Eternity in Their Hearts: Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World

Don Richardson is a Canadian Christian missionary with a doctorate in literature; he has studied languages and tribal cultures. In Eternity in their Hearts, he shows how peoples all around the world, with no apparent exposure to orthodox religious instruction, apparently grasped the gospel message. The God/Allah/Jehovah/YHWH of the Abrahamic religions appears to be identical to Viracocha of the Incas; El and Elyon of the Canaanites; Thakur Jiu of the Santal; Magano of the Gedeo; Koro of the Mbaka; Shang Ti of the Chinese; Hananim of the Koreans; Y'wa of the Burmese Karen; Karat Kasang of the Burmese Kachin; Gui'Sha of the Burmese Lahu; Siyeh of the Wa; Phra-Ariya-Metrai of the Shan and Palaung; Chepo-Thoru and Gtuang of the Indian Naga and Mizo. It was Paul who made it clear that the gospel message applied to gentiles and it is a Pauline message (Romans 2:14-15) that provides Richardson with the idea for the title of the book: "They are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing them, now even defending them." Richardson also points out that Genesis includes the words: "... and ALL PEOPLES ON EARTH will be blessed through you." The book of Luke, relating the story of Simeon recognizing that Mary was carrying the future Messiah, says: "My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared IN THE SIGHT OF ALL PEOPLE, A LIGHT FOR REVELATION TO THE GENTILES and for glory to your people Israel ... ALL MANKIND WILL SEE GOD'S SALVATION." I never understood the story in Matthew 15:21-28 about Jesus' interaction with a Canaanite woman to whom he said "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel" but Richardson convincingly portrays this parable as Jesus' way of explaining the broader mission to the disciples. In perhaps the most controversial quote of the book, Richardson echoes the words of missiologist Ralph Winter: "Jesus did not come to give the Great Commission! He came to take it away - from the Jews who had already possessed it in prototype for nearly two thousand years and had done almost nothing with it! It was time for the world to see what believing Gentiles, entrusted with that same imperative in New Testament form, would do with it." Richardson continues: "from Judas's ethnocentric viewpoint, Jesus' soaring ambition to dissipate Messianic blessings over the entire Gentile world (instead of concentrating the blessing among Jews where it could really count for something) must have seemed entirely impractical! Apparently Judas saw at last that Jesus really was serious about throwing the banquet hall of Jewish privilege open to Gentile dogs! If so, then Judas may have been the most intelligent of the 12 disciples, because the other 11 ... took much longer to take that emphasis of Jesus' ministry seriously." Paul and Barnabas declared (Acts 13:46-47) "We now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." Richardson parlays all of this into a fascinating idea about how the gospel message could have been dissipated through more than the "orthodox" Christian church. This is an excellently researched and presented book; it challenges many elitist ideas and offers a valuable insight into what the author has shown to be a worldwide phenomenon. Wonderful.

Not well written but communicates a very important principle for Christian mission.

Must have for students of missions

One of my favorite books. Amazing account of God speaking to many people groups in many different ways. If you have a heart for missions, get ready to shed some tears.

The study of religious anthropology is a sociological field dominated by evolutionary thought. As the "just so" story goes, humanity first developed brands of animism and polytheism to plead to gods of specific animals, seasons, and natural forces to aid in their daily lives. From there, polytheism turns to henotheism and brands of theism. And, the tale sometimes goes, theism will evolve to atheism which will be the pinnacle of sociological evolution. As Huxley put it, we will then have all the benefits of Christianity without any of the drawbacks. The strength of Richardson's book is the powerful and well-documented refutation of this tale. His primary goal is to present the case that God placed himself as the only Creator God in the hearts of humans, and that the most "ancient" peoples among us still "remember" that truth. In other words, monotheism is the most ancient religious preference of the human race. Richardson travels through time and multiple tribes and ethnic groups to display how the basics of the Christian gospel are woven into their traditions and histories. Over and over, he produces stories supporting his thesis. In addition, there is first and second-hand documentation as well as scholarly citation in defense of his theory. For the Christian, and for the open-minded, this can be an exciting book to read! The weakness of the book is in the second part - the biblical exposition. Richardson wants to show the reader that the primary theme of the Bible is wrapped up in apostolic mission to unreached people groups. And as is the case when someone has a singular agenda with Scripture, a lot of passages get taken out of context to support the agenda. The second part of the book could have been about one-third its size and would have been a stronger case in support of the first part. With that in mind, I believe the reflective reader can be greatly encouraged by Eternity In Their Hearts.

Fascinating and inspirational. Shows Gods touch in every ancient culture

Excellent work here. As relevant now as it was upon first publication. A common misconception is that people of tribal nations/areas are totally lost without the Gospel, fumbling around in darkness. Wrong! "He has also set eternity in their heart" (Ecc. 3:11); "God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27). The book presents powerful evidence that monotheism is the first stage of religious development among people groups, not polytheism or animism. Monotheism then degenerates into polytheism etc., due to various reasons, e.g., manipulations of people in ruling positions. Therefore this book runs counter to the evolutionary models such study of religion holds as orthodox. As such, this book is startling to anyone who takes it seriously and grew up in Western public educations systems (where we are taught the evolutionary models only). The book is not a "deep theological treatise." It is rather a thesis predicated on evidence from anthropology, sociology, the study of religion, and Scriptural exegesis. Of course it is richly theological, but it does not get "theologically complex," or dense. As for a criticism: The book does not explore so much about how it is the Spirit of God moving these people to reach out and find God. People are not prepared for the Gospel on their own doing, but rather through the Spirit. However, this theme is in fact found within the book! As a personal opinion, I simply would have liked to see it emphasized. As I said, the book is not a theological treatise; it does not get lost in complex debate—so it is not surprising that we do not find, for example, a chapter on "The Work of the Spirit." Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!

life- changing

I don't know how it took so long to come across this book. It is a must read! It will rock your world and challenge your view of foreign missions. It is mind-blowingly exciting to get a little glimpse at the "behind the scenes work" that the Lord has been doing in bringing unreached people groups to himself. Every Christian needs to read this. Buckle up! It is so exciting!

An outstanding mind opener that emphasizes the love of God for all peoples. It helped me appreciate the common ground different cultures might offer as a means to evangelism.

Es impresionante saber como Dios ha estado presente a través de la historia de la humanidad. Todas las culturas de las diferentes épocas han sabido de una u otra forma del único Dios verdadero. Ojala algún día salga la version en español para los que no leen en ingles

great book

Eternity in Their Hearts is a very interesting and meaningful book. At times, it can be a bit difficult to read due to the more formal, almost King James–style English, but the message is worth the effort. I previously read Peace Child, which I found incredibly powerful—it even brought me to tears and helped me see Christianity and God’s love in a completely new way. This book feels different in style and impact, but it’s still fascinating. What I really appreciated is the idea of “redemptive analogies” and how the author explores them across different religions, tribes, and nations. It offers a unique perspective on how God’s message can already be present in cultures around the world. Overall, a thoughtful and eye-opening read for anyone interested in faith, culture, and how they connect.