Dr. David Livingstone seemed to epitomize this view, "These privations, I beg you to observe, are not sacrifices. I think that word ought never to be mentioned in reference to anything we can do for Him….Can that be a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay… it is a privilege."

With this attitude of sacrifice for the greater glory, and it was certainly that for many who endured pain, pestilence, disease, hunger and bodily harm, also came a certain attitude about modernizing and bringing the native populations into the modern world through Christ. In places as diverse as Hawaii, the Philippines, central Africa, and even the Muslim world, these well-meaning missionaries invariable also brought with them cultural baggage and xenophobia. While wishing to save the population from the fires of Hell through Christianity, there...
[ View Full Essay]