My reflection of Chapter three necessarily refers back to chapter two, in which the initial description of the first contact established between the friars and the Pueblo Indians struck me as a thinly veiled quest for power, rather than the “mission work” the friars claimed it to be. The first “conversions” of the Pueblo Indians were unlikely to be true conversions to the Christian faith due to lack of appropriate communication capabilities. Though I do not doubt that the friars believed they truly were doing the work of the Lord by destroying idolatries and submerging the Indians in a culture of Christian symbolism and ceremony, it seems to me that they replaced idols by encouraging the “worship” of new idols (themselves).
Because I began this section with this base, chapter three met my expectations. The “iron fist” with which the friars governed the Pueblos led to discontent, which was supplemented by the friars’ loss of “godly” characteristics, led to a revolt that proved disastrous for the friars and their missions. I find myself questioning what would have happened had the friars not claimed such power in themselves at the beginning of their relations with the Pueblo Indians. The Indians lost faith in the friars when they faced famine and drought, which the friars claimed to be able to prevent. Would the friars’ message still have been received had they not disguised themselves as supernatural beings? Was the friars’ message ever truly received at all, or were the Indians drawn to worship the friars rather than the God they served? The techniques the friars used to gain the Indians’ trust and loyalty were certainly effective for conquest and manipulation, but they may have lost sight of the ultimate goal of furthering God’s Kingdom on earth. The term fatherhood holds great significance when speaking of the relation between a friar and his mission, but I feel the terminology may have been misused. I found many examples of the type of discipline you might expect from a father figure, but missing were the respect and appreciation of their children that should be present in a father’s heart.
Valerie Gooden
Because I began this section with this base, chapter three met my expectations. The “iron fist” with which the friars governed the Pueblos led to discontent, which was supplemented by the friars’ loss of “godly” characteristics, led to a revolt that proved disastrous for the friars and their missions. I find myself questioning what would have happened had the friars not claimed such power in themselves at the beginning of their relations with the Pueblo Indians. The Indians lost faith in the friars when they faced famine and drought, which the friars claimed to be able to prevent. Would the friars’ message still have been received had they not disguised themselves as supernatural beings? Was the friars’ message ever truly received at all, or were the Indians drawn to worship the friars rather than the God they served? The techniques the friars used to gain the Indians’ trust and loyalty were certainly effective for conquest and manipulation, but they may have lost sight of the ultimate goal of furthering God’s Kingdom on earth. The term fatherhood holds great significance when speaking of the relation between a friar and his mission, but I feel the terminology may have been misused. I found many examples of the type of discipline you might expect from a father figure, but missing were the respect and appreciation of their children that should be present in a father’s heart.
Valerie Gooden