Friday, December 23, 2022

It is the 23rd of December 2022. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It is the dead of winter- I hope you are staying warm while it looks like here in Orange County. It might be 80 degrees on Christmas- but for those of you in colder climes, let’s take a midwinter trip to Fiji.

Yes, that Melanesian paradise- “Melanesian” puts it just northeast of Australia with the Solomon Islands as opposed to “Polynesia,” which includes New Zealand, the Easter Islands to the East and Hawaii in the north, and “Micronesia” just north of Melanesia and east of the Philippines.

Fiji was inhabited some 3500 years ago by settlers from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They lived an isolated, tribal lifestyle and were not noticed by the west until Abel Tasman took note of the islands in 1643. Captain James Cook took note of them over a century later, and they were first explored in 1792 by William Bligh after he saw the islands after having been ousted from the HMS Bounty.

Westerners- in this case mostly British- first took note of the sandalwood which they exported, and then the sea cucumber- which was treated as a delicacy. The British brought a few important things- their Indian servants who, many remained and now makeup 1/3 of the Fijian population, and guns- with the arrival of guns, these clans became more warlike and territorial. However, they also sent missionaries who helped pacify the island nation, and today it is considered the “Bible Belt” of the South Pacific. How did this happen? Today I’m going to tell you the story of John Hunt- a missionary who, along with his wife Hannah, first arrived in Fiji on the island of Rewa on this the 23rd of December in 1839.

Other missionaries had been to other “-nesian” islands in the South Pacific. Still, missionaries had stayed away from Fiji in part because of their reputation as warlike and as cannibals (they indeed practiced cannibalism, and one missionary was famously eaten in later decades- but this was largely a ceremonial practice after defeating an enemy in war and not a regular custom).

John and Hannah were sent by the Methodist mission society, and John was charged with the project of learning the language and translating the Bible into the Fijian language. John would also preach once he got the hang of the language, and he and Hannah set up a medical clinic.

There are a few accounts of the work of John Hunt from the 19th century written by other missionaries who traveled to Fiji and have first-person accounts of their work. And here we come across a number of fantastical sounding stories- being saved miraculously, warring tribes retreating inexplicably, cannibals converting on the spot into peaceful Christians. This is often the rub with missionaries' stories- on the one hand, I am someone who believes in the supernatural, and God works in various ways in various times and places. But we also know that sometimes even the most pious can exaggerate or so tell a story in such a way as to leave out or subvert natural causes for supernatural.

The truth of the matter is that John and Hannah Hunt would bring the text itself to the people in their language and then so inspire others to come, not for Sandalwood and Sea Cucumber but for the conversion of their fellow humans. It was not a glamorous life- in fact, conditions were difficult- the couple had 5 children, all died under the age of 2, and John succumbed to dysentery in 1848 at the young age of 36. Nonetheless, the king of Fiji, Cakobau, would convert in 1854, and soon after, many of the Fijians would convert- blending their Melanesian culture with their newfound Christian faith.

Today the island nation, made up of over 300 islands and roughly 900,000 people, is 64% Christian, with the majority of them being Methodist- that is, the church of John and Hannah Hunt, who arrived in the islands 2 days before Christmas, December 23rd in 1839.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary- from Galatians:

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 23rd of December 2022, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who once wondered why Cannibals were so angry but soon learned it was because they were fed up with people- He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows that a cannibal who is later to dinner might get the cold shoulder- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.