I thought this was a book about Native American prayer but in fact this is a book to aid Christians in praying for the continued conversion of Native peoples.
Ethnocentric, but not anywhere near as offensive as I expected to find it.
While I believe praying for the good of others is always a positive thing, as is reflection by non-Natives on the crimes which have been and continue to be committed against Indigenous peoples, I found the idea put forth that we (Native Americans) haven't heard of Jesus and desperately need conversion offensive.
We've been made aware of Jesus and the Christian gospel now since 1492. Pride in our pre-christian cultural traditions and our ancestry is NOT incongruent with Christianity.
What would be more useful for the caring, non-native Christian would be a book about Indigenous theologies and approaches to Christianity, not a book supporting the continued efforts of the Christian missionary project which has mostly brought much pain and suffering to our many communities in the form of cultural genocide, rather than furthering the actual message of Christ.
I recommend the film "The Mission," the books "Black Elk Speaks", "Feminist Intercultural Theology: Latina Explorations for a Just World," "God Is Red," by Vine Deloria Jr., "Borderlands/La Frontera"by Gloria Anzaldua, and "Woman Who Glows In The Dark" by Elena Avila for Native American Christian theologies and perspectives instead. "Eska Tata Diosi ojchakarah!"/ God Bless! :-)
Ethnocentric, but not anywhere near as offensive as I expected to find it.
While I believe praying for the good of others is always a positive thing, as is reflection by non-Natives on the crimes which have been and continue to be committed against Indigenous peoples, I found the idea put forth that we (Native Americans) haven't heard of Jesus and desperately need conversion offensive.
We've been made aware of Jesus and the Christian gospel now since 1492. Pride in our pre-christian cultural traditions and our ancestry is NOT incongruent with Christianity.
What would be more useful for the caring, non-native Christian would be a book about Indigenous theologies and approaches to Christianity, not a book supporting the continued efforts of the Christian missionary project which has mostly brought much pain and suffering to our many communities in the form of cultural genocide, rather than furthering the actual message of Christ.
I recommend the film "The Mission," the books "Black Elk Speaks", "Feminist Intercultural Theology: Latina Explorations for a Just World," "God Is Red," by Vine Deloria Jr., "Borderlands/La Frontera"by Gloria Anzaldua, and "Woman Who Glows In The Dark" by Elena Avila for Native American Christian theologies and perspectives instead. "Eska Tata Diosi ojchakarah!"/ God Bless! :-)
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