Created: 2020-07-15 Wed 15:15
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From the text we get this example:
A North American touring the highlands of New Guinea for a visit to one of the tribes living in the outback might well witness men decorated in bird-of-paradise feathers, nude (save for a penis sheath), covered in ashes, and dancing before a fire at the side of which are pigs bound in vines and banana leaves. His or her first reaction might well be to take some photographs in order to show “the folks back home” some of the exotic aspects of life among primitive peoples. But this picture can be reversed.
Suppose the tribesmen of the outback visit a downtown church on Sunday morning. They observe rows of oddly dressed people (what, after all, is the purpose of a necktie?), notice that some sit while others sing, listen to one person speak at length, and see still others pass plates onto which paper and metal disks are placed. What are these tribesmen to think? Where, after all, are the pigs? The fire? The sacred feathers? In both cases, the observer lacks a sense of perspective and context.
The lesson is a simple one. It is impossible to get at the intention that lies behind religious behavior unless we have a willingness to enter sympathetically into the cultural worldview of another person, at least for a moment.
Created by Dale Hathaway.