Most WOC readers are probably unaware that a major discussion has been taking place regarding my two posts on “native spirituality.”  Scroll on down to September 14 and 15 and click on the “comments” prompt.

Consider adding your own comments to this active discussion and/or invite others to join in.  Considering the number of page views these two posts generated, it looks like this is high interest topic.

See you outdoors!

Dean

Clair Hess dropped by my office a couple days ago and gave me a gift: a beautifully crafted bird’s nest that had fallen from a tree in his yard.  It’s two and half inches wide and an inch and a half deep, made up mostly of what looks like thistle and cattail down tied in place by thin weed and grass straws.

I first got to know Clair in 1958 when I was finally old enough (at 16) to join the Hudsonville Baptist Church choir which he directed.  Clair had come to the Grand Rapids area to work for RBC a year or so earlier—and now at 86, he’s still working as a senior editor.  Over 50 years here!  [If the name sounds familiar to you, Clair was the first tenor in the world-renowned male quartet: The Melody Four.]

But back to the nest.  When he found it, Clair brought it into the house to show his wife, Frances, a wonderful musician in her own right, and one who enjoys writing poetry.  The nest became just her latest creative inspiration.  To me her poem expresses perfectly the purpose of this website: learning how to enjoy the wonder of creation, and it reflects the message of Psalm 111:2 that appears above on our masthead: “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”  Enjoy the creative “pondering” that took place in the heart and mind of Frances Hess upon the contemplation of a bird’s nest:

A Bird’s Nest

My husband coming in from work said,  “Look what I have found—
A perfect little bird’s nest!  It was lying on the ground.”
I held it in my hand and said, with serious contemplation,
“Just think—the birds have been building nests ever since Creation.”

Somehow they knew the place to live was high up in a tree.
Instinctively they realized that’s where their home should be.
They’d look for where some branches came together in conjunction,
And there their future nest would wedge for daily life to function.

Material for their home must be light-weight, so why not straws?
Not heavy, carried in the beak, they’d serve a worthy cause.
To find them they would have to search, but work is part of living.
They’d trust their Maker every day for strength He would be giving.

When straws were found, the bird would choose and clamp one in his bill
Then fly it to the tree-notch.  He would make these trips until
At last he had a little home with perfect insulation,
And perfect for his own dimensions—marvelous creation!

In time birds start their family–what ingenuity,
For God intended birdlife to have continuity.
The parents bring the little ones their daily food supply,
And when their wings are stronger, then they too begin to fly.

The marvel of a bird nest!  In my hand was the construction—
Circular and perfect.  Where do birds get their instructions?
Their precious God-given instincts have preserved generations,
And in our hearts is praise for all God’s wonderful creations.

The Scriptures tell us Christ was the Creator of all things,
And that includes the birds—yes, the little ones with wings.
This contemplation blessed my heart–how much, I cannot tell.
We know that God who cares for birds will care for us as well.

Thank you for blessing our hearts too, Frances!  Your conclusion is reminiscent of William Cullen Bryant’s on his contemplation of the flight of a lone waterfowl:

He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky
thy thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

—To a Waterfowl, 1815

See you outdoors!

Dean

Having been reared in the West Michigan region once inhabited by indigenous Ottawa (Odawa) tribes, and having a brother and sister-in-law involved for years in Christian ministry with the Ojibway (Ojibwa, Ojibwe) First Nation’s people in northern Ontario, I have long been fascinated by the culture and beliefs of these Anishinabeg people groups.  A few years ago, however, I let that fascination lead me to a more in-depth study of some of their traditions.  A key resource was  Basil Johnston’s  book Ojibway Heritage.

Reading about the implications of the Ojibwe pipe ceremony, I discovered many aspects of truth parallel with Christian belief—plus attitudes and understandings about the creation that I believe should have been adopted long ago by the church in North America.

The Bible indicates that much of the truth that people can know about God and His world has been revealed to each generation in its own time.  This is commented on by “the Preacher” in the book of Ecclesiastes: “God has made everything beautiful for its own time.  He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT).

No one civilization has the handle on all truth, thus we can learn truth through the collective wisdom of the ages as it is tested against the biblical revelation.  Consider the following aspects of the Ojibway pipe ceremony (drawing on the research of  Basil Johnston):

The smoking ceremony represented man’s relationship to his Creator, to the world, to the plants, to the animals, and to his fellow man.  It was both a petition and a thanksgiving.  Even the pipe itself represented the elements of the earth: the pipe bowl of stone, the tobacco of plant material, the feathers of animal material, the air as it passed through the pipe and excited as smoke.

1) The first ceremonial whiff was upward toward the sun. This acknowledged both “Gitche Manitou,” the Creator, who is the ultimate source of life, and the sun, which is the physical source of life on earth.  Johnston elaborates: “In offering the whiff to the sun, the Anishnabeg were, by implication, affirming the mystery and incorporeality of Gitche Manitou.  At the same time and in the same way, they were acknowledging that the Great Unknown could be known through His creations.”

As Paul told the Romans, “From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God has made.  They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT).

2) The second ceremonial whiff was downward toward the earth. It acknowledged the four substances of which the cosmos is made and from which all living things come (in their simple form): earth, air, fire, and water.  Further, it acknowledged the nurturing aspect of the earth—“mother” earth in the same sense as expressed by Francis of Assisi in “All Creatures of our God and King.” [lyrics and music]  Male and female in union bring into being new human life; sun and earth in union bring forth all terrestrial life.

3) The third ceremonial whiff was toward the east. The east represented the daily cycle of life—that with the rising of the sun in the east each morning life was refreshed and a new day offered.  Flowers opened, birds began to sing, and people were rejuvenated for their daily tasks.  It also represented birth and infancy.  All these, of course, are gifts of God’s common grace, and to acknowledge them as such is biblically appropriate.

4) The fourth ceremonial whiff was toward the west. The west represented the end of the day—and hence the end of life.  It was an acknowledgment that each person has a calling in life (a vision) that is to be finished before death.  To die without accomplishing something good kept one’s soul from peace in the land beyond this life.  This is also a fitting understanding for followers of the Word of God who desire to serve the Creator and know that they will be judged in part according to their works when they stand before Him

5) The fifth ceremonial whiff was toward the north. The north represented winter.  Symbolically it acknowledged that into every life comes hardship and suffering.  Johnston gives us a deeper meaning: “For leaders, it served as a reminder that decisions made in their councils were to be based on the principle ‘that the well-being of people took precedence over form, custom, and even tradition.’ Leaders were to avoid making conditions and matters worse for families and the community; and during the smoking, leaders petitioned Gitche Manitou for wisdom.  With wisdom and prudence, decisions made would render life just a little more bearable.”  None of this is contrary to biblical understandings about Christian leadership.

6) The final ceremonial whiff was to the south. In the spring the sun returned from the south to warm the land and bring the rebirth of life in the Northern Hemisphere.  It represented the end of hardship and the promise of growth.  It was especially a time to give thanks to the Creator for His help in seeing them through the winter.  It also represented life after death for the soul.  It was the final part of the ceremony ending on the positive note of promised eternal life for the soul.  This is a fitting remembrance for the one who lives by the biblical worldview as well.

Integral to the pipe ceremony was the understanding of each person’s “call” in life: the vision.  During childhood and youth one prepared for life through the right experiences and the right education.  After that was accomplished, one was ready to receive his or her particular vision.  Prior to the vision, life was mere existence, preparation, and receiving.  After the vision came meaningful living marked by fidelity to the vision and the giving of oneself for the community.  In a sense, it was a recognition of one’s gift and the requirement that the gift be used for the good of all. [Consider the Christian parallel of  "the call" thoroughly examined by Os Guinness in The Call]

It is clear from this interpretation that the pipe ceremony was a ritual that recognized much of the same truth acknowledged in orthodox Christian understandings of life and in the biblical theology of nature.  If the Christian community conducted similar annual ceremonies today, there would likely be less detachment from the land and a greater understanding of our natural ties to the earth—plus our spiritual ties and our responsibilities to our Creator to worship Him and serve our neighbor through sacrificial acts of love and by proper care of the creation from which we gain our sustenance.

What was missing in the Ojibwe ceremony was recognition of the incapacity of people to deal with original sin—with evil, both in the spiritual realm and in the heart of mankind.  It reflected a primitive form of salvation by works.  How it must grieve God that most of the colonists who knew the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were so bent on obtaining personal wealth that they failed to share the Good News:  we’re not saved by our works but by the atoning death of our Creator and Savior, Jesus.  Hence they actually suppressed the truth found in both Christianity and Native North American spirituality.

I feel that it’s important for Christians to consider the elemental truth inherent in many indigenous cultures and then in a winsome way add to it the redemptive and regenerating truth found in the written Word of God, the Bible.

See you outdoors!

Dean

This is my last post on Manitoulin Island, one of my favorite places to visit.  A key reason I enjoy visits there is the interaction I have at times with descendants of the island’s first inhabitants, the native Canadian people on the Wikmemikong First Nations Reserve where my brother, Dick, and sister-in-law, Shirley, founded and carried on the DayStar Native Outreach ministry.  Dick has been with the Lord now for almost 15 years.  Shirley continued the ministry after Dick died and eventually married Don Hamilton, who also became a vital part of the work.  Don too has now gone to be with his Lord.

Since the time I could first read, I mentally devoured all the books in our school library on Native North Americans, and I eventually found myself making replicas of Indian war clubs, peace pipes, dance fans and sticks, and various other homemade artifacts.  In the last twenty years or so, I have also studied aspects of indigenous spirituality among native tribes.  This has somewhat paralleled my involvement in creation care activities and my coming to understand better the biblical theology of nature.  Studying the two aspects of “spirituality” together, I discovered a number of bridges between the two expressions of faith.

Native spirituality differs greatly from the biblical worldview in that the former was never written down in formalized creeds.  Whereas Christianity virtually began with written creeds and statements of faith (John 1 and Colossians 1 containing significant biblical creeds) indigenous North American tribes passed on their beliefs orally.  For that reason their beliefs can only be generalized from their stories.  Nonetheless, it seems to me that the following aspects of the worldview common in traditional indigenous cultures can provide a solid bridge to the biblical worldview—plus enlighten Christians about aspects of truth that modernism and Enlightenment thinking seem to have forgotten or ignored:

1.   Belief in God (the Great Spirit) and that He is the creator, the source of life, the source of  intelligence, and sovereign over the affairs of people

2.   Belief that it is important to communicate with the Creator through prayer and other regular practices

3.   Belief that worship of the Creator is essential to a good life—worship expressed ceremonially on a regular basis

4.   Belief that the Creator wants His people to live together in unity in caring communities

5.   Belief that it is important to show thankfulness to the Creator on a regular basis

6.   Belief in spiritual warfare

7.   Belief that people ought to be content with enough and always be ready to share

8.   Belief that technology will never bring about true happiness and satisfaction in life

9.   Belief that material possessions do not satisfy the human spirit

10. Belief that the earth is a gift from the Creator to be used with care and compassion

11. Belief that animals have souls (though different from human souls) and that all created things respond in their own nature to their Creator

Today there’s a major movement among Native North Americans to “recover” their spiritual roots.  The problem, however, is that many of the spiritual traditions of the past have been lost over the past two centuries.  It’s not likely that any contemporary interpretation of indigenous religious beliefs is the same as it was two hundred years ago—because there is no written record to which it can be compared.  Further, many of the traditions have been altered by the inclusion of New Age, animistic, wiccan, and Eastern philosophical ideas.  As a result many so-called Native religions are filled now filled with monistic, pantheistic, and human deifying concepts—Satan’s old lies in new clothes.  Much of what was compatible with Christianity in the old traditions has been recently adulterated by the forces of darkness.

It’s important to remember also that only a minority of Native North Americans today actually have a handle on their own religious traditions, and that these traditions vary greatly one from another—even more than church denominations do.  Sometimes these so-called traditions are little more than a self-chosen collection of spiritual elements a specific individual happens to like. And in that, indigenous people groups are again following the bad example set by descendants of American colonists.

It’s a great but difficult work that DayStar Native Outreach is involved in.  If you think about it, perhaps even as you read this, remember Shirley Hamilton in prayer as she continues her work of loving these First Nations’ people to Christ.

See you outdoors!

Dean

When travelers cross the swing bridge into the town of Little Current on Manitoulin Island, they enter a unique geographical and cultural world.  The bridge is short, but the strait that it crosses is deep—providing sailboats continued access to the spectacular North Channel, one of the premier sailing spots in North America.  During peak summer months, the bridge is swung open to allow high-masted boats to pass through.

Little Current is a small town, and within a couple minutes you are in the countryside, one that at first looks Lincolnesque with miles of split-rail fences.

Because the topsoil is sparse in many places of the island, however, there’s not a great deal of tilling—hence few row crops.  So the Midwestern US feel pretty much ends with the fences.  Inside the fences, however, are hundreds of acres of grassland able to provide good grazing for cattle.

The first European settlement on the island, Manitowaning,  is set on a bluff overlooking one of the many bays leading from the Lake Huron’s North Channel.  The old lighthouse and part of the waterfront buildings have been restored and are kept company by a restored ship that had used Manitowaning as one of its ports of call decades ago.

Throughout the island you are always close to bedrock, and at times even in the forested areas you may come across spots where the rock is exposed—and sometimes dramatically checkered by cracks that can go down several feet.   This gives you the impression that you are walking on a crevassed glacier—which you indeed would have been several thousand years ago when the island was covered by the huge ice shield that extended over so much of the north country.

The rugged beauty of the island is highlighted by a profuse display of wildflowers from spring through fall.

Adding to the enchantment of Manitoulin Island is the existence of four Native North American reserves.  The official Canadian government term for its indigenous tribes is “First Nation’s people.”  During the summer and fall you are usually within two weeks of a pow-wow or a cultural or agricultural celebration.

The mix of European and First Nation’s people on the island brings about interesting discussions and issues regarding spirituality and worship—pointed up by dozens of churches and Native North American icons in a fascinating cultural mix.  In my next post I’d like to examine more closely the challenges created by this multicultural view of religious faith.

See you outdoors!

Dean