"Add to that the fact that missionaries sometimes were elevated to a shamanistic level by virtue of them having books, being able to read and to write, and the natives were torn between covering all bets between their own holy wo/men and the new black robes or what have you." --katlaughing

"...through belittling them, and the used of advanced European technology (apparent magic) and the seeming magic of the printed word" --Stilly River Sage"

I'm confused. The above statements only confirm my assertions above. They really don't condemn the missionaries--they point out inherent weakness in the belief systems of those being proselytized. It only reinforces that, whether by missionary or by secular forces, the world was inevitably going to change and their belief system was bound to crumble--it had no accomodation to the increasing enlightenment and knowledge of the world around them.

Also, though this always ends up being the point of parting of ways (albeit peacefully) the entire above conversation is approached from an apriori acceptance that Christianity (and therefore its missionaries) can't possibly be objectively correct (or at least more so that those it converts to it).