The Indian-Jesuit Relationship In Colonial America
American Religion, American Literature
Princeton Theological Seminary
Katherine Dickens (Paper #1)
October 6, 2014
The Indian-Jesuit Relationship in Colonial America:
The History of Culture, Baptism and the Emerging American Christian
What does it mean to think of identity as a result of someone else’s death?
With the death of the American Indian, arose the birth of the American Christian. European Jesuit priests were sent over in waves to colonialize the Indians and they did so by either baptizing or exterminating their villages. Therefore, the American identity is rooted in death and trauma. Similarly, Christianity is built on trauma because of Christ’s bloody death and crucifixion. There is apprehension towards resolving tensions …show more content…
“Most native peoples worshipped an all knowing Creator…. including an evil god who dealt with disaster, but also members of most tribes believed in the immortality of the human soul and an afterlife, the main feature of which was the abundance of every good thing that made earthly life secure and pleasant”iv. While there are several similarities between the early religious culture of the American Indian and the European colonists (Early Christian American), it is more important in this context to note their differences. “The Indians did not distinguish between the natural and the supernatural. The Indians perceived the “material” and “spiritual” as a unified realm of being—a kind of extended kinship…by contrast, Protestant and Catholic traditions were more inclined to emphasize the gulf that separated the pure, spiritual, spiritual beings in heaven—God”. I Kateri discusses differences between her Indian past and her rising Christian awakening. “Does God pull only certain ones toward him, leaving others for hell? The Mohawk and Algonquin do not believe in hell. Is it, then, not there for them, if they do not believe it is there? But Christians believe in Christ, therefore they are saved from …show more content…
Baptism was a healing ritual for Indians and Christians. “Indians understood the baptismal ritual as physically curative. Jesuits similarly expected miraculous recovery to accompany baptism”.vi It is important to remember that John the Baptist baptized Jesus so that He could indentify with sinners. His baptism symbolizes the first “into the righteousness of Christ, dying with Him and rising free from sin in order to walk in the newness of life”vii. It is significant to note that scholars argue over whether or not Jesus actually baptized anyone. Most think that he never did, because our sacrament of baptism commemorates the death and resurrection of
Princeton Theological Seminary
Katherine Dickens (Paper #1)
October 6, 2014
The Indian-Jesuit Relationship in Colonial America:
The History of Culture, Baptism and the Emerging American Christian
What does it mean to think of identity as a result of someone else’s death?
With the death of the American Indian, arose the birth of the American Christian. European Jesuit priests were sent over in waves to colonialize the Indians and they did so by either baptizing or exterminating their villages. Therefore, the American identity is rooted in death and trauma. Similarly, Christianity is built on trauma because of Christ’s bloody death and crucifixion. There is apprehension towards resolving tensions …show more content…
“Most native peoples worshipped an all knowing Creator…. including an evil god who dealt with disaster, but also members of most tribes believed in the immortality of the human soul and an afterlife, the main feature of which was the abundance of every good thing that made earthly life secure and pleasant”iv. While there are several similarities between the early religious culture of the American Indian and the European colonists (Early Christian American), it is more important in this context to note their differences. “The Indians did not distinguish between the natural and the supernatural. The Indians perceived the “material” and “spiritual” as a unified realm of being—a kind of extended kinship…by contrast, Protestant and Catholic traditions were more inclined to emphasize the gulf that separated the pure, spiritual, spiritual beings in heaven—God”. I Kateri discusses differences between her Indian past and her rising Christian awakening. “Does God pull only certain ones toward him, leaving others for hell? The Mohawk and Algonquin do not believe in hell. Is it, then, not there for them, if they do not believe it is there? But Christians believe in Christ, therefore they are saved from …show more content…
Baptism was a healing ritual for Indians and Christians. “Indians understood the baptismal ritual as physically curative. Jesuits similarly expected miraculous recovery to accompany baptism”.vi It is important to remember that John the Baptist baptized Jesus so that He could indentify with sinners. His baptism symbolizes the first “into the righteousness of Christ, dying with Him and rising free from sin in order to walk in the newness of life”vii. It is significant to note that scholars argue over whether or not Jesus actually baptized anyone. Most think that he never did, because our sacrament of baptism commemorates the death and resurrection of