‘The people who walk backwards into the future.’
An interview with Mark Chapman, a missionary who tells of using Genesis to reach
an animist people.
by Russell Grigg
Photo by Mark Chapman
Russell Grigg: Mark, please tell us about the Tigwa people.
Mark Chapman: They are a tribe of about 10,000 animists who
are part of the Manobo people group, living in the mountains on the island of Mindanao
in the southern Philippines. They plant corn, sweet potato, rice, and a few other
vegetables, and they hunt in the jungle for wild pigs and small animals. For hunting,
they use traps, spears, bows and arrows, and home-made guns. They make the latter
from lengths of waterpipe, with match-heads for gunpowder, and bits of lead from
old batteries for bullets, all held in with cotton wool.
What does it mean when you say they are animists?
Animism is the belief that animals, plants, and inanimate objects are inhabited
by spirits. The Tigwas’ lives are ruled by fear of evil spirits (demons).
Demons are often mentioned in the Bible, mainly in the Gospels, as causing some
physical and mental disorders, possessing human beings, and opposing the work of
God. We have seen examples of these things during our time among the Tigwa people.
They worship the spirits of rocks, trees, and rivers, and so have direct contact
with the spirit world.
They also consult witch doctors (shamans), especially before planting their fields,
and after calamities such as sickness, which they attribute to the spirits. They
then go to the shaman to find out how they may have offended the spirits and what
to do to appease them.
Mark and Susan Chapman with their children Ruth (left) and Hannah (right) are with OMF International. For the last four years, they have been working among the Tigwa tribe in the Philippines.
Why do you call them ‘the people who walk backwards into the future’?
As animists, they are constantly looking back into their history to their origins
to see where they came from and how they fit into the world in which they live.
This is very important to animistic people. The way they behave today is very much
dependent on what they believe happened in their past. They also want to ensure
that what they do now will not offend the spirits of their ancestors or the demons
that are part of their daily life.
What do they believe about their origins?
They believe that long, long ago, the Creator Spirit or Supreme Being brought all
things into existence. Their own myths and legends are interwoven into this, but
there are remnants of the Genesis account. We would expect this of course because,
like all people, they are descendants of Adam and Eve, through Noah and the dispersion
at Babel. They believe that there was a time when God the Creator was in communication
with people on earth, but then something went wrong; there was some sort of conflict,
and they are aware that God the Creator is now far removed from their everyday life.
What is their worldview about themselves?
In their worldview, they live in the mountains; above them is the sky dome, which
they believe is the realm of the evil spirits; outside the sky dome is the place
where they believe their myths and legends occurred; and above all this is God the
Creator. They believe that, when they die, they all go to a happy hunting ground,
where they will forever be running round shooting an unlimited supply of wild animals.
|
The world of the Tigwa is far different from that of Western countries. Images like
these reveal a way of life typical for this region.
Top: A favoured mode of transport is the water buffalo, seen here crossing
a swollen river.
Middle: Missionaries and other aid workers try to negotiate a hazardous,
muddy track by 4WD.
Lower: Felling trees provides a source of timber for their simple but adequate
houses like the one below.
|
How do you go about evangelizing them?
For reaching animistic tribes like the Tigwa, Genesis is the key book. Their origin
beliefs have been corrupted, but from Genesis we can tell them the true history
of their tribe. We can say to them, ‘Your ancestors had the true story, but
it has been lost. However, here it is: this is what really happened.’ We then
tell them the biblical account of the creation of Adam and Eve, and the biblical
account of the Fall—when the fellowship between their ancestors and God the
Creator was lost. We tell them about the coming of evil into the world, and we go
on to explain where Satan and the evil spirits fit into the picture.
How do you get from Genesis to the gospel?
We embark on chronological biblical teaching for up to a year of pre-evangelism.
We show the whole picture—the whole biblical worldview—using the promise
of the coming of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, in
Genesis 3:15, to demonstrate God’s solution to the problem of how
we can be restored to communication and fellowship with Him.
Do they want to get right with God?
The attraction of the gospel is that it offers them freedom from the oppression
of evil spirits, who control every part of their lives and keep them in poverty
and under bondage. The spirits dictate their diet, where and when they hunt, and
they demand animal sacrifices. The Tigwa have been under this domination by the
spirit world for thousands of years. So freedom in Christ is a radical thing, especially
when they see that Christ has power over the spirits.
How do you counter the influence of the spirits?
Their doctrines have come to them in the past from demons via their ancestors. The
shamans, who are often tribal chiefs, have to know all the legends and history of
their people group. They must also know the names of all the spirits and have intimate
contact with them. Because of this, we spend a lot of time teaching on the spiritual
deception that is involved in their culture. For example, they would be a lot healthier
if they were free from their dietary restrictions. The spirits forbid pregnant women
to eat a range of fruit and vegetables that would promote good health. Our aim is
to expose this deception and then present the truth. We teach the believers to memorize
appropriate verses of Scripture, and to quote these to see the power of God at work
against the demons.
Have you encountered opposition from the spirits?
Yes, many times. For example, one man believed and was baptized. That night a powerful
demonic spirit came and attacked his wife physically, trying to strangle her. The
husband prayed and the spirit left. The wife believed when she saw that Jesus was
more powerful than the demon. Westerners struggle with the idea of the spirit world
interacting with the physical, but the Tigwa don’t separate the physical from
the spiritual like we do in the West—to them it’s all one. We have to
minister and teach at the level of the spiritual realm, with particular reference
to their origins, as already mentioned, because that is where they’re at.
What response have you had to using this approach?
Through God’s grace, we saw people set free from their bondage to the spirits,
when they came to know the truth in Jesus. Although we were not the first missionaries
ever to go there, we were the first to actually live in their village and teach
along these lines. The first believers were baptized in January 1998, and since
then there have been four lots of baptisms, and there is now a church of about 30
believers.
What are your future plans?
We are returning later this year. We will be further researching their origin stories
to find other remnants from the true Genesis accounts, e.g. the Flood and the dispersion
at Babel, and we will then use these as a bridge to the truth of the Word of God.
One of the keys to reaching animistic people like the Tigwa is to show them their
true link with the past and why they are where they are; then to go on and show
them that they can know God the Creator through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who
is both God and man, and who came to earth and died and rose again for them. In
short, our goal is to present the truth because, if they know the truth, the truth
will set them free.
Mark, thank you very much.
Further reading
| It has been said that “Information is power”. When it comes to creation information we’d have to agree. Keep the ‘powerful’ evidence for God being Creator coming.  | | |
|
