Beliefs of a Frightened People

There was really only one thing in the May 1924 issue that struck me in a negative way. It’s hard for me because this issue seemed to be a really positive one, with many of the authors of the individual articles listing good things that have happened to them. However, over the course of these monthly issues, I've begun to see the idea of heathenism and the negative opinion of those who have a different faith than those of the missionaries, and the article I found is a good example of that.

The Other Sheep’s purpose is to report to the general Nazarene public the state of missional affairs across the globe. In my issue this week, there was an article about one of the local superstitions in India. According to the missionary who wrote in, there was a total eclipse of the moon, and in response the “poor people began to scream and groan”. The reason for this action was that the local belief is that the moon is struggling to get free from the eclipse, and the people show sympathy for it by moaning and grieving. They fast during this time, and then at the end of the eclipse, the people wash up and feast to celebrate the moon’s freedom from something that they cannot see. The author then states, “The eclipse lasted for some time. Just for how long I do not know, for after it had continued for an hour and a half, I retired.”

My first feeling was one of disbelief. She not only implies that the beliefs of the local people are inferior to hers, but instead of trying to explain to some of the members of the community what an eclipse is, she goes to bed. I think that I would at least stay up and try to comfort some of the people instead of dismissing their beliefs as silly and “strange”. All I can really do is ask why there was no attempt at education, and if there was  at all, why was it not mentioned and why were the beliefs of the people looked down on so negatively?