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What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

When I read the book, I frequently found myself stopping at parts saying "What the..."
The idea about cannibalism, bloodthirst, treachery made me disgusted that it often made me left astonished time to time. Their way of lifestyle was not immoral, it was amoral. When I was asked to answer this question, I found myself relating the Sawi people as the exact opposite of the image of God. They did not have love for others, they did not sacrifice themselves for a greater cause, and most of all, they fed on humans.

Reading the book made me connect myself to the Sawi people. Before meeting God, I acted violently and immorally. I remember going to church at 3rd grade and looking at a figurine of Jesus. The feelings I felt under the cross was so great to me that the image of the cross came up everytime I wanted to act badly. I related to my experiences of accepting God to the Sawi's

How did Christianity change this culture?

Before reading the book, I was skeptic of the whole idea of one man changing the lives of hundres of Sawi men. But after reading the book, I was amazed, shocked, bamboozled even. The idea of one man changing a whole culture left me realizing that God's power is awesome, ubiquitous. God's love hit the Sawi people so hard that their WHOLE LIFE transformed. Headhunting, Cannibalism, War, Cannibalism, all these devilish concepts all disappeared and time of love came to the Sawi tenants.

I think that God's miracles work in great ways. Before God helped the Sawi, they were uncivilized, savage, evil. But after accepting christ, their life has completely changed. God watches over us, and when we pray deeply for him, he brings miracles. We might not recieve God's miracles all the time, but all we need to do is to wait for him to come to you. As we all have seen in the book, changing a whole culture is not a easy thing to do. Their evil tradition of cannibalism, treachery is gone and only the good has come.

I think that the change Christianity has brought is etereal logically, it is impossible that a man changed a whole culture at his will. But when God aided him to do so, he was able to bring great changes to their culture

All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke

How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to Faith? How do the Sawi relate to faith?

How do I, Don Richardson, the Sawi relate to faith?

LOVE

When I am upset, angered, I sometimes want to act violently. When this happens, I always calm myself down thinking of God. God loves us, and as a christian believer, I should also do so. Don Richardson has made a important decision to serve the Sawi people, to sacrifice his comfortable home, life, luxuries just to serve the Sawi people. Why? Because he had LOVE. His love and his fervor to teach the Sawi the way of God made such an impact to the Sawi that their whole lifestyle has changed. As for the Sawi, the concept of faith is alien to them because the concept of faith has such a difference to treachery. But after they took in God, peace came along, and fights ceased to happen. The Sawi could relate to faith more easily because their tradition of peace child is similar to Jesus. God gave his only son to us, Sawi gave their children away for peace.

I think that we relate to faith as love, as God's love.

“Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to”

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

"No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive."  -Ghandi

“Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.” -Goethe

Culture is the sole common factor we share within the world. Every group, nomadic or civilized, share a specific kind of a culture. Even though an enormous difference between cultures have divided us into different groups, we have learnt to set aside the differences and unite as one.
When we are confronted with other cultures, we shoud do as others have done so long time ago. We should set aside our difference even when it contradicts to your belief and try to unify your culture to their's. Some factors such as language, customs, traditions might look faulty and awful, but we should respect one's culture since we are all brothers and sisters of one another.

After all,
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

aren't we all from the same God?

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi people?
When I attended sunday bible classes as a young kid, I was frequently met up with this question
"What do you think Jesus have done"
The general plethora of answers that were thrown back to our teacher were "Pray fo them, Work for them, Love for them." Although these answers are all acceptable, is this what Jesus really wants us to do for the Sawi people? Is this the best we can do as christian believers?

The answer is...
No

The change Don Richardson has brough to the Sawi people could not have been accomplished if he did not sacrifice his whole life to helping the Sawi. He relinquished his comfortable life, family, home so he could help the Sawi people.

American philosopher William James has said,
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.

Jesus wants us to sacrifice ourselves so that the Sawi will know the way of God, so that the Sawi can learn about the true values of life. The changes that will come from sacrificing would perservere even after you have perished for it is eternal.

Simply put, What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

Sacrifice ourselves, give up our luxuries for the outcomes will be eternal.

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued / reviled / saddened / angered / surprised you?

I found the concept of the peace child very surprising. When I first read the book, the idea of cannibalism was such a shock to me that I felt like the peace child would have no effect at all. But as the story advanced, I realized that people actually changed with the peace child. By the giving the child up, people actually ceased quarreling and peace came to the people. Even when a fight was about to rise up because of the pig, by the mention of the peace child, the fight ended quickly. I was shocked that such a system was implemented in such a brute and savage culture. I think that the peace child acted as our saviour, Jesus and brought peace to the people there.

What should society do for “uncivilized cultures” like the Sawi?

We, as students studying studying abroad in a foreign land all had to undertake a stressful job of getting used to the not so familiar culture. Just like we have done so, Don Richardson had the similiar experience.

The only difference between our experience and Don Richardson's is that Sawi's culture is considered 'uncivilized' to many people. Should we hate and discriminate the Sawi's culture for being different? Isnt for example, Canadian culture different from the Korean culture? Maybe the reason behind calling the Sawi civilization so 'foreign and different' may be because the concept of cannibalism is so sinful in a religious view.

I think that instead of removing the Sawi culture, we should try to change it. We should try to remove sinful things such as cannibalism, and should promote the Sawi people to adapt to the modern culture. Isnt the modern culture a mixture of all different cultures anyway?

In conclusion, we should struggle to change the Sawi culture in a way that it is appealing to the outer world, but to also keep their originality and identity. I think that we should help the Sawi people get closer to God and help them enjoy the goodness of life.

How different is your modern culture from the sawi tenants?

Upon reading this question, I found myself dumbfounded because of the scarcity of similarities I shared with the Sawi tenants. First off, I do not eat human flesh, I do not "fatten friendship for slaughter" and I certainly do not live in a tribe where one tribe kills the other.

But to think of it, I think that the Sawi tenants are not that different from us. In fact, I think that the Sawi people's culture is a microcosm of our current society.

Everyday, we compete with each other, the competition might be in sports, academics, jobs, almost anything we do daily has the aspects of competition. Just like how the weaker man gets eaten, abandoned in Peace Child, we as civilized men mentally and physically harm each other through the proccess of competetion. Simplified, just because we dont hunt heads dont mean we don't kill one another inside.

Reading the book Peace Child helped me become conscious of how ruthless and unmerciful our society is. I think that just because we do things differently than the Sawi people do does not grant us the right to call them uncivilized

What factors of your native culture have informed your religious world view?

What factors of your native culture have informed your religious world view?

All throughout my life, I have been affected by different cultures here and there. Buddhism from my strict and aged Grandparents, Christianity from my determined and faithful aunt, Catholicism from my dear, and loving mother. Each and every one of the religions named above enticed me with mystic feelings that made me feel enlightened, but I couldnt pick out a specific religion that I would go with. I worked around with each and all of them, but I think the myriad of religions all represent the same purpose. To love, and to serve.

My native culture, I was born and raised in a somewhat secular and athiest family. We scarcely or never went to churches and we never gave prayers. Even though this was the case, I had a feeling of quirkiness, a feeling that someone, something was trying to speak to me. I did not know who it was before, nor I do not know who 'it' is now, I think that 'it' is God, and God is trying to help me wake up from the real world. While my views on that religions such as Catholicism, Buddhism, Catholicism all derive from the same source conflicts with many views from strict Christians, I think that the general idea of loving and caring for each other does not differ.

Lastly, who am I? I am a mixup of both good and bad

When I went to a private Elementary school in Korea, I was a typical teacher's nightmare, I used to make trouble, fight and fidget during classtime. By the time I was in 3rd grade, I was suggested that I take a 'mental test' I know, you all must think I got OCD and ADHD

While this came out to be true, I was blessed with a rather surprising gift, a rather suspiciously high IQ number; and IQ of 160.

I do not know how I got this result, I think that the universal rule of 'no man is perfect' applies to myself.

Even though I am gifted with intelligence, I cannot quite utilize it.

So who am I?
A mixup of both goodness and badness =/