GREAT PYTHON BLAMED FOR CURSE
September 1, 2006
by Debbie Burgett
A huge python snake managed to slither its way into the creation story of the Dao people of Indonesia.
"The great python -- that is the reason why we Dao people die!" exclaimed Apiyaawogi to missionary Scott Phillips.
The Dao man had Scott's full attention. It is vital for a missionary to learn and understand the culture, beliefs and stories of the people they have come to reach.
"If that snake had not eaten the blood of the Dao brother after it had seeped down into the ground, then we Dao people would not die. … It is the great python snake's fault that we die!"
Apiyaawogi had told the missionary about his people's beliefs concerning their creation story before, but Scott had never realized just how significant they actually were.
"A great snake to be blamed for a curse that causes physical death? That sounds strangely familiar doesn't it?" Scott observed, as he discussed the conversation later with his wife, Jennie.
"Jennie reminded me that these similarities between the Dao creation story and the creation story of the Bible should not to too incredibly surprising to us," Scott wrote, "because at one point in the history of humankind, not long after creation, every man that existed knew the true creation story."
But as it was passed down from generation to generation, the account of the Garden of Eden had become distorted along the way.
"Sometime in between now and then, humankind took a turn for the worst and did exactly what Romans one says: 'They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,'" wrote Scott.
During the same initial conversation with Apiyaawogi, Scott had asked him, "So where is it that your people think that a man's spirit-side goes when he dies?"
The Dao man replied, "We don't know those sorts of things … we cannot read like you, we do not have the God book like you … Where will our spirit-side go? Will it go into the ground? Will it go into the sky? We don't know!"
Pray that the Dao people will soon have the answer to that important question.
"Pray that as we are thinking through these concepts of how to clearly write out the true creation story from the Bible into their language, that God would give us wisdom in the words that we choose," wrote Scott. "Pray also that God would continually prepare their hearts for His message."
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