This is an article from the November-December 2014 issue: The Fingerprints of God in Buddhism

God of the Thai

How One Movement Overcomes the Perception of a Foreign God

God of the Thai

As a Thai Christian, it troubles me that after centuries of mission effort in Thailand, so few Thai people believe in Jesus Christ. In my search to understand why, I discovered some events which seem to hold the key. In 1622, Patriarch Pierre Lambert de la Motte (a Roman Catholic from France) tried to convert King Narai of Siam (as Thailand was then known) to Christianity. At that time, King Narai had a younger brother who was crippled. The king asked Lambert and all the believers to pray for his brother’s healing. After three days and nights of prayer and fasting the king’s bother was able to move his legs, and he continued to improve.

After this, Pope Clement IX and King Louis XIV of France sent letters to King Narai inviting him to convert to the Roman Catholic Church and join in the sacraments with the priest. King Narai refused, though he cherished their goodwill. He wrote “My gratitude to King Louis XIV for your love that desired me to join your religion, but I have not had faith in my heart and it might be the will of God that He wants us to believe in different religious ways like the chapter that said God created mankind with different colors and animals with different kinds and species....”

Based on this story I had two conclusions: first, Lambert and I are running into the same problems and second, though they acknowledge Jesus is very good and there is no one like Him, the majority of Thai people aren’t interested. Intrigued, I researched further.

“After King Narai’s reign, the Christian mission in Siam began to deteriorate. The next king did not obstruct their efforts, but he did not support them either. Some of the priests continued to teach and preach the gospel in a way that was in opposition to the royal court. At the time of King Thai Sa (1730) it came to a head when Mr. Teng Butluangkraikosa charged and prosecuted the priesthood on many counts of blaspheming Buddhism. During the trial, instead of rectifying the accusation Patriarch Tesia De Cerale testified that ‘Because this world has only one God who created heaven and earth and who reigns over all, therefore humankind should have only one religion to bring us to the only good.’ This answer closed the door for the Roman Catholic Church in the Kingdom of Siam.”3 Instead of promoting understanding, De Cerale’s statement offended the Thai people and set up a future of strife, misunderstanding and failure to communicate the message.

My studies showed me that this problem has existed for the last 350 years. It may be that we keep using the same methods and therefore get the same result. The Lord continued to teach me when I attended a seminar of a missions4 organization. I heard reports from various places where God is moving. One group from India reported that every day they have new disciples and thousands of people were baptized in a very short time. I could not return home without asking some questions of the people who gave the report. I and my church colleagues came away challenged in our thinking and with a greater passion for spreading the gospel. Since then we have received training from this group from India.

I want everyone to understand that we Christians are proclaiming the gospel to a people who are unresponsive due to the conflicts in our history. Our method of presenting the gospel has been opposed to the Thai peoples’ lifestyle, language and culture. If we had purposefully brought Jesus in a Thai way with Thai culture and language, Thai churches would be sending missionaries to Laos, Cambodia and Burma by now. But the way things were done resulted in generation after generation recognizing that following Jesus Christ meant joining a Western religion. 

Thai people see Christians as employed by foreigners and as betrayers of their country. This must be the reason why believers in Thailand are under 1% and we have a shortage of young people who follow Christ. I myself was rejected by my friends and family for becoming a Christian and as a result, could not attend family funerals. My older sister passed away due to cancer but my other four siblings did not tell me because I am a Christian. I found out 18 months later. Most Thai Christians experience this same rejection.

If we acknowledge that nothing happens on its own and that God created all things then that must include Thai language and the beautiful Thai culture. It is time for us to bring what is ours back to glorify our God.

The good news needs to be announced to others in a common, natural way. The old method of presenting a Western gospel did not pierce the hearts of Thai people. They had no reason to announce it to others. But I believe today is a new day for Thailand, where words will overflow in a natural way, people will share the good news with others in a way without pressure, duty or command, where it is normal to tell the people we love most and then our neighbors, where whole families will come to Christ together.

People who follow the new approach do not present Jesus as another religion, but they will say that Jesus is the way of release, nirvana, He is the truth and the life. They will not go around telling people they are sinners, but they will say “we have karma”. They will not say that the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to declare the year of His favor to you, but that this is your golden year because if you are in Christ every year is your golden year. Every believer can lead others to salvation and perform baptisms, rather than waiting for the pastor or Sunday to come. These things demonstrate the essence of the new things God gave to us through the training from our Indian colleagues.

We have adjusted our words in presenting the gospel and adapted ourselves to include ceremonies and activities from the cultural and religious background of the believer (Buddhism), using the methods that Jesus gave us for adjusting to the context of Thai people, and we have seen great success. These are essentials which we have overlooked for 350 years. It maybe these things are too close or too little to see. We have seen the power of the Holy Spirit moving among believers when they read the Bible and practice daily repentance; reconciliation and mutual understanding takes place in their household, workplace and community. They lay hands on the sick and they are healed, the dead come back to life, even animals with broken legs stand up and walk, and plants that had been eaten by bugs are mended. They stop stealing and lying, and instead tell each other the truth. They are people of faith. All of this happens because Jesus is building them to be the church and the Holy Spirit is their teacher. They recognize God’s voice and we clearly see how God is wonderfully taking care of their rapid growth.

At this time all the discord in the past between Christianity and Buddhism no longer affects my coworkers and me. With this new method we cannot look at the ID cards of Thai people to verify that they are Christian,5 but we can verify the importance they give to it when we see Bible verses in homes, shops, hospitals, police stations and bus stops. People like to meet in their houses more than the temple because they have a new value in opening their homes for fellowship with one another and they receive more blessing than giving to hundreds of temples. Some blame the decrease in giving to temples on economic conditions or insincerity of religion, but the reality is people have found new value in giving money to the poor and good food to prisoners, giving money to the widows and seniors in their community. People are generous to one another, the rich give to the poor, and we see funerals that testify to life after death in Jesus Christ. Wedding ceremonies follow Thai cultural traditions in using powder to anoint the forehead as a symbol of exchanging vows in the name of Jesus. They sing their prayers to Jesus in their houses and worship with poems and proverbs. These things happen little by little until they become new traditions and new culture. All of this is the vision that God has given us to see multiplication 30, 60, and 100 times more (see Mark 4:8).

I used to pray that God would give Thai people faith. God told me, “They already have it, they were born with it, you only need to move their faith into my Name.” Since then I understood that I only have the job of introducing Jesus for them to taste as an alternative, while they remain in their religion. We do not need to tell them to throw everything away in order to come to Jesus, but while they are still believing in other gods they can call upon Jesus’ name and experience that the God who lives is better than the gods who are dead.

I want to tell every believer that we do not need to be afraid that God’s name will be tainted, damaged or in disgraced. If we present Him for Thai Buddhists to choose, He will go and sit on the throne of their hearts, even though He might be sitting with all the gods that are hanging on their necks,6 God will not feel uncomfortable or condemn us. He is very pleased and desires to be with them even though they might wear ten gods around their neck. God’s holiness will not decrease or increase because He never changes: He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow until the end of time. And do you know? In the end they aways fall in love with the God who lives.

We see their quality of life positively changed they might not become rich, but they are happy. They have families full of laughter and reconciliation, living a healthy life, having hope. Some of them pass away from disease, but their loved ones rejoice because they do not have to suffer in the circle of life anymore but are in heaven forever.

All the power in heaven and earth was given to Jesus and He has sent us out to work, study, and cultivate rice, with a life that shows love to others that they might know we are His disciples. Teaching and making disciples will follow. The spiritual ground in Thailand is not as hard as you may think, and the number of believers is more than you may think. “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”7 God has been active in our history and will continue until its end. 

 

Photo Credit: Photo of the Buddist temple is by Maritha Mae Photography: http://www.marithamaephotography.com

Endnotes
  1. haab.catholic.or.th/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51:2012-08-10-08-57-09&catid=233:2013-06-27-07-02-38&Itemid=27 (Thai language source).

  2. http://www.oknation.net/blog/print.php?id=922822 (Thai language source).

  3. haab.catholic.or.th/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2926:2014-02-25-02-53-53&catid=221:2013-06-26-09-00-43&Itemid=30 (Thai language source)

  4. Name withheld for security reasons.

  5. The Thai government requires everyone to carry an ID card, and the religion of the carrier is indicated on it.

  6. Most Thai people wear amulets or Buddha images around their necks for protection and peace of mind.

  7. Hab. 1:5, NIV

Comments

I have worked and served in Thailand for 15 years as a missionary. God has given us great grace and have been involved in seeing hundreds of Thai people come to know Jesus and most of them are true 1st generation believers but I must say that this article was Very disappointing!!!! The author’s mindset would be comparable to saying the reason all the Ninevites repented and turned to God is because Jonah crafted his message to fit the culture of Ninevah. Come on, I am all for contextualization but let’s think a little more Biblically and Theo-centric. This kind of information is not helpful for the cause of Christ or leading Thai people to Jesus. It has never been about methods and never will be about methods. It will always be about loving others and lifting up the name of Jesus. Plain and simple. Michael Johnson, VP and Director of Field Operations for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry.

I have no useful knowledge of Thailand, but I do know what Habbakuk 1:6 says. It comes right after 1:5, the verse at the end of the article, and it suggests it might not be such a great thing to be longing for…

Hi Michael, sorry to hear of your disappointment.  This article will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is important to give voice to these issues so that they can be wrestled with by others.

You say that you are “all for contextualization.”  Can you give some key examples of how you use contextualization in your outreach work and church planting in Northern Thailand?

Dear Michael, it’s great to hear you have seen quite some fruit in Thailand. There is however the added difficulty that those 1st generation believers often have not seen a lot of fruit, in other words Thai believers have a hard time sharing their faith with their Thai Buddhist neighbors. Why? What are the deeper reasons? I’m not sure if I would dare to say “Because they don’t love them and because they don’t lift up the name of Jesus!”
Is it about methods? Can I avoid using a method and simply ‘love them’? Or are we not all using a method, however that method would look like? How we understand and process another culture and worldview and how we react towards it, what we actually, will that not result in all kinds of methods, or can we stay ‘method-free’? I can honor someone’s history and culture or I can dishonor it, not having to be conscious about what I’m doing. And while I think I’m very loving, for to me unknown reasons I can come across as just the opposite.
In this article we have a Thai person giving us invaluable insight into her background and history. We should really open our ears and listen closely. It might be actually God who is speaking through her to us.

Michael, I would love to hear about the results you have had in your work with hundreds coming to know Christ. In this issue, we have been on a search for where large numbers turn to Christ to follow Him, wanting to study the dynamics and reasons in order to learn from it. We would love to hear some of this from your story.

Dear John Lambert and Chris Bauer, I left my remarks simply to provoke others to think about this article a little more critically and am not interested in a public debate or discussion. If you would like to discuss them, I am open but not in this public forum. This kind of forum is not my cup of tea. If you want to interact just send me an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Marie, Please send me an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I will be happy to share some of our experiences with the Lord and His work here in Northern Thailand.

I would like to get a copy of this, and any other of the articles in this issue, written in Thai. Thanks for highlighting these issues and presenting some great examples.

Dear Phil,
I’d be happy to send you the Thai versions. Please send me an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so I can get your email address. Thank you.

quote’I want to tell every believer that we do not need to be afraid that God’s name will be tainted, damaged or in disgraced. If we present Him for Thai Buddhists to choose, He will go and sit on the throne of their hearts, even though He might be sitting with all the gods that are hanging on their necks,6 God will not feel uncomfortable or condemn us. He is very pleased and desires to be with them even though they might wear ten gods around their neck. God’s holiness will not decrease or increase because He never changes: He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow until the end of time. And do you know? In the end they always fall in love with the God who lives.’
I am afraid this is far from biblical. Can you imagine Moses returning from the mountain to join in celebrating with the golden calf… those are idols on their necks. just add Jesus/

Bob Keeler

What happened at the golden calf was a worship issue, not a cultural issue. Wearing objects around your neck may not be a worship issue. They may be merely a cultural issue. When we see people wearing a cross around their neck do we assume they are committed to Christ? If the answer is yes, that would be severely naive. Some who wear a cross worship Christ. Many do not. It is merely a style, cultural, or fetish choice for them. We know what the cross means but many, perhaps most, do not. My son, who is a protestant believer has a cross dangling from his rear view mirror. It happens to be a cross on a string of rosary beads. He doesn’t have a clue what a rosary is or what the beads mean. He only cares about the cross. Turning to God from idols takes place both at the point of salvation and in the process of sanctification, and for the stubborn, at the point of glorification. The Spirit of God will shed light on the real idols of the heart in each believer, whatever they may be. We cannot see the heart. We can ask people what confidence they place on what they wear around their neck. Is it a act of godliness to make rules for not wearing this or that around your neck?

The authors 1st statement is key. “As a Thai Christian, it troubles me that after centuries of mission effort in Thailand, so few Thai people believe in Jesus Christ.” Are you troubled by this?  I am. If you are not troubled by it, you won’t ask God for solutions to the harvest problem. You will just stay on the same old track.  I see American believers “investing” billions of dollars every year on a centuries old form of church life with more impact on church switching and very little impact on conversion or discipleship reproduction. I am troubled by this. I asked God to help me solve the problem. He did very clearly with the same Bible all other Americans read. They just don’t see what is written there in plain English. Even men with Doctorates in the Bible don’t see it. There are idols (traditions of men) that blind American believers from seeing what the Bible says. It is the same problem as in Thailand.

Bob,

the author progresses through time in the statements you cited. If a Thai person start liking Jesus, then loving Jesus, maybe because he observed a healing of one of his relatives, he is on his path. Asians in general are not doctrinal first and experience second, more the other way around. They often practice their faith before they really see need to get any doctrine right. Westerners however are doctrine first. But doctrine without faith doesn’t get us anywhere, neither in our lives nor when communicating the Good News. It is us who are uncomfortable when people add Jesus. But the author said that “in the end they always fall in love with the God who lives.” Which basically implies that they amulets will disappear.
In my experience, amulets are worn out of fear, not out of reverence, but that is a generalization. It gives us however an opportunity to engage further. Asking God for truth and power encounters might actually do some good. Bashing people for wearing Jesus with other amulets for doctrine reasons might not.

Really responding to Michael I guess ... I don’t think it is a matter of ‘crafting one’s message to fit someone’s culture’. I think more often helpfully it is ‘avoiding using a pre-crafted message that does not fit someone’s culture’. The problem all too often in intercultural mission is the baggage that we are not aware of. The ‘hang ups’ (as they appear to people of other faiths) that we grow up with.
How to undermine those hang-ups?
I have found essentially two ways (in the context of mission in Africa and not Thailand). 1. Is to study one’s own history, philosophy, and people’s presuppositions. When one realises how one’s own presuppositions have been formed, one is at least aware of what might need to be undermined. 2. To makes oneself ‘vulnerable to’ the people one is working with. Vulnerability is, in this sense, to do with opening avenues of communication. There are, in my understanding, 2 (or 3) major blocks to understanding. 1. Economic independence or dominance. 2. Different language. 3. Different ways of thinking. Number 3 can be adjusted by attention to 1 and 2, i.e. through learning to use ‘their’ language, and to become as far as possible (in ministry?) dependent on ‘their’ resources.
If only it were ‘only about loving others’. But love is always dressed in cultural clothes. The failure to realise that, can have us do strange and peculiar things, as far as locals are concerned, that they may put up with, but that aren’t ‘them’, as they say.

lovely writing. I appreciate the insight and perspective. This whole issue is wonderful and encouraging to know how missions approaches are evolving.

Thanks for everyone replying to my post. I appreciate your views… But still disagree strongly. I would love to see more people come to Christ! We differ however as to what it is that makes a person a Christian.
What practices of Buddhism are acceptable for Christians to take part in? Can a Christian offer sacrifices to idols? Can a Christian pray to idols? Can a Christian wear idols around their neck? Can a Christian tie Baci strings on their wrists to invite spirits to return to their body? Can a Christian worship Jesus in a Buddhist temple? I am afraid that our desire to not bring a false “westernized” Gospel is causing us to teach the Buddhists to hold on to these practices. What does the bible say…?
Tim, can you separate Thai culture from Thai worship? Can you say that the idols of Thai Buddhism are just cultural items? I think not, if they are using them for worship… I just spent many weeks in spiritual warfare at the city pillar in my place. I see the people going there, on their knees, offering incense, sacrifices, prayers… Etc… I counted the idols one day… 500+ in one small temple. 1Cor10:18-21   Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s Table and the table of demons?  You asked “Is it an act of godliness to make rules for not wearing this or that around your neck?” I would ask “Is it an act of godliness to make rules that it is Ok to worship another god?
Tim, yes I want to see all Thai people come to Christ. And I believe God wants that too. We cannot however, water down the Gospel till it becomes easy to accept and no Gospel at all. I am also troubled with wrong ways of sharing the Gospel and planting churches. That is why I am questioning the philosophy of this article. I am not here to support some kind of nationalistic American church… just sound doctrine. I don’t think you can fairly compare the worship of other gods in Buddhism with the failing of American Christians to understand and embrace this new philosophy of syncretism.
Chris, I agree with you that in time we learn to follow God in sanctification. I just don’t agree that one can turn to Christ without some form of repentance of their sins, including idolatry or worship of other gods.
I guess “in a nutshell” the difference in our opinions may be this: Are Buddhists worshiping Jesus or some other god? Is salvation dependent on them forsaking their gods? And the methods and objects of that worship?
You wrote “Bashing people for wearing Jesus with other amulets for doctrine reasons might not (doing some good).” I am not out bashing anyone. I have a western friend married to a Thai… In their car you will see the typical Thai Buddha and amulets on the dashboard. Why do they think this is OK? He is still my friend, I love him and his family. But something is wrong.
Exodus 20:3-6   You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Is this a settled issue? Are you all so convinced that this is doctrinally acceptable? Is there room for a differing opinion at Mission Frontiers, or World Center for Missions, or YWAM, where this article has been posted? I am concerned. I hope there is. I hope you don’t try and marginalize others who would not agree.
I know some of you personally. I respect you for your faith and service. I know you have spent many hours agonizing over these issues. You also invest all your life and resources to reach Buddhists.
We can agree in prayer! God please help those who don’t know you! Open their eyes so they can turn to you. Pour out your Holy Spirit on the Thai nation!

Bob, I want to demonstrate my respect for you by answering your questions, not dodging or ignoring them as is a common practice.
What practices of Buddhism are acceptable for Christians to take part in?
This is for Thai believers to work on- what they will alter or remove. These practices are removed progressively. Satan has systems set up to replace old removed idols with new ones said by some to be godly. Can any believer say he is free from all idols? My answer is no.
Can a Christian offer sacrifices to idols?
In America most believers do every week, following their leaders. Idols are not merely images, they are also false or substituted confidences in things or practices that contradict what God has asked for. The American church is loaded up with these. In the grace of God he is able to accomplish some of His purposes in all of this. Most American church idols are more Roman Catholic in origin.
Can a Christian pray to idols?
In America they won’t pray to an idol but they do often pray for God to supply them with idols - substitutes for what God has designed. God may allow them to buy it with their “giving”.
Can a Christian wear idols around their neck?
In Thailand they might. In America they probably won’t do that but they will feel great joy and excitement over religious practices and places that actually contradict and reverse what God has asked for. They will ascribe godliness to these when they contradict obedience to God.
Can a Christian tie Baci strings on their wrists to invite spirits to return to their body?
I’m not familiar with this. It may be no different than the use of certain drum rhythms used for this purpose.  God has designed fellow believers to speak heart to heart in deep intimacy to address this. He has not asked for men to lecture the Bible in one-way communication and zero mutuality to fight idolatry. In contrast to this when believers “walk in the light as He is in the light, they have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”
Can a Christian worship Jesus in a Buddhist temple?
Believers can and should worship Jesus everywhere and all the time. They are his temple wherever they are.
I am afraid that our desire to not bring a false “westernized” Gospel is causing us to teach the Buddhists to hold on to these practices. What does the bible say…?
Americans have attached many false confidences and substitutes to the gospel as they present it.  I think there is an attempt to clear off some of these so the gospel is all that is delivered.
Tim, can you separate Thai culture from Thai worship?
In many ways, yes. It’s no different than American culture and self-worship. Worship is a heart issue not merely an external issue. You only know the heart in mutual relationship. Making broad statements about externals in one-way communication with zero relationship is a very bad idea but is done every week in American churches.
Can you say that the idols of Thai Buddhism are just cultural items? I think not, if they are using them for worship…
I agree with your qualified answer. You don’t know the worship dynamic just by looking. Also we must not make Thai idolatry residue among believers any worse than what is present among American believers, and has been for centuries.
Is this a settled issue?
In my opinion there are few settled issues when it comes to living the gospel. The truth of the gospel is settled. To settle the living of the gospel in it’s current practice in America would be very bad. For many it is a settled gospel priority to devote 86% of American’s giving to make sure Americans hear a professional Bible lecture every week and 14% is devoted to send the gospel to those who have no one to give it to them. I think there is someone other than God driving this settled gospel pattern of church life.
Are you all so convinced that this is doctrinally acceptable?
Compared to the gospel delivery pattern handed down to us from our forefathers, yes. This is not a gospel truth issue. It is a gospel practice issue. The first is set, the second needs perfecting. American faith is far removed from the gospel delivery patterns taught by the apostle Paul. These are my thoughts on faith vs. idolatry. I’m open to dialogue. God has made us for this. It’s the “new an living way” opened up by our great High Priest. Hebrews 10. Let’s ramp up the “provoking one another” and “encouraging one another” as “the day is approaching.”

Thanks Tim!

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