"Is it Interference and
'None of Our Business'
to Bring
Jesus to Pagan Cultures?"

"AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?" Genesis 4:9c KJV (Capitals are mine for emphasis)

AREN'T THEY HAPPY AND FULFILLED AS THEY ARE?

Are we "crossing the line" when we interfere with pagan cultures who have been practicing their religious rites for hundreds of years? Aren't they happy and fulfilled as they are? Should we come into their societies uninvited and impose Christianity on them? Isn't it "none of our business" how they want to live their lives?

ETERNAL SOULS ARE AT STAKE. THEY ARE "DROPPING LIKE FLIES", DYING AND GOING TO A DEVIL'S HELL EVERY DAY. WE DEAL IN "PERISHABLES"

The ancient question was first posed in the book of Genesis, "Am I my brother's keeper?" The answer is a definite yes! We have been commissioned by Jesus Himself to "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". Mark 16:15 KJV. Eternal souls are at stake. They are "dropping like flies", dying and going to a devil's Hell every day. We deal in "perishables".

WHEN THEY BECOME INTIMATE, SHE GIVES HIM AIDS, AND HE IN TURN INFECTS HIS OTHER WIVES

I think of the culture of the Luo tribe on the shores of Lake Victoria in East Africa. The elders taught "wife inheritance". For instance, when a man died of AIDS, his widow was also infected with the deadly disease. According to their custom, she becomes the wife of the oldest surviving brother of her late husband. When they became intimate, she gives him AIDS, and he in turn infects his other wives. Food and drink are left with the corpse to appease their gods. Often the surviving mate will have intercourse with the dead body to say farewell, and give the spirit of their mate a good sendoff to the next world. Do we leave them alone to see them self-destruct, or do we tell them about Jesus Who can set them free from demonic rites, and give them eternal life?

ARE WE TO "TURN A BLIND EYE" TO THE PAINFUL PRACTICE OF FEMALE CIRCUMCISION THROUGHOUT AFRICA AND THE ARAB WORLD?

Do we ignore the superstitious practices of a few ignorant men in South Africa who are HIV positive, and have been told that if they rape a female infant they will be cured of the disease, "the leprosy of the 21st century"? Should we allow the devil to go on a rampage and destroy lives because we do not want to stick our noses in places where our ideas are not wanted? Are we to "turn a blind eye" to the painful practice of female circumcision throughout Africa and the Arab world? Unsanitary cutting instruments are used, and then thorns are placed inside the girl's private parts, so that she will not become a prostitute, because the insertion of a penis would cause indescribable suffering. Should we interfere with these barbaric practices and share Jesus with them?

DO WE REMAIN SILENT WHEN "VIGILANTE JUSTICE" IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY, AND THE ACCUSED ARE DENIED A TRIAL, AND BEATEN SENSELESS, OR ARE ENCASED IN TIRES, AND BURNED TO A CRISP?

Do we say nothing when the Mungiki cult beheads their enemies to strike fear in the hearts of any who would oppose them? Do we remain silent when "vigilante justice" is the order of the day, and the accused are denied a trial, and beaten senseless, or are encased in tires, and burned to a crisp? Do we remain silent and allow common thieves to terrorize a city, holding the citizens under a siege of fear? Is it alright not to express our convictions when tribes within the same country attack each other, and even set churches on fire, to burn up the members who have taken refuge?

MILITANT MISSION OUTREACHES MUST CONTINUE, AND THEIR INTENSITY HAS TO INCREASE

No! A thousand times no! We do not have to apologize for "invading the devil's territory" to rescue the perishing. Jesus can, and will make a positive difference in these cultures. Militant mission outreaches must continue, and their intensity has to increase. As J. Oswald Smith, the father of the modern missionary convention, said, "No one has a right to hear the gospel twice until everyone has heard it at least once".