Author: Kamal Weerakoon

In a post-colonial world, the claim that Jesus Christ is the unique way to God sounds oppressive. It sounds “imperialistic” – it sounds like Christians come with the “weapon” of the gospel, to destroy the “ignorant”, “backward”, “pagan” religions, and set up “Christian” culture instead. And that’s why missionaries have such a negative stereotype these days. Anthropologists and cultural sociologists in particular really hate missionaries, because missionaries destroy the wonderful, happy, free native culture and replace it with miserable, repressed Christianity. They particularly hate the doctrine of sin, because that’s what makes the previously happy and healthy natives all...