wfn.org | TCN Editorial: The purpose of aboriginal churches

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2972 Edition

>February 9~15, 2009

>Editorial: The purpose of aboriginal churches

>Translated by Lydia Ma

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) chose  2008 as the Aboriginal Missions Year. Looking back on this past year of  aboriginal missions, we can see that many miracles took place across  churches in Taiwan. Churches brought hope to aboriginal communities that  were once considered “close-minded”, “backward”, or  “uncivilized”. Aboriginal communities were grew spiritually,  educationally, and as a community filled with hope. Their growth is a  testimony that churches have a purpose among indigenous communities and  their existence is a positive contribution to indigenous people by  helping them get past thinking in terms of a tribe into thinking as an  ethnic group.

Despite these achievements by the General Assembly, 2008 was a  tumultuous year for Taiwan as a whole. The “new and independent  country” the PCT sought to build over the past few decades seemed  to have vanished overnight. The partnership aboriginal people sought to  build with the rest of society since 1984 through name rectification  movements and constitutional amendments to protect their rights seemed  forgotten in 2008. Everyone’s attention shifted instead to  China-Taiwan relationship as the visit of ARATS chairman Chen Yunlin  dealt a severe blow to the dream of building an independent Taiwan, and  anti-communism, democratic principles, the dream of building a special  country-to-country relationship disappeared.

Under the influence of recent government policies, aboriginal  people’s self-defense mechanism has broken down. One example is a  recent attempt by government officials to build a nuclear waste disposal  plant near an aboriginal community. Aboriginals were lured by government  financial incentives and unsure on how to react or fight back.

Another example is the Ma-Gao National Park Project involving a piece of  land that should have been given to aboriginal people for oversight. In  that incident, aboriginals were manipulated by government officials to  the point of not knowing whether it was reasonable for government to  claim oversight of the land.

The recent government initiative to distribute consumer vouchers to  boost the economy is considered by many aboriginals as one of the means  for them to make a living. They do not realize that their society and  land are being destroyed under the current culture of consumerism.  Little do they know that their sense of community and their livelihood  are being eroded when consumerism is being touted.

Aboriginal missions in Taiwan have always been multi-dimensional,  especially in recent years under the influence of special conferences  and missions held in the United States, Singapore, and Thailand. These  missions and conferences make a point in emphasizing that aboriginal  churches need more effective theologies on doing missions, and better  suited or contextualized ways of doing church services. In terms of  church life, aboriginal churches also need to build a sense of belonging  to a greater community and share values held by the ecumenical church.

To paraphrase renowned Indian aboriginal theologian Wati Longchar,  aboriginal theology should begin by examining the local circumstances  and liberating the land. This is because the land gives the people food  and a sense of identity or belonging. For aboriginal people, it is  impossible to imagine history, culture, religion, spirituality, or  cosmic forces without first having land and space. The land and its  residents are two facets of an important reality for aboriginals and it  is meaningless to free people without freeing their lands and resources  as well.

Liberation without liberating the land is no liberation at all. Worse,  it will lead to the creation of slavery and the destruction of a  democratic society. The land and its resources are what sustain  everything that exists on this planet. Land is not only an issue of  justice, it is also laden with history and identity issues. Poverty,  war, suppression, ethnic conflicts, and identity crises are just some of  the effects of a broken relationship between land and people, and a  solution or an understanding of these issues is incomplete without first  restoring the relationship between people and their land.

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