'RENDER UNTO CAESAR' MISSIONARIES AND THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00985R000300070005-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 14, 2001
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: March 15, 1976
• Content Type: OPEN

O' 700 c-7 t5+74 !S
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65 Render Unto Ca
Sal
the rear ended by a Chinese Cormmlirust while
leading a patrol of Chinese Nationalists. Despite
the fact drat his death seems to have been a mis-
take following a quarrel, lie was adopted by Robert
Welch and the radical right as the "first ttiartyr"
of the coming world snuggle.
Clearly, the old easy relationship between US
missionaries and their government had undergone
a radical transformation, hat such changes take
time to become apparent. Many missionaries con-
tinued to support the old arrangement; sonic, al-
though increasingly fewer, probably still do. An
olicy
r became critical of US
b
l
p
e
arger num
r sir CCRRENT CONIROVPRSY about whether mis- ever-
T sionaries should or should not give information and tried to distance themselves from any connec-
to ITS intelligence agencies raises once again the thou with it Probably the largest number saw their
question of the split loyalties of Christians. role as nonpolitical and tried to be friendly with
To assess the present situation some historical their government, but noninvolved. As US power
recall is necessary-. In the early days of the mis- and influence spread around the world, this last
sionary movement, most missionaries felt no sense stance became increasingly difficult to maintain. So
of conflict between their identities as citizens of seeminrl' "pure" an act as distributing relief sup-
of
nation and their roles as bearers of plies is inescapably political in a politicized world.
a particular
universal good neris. Indeed, they often tended Fat Is missionary worked out whatever solution
to identify the two. hejshe could square with personal circumstances
For its part the Gore nment tended to rely in and conscience, and it would be pointless (as well
part upon missionaries for information about for- as self-righteous) to criticize those indiyitlual deci-
eign countries. The US Foreign Service was small, . sions at this late date. The question remains, what
and missionaries frequently had more extensive are the guidelines for the future?
and better contacts, Many missionaries routinely. The olct arrangements are certainly dead, and
visited the State Department to be debriefed upon good riddance. The easy assumption that mis-
tteit- return to their native country on furlough. sionaries are there as. Americans whose primary
One example of this kind of relationship was the loyalties are to their native country was always had
large number of foreign service personnel and theology. teen though its fatal [laws did not show
lists from a missionar background. up until recently. The bland assumptions of Presi-
1ouSrnucah a simple combination of roles was increas- dent Ford and former CIA Director William Colby
ingly overtaken both by theological analysis and in this respect were the attempts of drowning men
the objections of indigenous Christians on the one to grab at any support, as even the new CIA Di-
hand and by events, most notably the changing rector, George Bush, has realized.
world role of the US, on the other hand. On the other hand., it is a current wishful mis-
The turning point was World War II. It was conception to imagine that missionaries can shed
then that the Office of Strategic Services (O55) was their national and cultural identities. Just as mis-
formed, which led to the Central Intelligence sionaries must open themselves to understand and
Agency in 1947. The OSS was the first pure Intel- feel other cultures and identities, so must they
ligence agency ever established by the United retain a grasp of their own culture and identity.
States. This in itself was symptomatic of our They must be partly at home in two worlds. Even
emergence as a superpower. Finally, the end of if they switch nationalities., this dichotomy remains.
World War II and the beginning of the cold war Improperly handled, leads to schizophrenia; prop-
saw the transformation of US national interests erly handled, it shows !how the Christian both
into a world ideological struggle. appropriates and transcends culture.
The individual whose life symbolizes this change A corollary of this truth is that the final deci-
for the missionary was john Birch. (Yes, Virginia, sion on the relationship between the individual
there was a joint Birch as well as the John Birch and his her government does not rest with the goy-
Society.) John Birch was it Baptist missionary in eminent but with the: individual. It is very well,
China whose'ved with the US Air Force and later perhaps even wise and proper, to pass bills such
the OSS during World War II; he was killed after as that proposed by Senator Hatfield keeping the
,I Christianity and Crisis
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 I %W01
C, %cnmment oil the back of missionaries, but any
~t to erect an absolute wall of separation
ceett a missionary and In, her goverurnent is as
c.rLinit. theologically as it is impractical. The
C.ht i,tian serving abroad is not a rgovernnhent agent
?..ut neither does he she stop being a (it/en of his/
.cer cnunrrv.
Leusali,nis won't do the trick. In terms of gov-
cr t lent suspicion in other countries, the damage
}:_~; been clone and trill take some time to repair,
but dwse will) are suspicious will not have their
aestiont miraculously erased by a Government
ieclaruion that it will not use missionary informa-
,ion. -I hat's one of the best (over otories one could
.hic:k up.
This is one of those continuing tensions that
Chri>tans must always live with and that they
never really can get sorted out neatly, The mis-
ionar 4ivino inform ttion to the CI , the mf
n u v eadili ig d o tr t4.4 agal- t the [ S
consulate,. the missionary seeking to ignore the
jumble- m-aTh re tali ~ w t,h the problem in their
c Inrerestino-h enoh ^h the nerson seekiincu
l
with the CIA has a positive value. Tart of the
public shock (vastl) overrated by the (hurches)
stems from the old myth of the superhuman mis-
sionar}, floating serenely abuve the problents of
ordinary mortals. That myth dies hard, I[at any-
thing that helps to kill it can't be all had. Of
course, most missionaries were never on Govern-
ment payrolls and loved the countries and the
people where they worked far too muds to know-
ingly damage theta. To suppose otherwise is to
substiuue cartoon characters for real people; to
replat e unthinkingly the cardboard heroes of ycster-
clay with cardboard villains for today.
,Neither will do, In working out his/her salva-
tion with diligence, the Christian must constantly
try to keep a universal commitment and a partic-
ular identity in some sort of balance. The mis-
sionary is an exemplar of that tension. The struggle
is never easy. It is only through grace that any
kind of harmony is ever achieved.
Awnn a J. MOORE
o e ca; e the question h s perhaps less gasp of This viewpoint also appeared in the February issue
try tiara responsthil n ;hrn either ofthe otters. of Ness World Outlook, of which All Atoore is the
Fart of the furor about missionary connections editor.
C ristian Journal of Ocinlon
537 'rest 121st Street / New York / Nev York 10027
C. BENNETT / Senior Contributing Editor
Contributing Editors:
FP-' ' BALDWIN
R'OEEFIT McAFEE BROWN
JAMS H. CONE
HARVEY G. COX
JON'' R, FRY
ROBERT LEKACHMAN
JADES R McGRAW
MARGARET MEAD
HCGYRD MOODY
AR"-lUR J. MOORE
!rHAEL NOVAK
ROSEMARY RUETHER
ROGER L. SHINN
LIAM STRINGFELLO'N
Staff:
H. COWAN / Editor
VI; IAN LINDERMAYER / Associate Editor
~R ELLA KERR / Assistant Editor
P-b,ILYN SEVEN / Editorial Assistant
"RENDER UNTO CAESAR": MISSIONARIES AND
THE CIA/Arthur J. Moore
42
WHO'S CORRUPTING WHOM?: THE
MULTINATIONALS IN ASIA/Pharis J. Harvey
44
ARGUMENT: ALICE IN WONDERLAND (AT
RIVERSIDE CHURCH)/Sheila Collins
49
Credits:
cover and design by Candy Berlin
Christianity and Crisis., Vol. 36, No. 4, March 15,
1976
Published biweekly, except monthly in July, August and
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Copyright ? 1976 Christianity and Crisis, Inc.
March 15, 1976 IS
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