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Wheaton College scrubs ‘savage’ from plaque honoring murdered missionaries​

The Christians were speared to death by an indigenous tribe
March 17, 2021 | 1:44 pm
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Wheaton College in suburban Chicago on October 11, 2017 (Photo: NOVA SAFO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Written by:

Amber Athey




Wheaton College will be removing and replacing a plaque honoring a group of alumni who were murdered by an indigenous tribe during a missionary trip to Ecuador.
Why? Because it uses the word ‘savage’, the school’s president announced in an email Wednesday.
‘Recently, students, faculty, and staff have expressed concern about language on the plaque that is now recognized as offensive,’ president Philip Ryken said in the email. ‘Specifically, the word “savage” is regarded as pejorative and has been used historically to dehumanize and mistreat indigenous peoples around the world.’

The plaque, which had a home in Edman Chapel, honors Jim Elliot and Ed McCully, two members of the missionary group that sought to spread Christianity to indigenous peoples in Ecuador through Operation Auca. The missionaries spent months exchanging gifts with the Waodani (then known as the Auca) tribe before finally having a face-to-face meeting, which the missionaries considered a success. However, not long after the first meeting, five of the missionaries were speared to death, their bodies thrown into a river by tribesmen.
‘For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians,’ the plaque says. ‘After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas.’
Although the missionaries were killed, their trip is largely considered a success because it led to a long-term decline in violence among the Waodani people.
The plaque was gifted to the Illinois-based liberal arts college 64 years ago by Elliot and McCully’s classmates. It had already been removed by the college as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a photo obtained by The Spectator.
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Wheaton College removes plaque honoring Christian missionaries over word ‘savage’ (Photo obtained by The Spectator)
Wheaton College said it will appoint a task force to ‘review’ the language and ultimately replace the plaque.
‘Any descriptions on our campus of people or people groups should reflect the full dignity of human beings made in the image of God. With this in mind, the Senior Administrative Cabinet will appoint a task force to review the wording of the plaque and to make a specific recommendation by May 1 for its careful rewording and replacement,’ the college said in Wednesday’s email.

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By Amber Athey

Amber Athey is The Spectator’s Washington editor. She is a Tony Blankley fellow at the Steamboat Institute and the host of the Unfit to Print podcast.

https://spectator.us/topic/wheaton-college-plaque-operation-auca-missionaries-savage/
 
"For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians," the plaque says. "After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas."​

Remind me again what the word "Auca" means?
 
"For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians," the plaque says. "After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas."​

Remind me again what the word "Auca" means?
Exactly!
 
"For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians," the plaque says. "After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas."​

Remind me again what the word "Auca" means?
So... what does it mean?
I think it is terrible that they are taking down the plaque.
 
So... what does it mean?
I think it is terrible that they are taking down the plaque.
"Auca" is the name given the Huaorani by the neighbouring Quechua natives. It means "savage." They had a reputation for being quite murderous even before the missionaries arrived.
 
"Auca" is the name given the Huaorani by the neighbouring Quechua natives. It means "savage." They had a reputation for being quite murderous even before the missionaries arrived.
Correct, so this "woke" disaster removes the word "savage" describing the tribe whose name means "savage". You can't make this nonsense up. In the movie, Pee Wee Herman will play the college president.
 
"Auca" is the name given the Huaorani by the neighbouring Quechua natives. It means "savage." They had a reputation for being quite murderous even before the missionaries arrived.
Thank you!
 
I sent my thoughts on the plaque word changes via an email.. The following was the rely I received.

"Thank you for sharing your perspective, which will also be shared with our task force.
Wheaton College continues to believe that rewording and replacing (not removing, as some media outlets falsely have reported) the plaque honoring the sacrificial ministry of Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian is in the best interests of the gospel.
We have been encouraged in recent days by the strong support of alumni missionaries from around the world who understand the importance of translating good news into a vernacular that communicates effectively with a new generation. We have received similar encouragement from the Class of 1949 and from family members of the missionaries themselves. Far from wanting to rewrite Christian history, we want to share it both as accurately and as helpfully as we can—not for a 1950’s audience, but for 21st century visitors to Edman Chapel.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary and other contemporary lexicons, the term “savage” is considered pejorative or offensive when applied to indigenous peoples. Out of the rich treasures of the English language, we believe we can find faithful, inspiring ways to tell the story of Elliot, McCully, their colleagues, and their families without causing this unnecessary offense. This is not cancel culture, but gospel culture.
We know that using good words matters to the people these missionaries sought to reach with the gospel. Rather than being called the “Auca” (which means “savage” in Quechua), they prefer to be called the “Waorani” (which means “the people” in their own language). Elisabeth Elliot, too, came to question whether “savage” was a just or accurate term to describe the people she loved and served.
Good words from Wheaton alumni across generations both challenge and encourage us, and we hope that they will influence your walk with Christ as well:
The deaths of the missionaries in 1956 greatly affected me as a college student. Now we hear with different ears while our hearts follow the same path—Class of 1965
My late mother knew most of the missionaries personally and was a roommate of Elisabeth Elliot . . . The last thing those men would have wanted was a commemoration that would hurt the gospel—Class of 1979
As a missionary working with indigenous people in South America, I am constantly confronted by continuing negative effects due to racism . . . This step will help us shift towards the kind of relationships that our indigenous brothers and sisters truly desire to have with us—Class of 2007
In Christ’s service,

Philip Ryken
President | Wheaton College"
 
So the gospel has been "hurt" ever since the plaque was first displayed? I don't think so, Pee Wee Herman.
 
Seems to me that a murderous, unprovoked attack on people who only wanted to talk to you is "savage", regardless of how you prefer to call yourself.
 
Todd Friel goes off on Woke Wheaton for embracing Critical Race Theory.

 
I suppose the Declaration of Independence is next?
 
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