The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1967

ime! • By Rev. Allen Adler - Hopi Indian Women Editor's Note: T/1e author of this article is R ev. Allen Adler, 1nission– r1r ) ' u1 der Baptist M id-Missions to the Hopi Indians. T his is a tnost di fficult 1i ork. Bro ther A d ler is a gradi1ate of 0 111al1a Baptist B ible College. H e and his l1 1 ife are tne,nbers of the Hayden 8(1ptirt C/1i1rch. East Cleveland, Ol1 io. !1e; certainly need your prayers! On the rocky cli ff of northern .\rizona you wi ll fi nd the home of he Hopi I ndian . Down through the ~enturies they have buil t their tone 1ouses on top of the steep, flat-topped ·ocks, called mesas. Many change 1a e taken place with the coming of he white man to these people. The )Id wagon trail. of yesteryear are ;radually turning into black--top high- a)' . he £aithful donkey i being J)1aced by hiny new pick-up truck . fhe century old and tone bui ldings tre gi\ 1 ing way to modern cinder- JocJ-- co11 truction. he old wa}' of he Hopi have been modernized ))' cJ 1hi11g, transporatio11, f od, f1- 1ar1c , cl1ooling and health. Give n to Old Ways Wl1iJ n1a11y cha11gc are c,,idt:.nt, t 1J1ere is one tl1i11g whicJ1 l1a not I , 11ged . . . 1J1eir religion. r oda)' )' continue in their a111 nncient atl n J)r ctice . 1 heir r ~tigi 11 i a 1ca11)' pra}' r t tl1eir g d f r j tu lie £ r t l i r er p t gr ,,,. }1 I pi ~1 I Jiie i '\\J' J'P d UJ> i11 1 1r J ligiou tl1 ugl1t . J-1r 11 l>irtl1 > d t I 111 1 11 ak 1 J> f i>r gr l11ct1 1 11d nl) t ~l al tl1 111 r 11g 1 JI 1 ir n i nt r ligi 1 • ·~n·, tll J1it Dl n Ii I U ,g d J J J t 1 J> n 1n 11 ir I HE OHIO INDEP ND f BAP .I religiou ways . He has o nl y added fu el to the fl ame by attending the ir weird dance . (Let me ju t add a note to you who tour the outhwest. The e dances are prayers to f alse god . For some strange .reason people have the idea that they mu t see an Indian dance. Yet 1he mi ionary i ent to turn the people rto Chri t and f rom the e very ame heathen prac– tice . ) Hopi hristians have told of profes ing Chri tian white people who have actu all y hamed them becau e they had turned their back on the old heathen ways and refused to teach their children the " beat1t iful and co1orf uJ ' Hopi religion! Lacking in De sire Another rea on as to why there ha~ no t been a change in their r - 11giou practice j that Hopi ar sat1 fied with thei r OVv n wor hip and, therefore, ee no need for a change. 'I his ha been an an1azing thing to this n11s\1onar,'. Th e p ople have al 1no ·t no de ire for ,1 tfcf inite kn wl– edge of hcav n a their eternal ho11e or of ' in. 1 orgiv n . . . nor i ~ t here ar1 aching, )'earni11g he,1rt for any 1 eal J)Cac . nc Hopi v. 1 n1a 11 exp1 e~,ctl 11 rsc.lf le> 111c i11 Ll1i 111ann r ... "W ' ll OJ)i arc polite. c listc11 t \\'hat f}lt,; 111issit,11arit::s ha\' t! to ,t\ l)ttl . '-''c ha, e lttr 0\.\' 11 r ligio11 ,t11<I lve H 1 ill 1101 /Je c~o,, ver/e(//" I i JI c1 n l t 11 r 1 , n a l (1 , 11 \' \\ t= ., d( 11 t a llr, 111, ti l1 '"a11g a111011g th'" J)cOJ)le i iJJ1J>l) l t dll tll Linder t, 11 I tl1 Ril>l 111 tg t 11 , \\ 11at 111 ) a] r ,l I J 1 > t k I i pt ti r, I ( r 111 i 1, - J g , 11 a Jl J> I) i t f t 11 i J , , 11 r - ligion. For example, when they reacl ,thout God, they do not thi nk of the od of the Bible, but r ather the god of their f al e practices. They u e the Bible langu age only as they know it in their own religion. I recall one day conver ing with one of the Hopi men who practices the old way . Whil e tre ing to him hi need of the av iour and telling him of the change Chri t make in the li fe he merel y aid . . . 'I f I were to go to your church I wot1ld ti 11 do my own religion. " A your mi ionarie , we till lo ng to ee the mo t important change yet to take pl ace here in Hopi-land. We de ire to see the e Indian turn f rom their f aJ e god , to repent of t heir God rejecting attitude and of the ir in , allowing the Lord J e u Chri\; t to change them from within. Hopi Snake Dance It 15 d1ff1ct1lt \\ rk. It 1 di ot1r~tging \.\Ork! s we \\att tip n Ht~ ,,orking. ,, ren1i11d ottr ·el, C\ that the (.;'.'. cel– lcnc f the PO\\ ~r I l)f d an l nt1t ()f t1\' ( 01. 4:7) nl\, the l_. l I'll I l i111\cl1 c,t11 111ak..c the i11n r "'ha11gt J>ra, il)I' tt, ~l'l ,,e L:ll)l)I htre! r Subscribe to: 11 J1il In I JJ 11d 11t dJ ti t 111 I r n 1 )() - ~ T ni,l, hi MA 1967