308. Guiart, Jean. "Conversion to Christianity in the South Pacific." In Millennial Dreams in Action edited by Sylvia L. Thrupp. The Hague: Mouton, 1962a.
From the time of the earliest missions, white culture was seen to be a package deal: if you accepted the religion, you would also be materially blessed. When this didn't follow, disappointment led to accusations that the missionaries were hiding the secret of their riches. Christianity was therefore false.
Natives expected to be paid for attending services and especially for conversion. The missionaries encouraged this view by their gifts to catechists. The value of these prizes decreased as the number of catechists grew. There was a heavily apocalyptic tone to the missionaries' preaching, which promised material benefits at the End÷this was featured in cargo movements. The missionaries were seen to have power over death, and hostility arose over their withholding it and their stinginess in general. Christian life versus pagan death was a central theme in conversion, which was seen as a help in combatting European influence. Oceanic Christianity paralleled its earliest forms.
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