Wheaton College Unveils ‘Careful Rewording’ Of Plaque Honoring Martyred Alumni After Complaints

A Christian college in Wheaton, Illinois, unveiled a “careful rewording” of a plaque commemorating its martyred missionary alumni after complaints about the word “savage” being used to describe the indigenous tribe who speared them to death.

Wheaton’s class of 1949 bequeathed the expunged plaque to the school in 1957 to commemorate Jim Elliot and Ed McCully, their classmates who were slain in 1956 during their attempt to bring the gospel to the violent Auca Indians in the rainforest of Ecuador.

“For generations all strangers were killed by these savage Indians,” the former plaque said in part. “After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas.”

Elliot and McCully, along with fellow missionaries Nate Saint, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian, initially made friendly contact with the tribe and exchanged gifts for several months until a group of Auca warriors fell upon them, who speared them to death and threw their bodies in a river.

Several years later, both Jim Elliot’s wife Elisabeth and Nate Saint’s sister Rachel traveled to Ecuador to live with and minister to the Auca who had killed their loved ones. Many in the tribe ended up converting to Christianity, including the warriors who had murdered the missionaries. The tribe ceased being bloodthirsty.

Despite the testimony of such martyrs and their families, some of Wheaton’s alumni and donors apparently chose to focus instead on the plaque’s description of the pre-Christian Auca as “savage Indians,” as well as to complain about failing to describe them as “Waorani” instead of “Auca,” which is now an allegedly derogatory name.

Wheaton College President Philip Ryken apparently felt compelled to remove the original plaque and reword it for modern sensibilities.

“In the 64 years since the College received this gift, we have continued to grow in our understanding of how to show God’s love and respect to people from every culture,” Ryken said in a Monday press release. “We have also learned much more about God’s ongoing work among the Waorani. We welcome this opportunity to ensure that we tell this unforgettable story in ways that reflect the full dignity of people made in the image of God.”

“We are deeply grateful to this remarkable team for their thoughtful work to continue the legacy of five missionaries who gave their lives to spread the gospel,” Ryken said. “We have been further blessed by the strong support for this project from members of their families, from their class peers, and from Wheaton College alumni who have gone on to be missionaries after being inspired by these brave pioneers.”

Jim Elliot’s daughter, Valerie, and the Elisabeth Elliot Foundation disapproved of the plaque’s removal, telling The Daily Wire: “While we are saddened that the plaque honoring the martyrdom of Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming has been removed from the Edman Chapel at Wheaton College, we pray that the attention that this action is generating will bring renewed interest in the amazing work of God that was done in and through their sacrifice. To God be the glory.”

Related: Not Even Billy Graham’s Alma Mater Is Safe From Pearl-Clutching Cancel Culture

Related: Wheaton College Removes Plaque Honoring Martyred Missionaries Because It Used Word ‘Savage’

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