(RNS) — Some call him a martyr.
Others call him a colonialist.
A few just call him tragically misguided.
Almost everyone, it seems, has an opinion about John Allen Chau.
When Indian officials reported last week that the young American missionary had died at the hands of indigenous people living on a protected island off the coast of India, a heated dispute erupted in Christian circles. As his story continues to capture international attention, the debate intensifies over his approach to spreading the Christian gospel at North Sentinel Island — and whether he should have been there at all.
Much of the discussion is rooted in Chau’s 13-page account of his final days, which was shared by his mother with The Washington Post.
According to the handwritten diary, he convinced several local fishermen to bring him as close as possible to North Sentinel Island on Nov. 14, at which point he paddled to shore in a kayak. He described seeing women “looing and chattering” before being confronted by men wielding bows and arrows.
“My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you,” he shouted at them, according to the journal. He then threw a fish at the Sentinelese and fled.
He returned the next day with a bevy of gifts — fish, scissors and a safety pin. When a man wearing a crown shouted at him, he sang worship songs and hymns until a boy shot an arrow that stuck in…
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