Month: February 2015

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Anti-Balaka

CAR in Africa

CAR in Africa

The civil strife in the CAR (Central African Republic) has faded from the news, but it is not over. The international media describes the conflict as religious in nature, saying it pits the “mostly Muslim” Seleka Rebels against the “Christian” Anti-Balaka

My Christian friends from CAR and the countries around it are shocked and dismayed that the international media calls the Anti-Balaka “Christian”. They point to photos of Anti-Balaka militiamen draped with charms and talismans for protection, a practice denounced by the churches and one which has its roots in African traditional religion, not Christianity.

A federation of churches in the CAR issued a statement decrying the characterization of the crisis by the international media saying that the international media: “has given a religious connotation to a crisis that is in its core political and military”. My friends have noted that few of the Anti-Balaka are members of a church or attend one regularly. A friend from the CAR posted an update on Facebook which included the following paragraph:

“During our stay, we were encountered with two AntiBalaka who decided to turn to Jesus Christ and asked that their Amulettes could be burnt. … The event took place in public and had a big impact on the rest of the militia.

My Christian friends from CAR and neighboring countries continue to be dismayed that the international media puts them in the same religion with violent militiamen who openly use religious practices denounced by their churches – people they are evangelizing.

There is no grand conspiracy here, just a lack of understanding and intellectual laziness.

Elisee Zama (courtesy Wycliffe Global Alliance)

Elisee Zama (courtesy Wycliffe Global Alliance)

In the meantime, the CAR has over 70 languages, many of which do not have the Bible. At least one national translator, Elisee Zama, was killed in the conflict, in front of his wife and children who he was leading to safety. Many translation programs were disrupted and equipment was looted. Translation was never easy in the CAR. Now it is more difficult and in some places it is even dangerous. Danger is a growing feature of many places where Bible translation is still needed. Although we do not face that kind of danger in Ghana, the violent conflicts in Nigeria and Mali are not far away.

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Mesrop Mashtots

Painting of Mesrop Mashtots with his alphabet

Painting of Mesrop Mashtots with his alphabet

Every year, Armenian Christians celebrate Mesrop Mashtots who passed away on this day (February 17) in the year 440. He was an Armenian theologian, linguist and hymnologist, best known inventing the Armenian alphabet in 405 AD.

He was born to a noble family and had a classical education, but left his privileged position to preach the Gospel in Armenia. He had great difficulty establishing people in faith because Syriac was the only language used in church services and few Armenians understood it. Mesrop wanted to minister in Armenian, the language of the people. There was a problem; the Armenian language did not have an alphabet. It has never been written.

Mesrop enlisted the support of the King for this endeavor to create an alphabet for Armenian. As soon as he finished the alphabet others translated the Bible into Armenian using the new alphabet. He then started schools in Armenian to drive learning down to everyone.

Armenian alphabet carved in stone

Armenian alphabet carved in stone

The very first sentence written in the new Armenian alphabet was the first verse of the Book of Proverbs: “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding.” Even today, Armenians consider Mesrop’s creation of the Armenian alphabet one of the most important events in their history. Not only did it enable the translation of the Bible, it also caused an explosion of writing in Armenian. Literature abounded.

Such was the religious, social and cultural impact that there is hardly a town in Armenia which does not have a street named after Mesrop.

Statue of Mesrop Mashtots

Statue of Mesrop Mashtots

It is odd to think about Europeans as illiterate peasants speaking languages without writing – people needing to climb the tall hill of learning another language to get education or have access to the Bible. But it was really like that. In that context, which is the same as that or most bibleless peoples today, Mesrop did not see developing an alphabet as an academic exercise. Rather he saw it as fundamental to anchoring Armenians in the faith and to having an informed society. It is this same motivation that even today keeps people developing alphabets for unwritten languages, organizing literacy and translating the Bible.

Driving information, and the ability to store and process information, down to the grassroots is not a paternalistic endeavor where the missionary seeks to “civilize” local people. Rather, it is a way to give people the tools that enable them to make their own decisions and promote the changes they want. It is a missionary method that believes that the through the Bible the Holy Spirit will guide new converts to make the right choices. It is quite different from an approach where the Christians at the top expect people at the grassroots to learn the language of those at the top to get access to the Bible. Or one where the VIPs tell people at the grassroots what they should believe and do.

This table shows the codes for using the Armenian alphabet on computers. In a few short clicks I put the Armenian keyboard on my computer and typed this: աբգդէֆքհիճկլմնոպխրստըվւցեզ. Mesrop would be pleased.

Table showing how the Armenian alphabet is encoded on computers

Table showing how the Armenian alphabet is encoded on computers

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Respect

When he was about 4 or 5, our son Matthew was at our neighbors house in Ouagadougou – a wonderful Burkina Faso family who befriended us. They had an outhouse and indoor plumbing. He needed to use the bathroom, and he chose the outhouse. But he opened the door to find the man of the house inside. He quickly closed the door and went back to play and wait.

When the man came out, he scolded Matthew for opening the door without knocking. Matthew followed our careful instructions about what to do when an adult talks to him –stand there, look the adult in the face and listen. The man was furious with his behavior and complained.

In Burkina Faso, we had often seen children running from parents reprimanding them. We had taught our children “better”. And that was the problem.

When the lady of the house brought Matthew’s behavior to our attention, we learned something – that when a child runs from an adult, that child is showing respect; but when a child stands there, looks the adult in face and takes it, that child is defying the adult. Matthew’s behavior, which we had carefully taught him, was perceived as defiant and disrespectful.

Matthew with Morelle and Susanne, the lady mentioned in the story

Matthew with Morelle and Susanne, the lady mentioned in the story

As I have noted before, we tend to think of culture as the stuff you can see – the food, the houses. But culture defines behavior. The same action that is respectful in one culture can be disrespectful in another. Respect and disrespect are universal – every culture has them. But what actions and words show them is anything but universal. The greatest commandments – that we love the Lord our God and our neighbor – are universal, the things we do to show that love are culturally determined. Being a Christian in another culture means loving and respecting people on their terms, not on mine.

PS: We managed to smooth the waters with our neighbors, in fact, we are great friends to this day.

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Why Cyrillic?

Have you ever wondered why the alphabet for Russian is not called Russian, but rather Cyrillic? Well, that is because it is named after a missionary name Cyril who died on February 14 in the year 869.

Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius

In 862 Cyril and his brother Methodius moved from Rome to Moravia to evangelize. They were not the first missionaries to Moravia. But, they are the most remembered because they did things differently. They wanted worship and preaching in the language of the people, instead of Latin. Some in the church opposed that. They wanted everyone to learn and use Latin because that was the language of unity, education and progress.

But Cyril and his brother were not deterred, but they did run into a problem – the language had never been written. Cyril set out to produce an alphabet that suited the language. He did not finish, but those working with him did. That alphabet fit the language really well. In fact, it fit other Slavic languages as well. It was later modified to become the Cyrillic script which is still used in many Slavic languages, including Russian.

Places using Cyrillic Script

Places using Cyrillic Script

Eventually the objections to the use of the local language were overcome and the liturgy Cyril and Methodius developed was formally authorized for use in the churches. Cyril died in Rome on February 4, 869, but he and his brother are still celebrated every year on May 11 in Bulgaria. That celebration includes spelling bees.

Cyril was one of the first in what has become an important, if unnoticed, contribution of missionaries. Did you know that missionaries developed the alphabets of most of the languages in the world? But Cyrillic might be the only one named after a missionary. Writing is probably the most foundational element of learning and transformation, and Christians have promoted it for all languages, even in places where others have opposed it. The benefits are so pervasive that it seems unjust to call the development of an alphabet a “by-product” of Bible translation. Let’s not forget that Cyril’s alphabet documented the discoveries and engineering of a successful  space program.

Cyrillic alphabet

Cyrillic alphabet

It is ironic that the Cyrillic Script, having been developed by a missionary was then used as a tool for an atheist political philosophy, Soviet communism. But that did not last, of course, and Bibles printed using the Cyril’s alphabet now flow freely throughout Russia and other Slavic countries.

About 70% of the worlds living languages have alphabets, most developed by missionaries working in the tradition of Cyril. But there are still about 1900 languages without an alphabet. It looks like people motivated by Christian faith will develop alphabets for those in the coming two or three decades. Time is running out for anyone with Cyril’s holy ambition.