A passage

"Kaiyo's heart was pounding as he slipped away from his wife, Wumi, and ascended the stairpole into his home. Hahaen had failed! Sinau had failed! Both Mahaen and Sinau had many children, yet neither could bring himself to give even one. Kaiyo had only one child, six-month-old Biakadon-Lying there on the grass mat." (Peace Child, pg. 167)

This passage strikes me as familiar. God had only one Son, and He gave Him up to save us. Here, Kaiyo had only one child, and he gave him up to end the war. I think that if anyone were to understand best what God did, it would be Kaiyo. What also strikes me is that two other men couldn't give up even one of their MANY children. Yet here's one man, giving up his only child. I think this is a definite show of commitment and strength. Kaiyo was committed to end this war, and he was rewarded for it. I don't think that if the other two men had given their child, they would have received a child in return. But, because Kaiyo was giving up his only child, he got one in return.

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

I think Jesus wants us to accept the Sawi for who they are becoming, not who they were. Think of the Sawi as someone who is new to a game, and doesn't know the rules. We are also participating in the same game, but we know the rules. We can try to explain to the Sawi the rules of life, but they won't get them right away. They will fail. And it is our job not to make fun of them, but to help them up after they fall, and get them back on track. Give them a second chance. Just like Jesus did for all of us. He gave us a second chance in life, a chance to live forever with Him in Heaven, and so He wants us to do the same for the Sawi. He wants us to give them a second chance, a chance to change the world, like He did, and like we are doing every day.

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

Faith is as important in our daily lives as food is to keeping us alive. Now, there are different 'kinds' of faith. For example, there's the simple faith that you have in your car as you drive to work every day. You believe that it will take you to your destination, and it won't fail half-way there. You have faith in your car. Then, there's also the faith that we have in ourselves. We believe that we will be able to perform whatever tasks we have in mind, like taking out the trash, or running to the store, without hurting ourselves half-way there. So we do have faith in worldly things every day. But, that is not the type of faith that is most often challenged. Faith in the metaphysical is the biggest concern for most people. Whether we are Christian or Atheist, we all have faith in the metaphysical. For Christians, we have faith in our God. We act out in faith, we proclaim the Gospel in faith, and we follow God in faith. For Atheists, they have faith that there is no God. They live life like this is it, acting on their faith that there is no God, no life after death. Everyone has faith, but some of us just have faith in different things.
So how does faith relate to this world?
The most basic faith is faith in the seen. A chair, a car, etc.
The most advanced faith is faith in the unseen, the metaphysical. Faith in God.

What does God expect us to do for other cultures and faiths

I think God wants us to do what Don did with the Sawi for other cultures and faiths. Every faith or culture has something that can be used to show the people who God is, what He did, and what He wants for us. For example, the Sawi had the peace child, and I believe that other cultures or faiths will have a 'peace child' that can be used to show them the Gospel. Now, when we do share the Gospel, we don't want to blow the other faith/culture out of the water, because then they would most certainly be against it. However, if we live out the gospel, and slowly integrate it into the other faith, then, when it comes time for us to show them the differences, they will be more receiving, and won't reject it outright. The people might still reject it, but by working the gospel into their daily lives, they become more accustomed to seeing it, and aren't caught completely off guard. For example, had Don gone to the Sawi (had he been proficient at their language right away) and told them about the Gospel flat out, they would have little reason to trust him, or believe what he was saying. However, by living out the gospel, and showing them by how he lived, he gained their trust, and, with that trust, taught them about the Gospel, and they received him, because he had earned their trust.

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued you?

I truly found the practices with the peace child intriguing. When you look at their culture, and how they value treachery, it is truly a wonder that a peace child does any good. The fact that they would trust each other enough with one of their own children, and that both villages would respect the offer for peace is truly amazing. In the story, after the peace children were exchanged, they seemed to lose the will to fight. However, at one point, a pig was killed, and some people went to try to fight about it, but one man, pleading on the peace child, managed to subdue several other men. It just seems almost like a miracle that it even works. You would think that such a savage culture would have no respect what so ever, and wouldn't even bother to care about the peace child. Yet, here, they clearly respect the peace child like they would no other. I can only think that this part of their culture was implanted from the very beginning, possibly even before they were treacherous. Because if it hadn't, then they would have nowhere near as much respect for the peace child as they do now.

How did Christianity change this culture?

I don't think Christianity really changed this culture as much as we think it did. Sure, it took away all the bad parts of their culture, but the only real deep value it truly changed was their value on treachery. For example, if you were to take away treachery, then they would actually have a very efficient culture. I believe that, while it did not change very much, it greatly increased their values of the 'Peace Child'. Because they valued the peace child so much, showing Jesus as the perfect 'peace child' gave them a new understanding of what a 'peace child' really was. It opened their eyes to what the truth was, and showed them what they did that was wrong. However, there were really only a few practices that were truly anti-Christian, such as the treachery, or their method of 'letting go' of their relatives when they died. However, I believe the rest, with only minor changes, help secure the Christian foundation within the Sawi culture.

So in short, I would say that Christianity did not really re-write Sawi culture, it just removed the bad practices and strengthened the good ones. It brought out the good in the Sawi culture, and left the bad behind, and I believe that Christianity does just that with all cultures and beliefs. It takes away what is wrong, but emphasizes what is true and right, which allows the people who are new to Christianity, like the Sawi, to not be thrown into turmoil, but be able to see how Christianity is good for them, and how it will help them.

I believe that Christianity can find good to build off of in any religion or culture, no matter how horrific.

What should we do for uncivilized people like the Sawi?

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

I believe that society should be very careful on even approaching uncivilized cultures, like the Sawi. Because they are uncivilized, that means that they have not been exposed to everything we have, and we have to be careful what we reveal to them right away. Because it would all be new, they would accept anything we showed them, regardless of whether or not it was right or wrong. It would be similar to raising a child. We wouldn't give the child dangerous items, only what they need to live, and we would slowly expose them to more and more. We need to do the same with people like the Sawi. We need to give them the essentials that they would need to live, and then, as they become more accustomed, we would slowly ease them into the rest of our world, showing them little by little, as to not overwhelm them all at once, and then we would allow them to choose whatever path they would want to take, instead of showing them only one path.

For example, if we only gave them the life of, say a factory worker, then they would be simply grateful to be working, but they would not know what else there was. So we would need to show them all possible ways of life, and give them the option to choose what they want. Of course, we would have to help them differentiate between what is right, and what is wrong. What is good, and what is bad. We would have to train them in the ways of the world, much like, as I said before, we would train a child.

Uncivilized people are like children. We need to coax them, discipline them when necessary, and guide them along the right path, until they understand enough to forge their own.