HAMMERED AS GOLD

by David M. Howard ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 1969

This is an account of two decades of missionary endeavor on the part of the evangelical church in Colombia, South America. The first part centers largely on the 32 years of missionary labor on the part of Ernest Fowler, who was martyred without leaving any apparent and permanent outcome to his life work. The second part presents a survey of the persecutions, internal confusions, and obstructions encountered by missionaries of fundamentalist persuasion in a country where the collusion between government and the established Catholic church actively pursued a policy of exterminating Protestants. Violence and persecution, the author states, were planned and instigated by political and ecclesiastical authorities working together, and at times in defiance of constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The more recent cordiality of ecumenical relations set in motion by Pope John is changing this situation, but the scars are remembered, including the martyrdom of over one hundred twenty evangelical missionaries and pastors in the past two decades. The narrative suffers from disbelief engendered by the reconstruction of incidents and dialogue that could not possibly have been recorded; and the story is saddened by the apparent naivete shown by these deeply committed missionaries and by the meagerness of the religious faith they sought to bring to the native peoples of Colombia.

Pub Date: May 7, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION