The Presbyterian Church in Guatemala
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CHURCH IDENTITY BETWEEN REPRESSION AND LIBERATION: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN GUATEMALA HEINRICH SCHÄFER WITH A FOREWORD BY LUKAS VISCHER ' TRANSLATED BY CRAIG KOSLOFSKY ISBN 92-9075-009-X WORLD ALLIANCE OF REFORMED CHURCHES 150, route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland 1991 GUATEMALA CONTENTS Population (1981) 6,054,227 Population Growth Rate ca. 3% /year Land Area 41,375 sq. mi. (108,881 km2) Foreword Introduction Chapter 1 A Survey of Protestantism in Guatemala: BELICE The Trend Toward Crisis Religion • 1 Rd e EL PETEN Chapter 2 A Century of the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala. B.Imóµ, The Church in a Changing Social Context: From Nine- 47) Plo,n teenth-Century Liberalism to the Current Conflicts 10 MEXICO Caribbean Chapter 3 Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal Influence on the Presbyterian Church: Golfo de Ho „dull.' Inner Conflicts and the Migration of Members 42 HUEHUETE. ALTA VERAPAZ NANGO •Cobs, TA I BAL p3 Chapter 4 The Polarization of the Presbyterian Church EL QUICHE V. e as a Result of the Social Conflicts of the Last Decade 56 SAN Si.. Cruz S.• RCOS a Quiche ZACAPA °TQ VÉRAPAZ Z.• Chapter 5 The Indian Presbyteries: A Church Identity Drawn S E.P. HONDURAS Q. E^P5 `r.1 .i Q^ a •Ch. from the Theological Practice of the People 83 17C ^^ ^F CHIQU IM LA QV IA•PA 04 A I SQ^N^tE TA HU J Q^ Chapter 6 The Theological Identity of the Church in Response Pacific L Cuipp. SANTA $.A to Current Challenges 107 ROSA Toto: Totonicapán EL SALVADOR Quetzal: Quetzaltenango Appendix 133 Chima: Chimaltenango Suchite: Suchitepéquez Notes 141 Guate: Guatemala Important Cities Population (1981) Sources and Bibliography Saca: Sacatepéquez 171 Guatemala City 754,243 Quetzaltenango 62,719 Postscript 176 Escuintla 36,931 Retalhuleu 22,001 Sources: Informationsstelle Guatemala e.V., Guatemala, der lange Weg zur Freiheit, (Wuppertal, Peter Hammer Verlag, 1982); National Census (1981). FOREWORD Guatemala: the name calls to mind repression, torture and murder. For years, we have been confronted by news reports which bring a world of horror before our eyes. Thousands have been killed, or simply have disappeared without a trace. The police and the military, together with paramilitary groups, are working to repress all free expression. Massacres of entire villages, with the single goal of intimidation, are in recent years no exception. The "chronology of political violence" found in this book (pp. 06-37) can give the reader an impression of the unspeakable suffer- ing which the Guatemalan people have endured. Neither protests nor pleading have been able to break this circle of violence. Indeed, it seems that this story of terror will only continue. What is the position of the churches in Guatemala? The study at hand is an attempt to provide a picture of the Presbyterian Church in Gua- temala. How did this small Protestant minority come into being? How has it developed and changed in the slightly more than one hundred years of its existence? To what extent has it grown from its North American origins and become a real part of Guatemalan society? What witness does it give today? Why direct so much attention to this church? The Presbyterian Church is not a decisive factor in the current situation in Guatemala. Even today, the church is a numerically small community. Despite this, we can learn much from the history of the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala. It is like a mirror, allowing us to see the broader stages in the history of the entire country. Through closer examination of its history, we can learn a great deal about the development, spread and characteristics of Protes- tantism in Guatemala. Each new wave of Protestant missionary activity from the North - Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, and the contemporary American movements - has resulted in tension and conflict within the Presbyterian Church. Has the Presbyterian Church really gained a foothold in Guatemala in its century there? This study shows that in recent years the church has grown most rapidly among the Indians. The communities that have arisen among the simple people of Guatemala give great hope for the future: here, amidst the fires of suffering, a true Church of the poor is growing from Protestant roots. The initiative for this study came from the World Alliance of Re- formed Churches, the worldwide confederation of Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches. Heinrich Schäfer took on the project of writing the manuscript; this draft was presented to a number of persons in INTRODUCTION the Presbyterian Church of Guatemala with the request for a response. On the basis of the few replies received, the manuscript was then revised. I give you here my testimony; I would like to thank Heinrich Schäfer for taking on this project, and for I will tell you the good and the bad, carrying it out with commitment, prudence, and care. It is important that and I do not like ambiguities. Reformed churches throughout the world see the witness that their sister churches are giving. In my opinion, this study makes a welcome contribu- First and foremost, the author would like to thank all those people tion to this urgently needed dialogue. who made the following study possible through their willingness to con- verse - some despite personal risks. The interview partners have entered in this way into a discussion on the recent history and the future of the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala. The following contribution seeks to Lukas Vischer give an account of this discussion. The author has attempted to leave as much of the portrayal and commentary as possible to those interviewed; the analysis, interpretation and criticism given by those interviewed stands in the foreground, and the author has sought to reduce his own analytic and interpretive intrusions and has excluded his own criticisms. Only the considerations in the last chapter make an exchange of theological argu- ments with the various positions in the Guatemalan church necessary. But even here, the author has attempted to put his own criteria of evaluation aside and present those arguments that are common within the Presbyte- rian Church itself. Guatemala's past and present are marked by stark contrasts which have not remained without effect on the church itself. We will therefore follow a dialogue between very different persons with very different histor- ies, often with opposing viewpoints. Although each of their histories has been shaped through a life in the service of the church, this does not make the task easier. When conflicts become visible in the presentation, each reader should bear in mind that it is in conflict that the seeds of re- newal lie hidden; there, where conflicts cannot be avoided, we can find new solutions to old problems and "continue on our way rejoicing" in a dialogue of brothers and sisters under the forgiveness given by the cross. The conversion from unbelief to belief shows that the new arises from the crisis of the old. The following depiction of the life of the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala will not overlook conflict: like the research which has preceded it, it is oriented to the most controversial questions facing the church today. It is exactly the temptations and uncertainties of this church which can give direction to other churches in the worldwide Reformed community, in the face of their own uncertainties. This line of inquiry should not obstruct our view of the fact that the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala is much more than what can be depicted here. ready hold a reprosentative function, are the only interviewees who are After a brief look at the social history of the Presbyterian Church in identified by name. the context of the development of Guatemalan society, the following top- The author hopes with his whole heart that this study succeeds in ics will be considered: faithfully portraying the situation and the discussions in the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala. He is convinced that the path of Guatemalan Pres- byterians can give valuable insights to the Reformed community far be- The influence of Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches; yond the borders of Guatemala. The church's actions in response to the social and political Finally, it is a pleasure for the author to express his gratitude to the situation; following persons and institutions. The present study was motivated by The work of the new Indian presbyteries. Prof. Da Lukas Vischer, whose commitment and invaluable counsel has made this publication possible, and to Prof. Dr. Konrad Raiser, who has The question of a specific theological identity for the Presbyterian contfibuted much thought as well. The study forms part of a larger re- Church in Guatemala forms the context for discussion of each of these search project of the author on Central American Protestantism at Ruhr topics. In this decade this question has been posed with a new intensity. University, Bochum, Germany, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Konrad It is clear that a presentation of the discussion in the Presbyterian Raiser. Church must also consider the spectrum of churches in Guatemala, as well as the Guatemalan social situation. The Appendix contains several autobiographical accounts from the Presbyterian Church; they further illus- trate how deeply the different theological positions are anchored in per- sonal experiences. Heinrich Schäfer The field work which forms the basis of this study was carried out as a research project on Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches in Central America. The methods of oral history have been used in this ex- amination of the Presbyterian Church, because they allowed the largest possible freedom for the people interviewed in the church to formulate their contributions. Corresponding to this method, the most important sources of the study are the tape-recorded interviews and the conversa- tions, which were summarized with written notes.