Brothers and Sisters,
Some would read this title and scoff, thinking that this is at best an impossible hope. I am deeply sorry that so many feel that way, and it is exactly why such a thing needs to be attempted.
Let me be very clear in saying that I don’t pretend to believe that I can adequately answer each and every quibble and disagreement between Christian Faith and Amerindian spirituality. I cannot bring reconciliation in every area in which they meet a discord. Here I have only answered those things which I felt the Spirit of God pressing upon my heart to answer and to seek to bring reconciliation in the areas where the Spirit has given me tools to bring it.
In one sense, this is an attempt to explain each to one another. To explain either is intensely difficult: Amerindian spirituality is diverse and highly individualistic, and Christianity is a split between the institutional religion which claims to be authentic and the original Faith of Jesus lived out in relationship with Him. There are misconceptions about both on both sides, essentially, and I am sure there are some whose minds will not change where their opinions are concerned. I respect and honor them the same.
My purpose is also to show that many of the wrongs penned to Christianity and the disagreements that have arisen between Indian peoples and Christians on spirituality find their root in the institutional system of Christianity invented by the Europeans which focuses on dogma and doctrine in theory rather than on relationship with the Person of God in which doctrine is lived out and expressed through a quality of life. By showing this, my intention is to contrast this system with the living faith expressed in the New Testament, which was lived out in the early church, and which has, since the time of the Reformation, been slowly reappearing. The reason for this is that understanding the difference between the man-made system and the community envisioned by the Spirit and written about in the Bible, I believe, will help Amerindian people to be more open to what I have to say here. Such a statement, however, limits the number of Christians who may read this, as the multitudes neither believe nor are cued into the idea that the religion they practice is man-made and is void of biblical or spiritual authority.
This is not an attempt at Proselytism, nor a desire to see people on either side stumble in their pursuit of Creator. Rather, this is an invitation to dialogue. My deep-founded hope is that people of both sides will contribute to this discussion thoughtful and Spirit-borne words which will help us all better understand one another and perhaps grow closer. I repeat: this is intended as the beginning of a discussion. Young men and Grandfathers, young women and Grandmothers, whatever your opinion, whatever your stance, I invite you to speak and I desperately wish to hear what you have to say. Even if we do not agree, and even if we believe differently on some matters, my prayer and hope is that we may still be of one Spirit and one heart, and joined by the unity of who we are in our Creator, and nothing else.
My brothers and sisters, I hope that this blesses your spirit, and my prayer to the Creator, the Great Mystery, our Heavenly Father, the All-Nourishing Mother (El Shaddai,) the God of the Heavens and the Earth, is that the rift be filled.
Yours,
Three Dogs
Part I: Christian Misunderstandings about Indian Spirituality
1. Indians worship the Earth, or at the very least, put far too much emphasis on it.
This attack stems from a very Eurocentric worldview which was inserted into Christianity first by Constantine and later by the barbarian invaders who brought their own mindsets and attitudes towards the world into the faith. European ideologies make no room for respect for the Earth; from Feudalism to the Industrial Revolution, the idea of the Earth as being a sacred thing worthy of respect has been foreign to European thought.
The American Indian has a deep and abiding respect for the Earth, and this connection is a large factor in Amerindian spirituality. Our elders teach us that the Earth is our Mother—not merely in a metaphorical sense, but it in a very real way has provided all of the materials for our bodies (as a true mother does) and has worked meticulously to form us. We are taught that as children of the Earth, we must give her sacred honor as we would our very own mother, taking from her only the things we need and being careful to honor her however we can. We are taught that the heart of the Creator is for the Earth—for its health, benefit, and progress.
Europeans, with their misguided views of worship and lack of understanding concerning their place in the world, mistook our reverence for Mother Earth as a form of Creation worship or what is commonly called “pantheism.” Our Respect for the Earth in no way takes preeminence over our love for the Creator; in everything we are careful to put the Spirit before the Creation.
This line of thought has also given way to the idea that Amerindians practice some form of animism, worshipping nature spirits. This is also a misconception. Nature as a whole—made up of the Rock, Plant, and Animal people in addition to human beings—is looked at as a community which works together to maintain balance and harmony. The traits displayed in some of the members of this community are responded to with awe and, usually, these traits are adopted or reciprocated in the individuals who admire them. For example, an individual may honor the Eagle in a very special way because of a trait they share. (More on this in #3)
This disconnection from the Earth, however, is highly unbiblical. All throughout the Old Testament, the importance of the Earth is shouted from the pages. When Creator finishes the Earth in Genesis 1, He is very pleased with what He has made, and when He makes man, Man’s primary job is to take care of the land in which he has put him. The land which Israel was to inherit is loudly also emphasized, and it is only by living in reverence for Creator and their neighbor (and giving the land peace every seven years from farming, which is a sign of honor) that Israel is permitted to stay in the land. The Bible is in one accord with the teaching of our ancestors that God cares very deeply for the Earth and wishes for us to do the same. In the New Testament, those who destroy the Earth are promised retribution, for it is God’s holy creation (Revelation 11:18). It is safe to infer, then, that the European disconnection from the Earth and lack of deep care for its well-being is not a hallmark of first century Christianity, but a later addition from the Eurocentric worldview.
2. Indians worship their ancestors.
Much like the discrepancy concerning our deep love for our Earth Mother, our reverence for our ancestors is not worship, but rather a respect born out of a connection. The American Indian understands and is taught that his or her ancestors are his or her forerunners on the earth, and that he or she is the embodiment of their legacy. Everything they have worked for, dreamed for, and lived for continues on in the individual. Likewise, it is believed and taught that their experiences and lessons are available to us deep within our person, and that we should seek to model ourselves after their examples (if, of course, they have lived with honor).
European Christians have assumed that ancestor reverence equals the worship of human beings. Such an idea could not be further from the Indian concept of ancestor reverence. We believe that our ancestors lift up prayers and intercessions for us in the Spirit, and that their spirits watch over us while in union with the Creator; in no way, shape, or form do we believe that they are more powerful than the Creator or more able to help us than the Father of all spirits is. If a prayer is lifted up to them, it is known that the plea is not lifted to an earthly man, but to a spirit who is joined as one to the Spirit of the Creator, and that we are appealing to Creator to give us guidance through the individual.
Unfortunately, European Christianity has removed the deeply biblical reverence for our ancestors in an effort to undermine the importance of individual legacy and destiny. (I attribute this to the institutional church’s use of the word ‘father’ for the clergy, pacifying the fathers of the families who were meant to be the guiding voice and passer down of the family legacy). In the Bible, people were known by who their ancestors were, and who their ancestors were often pointed to what they were destined to do. The destiny of Yahshua/Yahoshua aka Jesus Christ Himself was determined by His ancestry in David, and Jesus honored His ancestor in His life by living in the same way he did as a shepherd (guide, counselor, healer, protector) t
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