The revisionist documentaries on television always show the evil colonialism of American and European Christianity. How dare we invade other countries, send in missionaries, and take away the gods and the paganism of indigenous people! Mean, mean Christians!The revisionists are masters at rewriting history. They hate the idea of Christianity so much they will ignore and/or distort its influence to the maximum. But the truth is something else.
At the Philadelphia Shipyard in 1843, dignitaries, servicemen, and clergy gathered to launch a new ship. The prayer over the vessel went something like this:
O Eternal God may the vessels of our Navy be guarded by Thy gracious providence and care. May they not bear the sword in vain, but as the minister of God, be a terror to those who do evil. Hasten the time when the principles of holy Christianity shall so prevail that none shall wage war any more. All of which blessings we ask through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Thanks to the financial support of wealthy Christian businessmen, such as Rockefeller, Wanamaker, and McCormick, American missionaries were able to take their message to Japan, China, India, and Africa, often under the protection of the U.S. Navy. The Lord’s Prayer and other prayer tracts were now being printed in the thousands for foreign converts. No one can understand the political, social, and spiritual dynamics that were involved in America unless they understand what was happening in evangelism and missions.
The revisionist story today is that mean-spirited Christians took away the totem poles, the wooden idols, of the American Indians and from the pagans of Hawaii (and stopped the human sacrifices in Hawaii). We "imposed" our Christian faith on them and destroyed their cultures! But the truth is far from this propaganda! What happened in Hawaii is a prime example.
The prayers of American and English Christians played a vital role in Hawaii. In 1778 the English captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, originally called the Sandwich Islands. U.S trading vessels brought missionaries, and in time, the son of the Hawaiian King Kamehameha, abolished the native paganism and called for American Protestant missionaries to come and settle there. Thousands of his subjects were converted to Christianity.
By the mid-nineteenth century, American businessmen followed and brought a certain prosperity to the natives. King Kamehameha IV traveled throughout Europe and England and in time established the Church of England in the islands. He and his wife became devout Anglicans. The King and his wife Emma took great pride in promoting Christianity and Christian charity work. The King personally translated the English Prayer Book into the Hawaiian language.
Because of a lot of political intrigue, a later Queen, Queen Liliuokalani, was thrown into prison for eight months. While there she composed what would become the Hawaiian national anthem, "Aloha Oe—Farewell to Thee"). She also prayed much to her God and composed this invocation during her captivity:
Lord, thy living mercies,
Is high as the heavens,
It tells us of thy truth,
And ‘tis filled with holiness.
For thy grace I beseech thee
Bring us neath thy protection
And peace will be our portion
Now and forever more. Amen.
