Rare Uncontacted Tribes and The Good Word
- The Culture, Philosophy entry posted on May 31st, 2008.
I love reading about uncontacted peoples. As extremely rare as it is, sometimes we happen upon a group of humans that have yet to experience any connection with developed society.
Recently near the border of Brazil and Peru this, one of the very last uncontacted tribes, was photographed from the air. The red-painted warriors or hunters with their bows and arrows are very striking and even a bit surreal. The guy painted black in the back seems to be some kind of leader perhaps.
Seriously, this is like a real-life Indiana Jones here.
Of more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, more than half live in either Brazil or Peru, Survival International says. A problem with making contact with isolated peoples is that they usually don’t have immunity to most of the diseases we take for granted. These can be carried by the people from modern society that go to make contact with them. This can have severe consequences as normally minor diseases, such as the common cold, can be deadly when no natural immunity exists.
On another note, the whole uncontacted tribes discussion brought up another controversy while I was arguing chatting with a friend.
Where do these people fall in regards to the standard Christian thinking that you must “know” Jesus to be saved from the burning pit of fire? Do they get a free pass since they haven’t had the opportunity to read or hear about this other god dude?
As an atheist, I don’t believe they are any less important than anyone else. They undoubtably worship some form of god or gods. Just imagine what they must have been thinking when the spy plane was circling them taking pictures. That’s possibly a pretty mean god right there.
Their god and belief system is just as real to them as Jesus, floods or sea-parting is to the Christian in modern society.
So here’s my question to you, random anonymous christian: Are these people doomed? Shouldn’t Jesus be putting the thoughts in their minds or “hearts?”
Surely god would give them the opportunity to know the so-called truth. However, throughout history there has never been a case of any spontaneous finding of Jesus so I don’t think their odds are very high with that.
Time to start drop shipping bibles? Or better yet, what if they are the ones who know the truth?
22 Responses to “Rare Uncontacted Tribes and The Good Word”rss
rachae, on May 31st, 2008, said:
The game looks nice. I thinki will check it put, thank you for sharing it.
Nina, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Amen!
Nice story.
Temperance, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Valid question, from my time in bible school I think the best answer to is that if there is a God we will ALL will be judged by our own consciences. That is my answer and I am gonna stick with it even though now that I read it it sounds way too simple and unnuanced. But maybe someone can offer something better?
Temperance, on May 31st, 2008, said:
what?
t5, on May 31st, 2008, said:
these people definitely are the ones that know the truth. we, as “civilized” society have long been living in a fantasy, disconnected from nature and our natural instincts. I hope with all my heart that this tribe and all uncontacted tribes can remain that way indefinitely. Nothing makes me angrier than to see some bible thumping lunatic with a mission to try and “change their heathen ways” when they are obviously the group of people on this earth that need their ways changed the most. I saw these pictures several days ago, and have been have been giving alot of thought to how amazing their lives must still be. Sure, it’s dirty, and probably not comfortable, but they are still living following nothing but their own human instincts. The only real humans left. Maybe they are the only ones saving us from our own doom by still living correctly. My advice to would be do gooders, LEAVE THEM ALONE!
Reality, on May 31st, 2008, said:
You are such an idiot. You don’t even understand the physical world around you. How could you possibly comprehend the workings of God? Perhaps it’s because you are a hell bound atheist that you don’t understand. Hmmmmmm?
Temperance, on May 31st, 2008, said:
hey reality, why dont you back off long enough to go read 1 corinthians 13?
you probably wont so i will tell you what it says. Love people into the kingdom of God.
Name calling is simply NOT going to work!
Cheryl, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Fantastic article, that point is exactly what changed my mind about following Christianity when I was a brain-wahsed born again Christian at the age of 11…I asked the same question about the respectable and amazing native ‘american indians’ and no one could give me an acceptable answer. T5’s response is just what I would say about it all, and ‘Reality’ obviously is just the kind of fundaMentalist we need to worry about getting in there and ruining their ancient and natural way of life.
Christina, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Catholic teaching includes a belief in “baptism by desire,” which means that anyone who would have been baptized/accepted Jesus had they known and understood the need, receives this salvation in the afterlife.
Temperance, on May 31st, 2008, said:
as far as i know indigenous tribespersons are not atheists and possess many various rituals to appease their “gods” and are always interested in learning new ways to interact with the deities that they already know. I know that atheists have even attempted to enlighten them. i suppose it is inevitable that our modern influence will reach them for better or worse. hopefully for these ones it will be for the better. speculation seems vain, i think we ought to employ the prime directive as well as we can and hope for the best; that they will as the right questions of the right people and be allowed to develop in peace.
Steve, on May 31st, 2008, said:
I hope they get left alone and not subjected to the crazy world of which they know nothing about.
Bob Dobbs, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Name one tribe that ended up better off as a result of contact with the outside world.
Dane, on May 31st, 2008, said:
Bob Dobbs:
Not a single damn one. We fucked up at the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution. I hope we never contact these tribes, in fact, I hope civilization dies out and they are all that’s left.
roby, on May 31st, 2008, said:
se sono così rare, queste popolazioni, lasciamole in PACE. non andiamo a fotografarle, non andiamo a spiarle. devono vivere come desiderano. anche se so che un giorno non esisteranno più…. ma per ora: lasciamole in PACE!!!
Jody, on June 1st, 2008, said:
I am willing to bet that they know Jesus Christ in ways that most will never know him here on Earth. I am a Holy Bible Believer. The bible says that you will enter Heaven through Christ. That he is the gatekeeper. Couldn’t that mean that he is the one that decides who passes through the gate? I am a firm believer that Jesus is the Savior and you must go through him to pass thru. It is he who judges the heart. It is he who will let or not let you, myself or the tribes people go thru the gate.. You say “Shouldn’t Jesus be putting the thoughts in their minds or “hearts?” The bible says that he puts the law of God on every mans heart. Man knows right from wrong. It’s like a natural instinct. It’s in our conscience, it is our conscience. ( my belief any how) We often don’t admit what is right and what’s wrong but God put it on our hearts so ultimately we do know we just so often make choices against it. Because he writes it on our heart I believe that he judges by the heart.
Jesus has many names and can be called by many names. In the bible he was Jesus, Son of Man, The Healer, The Provider and it goes on. Jesus is pretty big and I believe that he can reveal himself to these tribes and anyone else for that matter. Will he introduce himself and say “Hi my name is Jesus Christ and I am here to save you?” Maybe, maybe not. Could these people call Him The Provider and he still be Jesus? I don’t see why not.
Jody, on June 1st, 2008, said:
…
Mark Albright, on June 2nd, 2008, said:
Yeah, I read this article over the weekend. Really neat. When they say no contact do they mean ZERO contact or just very little contact? I also wonder how far they are from the nearest city?
Xeldec, on June 10th, 2008, said:
Upon reading this story, my first question was, are they real? Don’t they have any contact with other tribes in the area? The first thing came to mind was the story on the Tasaday tribe in the Philippines. They were even featured in National Geographics but was said to be a hoax perpetuated by a politician/amateur anthropologist to grab forest land.
Jamie, on June 11th, 2008, said:
It’s pretty interesting that different groups of uncontacted tribes seem to create similar housing structures as well as similar weapons and clothing styles. I wouldn’t think that a bow and arrow is a super-obvious contraption.
Mimi, on June 18th, 2008, said:
My god can beat up your god.
Jesse, on June 28th, 2008, said:
I realy hope that everyone leaves them alone :( specialy the christians lol
Jesse, on June 28th, 2008, said:
oh so apperently it was all a big hoax of some sort to get people to leave the rainforest alone? the footage is older and they have already made contact with these people some time ago, was on the news.
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