Salvation in Melanesia
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Michael Press. Salvation in Melanesia
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Salvation in Melanesia
Becoming a New Person
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The time of mass conversion was over, but the second step of individual growth of faith did not always follow. We can note these changes for instance in the use of sacraments and rituals. According to a report of missionary Hans Flierl from 1968,125 14 percent of the baptized adults (208,000 at that time) were not confirmed. Reasons included the return of “animistic heathendom” and growing secularism. He also identified a lack of educational material, an outdated pedagogy, and a lack of post-confirmation instruction. Holy Communion could not replace the significance of baptism, because it was rare, and often linked with magical beliefs. Personal confession before Holy Communion had lost its seriousness, because serious sins were hidden.
What was regarded as the fruit of the gospel—peace, the new social order, the roads which connected the congregations, schools, and hospitals—could now be accessed apart from the church. The fear of the missionaries at Tatura had become true.
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