Missionary Conquest

by George E. Tinker

Book Overview

George Tinker's fascinating probe into U.S. mission history pierces the romantic veil of most history writing and shows how four of the most noted Christian missionariesmen of the highest moral character, the best of intentions, and sincere commitment to the gospelconfused gospel values and European cultural values, often with lethal results.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800625765
• ISBN13: 9780800625764
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Great book on rough topic

I took a class from Dr. Tinker on American Indian religion in which we used this book. It is a very compact but comprehensive study of five American mission situations, from Spanish California to Puritan New England to American Midwest. It shows just what the missionary project was in relation to Indian peoples, which can be and has been shown in other world areas as well (for instance, the Comaroffs on colonialism and missionaries in Africa). This will be an unpleasant read for people who are unfamiliar with the history of white/Indian contact or with the history of missionaries. I know that many people--Christians mostly--see missionaries as good and helpful people, and no doubt many are. However, the missionary project as such is ethnocentric and hegemonic, and in the days when missionaries had more power to compel their beliefs and practices on other societies, they used all of it. The only thing that restrains them today is a lack of power and a surplus of world attention.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

I am not sure why, as an historian, I am constantly surprised at the kinds of things that are done by well-intentioned people in the name of God. Crusades, Inquisitions, church/state sanctioned pogroms and purges - Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, every variety of Christianity has had a share of the difficult past. It is a missing part of the general vision of American history that religion played a part in the wide-spread destruction of Native American populations. History is often recounted with a decidedly pro-Protestant slant; the Catholic explorers of Spain and Portugal are seen as zealously converting the Native American populations while stealing their lands and gold, but the early Protestant settlers are seen more often in Thanksgiving-style cooperation efforts, where Native Americans and Pilgrims sit down at the same table sharing meals. After the colonial days, in the expansion of the United States westward, the genocide of the Native Americans is given a more political/military slant, with religion as a minor issue, if included at all. George Tinker, himself a member of the Osage/Cherokee people, is on faculty at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, bringing a Native American perspective to the predominantly European-American institution. His biases are clear and upfront even from the preface of the book - he speaks of the 'general history of the European invasion and occupation of what today is known as North America', not a dispassionate and objective statement at all, but one designed to challenge the classical interpretations of American history as one where the settlement of the continent was 'manifest destiny', somehow ordained and sanctioned by God. Whether the conquest was seen as being done by invasion or conversion, the results were generally the same. Tinker states that 'perhaps the most fearful aspect of the church's complicity in the conquest of the native peoples in the latter sense is that it always happened with the best of intentions.' Tinker highlights four main missionaries in this text - John Eliot, Junipero Serra, Pierre-Jean De Smet, and Henry Benjamin Whipple. In the overall history of missionary activity, these men are seen as being faithful and successful ministers who spread the gospel message to those who had not yet received the Word of God. However, their effects were dire for the communities they contacted, even as they often meant only the best for the people to whom they traveled and preached. Even as they were trying to spread the gospel message and do good works among the Native American peoples, these missionaries were participants in their wider culture's ambitions against the indigenous peoples. Convinced both of the moral/religious superiority of their own faith over the locals, and the societal superiority of European-based culture over the tribal cultures, they saw no ethical problems with dealing with the peoples in ways that were ultimately destructive of their cultures. Tinke

Radically Changes Our Understanding

Tinker's work is quite effective in exposing the ego-driven selfishness involved in the missionary exploits of Christianity's "main heroic missionaries." The common understanding has been that "they meant well, but were a product of their time." Tinker's keen research into the primary texts of these very missionaries (using their own letters, journals, first hand accounts) exposes the truth: that these missionaries reaped personal gain from the policies of colonial genocide. There are those who would discount Tinker's words and research as hysteria, but in light of Tinkers voluminous citations in the Notes section, it is clear that Tinker has the truth on his side. Also, I appreciated his attention to the existence of "New Age" practices as a not-so-subtle form of neo-colonialism. Wonderful effective piece of research and recovery of the true history of missionary colonialism.

The only one around!!

I used this book in my senior thesis paper on Plateau Indian Culture and Presbyterian Missions in the 1830-40's. It did not only help me with understanding impacts of missionary work, but was written in a way that opened my eyes to deep thoughts of humanity, religion, selfishness and ethnocentricity. It is an eye-opener and a gift to any scholar's mind!!! READ IT!