Part I: A World Prepared for the Gospel, The Melchizedek Factor; Chapter 3: Peoples with Strange Customs, pp. 97-116 Summary

In addition to the way that many groups of people have waited for a sacred book, all over the world there are examples of people practicing customs that are easy to use as illustrations of the message of Jesus Christ. Richardson speaks of his own experience with the Sawi people of New Guinea, a fearsome group of headhunters and cannibals. Richardson observes a peace ceremony in which children from enemy tribes are symbolically born to the leaders of one another's tribes. The adopted children represent a desire for peace, and Richardson compares this to the Christian idea of being born again. This is also very similar to the traditions...