Summary:
Nathan Price, a Baptist evangelist, journeyed with his four daughters and wife to the Belgian Congo with his mission to save the unenlightened souls of the Congolese people. His aim was to accomplish this through his strict biblical sanctions and his firm belief in his Christian faith.
What Is The True Religion"
The realities of Congo rescued her from the mental enslavement of her father, Nathan Price. Nathan, a Baptist evangelist journeyed with his four daughters and wife to the Belgian Congo with his mission to save the unenlightened souls of the Congolese people. His aim was to accomplish this through his strict biblical sanctions and his firm belief in his Christian faith. As a child who respects their parents' religion and belief, Leah was compassionate and genuine about her father's faith and his outlook on life. For this reason, she and her other sisters were slaves to his doctrine. They believed that his words were always true and his idea of saving the Congolese people would be a success. However, as time passed by Leah is confronted with racism, injustice and other issues that caused her to question the Christian faith. As these issues arise, Leah began to loose her faith and trust in her father and her religion. Although she lost the element her father continues to use as the tool the save the souls of the Congolese people she did not loose her idealism. Leah's outlook on life and the way in which she judges people of different beliefs and cultures have changed greatly. She then realized that she was no longer naïve since she had free herself from her father narrow-minded doctrine that had no room for the opinions and beliefs of others.
Nathan was a soldier in World War II and was able to escape from his almost death. Viewing himself as a coward, an element he believes God hates. He then decided that he will never be a coward again and he will not fail his God by being a coward. For this reason he vowed that he will never be a coward again and he would not run away from any situation that threatens his life. With this idea in mind he decided the he is going the save the souls of the ungodly and by doing so he would prove to God that he is not a coward and he is a true follower of Christ.
Nathan's quest to save the souls of the Congolese people was a very arduous task. He had to deal with people who were of different faiths and beliefs. Nathan being rigid and insular to the Congolese people beliefs and customs he refuses to understand and respect the beliefs of these people. Instead, he imposed his doctrines unto them and demanding that they become Christians and for them to believe that his religion is correct and that no other religion follows. This egomaniac behavior was demonstrated during one of his encounter with Tata Ndu, the chief of Kikango when he was told that the people of Congo were not Christians, Nathan was outraged because he thought that they were committing an act of sin since they did not believe in Jesus Christ. As Leah listened to her father she began to realize how ignorant her father was towards the Congolese people and their beliefs. It was during this time she began to question her faith.
Leah's lost for her faith was truly established when her father decided to stay in the Congo during the period of war when Congo was gaining their independence. Although her father was told that it would be unsafe for him and his family he decided to stay because he wanted to fulfill his is mission which was to "Americanize" and "Christianize" the people of Congo. As Leah watched the Underdowns, who were also firm believers of the Christian faith fled from the Congo during this time she realized that her father did not care about his family. Realizing that her father was obsessed about obtaining salvation she was devastated knowing that he was willing to risk their lives in order to accomplish his somewhat impossible mission. Her lost of her faith was demonstrated as she lamented, "All my life I've tried to set my shoes squarely into his footprints ...Yet with each passing day I find myself farther away." (pg. 224)
Nathan's belief of being saved was to be baptized so that God can forgive us for all the sins we have committed. For this reason, he wanted to baptized the people of Congo so that they could be saved, being objected by the people who were against his idea because of their fear of being eaten by crocodiles. Nathan became angry and thought that they all believed in "voodoo" which was very ungodly. Leah, realizing that her father's approach to Christianize Congo was useless and it was dangerous for her and her family to remain in the Congo during the period of political uproar since their lives were all at risk and their father had no means of protecting them.
Leah continued to loose her faith as he realized that her father's decision to keep them in Congo wasn't right. She then began to question other instances in which he would also be wrong. Living in the Congo and witnessing her father's selfish attitude towards Christianity she had doubts about what life had to offer. In the past she had faith in her father and eternal love for the Lord, elements she now lacked as she grew to despise her father and his "false" doctrine. At this time Leah seek to find answers to support her loosing her faith which was influenced by her father's action towards Christianity.
Leah's encounter with Reverend Fowles was a very important aspect in her life. Reverend Folwes being very open-minded and positive about his Christian faith did not have the same perspectives as her father. He was more loving and he cared a lot about nature and the importance of life in general. Leah admired the way in which Brother Fowles appreciated the beliefs and customs of the Congolese people although they differed from his. This was evident in his conversation with Nathan when he expressed his opinions about Tata Ndu having more than one wives. Brother Fowles said, "I respect him ..., As a Christian I respect his judgments ..." (pg. 257) Brother Fowles was appreciative of other people's view, unlike her father who believed that his beliefs and customs were true and any other region was false, Brother Folwes was the opposite. Leah was moved by Brother Folwes love for people, both the young and the old and the way in which he cared about this. Leah's love and respect for Brother Folwes grew even more because her father did not care about his family or anyone but himself.
As Leah moved from her faith and became friends with Anatole, the man who later became her husband she became more intelligent and considerate about issues concerning the people of the Congo. Anatole a very intelligent and idealistic young man was able to educate Leah and teach her more about the Congolese culture. As they both fight for Africa's independence she struggled with issues such as racism. This she did not fear because she understood why
the people of Congo blamed the whites for their current political and economical situation.
This is the complete article, containing 1,186 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).
