Daniel Everett came to the Pirahã as a Christian missionary. Thirty years later, he left an atheist. The indigenous Brazilian tribe had no need for his Jesus, just as they had no need for numbers, colors, rituals, sound sleep, daily meals, permanent shelter, the concept of God or stories about things that happened in the past.Everett is a professor of linguistics, and his studies in themselves seem to be fascinating. But the question that I want to hear him answer is what led him to reject his profession of faith, not sure he will, but I want to see what the book says about his relationship with Christ before his journey, during his journey... faithlessness is never sudden.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Don't Sleep, There are Snakes.
Don't Sleep, There are Snakes seems to be an Interesting book, and I think I want to read it. From the review:
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4 comments:
V-e-r-y interesting. How did you find the book? I've met several SIL linguists and several academic ones and few have this story to tell, faith-wise! Also seems to have turned his life upside down. Sad... but tell me the whole story, when you find the time!
Haven't had time to get the book or read it... I saw the review recently in Time magazine, and it's one of those "to do" things. You have to wonder about a substance of a faith that accepts the darkness instead of shining the true Light into it.
Okay, if you do and if there are any linguisticky bits that he uses for his walking away from faith, let me know! :) He seems to want to believe. But well observed - perhaps it wasn't faith he walked away from, and maybe he never had any except by way of tradition.
There are many of those, sadly.
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