Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha

Hmm where to start...

First of all, i really enjoyed this speech. The ideas that Sa-go-ye-wat-ha presented were extremely thought provoking on my end. I mean I have my own beliefs and everything, but I respect the beliefs of others. The way the missionary stated his case really bothered me because it is narrowminded people (as described in the text) like that that give christians a bad rap. The way he isolated the Senecas in their worship practices was an outrage to me. What gives him the idea that he is the almighty decider of how to worship? In my opinion, a persons worship is their business. If they want to go preach on a mountain top then let them. If they want to privately worship when they are alone, thats ok too. To each their own. Everyone is different. We were all created that way. As the cheif stated, "The Great Spirit has made us all. But he has made a great difference between his white and his red children. He has given us different skin color and different customs." This statement was interesting to me because i havent ever stopped to think about why we are all different. Only the Great Spirit knows why.

So if we were made different in so many ways, then why cant we be different in the ways we worship? The answer to that question is that we can be different because "what pleases him is the offering of a sincere heart."

With the profound things the senecas presented in response to the missionary, i would imagine he would probably rebutt with the typical "Do as I say, not as i do." statement. haha. In so many words, the cheif accused the white people of being hypocritical because they cant even all follow the "one religion, one way to serve" that they are trying to push off on this tribe. In my opinion, the best leadership skill is leading by example. In order for the missionary to state a valid case he might want to take a second and look at his own race. If he wants the world to worship and serve the same way, maybe he should show the whole world how to do so, instead of pointing fingers at those who are not right in his eyes.