God in the Rainforest: A Tale of Martyrdom and Redemption in Amazonian Ecuador
Kathryn T. Long
(Author)
Description
In January of 1956, five young evangelical missionaries were speared to death by a band of the Waorani people in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Two years later, two missionary women--the widow of one of the slain men and the sister of another--with the help of a Wao woman were able to establish peaceful relations with the same people who had killed their loved ones. The highly publicized deaths of the five men and the subsequent efforts to Christianize the Waorani quickly became the defining missionary narrative for American evangelicals during the second half of the twentieth century. God in the Rainforest traces the formation of this story and shows how Protestant missionary work among the Waorani came to be one of the missions most celebrated by Evangelicals and most severely criticized by anthropologists and others who accused missionaries of destroying the indigenous culture. Kathryn T. Long offers a study of the complexities of world Christianity at the ground level for indigenous peoples and for missionaries, anthropologists, environmentalists, and other outsiders. For the first time, Long brings together these competing actors and agendas to reveal one example of an indigenous people caught in the cross-hairs of globalization.Product Details
Price
$42.99
Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Publish Date
February 26, 2019
Pages
480
Dimensions
6.2 X 9.5 X 1.2 inches | 1.7 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780190608989
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About the Author
Kathryn Long is a former Associate Professor and Chair of the History Department at Wheaton College. Her first book, The Revival of 1857-58: Interpreting an American Religious Awakening, was awarded the Brewer Prize for outstanding scholarship in church history by a first-time author from theAmerican Society of Church History.
Reviews
"This riveting book brings fresh insight into the oft-told story of the five American missionaries who in 1956 died at the hand of Amazonian Indians. It then becomes even more compelling as it stays with the missionaries, the Waorani tribespeople, and a world-wide audience of interested observers for the next half century. It is a gem of a book, full of captivating human awareness, vivid cross-cultural wisdom, and extraordinarily winsome empathy for all parties involved."--Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame
"Kathryn Long has offered a scrupulous narrative history of the Summer Institute of Linguistics through the work and lives of key personalities involved in evangelical missions in Ecuador in the 1950s and following decades. The book unravels the complex strands of religion, politics, public relations, ethnic identity and violence, and the collision with Western economic and technological influences that disrupted and realigned local ideas and options. The intervention of international human rights organizations concerned with ethnic and environmental survival raised the stakes for all sides. The book shows that, ultimately, martyrdom and redemption affect and are affected by a much wider circle of actors and influences than their individualist nature would suggest.." -Lamin Sanneh, D. Willis James Professor of Mission and World Christianity, Yale Divinity School
"Long's study of the American evangelical missionary encounter with the Waorani
Indians in Ecuador in the 1950s and beyond forms the definitive narrative of that sprawling, complicated, seemingly remote endeavor. It also ranks among the most impressive studies of the entire American missionary impulse. God in the Rain Forest reveals Long's eye for the telling quotation, insight into the ironies that marked the Waorani
story, and appreciation for humor in the midst of heroism, conflict, tragedy, and pain. Mercifully free of jargon, Long's elegant prose shows us what history writing ought to look like"--Grant Wacker, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Christian History, Duke Divinity School
"Long makes good use of oral histories and interviews as well as the more complex life of Dayomae, a long-time Christian convert who worked closely for many years with Protestant missionaries. This is a diligent, open-ended exploration of a little-known international incident." --Publishers Weekly
