the Evangelical contact who brought the fishermen together with Chau. Not everyone wants to hear from their God. I don't think Jesus would have approved.
53
I don't feel sorry for him at all, but that doesn't mean I don't empathize with what he was trying to do, that I don't respect the conviction with which he carried on his mission. If only he had applied what made him a clearly good man to something more worthy of his potential...religion is the ultimate villain in this story.
21
@Inti I on the other hand do not empathize with what he was trying to do, but I feel sorry that he died, from sheer stupid stubborn fanaticism. yes, religion is so misleading for so many but this is an extreme example.
3
If I would break through USA border control instead of lining patiently up like always as a foreigner - ignoring the security officers - let’s say at JFK airport, I might very well get shot down.
So it doesn’t need „primitive“ tribes to defend their territories from unwanted intruders.
30
@Oliver Hm.. not what's going on at the Souther border though.. NObody's shooting arrows or bullets to them illegal immigrants trying to break in without permission.. Instead the US govt is sheltering and feeding them..
1
Why is the NYT giving additional attention to this story? Why not run a story – or an entire series – about the different peoples and cultures that have been decimated by similar brazen arrogance. Why do you continually give voice or platform to the oppressors instead of the oppressed? Why continue in the footsteps of Conrad writing about Kurtz?
114
@Moto
I think that the reason the NYTimes does not do what you suggest is that if it did it would be branded antiChristian by the "brazen arrogant" majority. I wonder why these religious zealots don't interpret Chau's death as a sign from "their" Jesus that this isn't what God wants. Why doesn't it occur to them that their god might be weeping at their brazen arrogance, despite what the Gospel According to Matthew asserts that the resurrected Jesus commanded? Greek mythology never caused the destruction and death that Christian mythology has caused over the centuries. And it still goes on, alas.
Why is the NYT giving space to this fanatic? Suppose it were a boot camp for missionaries seeking to convert Jews or Muslims? This would be just as abhorrent as his seeking to convert this protected tribe. Worse, because his contact could decimate them with diseases that they are not protected against. He was as much a terrorist as Bin Laden and other zealous religious fanatics. RIP but without the absurd publicity or celebration of his short and misguided life.
62
This is such a painful story to read.
I cannot find any way to send money to the wives and children of the jailed fishermen. This would be an excellent project for the members of the late Mr. Chau's church to take up, if they haven't already.
I also feel sympathy for Mr. Chau's parents. Any parent would have had misgivings at some level, but a 26-year-old cannot be forced to act in his own or others' best interests.
33
@Truth Is Good Agreed. Though they could not have forced him to stay, I am surprised that they did not stand firmly against intruding on those islanders' lives. Then again, I am not surprised. Manifest Destiny has lead to the genocide of indigenous peoples everywhere. At least these people stand up for themselves.
@Truth Is Good Very little money is needed. Large amounts will be sent to convert them first... befeor anyone can expect any help.
There are better things to do than to bring religion to people that are doing fine on their own. We have so many issues in this country (homelessness, opioids, high price of elderly care, the list goes on and on), it isn't hard to find a way to plug in and help out in your community. I'm atheist and I appreciate religious organizations like Habitat for Humanity that genuinely attempt to assist society. But going out to proselytize harms more than it helps and frankly is naive. You want to help people? Great, but don't make belief in your faith the mission or a necessary precondition of your assistance.
51
@Wut, Chau sounds like he was doing this more for self-glorification. He was going to be the first ever to convert this tribe, which would have given him much higher status than helping solve “mundane” social problems.
1
As someone who went to a conservative Christian school, I understand his zeal and the cultural brainwashing and herd mentality that occurs when one of the main tenets preached is that everyone should be sharing the gospel and trying to reach all people and cultures. International missionaries especially are given role-model and mild celebrity status sometimes in communities as well.
I don't fault him for his intentions, but I think he was quite misguided. As one story I've heard goes... God sends a man a rowboat, motorboat, and helicopter during a flood and the man refuses all of it, saying that he would pray to God to save him since he had faith. And when the man drowns and asks God why he didn't save him... To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
God may have given us hope and faith, but he gave us common sense, too.
45
Unbelievable hubris! What great gall, not faith someone must have, to assert to yourself, friends, family and others, that some how you have the means to communicate with people living in the Stone Age. This is nothing short of self-delusion and also the great delusion of Southern Baptists who "don't question his motivation, (but) question his methods."
What great arrogance! The Southern Baptists believe that it is their duty to spread the word of the Gospel. They believe that they have the right to tell people of other faiths that their history, tradition and beliefs are superseded by something more powerful and meaningful. At least to them it is.
What is even more arrogant is that the Ramsey family has no regrets because Mr. Chau answered to a "higher calling".
Here is a dose of reality; Mr. Chau is dead. You will never see, hear or embrace him again. He is gone forever.
What was missing from Mr. Chau's missionary training was a harsh dose of reality; Some peoples want to be left alone. They have no need or understanding of your mission.
Maybe to be a good Southern Baptist the best thing to do is teach your children to be good Christians. Preserve and defend your religion through observing devotion to god without imposing your will on others. Have respect for others. Have respect for the privacy, history and traditions of others. Do not impose your will no matter how fervent your beliefs. Live your life. Leave others alone to come to god on their own. Leave them.
116
@Jay - Amen to that.
3
@Jay
Wrong. They will see him in Heaven. It is why they do what they do, for a belief in a greater life.
It is a delusion, and protected as our primary belief among all our civil rights. He has the duty to spread his religion because those who don't know it are too ill-informed to say no to him, and once they see the light, will get it.
It is a cult. 2,000 years old, dressed in tradition now, but a cult.
@AG
Sorry AG. You suffer from the same delusion and misguided intentions as Mr. Chau. There is no duty to spread any religion. There is no light to be seen exceptionalities within your own beliefs in your home and your church. Your so-called right to spread religion ends where the lives and religions of others begins.
Do not interfere in the lives of others. It is not your business. There are dozens of different religions, cultures, clans, tribes and religious factions. Have respect for them. Respect their tradition, their history, their sacrifices, their culture and their way of life. It is not your way of live or your belief but those people have values important to them. They don't want to hear from you or anyone else.
1
No, NYT, he didn't fail, he succeeded. The profile of this unreached group has been raised dramatically, as all around the world Christians are praying for the North Sentinel people and asking for God to provide a way to reach them. And Mr. Chau is with his heavenly father, delivered from all the strife and stress and sickness and sorrow the rest of us have to endure. He succeeded wildly.
11
@Jason
Apparently this unreached group didn't want their profile raised. Nor have they indicated that they want anyone to pray for them.
You believe what you want. Kindly leave the rest of us alone.
101
@Jason
You think you need to pray for God to reach the people of NOrth Sentinel Island? They don't need prayers for this. God is already with these people. If you don't know that you don't know God. John Chau succeeded n bringing attention to himself. Save us all from this type of thinking, Jason.
9
How do Christian ethics support the potential slaughter of this entire ethnocultural group by exposing their exquisitely sensitive immune systems to modern disease? If this tribe, in the next few months, were to succumb to an epidemic of the common cold, would these thousands of praying Christians acknowledge Chau as having breached the First Commandment?
8
Common sense and respect for cultures was absent in Mr Chau. Respect and freedom for people to do their own "thing", the world would be a better place for all.
69
One of the worst beliefs of fundamentalist Christians is that people who don’t “accept Christ” are headed for eternal damnation.
Their God becomes an abusive family member who says, “ I love you, so you’d better love me back, or else you’ll be sorry.”
Given that theology, Chau’s zeal Is understandable, but I suspect that there was a lot of romanticism involved: “I will be famous, either as the man who converted the people of North Sentinal or as a holy martyr.”
165
You can be born white, black, gay, straight, etc but you are not born a Christian or a Muslim or an Hindu. Do you seriously believe that if children were not indoctrinated into believing whatever religion their parents are pushing on them, they would pick it up on their own?
61
Once again the ugliness of religion shows us how ridiculous and dangerous this arcane nonsense is. How about you believe in your boogeyman in the sky and leave everyone else alone? These”missionaries” just cannot be content with their own beliefs. They absolutely have to force their man in the sky upon everyone else.
185
Plenty of people here need help yet this egomaniac travels across the world to some tribal outpost to tell them that their way of life is wrong.
A true narcissist if there ever was one.
329
@skater242
You nailed it. Good comment
Had there been real-time reporting of the first missionaries' deeds and fates who responded to Jesus' Great Commission back when, outcomes like Mr. Chau's would more likely than not be the recorded results. Not the stuff of legend.
In the article we are left with 2 contrasting missionary legacies: not sainthood and holy relics, but crying families. Tears of sorrow and frustration (Naw Halen) and tears of awe and martyrdom (Mr. Ramsey).
5
What makes a saint? Martyrdom? Good deeds? The sale of a sufficient number of indulgences? I fail to understand.
3
I feel for the poor fisherman whose lives are now ruined. I feel the Indian authorities are making them the scapegoats for political reasons. Mr. Chau knew what he was doing.
126
@jean vallier
While I see what you are saying but those fishermen abetted in the illegal act of getting Mr. Chau to the shore.
14
@jean valliere Those fishermen are probably poor men. Perhaps, probably, sorely needed money for their families' well-being was proffered. The article does not say. However, I wonder what could make men who knew that transportation to the island was both dangerous and illegal take such a risk. Now, their families are truly poor(er), for they are without their loved ones and everything that entails in a patriarchal society.
Chau conveniently forgot -- or chose to ignore -- one of Jesus's greatest commandments. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
32
@jean valliere
Chau gave them $350, a bloody fortune to them. How could they resist?
14
“In the 21st century, it is a marvel that a place like North Sentinel even exists.”
Thanks to this mis-guided fellow and the organization that mis-guided him, this may tragically not be true any more.
88