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Eternity in Their Hearts
- GenresChristian
Paperback
Published March 8, 2006
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About the author
Don Richardson
33 books87 followersDON RICHARDSON, author of Secrets of the Koran, Lords of the Earth and Eternity in Their Hearts, has been studying the Muslim world for more than 30 years.
He and his wife, Carol, spent 15 years among the Sawi, a Stone Age tribe of Irian Jaya. Don designed an alphabet suited to the Sawi language, authored 19 primers, taught the tribesmen to read in their native tongue and translated the entire New Testament. More than half of the Sawi accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Peace Child is the story of this mission.
All of Richardson's books focus on what he calls his "redemptive analogy" thesis: the idea that each culture has some story, ritual, or tradition that can be used to illustrate and apply the Christian gospel message.
Since 1977, Don has served as ambassador-at-large for World Team, a mission organization.
Don holds an honorary doctorate of literature from Biola University in La Mirada, California, is an ordained pastor and speaks at more than 40 church conferences each year.
He and his wife, Carol, spent 15 years among the Sawi, a Stone Age tribe of Irian Jaya. Don designed an alphabet suited to the Sawi language, authored 19 primers, taught the tribesmen to read in their native tongue and translated the entire New Testament. More than half of the Sawi accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Peace Child is the story of this mission.
All of Richardson's books focus on what he calls his "redemptive analogy" thesis: the idea that each culture has some story, ritual, or tradition that can be used to illustrate and apply the Christian gospel message.
Since 1977, Don has served as ambassador-at-large for World Team, a mission organization.
Don holds an honorary doctorate of literature from Biola University in La Mirada, California, is an ordained pastor and speaks at more than 40 church conferences each year.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 26, 2024
DO FOLK RELIGIONS “ANTICIPATE” THE GOSPEL?
Don Richardson (born 1935) is a Canadian Christian missionary, teacher, author and international speaker who worked among the tribal people of Western New Guinea, Indonesia. He has written other popular books, such as Peace Child,Lords of the Earth,Heaven Wins: Heaven, Hell and the Hope of Every Person,The Secrets of the Koran, etc.
He wrote in the first chapter of this revised 1984 book (originally published in 1981), “How can we make sense of the biblical claim that Melchizedek was greater in spiritual rank than Abraham? What was it that made Melchizedek greater?... the answer lies in that Melchizedek REPRESENTED vis-à-vis what Abraham represented in God’s economy. The thesis of this book is that Melchizedek stood in the Valley of Shaveh as a figurehead or type of God’s GENERAL revelation to mankind, and that Abraham correspondingly represented God’s covenant-based, canon-recorded SPECIAL revelation to mankind. God’s general revelation is greater than His special revelation … [because] it is OLDER, and it influences 100% of mankind (Ps. 19), instead of just a small percentage!” (Pg. 31)
He notes, “how ironic that the Spanish Catholics, in their zeal to abolish Inca ‘idolatry,’ destroyed a monotheistic belief which, in effect, constituted an interim Old Testament to open the minds of thousands to the good news of Viracocha’s incarnation in the Person of His Son. Notice that I said ‘interim’ Testament, not ‘substitute’ Old Testament.” (Pg. 40)
He suggests, “Both the Athenians and Cretans of Epimenides’ time and the Incas of Pachacuti’s day died without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. How about it? Are there no God-anticipating pagan peoples who DID live to receive the blessing of the gospel? History does indeed record many such…” (Pg. 41)
He observes, “How tragic that Christians in general have been told almost nothing of this worldwide phenomenon of monotheistic presupposition underlying most of the world’s folk religions! Many theologians… have nervously pushed this mind-expanding evidence into a closet. Why? If you belong to a tradition which has been teaching Christians for centuries that the rest of the world sits in total darkness and knows zilch about God, it becomes a little embarrassing to have to say, ‘We have been wrong. In actual fact, more than 90 percent of the world’s folk religions acknowledge at least the existence of God. Some even anticipate His redeeming concern for mankind.’” (Pg. 51)
He notes, “No other message on earth has an inside track already laid for it in the belief systems of thousands of very different human societies! How sad that some theologians thought the gospel’s uniqueness was being threatened by such lore when actually it was enhanced! How sad also that they have taught us to condemn such lore as ‘counterfeit’ or as ‘distortion.’ This kind of teaching has caused some Christians… to very defensive if not actually offensive toward non-Christian people. It has caused them to view Christian-like parallels in other cultures as barriers to the gospel, rather than as thresholds with ‘welcome!’ written across them!” (Pg. 60)
He states, “The Karen race… confronts us with hundreds of thousands of individuals whose awareness of basic spiritual facts may have matched that of history’s AVERAGE Jew or Christian! The piety of the pagans mentioned in the Bible, moreover, seems traceable in each case directly to Jewish influence.” (Pg. 82-83)
He suggests, “Looking back over history, it appears that the Evil One’s strategy has been to try to superimpose formal religions over folk religions before the gospel arrives---to prevent the native monotheism in the vast majority of folk religions from fulfilling it amazing role as an ally of the gospel. This strategy has succeeded in the case of thousands of entire peoples who formerly adhered to folk religions.” (Pg. 106)
He also proposes, “Ancient Indian beliefs about the Sacred Four hang like an invisible sounding board behind the teacher, adding special weight and gravity to every word. Is the Sacred Four concept a mere fiction? Or could it have some validity? Does the Bible hint at the existence of a God-ordained Sacred Four upholding order in the universe? I believe the answer to all these questions is Yes!” (Pg. 131)
He says, “The apostles reveal full awareness of the centrality of the Abrahamic Covenant in their writings---but what about Jesus Christ Himself? Do the four gospels reveal that HE manifested awareness of the covenant as foundational to His ministry? If, after all I have said on this subject, it turns out that our Lord Himself seemed blissfully unaware of any obligation relating to the ‘bottom line,’ and therefore did not manifest an all-peoples perspective, the entire point of this book would be undermined.” (Pg. 165-166)
He comments on John 12:32 [“will draw ALL MEN to myself”], “On the surface this statement could be interpreted to mean that everyone in the world will become a Christian. Since we know that this is quite unlikely, the statement probably means instead that some of all kinds of men will be drawn to Jesus when they learn that His death atoned for their sins. And that is exactly what the Abrahamic Covenant promised---not that all people would be blessed, but that all peoples would be represented in the blessing. Jesus’ disciples thus gained still another fair warning of the Great Commission soon to follow!” (Pg. 188-189)
This book---though controversial to some---will be almost “must reading” for anyone seriously studying the theology underlying Christian Missions.
Don Richardson (born 1935) is a Canadian Christian missionary, teacher, author and international speaker who worked among the tribal people of Western New Guinea, Indonesia. He has written other popular books, such as Peace Child,Lords of the Earth,Heaven Wins: Heaven, Hell and the Hope of Every Person,The Secrets of the Koran, etc.
He wrote in the first chapter of this revised 1984 book (originally published in 1981), “How can we make sense of the biblical claim that Melchizedek was greater in spiritual rank than Abraham? What was it that made Melchizedek greater?... the answer lies in that Melchizedek REPRESENTED vis-à-vis what Abraham represented in God’s economy. The thesis of this book is that Melchizedek stood in the Valley of Shaveh as a figurehead or type of God’s GENERAL revelation to mankind, and that Abraham correspondingly represented God’s covenant-based, canon-recorded SPECIAL revelation to mankind. God’s general revelation is greater than His special revelation … [because] it is OLDER, and it influences 100% of mankind (Ps. 19), instead of just a small percentage!” (Pg. 31)
He notes, “how ironic that the Spanish Catholics, in their zeal to abolish Inca ‘idolatry,’ destroyed a monotheistic belief which, in effect, constituted an interim Old Testament to open the minds of thousands to the good news of Viracocha’s incarnation in the Person of His Son. Notice that I said ‘interim’ Testament, not ‘substitute’ Old Testament.” (Pg. 40)
He suggests, “Both the Athenians and Cretans of Epimenides’ time and the Incas of Pachacuti’s day died without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. How about it? Are there no God-anticipating pagan peoples who DID live to receive the blessing of the gospel? History does indeed record many such…” (Pg. 41)
He observes, “How tragic that Christians in general have been told almost nothing of this worldwide phenomenon of monotheistic presupposition underlying most of the world’s folk religions! Many theologians… have nervously pushed this mind-expanding evidence into a closet. Why? If you belong to a tradition which has been teaching Christians for centuries that the rest of the world sits in total darkness and knows zilch about God, it becomes a little embarrassing to have to say, ‘We have been wrong. In actual fact, more than 90 percent of the world’s folk religions acknowledge at least the existence of God. Some even anticipate His redeeming concern for mankind.’” (Pg. 51)
He notes, “No other message on earth has an inside track already laid for it in the belief systems of thousands of very different human societies! How sad that some theologians thought the gospel’s uniqueness was being threatened by such lore when actually it was enhanced! How sad also that they have taught us to condemn such lore as ‘counterfeit’ or as ‘distortion.’ This kind of teaching has caused some Christians… to very defensive if not actually offensive toward non-Christian people. It has caused them to view Christian-like parallels in other cultures as barriers to the gospel, rather than as thresholds with ‘welcome!’ written across them!” (Pg. 60)
He states, “The Karen race… confronts us with hundreds of thousands of individuals whose awareness of basic spiritual facts may have matched that of history’s AVERAGE Jew or Christian! The piety of the pagans mentioned in the Bible, moreover, seems traceable in each case directly to Jewish influence.” (Pg. 82-83)
He suggests, “Looking back over history, it appears that the Evil One’s strategy has been to try to superimpose formal religions over folk religions before the gospel arrives---to prevent the native monotheism in the vast majority of folk religions from fulfilling it amazing role as an ally of the gospel. This strategy has succeeded in the case of thousands of entire peoples who formerly adhered to folk religions.” (Pg. 106)
He also proposes, “Ancient Indian beliefs about the Sacred Four hang like an invisible sounding board behind the teacher, adding special weight and gravity to every word. Is the Sacred Four concept a mere fiction? Or could it have some validity? Does the Bible hint at the existence of a God-ordained Sacred Four upholding order in the universe? I believe the answer to all these questions is Yes!” (Pg. 131)
He says, “The apostles reveal full awareness of the centrality of the Abrahamic Covenant in their writings---but what about Jesus Christ Himself? Do the four gospels reveal that HE manifested awareness of the covenant as foundational to His ministry? If, after all I have said on this subject, it turns out that our Lord Himself seemed blissfully unaware of any obligation relating to the ‘bottom line,’ and therefore did not manifest an all-peoples perspective, the entire point of this book would be undermined.” (Pg. 165-166)
He comments on John 12:32 [“will draw ALL MEN to myself”], “On the surface this statement could be interpreted to mean that everyone in the world will become a Christian. Since we know that this is quite unlikely, the statement probably means instead that some of all kinds of men will be drawn to Jesus when they learn that His death atoned for their sins. And that is exactly what the Abrahamic Covenant promised---not that all people would be blessed, but that all peoples would be represented in the blessing. Jesus’ disciples thus gained still another fair warning of the Great Commission soon to follow!” (Pg. 188-189)
This book---though controversial to some---will be almost “must reading” for anyone seriously studying the theology underlying Christian Missions.
January 6, 2026
As a young Christian, one significant issue I faced was my constricted understanding of God’s active love and the reach of the good news of Jesus Christ to all of humanity.
There is no doubt that salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; etc.):
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to [humanity] by which we must be saved.
But what about those who never hear of Jesus Christ? What about those who lived and died before Jesus Christ dwelt among us?
The thesis of Richardson’s book is that hundreds of cultures throughout the world and history have some knowledge and belief about the One True God. The title draws from Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJ):
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Other biblical texts also allude to this reality, such as Romans 2:14-15 and Acts 17:22-31.
Through compelling stories from cultures around the world, such as the Santal people of India and the ancient Greeks, Richardson illustrates how these spiritual echoes serve as “redemptive analogies,” preparing hearts to receive the Gospel.
He proposes that Melchizedek represents a response to God’s general revelation to humankind, and that Abraham correspondingly represents a response to God’s covenant-based, canon-recorded special revelation to humanity. As a result, missionaries can build upon common denominators between cultures and the Gospel to communicate the message of Jesus Christ effectively. His book, “Peace Child,” confirms and illustrates this point.
For me, this book, together with “Peace Child,” opened my eyes to the greatness of God who loves all humanity, is at work in every culture, and desires that none should perish, but everyone should come to repentance (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; etc.).
I have written more about this in “Who is the God of All Cultures?” which you can find on 'living theology' at https://www.johnbmacdonald.com (where this mini-review first appeared).
There is no doubt that salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; etc.):
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to [humanity] by which we must be saved.
But what about those who never hear of Jesus Christ? What about those who lived and died before Jesus Christ dwelt among us?
The thesis of Richardson’s book is that hundreds of cultures throughout the world and history have some knowledge and belief about the One True God. The title draws from Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJ):
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Other biblical texts also allude to this reality, such as Romans 2:14-15 and Acts 17:22-31.
Through compelling stories from cultures around the world, such as the Santal people of India and the ancient Greeks, Richardson illustrates how these spiritual echoes serve as “redemptive analogies,” preparing hearts to receive the Gospel.
He proposes that Melchizedek represents a response to God’s general revelation to humankind, and that Abraham correspondingly represents a response to God’s covenant-based, canon-recorded special revelation to humanity. As a result, missionaries can build upon common denominators between cultures and the Gospel to communicate the message of Jesus Christ effectively. His book, “Peace Child,” confirms and illustrates this point.
For me, this book, together with “Peace Child,” opened my eyes to the greatness of God who loves all humanity, is at work in every culture, and desires that none should perish, but everyone should come to repentance (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9; etc.).
I have written more about this in “Who is the God of All Cultures?” which you can find on 'living theology' at https://www.johnbmacdonald.com (where this mini-review first appeared).
October 8, 2025
I already know this book deserves 5 stars. Only half way through it and my mind is blown by the goodness of God!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews