New Tribes Mission
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New Tribes Mission (NTM) is an international Christian mission organization based in Sanford, Florida. They have 3,200 missionaries in more than 18 nations, second only to Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL International.
NTM has an auxiliary organization called "Friends in Action", formerly "Friends of NTM".
The beliefs of the New Tribes Mission include "sola scriptura" (understood by NTM generally as the 66 books of the Bible) and a historical-grammatical hermeneutic interpretation of said "scripture".
Mission
NTM's Purpose Statement reads "Motivated by the love of Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, NTM exists to assist the ministry of the local church through the mobilizing, equipping, and coordinating of missionaries to evangelize unreached people groups, translate the Scriptures, and see indigenous New Testament churches established that truly glorify God."[link]The organization sends missionaries from local churches, often from the United States, to Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Their focus is on speakers of languages in which no translation of the Bible exists.[link] When such a group is identified, NTM first attempts to make contact and establish a relationship. Then, missionaries are sent to learn the language and the culture of the native people, while further developing relationships and providing humanitarian aid. The missionaries translate Biblical Literature into the native language, as well as teach natives how to read and write in their own language (which is prevalently necessary). The professed goal, however, is to establish a fully functioning church that operates independently of missionaries.
Early history
NTM was founded by Paul Fleming from Los Angeles in 1942. Fleming in the 1930s had worked as a missionary in the British colony Malaya. The organisation sent out its first group in November 1942, to Bolivia. Of the ten adults and six children, six were killed the following year.Initially, NTM was based in a former nightclub in Chicago. In 1943, NTM started publishing its magazine Brown Gold. In 1944/45, NTM moved headquarters to Fouts Springs in California, where it established its "boot camp".
In June 1950, the first plane bought by NTM crashed in Venezuela, killing all 15 people on board. The second plane bought by NTM crashed in November the same year at Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming), while on its way to bring missionaries abroad, killing all 18 people on board, including Paul Fleming and several children.
Criticism and controversy
NTM beliefs
The beliefs of the New Tribes Mission include "word by word inspiration," the "imminent ... pretribulation and pre-millenial return" of Jesus: "We are not ecumenical, charismatic or neo-evangelical." They also believe "in the fall of man, resulting in his complete and universal separation from God and his need of salvation"; those who die unsaved go to "unending punishment."[link]Methods
Survival International and other critics have accused the New Tribes Mission of using criminal tactics in their zeal to convert indigenous populations, including armed manhunts, kidnappings, selling them into forced labour, imprisonment in Mission camps, and even genocide. (Lewis pp. 127 and 177)In Paraguay in 1979 and 1986, the New Tribes Mission was accused of assisting in the forcible contact of nomadic Ayoreo Indians, whose unsuccessful attempts to remain in the forest led to several deaths. Others died soon after being brought out of the forest.[link][link][link][link] New Tribes Mission was also accused of assisting in policies of the dictator Alfredo Stroessner against the indigenous population.[link]
A letter of protest signed by Bishop Trevor Huddleston, Lord Avebury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, Rabbi Richard Rosen and Survival International President, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, called on the Mission to halt its supposed controversial activities and respect tribal religion and culture. (Lewis 1988, p. 221)
Eco-Action.org alleges that New Tribes Mission does not care about the welfare of the peoples they convert to their religion and that their aims and methods include not only religious conversion, but also to force them into settlements, camps or reservations, completely change their way of life, and integrate them into market economy by introducing money, US-American consumer goods and cash crops.[link]
Paul Gifford accuses NTM of engaging in industrial espionage (p. 202) and representing US foreign policy interests in countries where they are active (p. 205).
Because of their methods in Latin America, NTM has been investigated by the all-party Parliamentary Human Rights Committee in Britain. (Gifford, p. 114)
Recent controversy in Venezuela
In October 2005, the BBC reported that Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez had announced his intention to expel the New Tribes Mission from Venezuela. He accused the New Tribes Mission of imperialism, of violating Venezuela's national sovereignty, and of violating the country's laws by making unauthorised flights into and out of the country. He also attacked the group for building lavish camps in which to live next to poverty-stricken villages.[link]
Responding to the allegations, NTM said, "Any kind of air travel we do, we always do within the guidelines of what the government allows. We always file reports." With respect to "luxury" living, they "live in homes that make it possible for them to continue the work that they do. The homes that they live in are very simple."[link]
Chávez announced that he had not yet signed the order, but was giving the NTM "time to gather their stuff."
According to the AP, on November 3rd, 2005, nearly 3,000 Venezuelan tribal people marched in Puerto Ayacucho protesting against the expulsion of NTM. [link], uncut version - [link]
External links
- [New Tribes Mission] (official site)
- [Friends in Action] (official site)
- [New Tribes Mission] Critical article by Eco-Action
- Louise Rimmer: [Roar of the bulldozer could sound the death knell for tribe of forest-dwellers]. (The Independent; January 6th, 2004).
- Nikolas Kozloff: [Evangelicals in Venezuela: Robertson Only the Latest Controversy In a Long and Bizarre History] Vice President Rangel leads a campaign for anti-evangelical vigilance as the Robertson affair reminds him and the nation of the suspect activities of the New Tribes Mission decades ago (Council On Hemispheric Affairs, 19. September 2005)
References
- Norman Lewis: The Missionaries. God against the Indians (London, Secker and Warburg 1988; McGraw-Hill Companies 1989; Penguin 1990), ISBN 0070376131 / ISBN 0099599600 / ISBN 0140131752. A very critical account of NTM activities.
- Paul Gifford: Christianity and Politics in Doe's Liberia (Cambridge University Press 1993/2002), ISBN 0521420296 / ISBN 052152010X.
- Richard Pettifer, Julian Bradley: Missionaries (BBC Publications 1991), ISBN 0-563-20702-7.
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