The Effects Of Christianity In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe details the account of an African tribal named Okonkwo as his life goes from great to horrible. While this book has many lessons that can be learned, I will be primarily focusing on the effect that Christianity had on the population of the African tribe. While Christianity is a religion of peace, its followers often do not follow this basic tenant. The first missionary, Mr. Brown, practiced compromise and tolerance. His replacement, Mr. Smith, was much more aggressive in his tactics. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe shows through the characterization of Mr. Smith a shameful and harmful look at the spread of Christianity during the British empirical period. Mr. Smith was a man who took a strong stance

Smith, we see two big errors in his tactics in dealing with the people of the African tribe. First, Mr. Smith was insensitive to the native’s belief system. In response to hearing stories of the souls of demonic babies coming back in the form of other babies, Mr. Smith said, “those who believed such stories were unworthy of the Lord’s Table” (page 185). While child sacrifice is wrong, he made a critical error in thinking that unsaved people would act like those who knew the Lord. Of course a tribe of natives would hold to their practices without knowing Jesus. They have no reason not to continue this practice! If the only thing that a people group has ever known is suddenly put into question, of course they would not be in favor of a change. When people are shown Jesus and accept Him, then true revival of the heart will happen. We have to understand that the main issue here is the issue of the heart, not the issue of outward sin. The main issue needs to be addressed, then the secondary issue will follow suit. Once the natives accepted Christ, then they can address the issue of child sacrifice. Second, Mr. Smith was far too forceful on the natives regarding Christianity. The natives wished to live in peace, but Mr. Smith replied, “Tell them to go away from here. This is the house of God and I will not live to see it desecrated.” Mr. Smith exhibited a superior philosophy, which is never welcome in true