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zeal, wisdom, and John Allen Chau

November 26th, 2018 | 3 min read

By Matthew Loftus

Last week, an American missionary named John Allen Chau was killed as he tried to approach the inhabitants of North Sentinel Island. Both his own words and those of the mission organization that sent him confirm that he intended to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with this uncontacted tribe. Many people have already mentioned the risk of spreading diseases that this tribe (and the few others like it remaining in the world) have no immunity against, which in and of itself is a big ethical conundrum for missionaries. (I was unable to find any reflections on this in any Christian missions journals or websites and would love to read one if anyone has read one!)

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Matthew Loftus

Matthew grew up in a family of 15 children and completed his medical training in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2015, he and his family have lived in East Africa, where he currently teaches and practices Family Medicine at a mission hospital. His work has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Atlantis, and Mere Orthodoxy and his first book is forthcoming from InterVarsity Press. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.matthewandmaggie.org.

Topics:

Ethics