Oh hallelujah. John Chau who was killed by tribal people on a remote protected Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal, was described as a Christian martyr on the Covenant Journey website to which he belonged. He was described as a missionary who wanted to bring Jesus to the islanders, who have a reputation for violence. He wrote in a diary of his last days “Lord, is this island Satan’s last stronghold where none have heard or even had the chance to hear your name?”
He knew it was forbidden by Indian law to visit and was shot at on his first visit when a teenager’s arrow pierced his waterproof bible. He decided to return and try again, spurred on by the feeling that he was God’s instrument. Critics say his violation was selfish and put the fragile tribe at risk – potentially exposing them to modern diseases against which they have no immunity.
Born 18 December 1991 he was a late Sun Sagittarius with Mars Mercury also in Sagittarius in an overly expansive square to Jupiter in Virgo. Sagittarius can be a great crusader for causes and especially Mars square Jupiter ramps up the self-righteousness. He also had the can-be-fanatical Uranus Neptune in Capricorn trine Jupiter, sextile an obsessive Venus Pluto in Scorpio. Plus a Taurus Moon. Nothing much would budge him from his vision when he got going.
As is often the case with sudden death he had various Solar Arcs approaching though not exact which suggested great danger.
His ‘seeking soul’ 7th Harmonic was strong and stressed, which can also be mentally on the edge.
Years back I filmed on St Kilda, a remote island off the north west of Scotland. People had lived there since the 10th century and had a perfectly decent, probably fairly pagan, set of beliefs for getting them through an extraordinarily tough life out in the Atlantic. Then the missionaries came in the late 19th Century, built a church, banned singing and dancing, and within fifty years the island was abandoned.
God-botherers and proselytizers drive me nuts.
The thought occured to me this morning – why some isolated island populate with pre-internet tribes? Why not venture into the Amazon basin…or Chicago…to seek out the many dens of Satan? Certainly a bit late to change his trvel plans. Plenty of places on the globe to better focus that inspration.
The fixed star Etamin conjoined his Sun. Etamin is small star in Draco , aka “The Dragon’s Eye”. Etamin can indicate a person ” dauntless, aggressive, who may become involved in unusual activities , ideas” – Joseph Rigor The Fixed Stars
He was out on a evangelical quest (Mars /Jupiter)to conquer Satan in the world all while avoiding the his own heavily censored desires (Venus /Pluto) probably felt as sinful sexual desires . I hope the island is not invaded in the future by groups of missionaries looking to settle the score under the guise of “soul saving”.
“… within fifty years the island was abandoned..”
This makes me sad 🙁
I share your feelings.
No offence…but my honest first thoughts were, “wow, that’s arrogant”.
Jay, you’re not alone. My first thought, too, was “the supreme arrogance!”
Ah, that exact Mars/Jupiter square!
He died of stupid.
Oh Lord.
I have that square too 0_o
::Feeling suddenly… fearful::
You have to read Matthew 24:14 to understand what motivates people like John Chau.
I’d rather not read.
I’ve met many religious fanatics, nearly all are like kids the morning after Xmas with a tool kit – searching for something to tighten or fix. Supposedly he “knew” the risks and moved ahead, armed with his religiousness as shield against Satan. Several new articles have appeared in the last 24 hrs, providing more detail about his “three” visits to the island. The 3rd visit was quickly ended with an arrow shot thru his waterproof blble. He then swam back to the island, where he met his end. His family have demanded “justice” for the death. Where is forgiveness for these “sinners”? Who knowingly broke the laws?
Not a fun way to go down.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Many evangelicals are millennialists. They literally believe that preaching the Gospel to remote or uncontacted tribes will hasten the second coming of Christ. It is not just about spreading Christianity as an organised religion. It is an attempt to fulfil biblical prophecy.
well, it hastened this young man to meet God. That his preacher/teacher and his family believed to the hilt these “thoughts”. What a terrible waste.
It’s a very odd pathology.
Part narcissistic, fuelled by a manic sense of being ‘the special one’ who is in direct communication with a god. What Jung called identifying with the archetype – which way leads unto psychosis.
The other part – hastening towards the end of times apocalypse/death, when the righteous will be taken up in the rapture is not too dissimilar to Islamist martyrs heading for paradise. Underlying it is an overwhelming fear of mortality and the need to both control it and sugar coat the pill. If its’ inevitability reduces me to quivering powerlessness, I might as well pull the trigger myself and make it feel a positive not terrifying experience.
Winnicott, the child psychiatrist, thought that what we most fear is what has already happened. Not actual death clearly in this example but near enough to have imbedded a stronger fear of the fragility of life than is normal.
Weird. It is amazingly arrogant and insensitive. These poor islanders should be left in peace and Chau treated as an invading burglar, which in the US is a defence.
Just now read it; thank you Marjorie for writing it out.
It reads very “Drompfian”.
Evil comes in many forms. Sometimes under the guise of being godly.