1. Understanding & Evangelizing Animists
A presentation by Dr. Peter Hammond

3. On one of my
overseas ministry
trips an in-flight
documentary
caught my
attention. Some
anthropologist
was waxing
eloquent about
the “incredibly
advanced Mayan
civilization” of
Central America
in the 15th
Century.

4. They didn't have a written language, but they
were “incredibly advanced.”

5. Preferring
Paganism?
These Mayans built
spectacular
pyramid like
temples
- all without the
wheel! Of course
they did use
slave labour to
move all those
massive stones,

6. but the slaves were
captured from
neighbouring tribes!

7. Unfortunately, these impressive temples were
used for human sacrifices. The human sacrifices
were necessary to make the Sun rise each day!
But they only used slaves and prisoners captured
from neighbouring tribes!

8. None of this
seems to have
dampened the
enthusiasm of
this
anthropologist
as he eagerly
described the
“amazing”,
“complex” and
“intricate”
Mayan
civilization.

9. They had a “fascinating” sport which was a cross
between our basketball and football, although
you could only use your shoulder to score “a
goal.” Unfortunately the losing team were all put
to death!

10. And so it carried
on. I could only
wonder at what
mental and
ethical
gymnastics this
anthropologist
and film
presenter could
do in order to
praise the
“incredibly
advanced Mayan
Civilization”
which had not yet
discovered the
wheel, did not
have a written
language

11. used slave
labour,
engaged in
human
sacrifice
and
routinely
executed
the losing
sports
teams!

12. During a visit to the Field Museum, in Chicago, I saw a
similar display of reverence for paganism. Part of the
exhibit included the cover of an old Time magazine cover
“Lost Tribes – Lost Knowledge”.

13. The cover picture
was of a primitive
tribesman from
Papua New Guinea
with a bone through
his nose. The sub
title read:
“Treasure
troves of
scientific
knowledge are
being lost by
tribes going
extinct.”

14. I wondered what
scientific knowledge
would be possessed
by tribes without a
written language, but
closer examination
revealed that these
tribes were
“going extinct”
because of the work
of Christian
missionaries!

15. As these tribes are evangelized and come to Christ they
abandoned their old tribal religions of head hunting,
cannibalism, spirit worship and polygamy.

16. To the “scientist”
the tribes were
“going extinct”
because they no
longer walked
around naked and
no longer engaged
in body
scarification,
tattooing and body
piercing!

17. Now they wore
clothes and
glasses, went
to the doctor
instead of the
witchdoctor,
had schools,
were learning
to read, only
married once
and
worshipped in
Church!

18. Being somewhat ignorant of the
science of anthropology I would
have thought that ending inter-
tribal warfare, cannibalism,
polygamy and occultism was good.

19. I would have also assumed that
giving people the gift of literacy,
medicines to improve their
health and extend life
expectancy, improving people's
sight with glasses and bringing
them the life transforming
Gospel of Jesus Christ was all
preferable to allow them to
languish in superstition,
ignorance and animistic fear.

20. But NO! As National
Geographic articles
bemoaning the
“cultural genocide”
of New Tribes Mission,
and other pioneer
missions in the Amazon
jungle,
have pointed out,

21. these missionaries
are destroying
“the cultural
distinctives”
of unique tribal
cultures.

22. Apparently, it is preferable to have illiteracy,
polygamy, incessant tribal warfare, cannibalism,
human sacrifices,

23. slavery,
high infant
mortality
and low life
expectancies
- not
to mention
people dying
without the
knowledge of
Christ

24. - just so that journalists and anthropologists can have the
more interesting, and financially lucrative, photo ops of
naked savages engaging in body scarification and the
eating of their neighbours.

25. “For although they knew God, they
neither glorified Him as God, nor
gave thanks to Him, but their
thinking became futile and their
foolish hearts were darkened.”
Romans 1:21

27. ANIMISM is “Spirit Worship”. It is the primary religion of over
100 million tribal people scattered throughout Africa, New
Guinea,

28. the Pacific Islands, North and South America, Australia, New
Zealand, India and Japan. Elements of basic Animism are
also adhered to by some Muslims, Buddhists and nominal
“Christians.”

32. Animism includes:
NECROLATRY (the worship of the souls of the
dead): Tribal people tend to regard departed
ancestors as part of the clan and fear the harm that
the departed can do to the living. (Especially they
fear that those who die unnaturally will come back
to “haunt” them).

33. SPIRIT WORSHIP: Tribal religions believe in
the existence of personal spirits or demons as
well as impersonal spiritual forces in nature
which inhabit the earth, air, fire, water, trees,
mountains and animal life. Life for them is
dominated by a host of taboos and rituals to
placate the spirits.
Spirit tree

34. WITCHDOCTORS: These shamans, priests or
witchdoctors are “expert mediators” who know the
proper incantations and sacrifices at times of
sickness and disaster to placate “the spirits”.

35. MAGIC: Imitative magic
seeks to bring harm to an
enemy by attacking a
representation of him (e.g.
a voodoo doll!)
Contagious Magic is the
connection between a
person and his hair
clippings, nail parings,
sweat, spit or faeces.

36. The blood of an animal (or person) may be
drunk in order to gain the strength of that
animal or (in the case of cannibalism) person.

37. FETISHISM:
Superstitious beliefs that
there is some spiritual
energy or force in
charms, amulets or
fetishes.

38. NATURISM: is the personification and worship of
the forces of nature
– sun, moon, stars, fire, volcanos, storms, animals

39. (e.g. the sun in Ancient Egypt, the sacred cow
of the Hindus in India, the sacred mountain of
Shintoism in Japan).
Shinto shrine

40. Naturism normally leads to idolatry and
polytheism (the worship of many gods).
Naturism often relates to fertility – both in
agriculture and human reproduction.

41. Nature worship, rituals and
sacrifices are intended to
guarantee fertility. Human
sacrifices are an extreme
example of this.

42. TOTEMISM (“brother – sister –
kin”) emphasises the unity of
the clan with some sacred plant
or animal.

43. 4 CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMISM
1. The whole of life is pervaded with and governed by
fear.

44. 2. The
absence of
love and
hope.

46. 3. There are no moral absolutes
(sin is seen as the violation of culture, custom
and spirit forces).
A Woman undergoes ritual purification
for adultery –adultery couldbetaken
even as cooking for another man.

47. 4. Fatalism and a sense of helplessness in the
face of external forces.

48. Heathenism does not deny God as much as ignore Him
by worshiping natural forces

49. and mysterious demon powers through magical
ceremonies and sacrifices.

50. “Do not practise divination or sorcery . . . Do not cut
your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on
yourselves. I am the Lord . . . Do not turn to
mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be
defiled by them.
I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:26-31

51. “When you enter the land
the Lord your God is
giving you, do not learn to
imitate the detestable
ways of the nations there.
Let no one be found
among you who sacrifices
his son or daughter in the
fire, who practises
divination or sorcery,
interprets omens,
engages in witchcraft,

52. or casts spells, or who is a
medium or spiritist or who
consults the dead. Anyone
who does these things is
detestable to the Lord, and
because of these detestable
practices the Lord your
God will drive out those
nations before you. You
must be blameless before
the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-13

53. a cursed nation
An example of a country which has been dedicated
to ancestral spirits is Haiti.

54. As the Wall Street Journal noted in its article: “Haiti and the Voodoo
Curse: The Cultural Roots of the Country’s Endless Misery”,
that despite Haiti having received billions of dollars in foreign aid
over the last 50 years, it remains the least developed country
in the Western hemisphere.

55. Haiti has defied all development predictions. Operation World reports
that Haiti is the poorest state in the Western hemisphere with
over 75% of the population living on less than $2 a day.
Effective unemployment is around 70%.

56. 98% of the island nation of Haiti is deforested.

57. Haiti has some of the worst pollution, drought, famine, rapid rise of drug
abuse and spread of AIDS in the Western hemisphere. An estimated
75% of the population are actively involved in voodoo.

58. Haiti is at the top of the corruption index. A full 25% of the police are in
the pay of drug lords and gangs. The massive earthquake in 2010 was
one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the Western hemisphere,
with over 300,000 dead.

59. At its inception in 1803,
Haiti was dedicated to
satan.
In 2003, voodoo was
declared a national religion
of Haiti.

60. obstacle to
progress
The Wall Street Journal
quotes Cameroonian
development expert,
Daniel Etounga-Manguelle
as observing that
voodooism is “one
of the principal
obstacles to
progress in Africa.”

61. Daniel Etounga-Manguelle observes that “Haiti’s culture is powerfully
influenced by its religion, voodoo. Voodoo is one of numerous
spirit-based religions common to Africa.

62. It is without ethical content. Its followers believe that their destinies are
controlled by hundreds of capricious spirits who must be propitiated
through voodoo ceremonies.” Animism is a “progress-resistant force”.

63. The Wall Street Journal observed: “A Haitian child is made to understand
that everything that happens is due to the spirits. He is raised to
externalize evil and to understand he is in continuous danger. Haitians
are afraid of each other. You will find a high degree of paranoia in Haiti.”

64. understanding animism
Animism is spirit worship. It involves necrolatry
– the worship of the souls of the dead.

65. The witchdoctors or shamans are regarded as expert mediators
who know the proper incantations and sacrifices to placate the spirits.

66. Animism is a
religion that sees
a spiritual force
behind every
event and many
objects in the
physical world
have some
spiritual
significance.
Animism seems
obsessed with
invoking good
luck and avoiding
bad luck.

67. Each community is seen as having its own sets
of gods and spirits. These are territorial.

68. pervasive fear
Fear plays a major role in the life of Animists. They see the world as full
of spirits, omens, spells and forces. Through magic, divination and
sacred rituals, they seek protection to appease the gods,
the spirits and the ancestors.

69. They observe numerous taboos and prohibitions and observe sacred
places. For example, in Haiti there is a sacred tree where a pact with the
devil was signed over two centuries ago by witchdoctors. Animists see a
whole host of objects as sacred things with sacred power.

70. They recognize sacred persons and observe sacred actions. One of these
is the circumcision rituals on young men in the Xhosa tribe. Many
hundreds of men have died from these dangerous circumcision rituals.

71. the sangoma and the snake
During the World Cup 2010, much publicity was given to a Burmese rock
python, owned by a sangoma (witch doctor), in Nyanga. It was alleged
that this python was able to communicate to the sangoma which team
would win each match. Gamblers paid the sangoma for predictions.

72. The SPCA found the snake to be underweight, suffering from
dehydration, mouth rot and pneumonia and confiscated the python to
give it medical care. The sangoma, 25 year old Siyabonga Mthethwa,
said that the SPCA did not understand sangomas:
“Everything I said does not make sense to them.”

73. ritual murder
The High Court in Pietermaritzburg found 28 year old Smangaliso
Ngubane guilty of murder for having slaughtered
his 17 month old baby daughter in a ritual killing.

74. Amini Xaba was stabbed by her father six times in what state witnesses
described as “an offering to his ancestors”. Ngubane testified that he
had heard voices that had told him to do this.

75. satanic sacrifice
Two teenage girls in Johannesburg were doused with petrol and set
alight in a satanic ritual. The provincial police spokesman reported
that the girls were tied up by their friends and burned
in what appeared to be a satanic ritual.

76. The Star quoted from Izabella Little, of the Teenage Advice Forum, Life
Talk, that: “Satanism is not spoken about very often”. She mentioned an
incident in Cape Town where a mother reported her teenage daughter
kidnapped and taken to some satanic church
where another teenager was murdered.

77. She managed to escape but was very traumatized. Police investigated
the incident, but it was never mentioned in the media. “We always hear
rumours about Satanism, but it is not something people are talking
about. We would like them to come forward
so that this can come into the open.”

78. child sacrifice
In Uganda the government is setting up posters in playgrounds and on
roadsides warning of the danger of abduction by witchdoctors for child
sacrifice. Police have investigated hundreds of cases of child sacrifice in
Uganda.

79. The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides. The
Anti-Human Sacrifice Task Force reports that there is a growing belief
that when you sacrifice a child, you get wealth. There are people willing
to buy these children to be sacrificed for the prosperity of their
business.

80. powerful spell
The UK based charity, Jubilee
Campaign, reports that they know of
over 900 cases of human sacrifice in
the country.
Churches are singing a song:
“Heal our land,
end child sacrifice.”

81. A BBC undercover reporter filmed a local witch doctor who explained
how the sacrifice of a child is “the most powerful spell”. The witch
doctor was recorded saying: “there are two ways of doing this, we can
bury the child alive on your construction site, or we can cut him in
different places and put the blood in the bottle of spiritual medicine.”

82. haunted roads
Sindephi Spogter-KaMcina of the National Executive Committee of the
Traditional Healers Association claimed that the roads of South Africa
are haunted because whites have not fetched the spirits of their dead
from roadside accident scenes.

83. He explained that the growing Christian tradition of putting up roadside
memorial crosses and placing flowers at the scene of an accidental
death, stops the soul of the deceased from departing.

84. He claimed that roadside memorials cause accidents because the white
people did not appease their loved ones’ spirit. He explained that in
African traditions the spirit of the dead is brought back home from the
scene of the death.

85. Some use a branch from a young tree to seep up the spirit and take it
to the body, which must be buried in the ancestral area.

86. Animism is
serious
These and many other
examples remind us that
Animism is real
and the consequences of
dedicating a nation to
ancestral spirits
are very serious.

87. The Scriptures are clear: “You shall not… practise divination or
soothsaying… give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not
seek after them, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:26, 31

88. What the Bible Says
“When you come into the land
which the Lord your God has
given you,
you shall not
learn to follow
the abominations
of those nations.

89. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his
daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft,
or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist,
or one who calls up the dead.

90. For all who do these
things are
an abomination
to the Lord
and because of
these abominations
the Lord your God
drives them out
from before you.
You shall be blameless
before the Lord
your God.

91. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and
diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has
not appointed such for you.” Deuteronomy 18:9-14

92. communicating with the dead
The Scriptures are clear that we are not able to communicate with the
spirits of departed ancestors. It is appointed unto man once to die and
after that the Judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

93. There is a great gulf set
between the living and the
dead and
communication between
them is impossible
(Luke 16:26).

94. However, many people who think that they are communicating with
ancestral spirits are actually communicating with deceptive demons,
unclean spirits (Matthew 10:1), evil spirits (Acts 19:12), fallen angels
who rebelled and are now in darkness bound for Judgment (Jude 6).

95. Their power is limited (2 Peter 2:4). They serve the devil, the prince of
darkness, the prince of this world (Matthew 12:24; John 12:31).

96. occultism
Occult practices honour satan rather than God. Occultism makes the
enemies of God the guiding forces and the source of knowledge.

97. Those who are
“giving heed to
deceiving spirits
and doctrines of
demons” actually
“depart from the
faith…”
1 Timothy 4:1.
We are
commanded
“Do not learn the
ways of the
heathen…”
Jeremiah 10:2

98. The Bible teaches us not to fear satan or his
demons, but to stand against them in the strength
of the Lord.

99. “For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love
and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

100. “Submit yourselves, then,
to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.”
James 4:7

104. www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

105. FRONTLINE FELLOWSHIP
PO Box 74
Newlands, 7725
Cape Town
South Africa
Mission@Frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

106. “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are
already ripe for harvest!” John 4:35