Christianity changed this culture by turning it from a culture of evil with slight breaks in between into a culture of good inevitably tinged with a slight bit of evil. While there were certain boundaries (such as family members), in the Sawi culture before Don Richardson went to them, murder wasn’t seen as something bad. Deception, polygamy, and cannibalism weren’t seen as bad either. Worse yet is the fact that those things, beyond being seen as not bad, are actually seen as good, commendable things. This indicates something fundamentally wrong with this culture.
The Sawi were one of the very few cultures still isolated from the rest of the world in the 21st century. Not only that but they didn’t even know that there was an outside world; for all they were concerned, the ocean represented the end of the world. This gave this culture a couple more centuries for its people to become more deeply entrenched in their customs untarnished by other countries’ customs. This would have been okay if their culture was not so (to be perfectly frank) barbarically evil. What Christianity did to this culture was that it presented a fresh perspective of life in a correct manner. Whether one is a Christian or not, the fact that the Christian values of love, charity, and community are virtuous cannot be disputed. These Christian values became the new standard of living. Instead of the constant cycle of distrust and betrayal, the Sawi now collaborated with one another as a cohesive community. Ultimately, the Sawi regained their humanity through Christianity.
Even with Christianity we remain human...innately evil but loved by God.I don't think our modern culture is that far removed from the Sawi ideals of betrayal.If one walks through any school hall or office Sawi values are at play but of cause down played.
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