James Chalmers was born in Scotland in 1841. He loved adventure, messing about in boats and on several occasions rescued friends from drowning. He loved danger and a good punch-up was always welcome on a Saturday night.
He attended Sunday school for a number of years and on one occasion he heard an inspiring story about missionaries who had preached the gospel to bloodthirsty cannibals on the island of Fiji. Chalmers was profoundly moved and he made an inner vow to follow in their footsteps.
In 1859, Chalmers had a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit. He became acutely aware of his sin and rebellion against God. He cried out to God and he was converted to the Christian faith. He devoured the Bible and was smitten with a passage from Revelation 22 which reads as follows:
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let
him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty,
let him come; and whoever wishes, let him
take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17
The Scottish lad was determined to bring many people to this living water (John 4:14) and so he embarked on missionary training.
Chalmers was a great practical joker and on one occasion he dressed up as a huge bear and terrorised the other students while they were enjoying an evening meal. Shy and withdrawn he was not. During this period of his life he met the woman who became his wife.
In 1867 he and his wife Jane travelled by ship to the Cook Islands and stayed there for ten years. It was here that Chalmers was given his nickname ‘Tamate’ by the indigenous people. This experience was an excellent introduction to missionary work but Chalmers longed for greater challenges. He craved adventure, swashbuckling daring-do and he was not to be disappointed.
In 1877 he and Jane were given permission to go to Papua New Guinea, located across from the northern tip of Australia. This is the second biggest island in the world after Australia. It is six times the size of England. There are amazing landscapes, tropical forests, mountains and plenty of salt-water crocodiles. The local natives, however, were not renowned for their charm, good humour and bonhomie.
What did the locals look like? They enjoyed brandishing huge clubs, wore necklaces of human bones, displayed gaudy-coloured feathers and sported unsightly tattoos which signalled murder as a favourite hobby. Tribal disputes were invariably settled by bloodshed and victory was celebrated by an orgy of cannibalistic feasting. Some of the more depraved tribes would capture their enemies alive and would then proceed to hack off pieces of flesh while the prisoners were kept in giant larders. Sometimes the unfortunate victims would be kept alive for six or seven days.
Household decoration consisted of repulsive idols, human skulls, bones and bloodstained weapons. Many dwellings were built in the tops of trees and entire villages were often perched on stilts over the ocean water. There was a constant and unrelenting fear of enemy attack, butchery and frenzied guzzling of human flesh.
And into this pagan darkness Chalmers proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God. He taught the natives about King Jesus and his wonderful teaching about the merciful rule of God. We could summarise his message like this – love your enemies, don’t eat them! Patiently he explained to them the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. With passion and conviction he outlined the biblical drama and invited his listeners to respond. His favourite sermon always began and ended with those inspiring words from the final chapter of the book of Revelation – “Come!” Whoever is thirsty let him come….let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
And they came in droves. Can you picture it? Tribes that used to spend their Sundays butchering and pillaging were now gathered together celebrating communion and hugging each other with cordial, warm embraces. Men, women and children could now enjoy a decent night’s kip without the dread of being attacked by vicious warriors on the prowl for a late night snack. Houses could now be constructed on the ground. And idols were thrown out and pulverised. It is not difficult to imagine the peace and goodness of God invading and infusing these converted communities. Truly the kingdom of God had arrived!
Chalmers was fearless as he explored the island and preached the gospel of the kingdom. He fully mastered the delicate art of ducking and diving as he proclaimed that Christ was King. He literally plucked clubs and swords out of enemy hands to save his life and the lives of his companions. In one region he so influenced the natives that peace prevailed and cannibalism ceased within five years of his coming.
In 1879, Chalmers lost his beloved wife Jane when she died. The stress and strain of life in Papua New Guinea had proved to be too much for her. Chalmers was grief-stricken but he threw himself into his missionary work.
It is hugely important to recognise that Chalmers understood his work as far broader than is often evoked by the word ‘missionary’. He was very concerned about the Royal Navy treating the natives with fairness and respect. Often he would broker deals between British officials and the former cannibals. The missionary was very concerned with the political sphere of life. He refused to privatise and spiritualise the gospel of Jesus.
In the last few years of his life Chalmers was determined to preach the gospel to the most ferocious tribes. In 1901 while he was visiting a new region, he was surrounded by practising cannibals, clubbed, beheaded and finally eaten. His body was cooked with sago and served as the main course of a celebratory feast. A most dramatic ending to a most dramatic life.
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
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1 Comment
Dr Philip Thomas · October 3, 2024 at 11:45 am
What an amazing conversion Mr Chalmers must have had to live the life that he did.
Just as an aside, it is interesting to note that the fatal neurological disease “kuru” was first recognised in New Guinea. It arose in a tribe of people who ate the brains of dead people as part of a funeral ritual. This led eventually to the discovery of prion diseases, which are transmissible, untreatable, and fatal brain diseases of mammals. The most common type of prion disease in humans today is “CJD” which usually arises from the ingestion of food made from infected animals. CJD usually kills within a year of diagnosis as there is yet no medical cure for CJD nor any other form of prion disease.
The sad reality is, societal groups from every corner of the globe have been doing despicable things throughout all of human history. In fact, recent genetic research into prion diseases suggests that MANY ancient human populations – and not just the ancient tribes in Papua, New Guinea – were engaged in the horrific practice of eating human flesh. Thus, cannibalism, it seems, was far more common to all of our histories than we might at first think.
In any event, it was good to be reminded today of the life of James Chalmers. He clearly believed that the love of Jesus is the cure for all that plagues us – be it disease, bad behaviour, grief or anything else. Thank you, Mark, for inspiring us to go forward to share the love of Jesus in all that we do, no matter what.
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