Apparently, extreme missionary work has not yet gone out of style – nor have the serious consequences for participating. Christian missionary Steve Campbell, a Maine native, was arrested in Brazil and now faces potential “genocide” charges after trying to spread the word of God to a remote indigenous tribe.
The Brazilian government’s Indigenous Affairs Department, FUNAI, is investigating whether Campbell knowingly crossed into the southern Amazon jungle territory of the ancient and protected Hi-Merimã tribe. The contact reportedly may have occurred while Campbell was busy evangelizing a neighboring tribe with his wife and two children.
The Hi-Merimã is one of a few dozen isolated communities in Brazil that have largely avoided any contact with the outside world, making them particularly susceptible to modern diseases given their limited immunity. The serious charges Campbell is now facing stem from the government’s aggressive efforts to protect these remaining tribes from extinction.
“If it is established in the investigation that there was an interest in making contact, using his relationship with other [tribespeople] to approach the isolated [Hi-Merimã tribe], he could be charged with the crime of genocide by deliberately exposing the safety and life of the Merimãs,” explained FUNAI’s general coordinator Bruno Pereira.
The Greene Baptist Church, where Campbell is a member, has characterized the family’s work as helping “with medical, mechanical and countless other ministry opportunities” in remote areas – while also spreading the gospel to tribespeople willing to hear them out...
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