--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After Hiram Bingham built the first…" description: "\"After Hiram Bingham built the first church on Oahu the student recalls, \"When it was completed some of the natives said among themselves, 'That house o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2b/sarah-vowell-2016_atheist_after-hiram-bingham-built-the-first-chur_2310159.jpg" --- # After Hiram Bingham built the first church on Oahu the… ![“After Hiram Bingham built the first church on Oahu the student recalls, "When it was completed some of the natives said among themselves, 'That house of worship built by the haoles is a place in which they will pray us all to death. It is meant to kill us."” quote by Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2b/sarah-vowell-2016_atheist_after-hiram-bingham-built-the-first-chur_2310159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2b/sarah-vowell-2016_atheist_after-hiram-bingham-built-the-first-chur_2310159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2b/sarah-vowell-2016_atheist_after-hiram-bingham-built-the-first-chur_2310159.jpg) > “After Hiram Bingham built the first church on Oahu the student recalls, "When it was completed some of the natives said among themselves, 'That house of worship built by the haoles is a place in which they will pray us all to death. It is meant to kill us."” [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The native perspective viewed the missionary church as a tool of oppression and a threat to their survival. **In simple terms:** Church seen as a threat by natives. Key Takeaway Recognize cultural impacts of institutions. Themes colonialism faith cultural conflict Mood critical thoughtful Type historical sociopolitical When to use this quote - missionary work - cultural preservation - education reform - community building Key Concepts history anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do power dynamics shape religious sites? - What can be done to heal such historical wounds? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Houses of worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/houses-of-worship/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [My mother took us to services at the Episcopal church. Yet she always said that God was not just inside the four walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/my-mother-took-us-to-services-at-the-episcopal-church-yet-she-always/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [“not!’ This is a house of worship. The Lord may be drawing her in His own way. It is for us to help Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/not-this-is-a-house-of-worship-the-lord-may-be-drawing-her-in-his-own/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [Did I pray for death? I did one time. I wanted to die so badly. And I didn't want to die. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yossi-ghinsberg/did-i-pray-for-death-i-did-one-time-i-wanted-to-die-so-badly-and-i/) [Yossi Ghinsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yossi-ghinsberg/) > [There is a thing, like a bird, weak and fluttering within my chest, i cradle it and care for it as anyone should an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/there-is-a-thing-like-a-bird-weak-and-fluttering-within-my-chest-i/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [When we pray for death we really desire a fuller life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/when-we-pray-for-death-we-really-desire-a-fuller-life/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [“To pray for their safety was to pray for the death of other young men he did not even know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/to-pray-for-their-safety-was-to-pray-for-the-death-of-other-young-men/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“I had no choice but to pray for his death. 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Whitney Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-whitney-brown/) > [Religions contradict one another-on small matters, such as whether we should put on a hat or take one off on entering a house of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/religions-contradict-one-another-on-small-matters-such-as-whether-we/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Megachurches. I can't be the only one frightened when our houses of worship sound like they could take on Godzilla.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/megachurches-i-can-t-be-the-only-one-frightened-when-our-houses-of/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) ## More by Sarah Vowell > [“She is either male property (Mrs.), wannabe male property (Miss), or man-hating harpy (Ms.).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/she-is-either-male-property-mrs-wannabe-male-property-miss-or-man/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“We were breathing sooty air. The soot was composed of incinerated glass and steel but also, we knew, incinerated human flesh. When the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/we-were-breathing-sooty-air-the-soot-was-composed-of-incinerated/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [I was a big Nancy Drew reader. Nancy figures it out. 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No one ever asks that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/what-are-you-hiding-no-one-ever-asks-that/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“I don't have a driver's license (phobia).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-don-t-have-a-driver-s-license-phobia/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) [Explore all 190 Sarah Vowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. 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