Deborah Brown
Feb. 20. 2012
BBST 306/Acts
M. 6-8 PM
Reflection Paper
Peace Child

I never imagined that people such as the Sawi actually exist. I heard stories about them but in the book, Peace Child, written by Don Richardson, the issue has never been more personal. A question that kept arising as I read through the books, was why is treachery so valued? The people were obviously affected and each act of revenge or violence just stimulated more fear among the people. Yet, it was obvious that people kept hoping to trust because there was always hope to establish friendship and peace, even though most times it was regretted later on. New insights I gained about God while reading Peace Child was how God is so powerful, He is able
The Sawi thought Judas was clever and admired him for being witty enough to manipulate Jesus, or so they thought. Their culture values fighting, warriors, and how to one-up others in revenge, the Gospel at first was misunderstood. However, the confusion was later turned to anger against Judas because he had killed God’s “Peace Child.” So many cultures have had decades and centuries worth of tradition and way of life that to try to fit in the Gospel is sometimes confusing. I grew up in Asia, Taiwan, in a very Buddhist country where ancestor worship is common among almost 90% of the population. It was hard when my family transferred to the Christian faith. To this day they have arguments in what is acceptable in their culture and what isn’t. For example, just this past winter they argued whether bowing and honoring our ancestors grave was acceptable or not, holding incense and dealing with sacrifices were biblical or not. There are countless differences among the world in cultural differences and our personal experiences help us relate to our readings of Scripture so that each of us are impacted in different ways, however, the amazing aspect of Christ and the Gospel is that is does reach and impact people