Worldview Evangelism

How do you communicate the Gospel to someone who has absolutely zero foundation in the Bible? In this fascinating and helpful lecture on “Worldview Evangelism”, Don Carson makes the case that sharing the Gospel with postmodern Westerners is not really that different than sharing the Gospel with animistic tribes, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims or anyone else without a Judeo-Christian framework in their cultural background. You start at the beginning. The cross of Christ makes no sense without the Old Testament foundations which provide the framework for understanding the nature and character of God, man’s nature and origin, the truth about the spiritual realm (in contrast to an animistic/occult perspective), and a bit of the history of how God relates to people. Some may wonder whether it is really necessary to go through the work of laying down the Old Testament foundations before getting to Jesus. Take a listen to Don Carson’s opening story about his missionary friend’s experience in India and you’ll get a picture of how a failure to set a framework and teach a Biblical worldview first can lead to syncretism and nominalism.

Although the word “contextualization” is sometimes abused in order to justify a watered-down repackaging of Gospel, it’s proper meaning is to teach and live out the Gospel in a way that is clear and understandable in a given cultural context - whether that be young Western postmodern relativists or Thai Buddhists/animists or anybody else. What is the Biblical truth and how do you teach and express it (live it out) in a given context? Good contextualization should make clear the difference between the Gospel and other worldviews, and in all things not sinful take on the cultural/local garb of where the Gospel is being presented.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, either for the West or for Thailand, but in order to do contextualization well one needs to understand the Bible thoroughly and understand the culture as thoroughly as possible. I am still working on both of those and will be for years to come. By knowing the culture, I don’t mean being conversant with every pop musician or fad TV show that comes down the pike, but rather understanding the beliefs and values that shapes people’s outlook on the world. When that happens, it becomes easier to anticipate common objections and misunderstandings in response to the Gospel (or a particular presentation of it). Understanding the culture also helps one to know what people are interested in, what fires them up, what excites them, what concerns them, what makes them afraid. All these things can provide a conversation starter that can be an opening for talking about spiritual truths. It can also give insight into what areas of discipleship will probably need special attention.

With that said, take a listen to Carson’s talk on "Worldview Evangelism". There are actually five lectures in the series on “Reaching an Untouched Generation”. I have finished the Worldview Evangelism one and highly recommend it. I’ve also started listening to one on “Apostolic Evangelism of Biblical Illiterates” which covers Paul’s sermon in the Aeropagus in Acts 17. This one is quite good so far and I hope to listen to the other three as time allows. (Thanks to Rich Cho for recommending these sermons)

Feed Issue

For those of you who read this blog through a feed, I am having a problem with the atom.xml feed right now. I have tried tracking down the problem to no avail although the Google help forum discussion makes me think that it is probably an internal issue that the Google/Blogspot techs need to work out (although they claim to have fixed it already http://knownissues.blogspot.com). Hopefully the feed will "just work" soon. Even so, if any of you who have knowledge in this area have suggestions, I am all ears.

UPDATE: As of Tuesday afternoon (Thai time), the feed seems to be working again. Now let's wait and see if it is really fixed

The Playboy Bunny and Contextualization

I see it all over the place. It’s on T-shirts, handbags, motorcycles, car windows and wherever else is fashionable. The image of the Playboy Bunny seems to be everywhere in Thailand these days. However, I suspect that most Thais are not aware that it is the official symbol of a well known pornography magazine. A young woman at church was wearing a stylish t-shirt with the Playboy bunny on the front and I asked her if she knew where the rabbit picture comes from. She replied, “No” and I explained that it is the symbol used by a well known pornography magazine in America. “Oh” she responded uninterestedly, “I didn’t know that”. I thought that perhaps I had been unclear in my explanation so I went on, “When Westerners see this rabbit picture they are reminded of a magazine with naked women in it. A pornography magazine.” She still seemed unconcerned that she had the logo of a porn mag emblazoned on the front of her shirt. “Why do you like the rabbit picture?” I inquired further. At this point, I might have guessed her reply. “It’s cute. I like it.”

Regardless of it’s original context, the rabbit image of the Playboy Bunny has been imported into Thailand and turned into a popular fashion image in a way that has no relation to pornography. On the one hand, I suppose that this is a good thing in the sense that the image itself has been redeemed and disassociated with it’s sleazy origin. On the other hand, I don’t think that I will ever be able to see that symbol without thinking, “That’s from a porn magazine”. Even if I was into the latest fashions, I don’t think I would ever want to own or use any product with that label on it because of the association that I make with it. Maybe some people can get past that (and that is fine), and apparently many Thai think nothing of the Playboy Bunny more than merely being a cute symbol. In their cultural background, the Playboy Bunny means nothing but I would never use it because in my cultural background it does. It is not a right or wrong issue but merely a cultural issue. Although, in my culture, it’s wrong. As much as I would like to see the Playboy Bunny disappear from Thai fashion, it is the Thais themselves who make the decision as to what they will (and will not) import from other countries and cultures and how they will use it. Many times, imports from elsewhere take on a life of their own in new soil and whoever originated the item has no control over how it is used or adapted.

Related to the contextualization of the Christian message and church practice, as a missionary I may see some sort of practice or custom in Thai religion that could be adapted and redeemed for use in Thai Christian practice. As an outsider, I may think to myself, “This is a great idea. Adapting this existing Thai Buddhist practice for use in the church will reduce the foreignness of Christianity and help Thai Christians to be more Thai.” Perhaps it is a good idea or perhaps it is not, but if Thai Christians don’t want to use it because of its previous association with Buddhist or animistic practice, then it’s not going to work. As an outsider, I may have some ideas for contextualization but in the end it is the Thai themselves who need to live with whatever way church is to be done in Thailand. An outsider’s perspective can be helpful in thinking things through and making suggestions but the insider’s perspective is equally, if not more important, in deciding what is going to be the best way to live out the truth of Scripture in the Thai context.

With that said, the fate of the Playboy Bunny symbol in Thailand needs to be decided by the Thai themselves. Maybe many don’t care - or won’t care that it did come from a porn magazine originally, even if they knew. It doesn’t mean much of anything in the Thai context so if Thai folks want to wear the bunny, that’s fine. However, if I were to meet a Thai exchange student in America who was wearing a Playboy Bunny shirt that she brought with her from Thailand, I would do all that I can to let her know what that symbol is communicating to those around her and let her know the potential trouble it could invite. If she chooses to continue to wear it after that, that’s up to her, but I would at least want her to know that in America, the Playboy Bunny symbol is not just a cute rabbit picture.

Worship on the High Places

Why is it that so many people like to worship on high places? This morning, a friend and I hiked up a steep mountain at the end of a peninsula in Prajuab province, Thailand. At the top, there was a glorious view of the surrounding area - ocean to the east, coast to the north and south, and distant mountains to the West in the direction of Burma. But on top of the mountain, there was also a small shrine to the Buddha’s footprint with accompanying Buddha images. Throughout Thailand, there are lots of shrines and yellow Buddhist prayer flags on the tops of hills and mountains. Every time I see them, I can’t help but think of the high places in the Old Testament that the Israelites worshipped on. When the Israelites worshipped on these high places, it was usually idolatrous worship in violation of the First Commandment (and probably the Second Commandment as well).

What is it about worshipping on top of a mountain that so many people find attractive? Does it make people feel closer to God (or whatever it is that they are worshipping)? I suspect that the animist peoples living all around Old Testament Israelites are not that dissimilar to modern Thai Buddhists in that both regard certain spots as more sacred than others, especially high places. In fact, in looking around me, I am sure that many Thai regard some spots as more sacred and hence shrines and altars pop up in places that one would not always expect. Perhaps somehow more merit is earned in building a shrine on a mountain top than in a plain because it takes much more effort to lug all the building materials up the mountain. Some shrines and temples have long long staircases going up to the top so that worshippers can earn merit through merely walking up that oppressively long flight of stairs.

As a worshipper of the Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice in the glory of God that I see through the things that he has created. The view from the top of the mountain this morning was especially beautiful and was wonderful testimony to the creativity and power of the Lord of heaven and earth. I also rejoice that God is present in all places and that I do not need to climb a mountain or walk up hundreds of steps to be closer to God. Instead, I humble myself in the knowledge that none of my efforts will carry me up to the heavens to God, but only the Lord Jesus Christ who came down from heaven can bring me up to heaven on that final day.

Hostile Email

The other day I received a hostile email, presumably from a visitor to our website who did not like what he read. If memory serves me correctly, this is the first hostile mail that I have received in response to the website although I am certain that there have been others who, upon discovering the website, felt disdain and contempt rise up in their hearts but decided against letting us know their feelings. However, a man with an email address in the Netherlands has written with the following advice:

"go back home you fool and take that jesus with you"

That was the entire content of the email. Unfortunately, even if I were to have a change of heart and heed his suggestion, I have no control over where Jesus goes and what He does. I proclaim His message but that is all. Jesus is in Thailand and I have no say over the matter. Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18). Jesus also knew that this work of establishing His church would not meet with popular approval, as He states elsewhere, "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." (Luke 6:22) Jesus is here to stay and He will always have those who proclaim Him and are not dissuaded by unkind words which lack substance.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Handing Out Tracts

Following on the heels of my post on "Does Handing Out Tracts Do Any Good?", I wanted to share with you a couple of well written and thoughtful posts over at The Reformed Evangelist blog:

Are Gospel Tracts Lame? and 10 Reasons for Using Gospel Tracts

The social dynamics of handing out tracts are a bit different in Thailand than in the West. As I mentioned before, just going out and handing out tracts is not nearly as ideal as sharing the Gospel in a conversation with someone that you already know. However, when someone receives a tract and reads it, it is food for thought and it might get them thinking about things they haven't previously considered. I find most people in Thailand to be receptive to receiving tracts. I say something like "This is free" (แจกฟรีครับ) or "I've come to hand out Good News" (มาแจกข่าวประเสริฐครับ). Occassionally, I've gotten stony faced looks when I go to hand a tract to someone but once I say that it is free, the person smiles and willingly takes it. I've learned from my Thai brothers and sisters that some people are afraid that you want money to make merit in return for receiving a gift of some sort. I've met these folks before. Usually they approach you on the street with some kind of cheap trinket and ask a small amount for it - to help handicapped children or make merit (create good karma) or some such. So, I can understand how some people are leery of receiving something on the street from a stranger. But happily, most people cheer up when told that the tract is free. And the practice of handing out tracts certainly forces me to overcome that fear of people looking at me as a weirdo. However, being a white guy in Thailand, I get all sorts of strange looks anyhow so regardless of whether I hand out a tract or not, people wonder "Who is that and what is he doing here?" Giving out a tract helps answer those questions.

Does Handing Out Tracts Do Any Good?

Before I came to Thailand in 1999, I had never handed out a tract in my life. The practice of handing out tracts is not very common in the U.S. anymore and even among evangelical Christians it seems to be regarded as some kind of weird unnatural activity that only really over-the-top religious nuts engage in. Perhaps the current emphasis on friendship evangelism and building relationships in order to share the Gospel (which is good and proper as the primary method of personal evangelism) has contributed to the disdain which has fell upon handing out tracts. Tracting can seem very impersonal and artificial, but it IS one means among many that God uses to reach people with the Gospel. It really shouldn't be a stand-alone method of evangelism, but just one link in a chain of Gospel sowing that can contribute to people understanding and accepting the Gospel. Granted, lots of tracts end up in the dustbin or along the roadside, but God does use tracts as the following story illustrates. A fellow missionary gave me permission to share this encouraging story:

"This past Sunday two visitors came to church at In Grace Church: Colonel Surasak Banjukaew and his wife, Wanpen. I know them a bit (he attended SEANET this past year), but as I sat eating lunch with them I was able to learn much more about them. Surasak is the founder of a ministry among members of the military and the police force. Being a Christian in the military or police cannot be easy in this country. I find myself very encouraged that someone of his rank serves Christ so openly.

What I took special note of, though, is how Surasak and his wife became Christians. Back in the 80’s Geoff Case, an OMF Missionary in Bangkok, was going door to door, handing out tracts, and came upon Surasak’s home. At the time he was a clear Buddhist, rising in the ranks of the Thai army. Wanpen’s interest grew, and as she studied the Bible with Geoff’s wife, Surasak became interested too. They both turned to Christ and immediately started going out with the Cases doing open air evangelism and tracting.

It is this two part involvement that we aim for: Sowing with things like tracts, and saturating through Bible study with seekers. Often we don’t feel very good at either of these. Surasak’s and Wanpen’s words this weekend have encouraged us to keep our aim and press on. Thank you for backing us in prayer."