52 pages • 1 hour read
Elisabeth ElliotThrough Gates of Splendor
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 1957A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Faith and Sacrifice
Among the central themes of Through Gates of Splendor is that of faith and sacrifice. The story of the five missionaries is understandable only through the lens of their Christian faith, which impels them to take the gospel message to those who have not yet heard it (See: Background). It is their faith in Jesus Christ—and the corollary belief in the gift of eternal life that stems from that faith—which motivates their choices in career, marriage, home, and, ultimately, in the plan that ends with their deaths. Believing that Jesus loved the Huaorani and died for their salvation, the five men were willing to sacrifice the dream of a typical life in their home country and to undertake cross-cultural travel and face danger and disease in order to make Christ known to those who had never heard the gospel. Their Christian faith is thus their deepest motivation and the lens through which they perceive everything in their lives. The personal, intimate, and emotional nature of this faith can be seen in one of the quotes that Elisabeth Elliot gives from her husband Jim’s diary:
It is exalting, delicious […] to gaze and glory and give oneself again to God—what more could a man ask? Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth! I care not if I never raise my voice again for Him, if only I may love Him, please Him (255).
The sub-theme of sacrifice is treated not only in the context of what the five men gave up in order to serve as missionaries, but also in the way their deaths are described. While the tragedy of their deaths at the Curaray River is acknowledged in many different ways, the book takes an overriding perspective that their deaths are best understood as a sacrifice, freely given for the sake of reaching the Huaorani with the gospel. This willingness is shown in the intentionality with which the men proceed, in full knowledge of the risks entailed and the likelihood of their own deaths, but willing nonetheless to make the attempt. They considered themselves “expendable for the cause of Christ” (60).
Cross-Cultural Dynamics of Missionary Work
Another theme woven throughout the book is that of cross-cultural dynamics. Missionary work seeks to bridge the gap across cultures, but the act of doing so brings challenges and dangers along the way. Through Gates of Splendor is mostly concerned with narrating the events of “Operation Auca,” but it also shows a strong interest in portraying the missionary life with all of its attendant struggles with linguistic barriers, unfamiliar customs, and adjusting to new social contexts. Elisabeth Elliot narrates the missionaries’ encounters not only with the Huaorani people, but also their adjustment to the Spanish-speaking culture of Ecuadorian society, their work of learning and adapting to the Quichua language and culture, and the efforts to understand and communicate with the Jivaros and Atshuaras. This work is portrayed as personal, time-consuming, awkward, and laborious. Despite its challenges, working on learning another culture’s words and customs was not simply a goal to be checked off a list before getting to preach the gospel, but an inextricable part of the missionary calling itself, as it created the relational context in which the communication of the gospel could flourish. Elisabeth writes:
They […] could accomplish [their task] only if they gained the Quichuas’ confidence and love. So by living among them, sharing in their lives and thus laying the foundations of mutual trust they hoped to open the minds and hearts of the Indians to the Christian message (31).
Alongside the communication of the gospel, other cross-cultural work lay at the center of the missionaries’ tasks. Some (like Elisabeth Elliot) were engaged in educational ministries, teaching literacy to Indigenous students. Others, like Roger Youderian, assisted in medical care and the distribution of supplies, shots, and pills in order to protect Indigenous populations from the depredations of disease. Each of these tasks came with its own cross-cultural challenges, as with the Indigenous proclivity for abandoning medical aid in favor of ineffective traditional remedies. Jim Elliot describes one such scene in his journal:
I heard the quick, steady, swish beat of what sounded like a bunch of dry leaves being shaken […]. This was interspersed with a spitting, retching sound, and the curious pop of the smoke blowing on the patient’s head […]. I had offered another injection of penicillin had been refused (47).
The theme of cross-cultural dynamics plays a direct role in the rising tension of the story as the missionaries contemplate their plan to reach the Huaorani. They are always faced by questions of cross-cultural communication during that process: Are they interpreting the Huaorani reactions correctly when observing from their flyovers? How can they know whether the Huaorani will still react with hostility? Do they know enough of the Huaorani language to communicate effectively in a face-to-face contact? Once they do get a chance to meet with several Huaorani in person, they find the cross-cultural challenges immense: “The Aucas’ uneasiness fell from them, and they began jabbering happily to themselves and to the men, ‘seemingly with little idea that we didn’t understand them’” (190). The lack of effective cross-cultural communication in that episode ultimately plays a role in the men’s deaths, as it is a misunderstanding of their identity and aims (a rumor of cannibalism) that leads to the Huaorani’s decision to kill them.
Discerning the Will of God
A third major theme in Through Gates of Splendor is that of discerning the will of God. This appears in two major forms throughout the book: first in an exploration of each man’s missionary calling, and then again in their process of seeking God’s will regarding whether to move forward with “Operation Auca.” The book begins with narrating each of the five men’s backstories, and while some—like Jim Elliot—were confirmed in their missionary calling relatively early on, others walked a journey of inner discernment before coming to that conclusion. Some, like Ed McCully and Pete Fleming, were even preparing for studies or careers in entirely different fields, but a combination of prayer, Bible study, theological reflection, and communication with trusted friends eventually turned them toward a wholehearted commitment to serving in missions. Pete Fleming wrote of his own decision, “I think a ‘call’ to the mission field is no different from any other means of guidance […]. A call is nothing more nor less than obedience to the will of God, as God presses it home to the soul by whatever means He chooses” (22).
Once the five men and their families are all engaged in various forms of missionary work in Ecuador, the question of discerning God’s will is focused on whether they are being called to engage in a plan to reach the Huaorani. There were many practical difficulties standing in the way of such a venture, so some of the men felt that there was a high threshold to being convinced that God wanted them to pursue this course. The lack of cultural and linguistic knowledge about the Huaorani was a primary difficulty, and by any standard way of observing the situation, it would be unwise to press forward before that lack had begun to be remedied, a concern that kept Pete Fleming from signing on to the “Operation Auca” program until the very end. Nonetheless, by January of 1956, all five men became convinced that contacting the Huaorani was what God wanted them to do. They spend many days in prayer over the matter, believing that God would turn them away from the plan if it was not part of the divine will, and counting every positive sign as an encouragement to press on. As Nate Saint wrote, “May God continue to put His good hand on the project and may we drop it when not fully assured of His direction. At present we feel unanimously that God is in it” (145). The relative abundance of positive indicators, along with a few negative ones, helped ground them in their conviction, shared by their wives, that God’s will was for them to establish a direct, personal line of contact with the Huaorani people. Even at the end of the story, having seen what resulted from the men’s attempt, Elisabeth Elliot could still write in full conviction of the will of God: “But we know it was no accident. God performs all things according to the counsel of His own will” (258-59).
