Maybe Thai People Do Like To Read!

I've thought for a long time that Thai people don't read that much (even though the majority can read, at least to a basic level). There are very few bookstores in Thailand (not counting comic book rental shops) and I don't see people reading books that much. Out in Nong Doan, the lower class farming community where we are trying to do a church plant, I've met a number of folks who claim that they can't read (although in reality it seems that they say this because they don't have confidence in their reading ability because of low educational level). These experiences have made me think more about oral Bible story telling in ministry, the importance of good oral Biblical preaching and teaching, and distributing the Thai New Testament on MP3 for those who would rather listen than read. Along these lines, I've started listening to a few of the "Introduction to Orality" podcasts over at Story4all.

With that said, some recent experiences and some new research have made me think that reading and literature may be an important part of many Thai people's lives after all. Actually, I always wanted to believe that literature has an important role in evangelism and discipleship in Thailand for no other reason than the fact that books have had an important role in my own spiritual development. And we can't ignore the fact that God gave us the Bible in a book, not on a CD.

In his recent research dissertation on "Conversion Growth of Protestant Churches in Thailand", Marten Visser found that "[t]hough a lot of attention is given to TV and radio ministry, only 10% of the new believers mention these media as the major media influence in their conversion. 30% claim that media did not play any role at all. The remainder, 60%, mentioned printed media. This contradicts what is often said that ‘Thai people do not read’. Actually, they do. Recent research showed that two thirds of all Thai people read, not counting for study and work, an average of 39 minutes a day. Printed media like the Bible, bible correspondence courses, and Christian books have a major impact. Even tracts are mentioned by 17% of the new believers as the major media influence in their conversion." Commenting on these findings, Vissers writes, "The reason why printed media are so often mentioned is probably that printed media go from hand-to-hand, and are therefore mostly used in the context of a social network. Other media are literally broadcast, and this research again shows that that is less likely to influence people on the deep level that is needed in order to commit their lives to God."

Visser's research came to mind the other day when some neighborhood children came to play on our front porch. A little boy was hiding in an unused new trash can , popping out in order to scare his sister, claiming that he was a ghost / evil spirit. My wife Sun took the opportunity to share with the girl that if a person believes in Jesus, he doesn't need to be scared of evil spirits because Jesus is more powerful than every spirit. She didn't engage much with Sun on the topic of evil spirits but she was interested in hearing about Jesus as she had read from cover to cover the children's evangelistic magazine that we had given out as part of our neighborhood Christmas outreach a few months ago. From this magazine, she knew something about creation, Adam & Eve, the serpent who tempted them, and Jesus dying on the cross. Even though her little brother interrupted several times, she kept coming back asking Sun to tell her more about the life of Jesus. I was greatly encouraged by her interest to hear about Jesus and impressed that she had actually read the evangelistic magazine. This magazine wasn't just some cutesy pictures, a Bible verse or two and lots of games. There was lots of text and Biblical content. And she read it! Just the day before that, a couple neighborhood moms and their kids were visiting with us and Joshua on our front porch and we found out that both of the moms had read Harry Potter (in translation, of course). I think one of them was working through the series. I wouldn't have guessed that they were the kind of folks who enjoy reading but I guess that shows what I know. Sun brought out a book by a Thai man who went from poverty to being a judge, and how God had changed his life. She seemed interested in the book and took it home to read!

I am not going to stop looking into the role of oral communication and story telling in sharing the Gospel but from these recent experiences and Marten Visser's findings, I am encouraged to continue finding appropriate tracts and books to give to people in order to share the Gospel and build up believers in their knowledge and experience of God.

Bothered by Evil Spirits

A fellow missionary friend here in Thailand recently shared the following story about the influence of evil spirits on Thai people and I think that those of you who pray for us and for the Thai people will find his story insightful. He writes:

"In the west, we often don't think much of what it would be like to be under the domination of spirits. Fear and manipulation of spirits is a constant theme for many Thai.

Late yesterday afternoon, I got a phone call from one of the church members. He was at the church with a high ranking military officer and his wife, who were asking for prayer [although neither of them are Christians]. She claimed that someone had hired various spirit doctors to possess and attack her. She reported having various visions that I'd rather not go into, and that the spirits were taunting her and telling her she was going to die. There was a look in her eye of emptiness and fear, and her husband had a deep look of concern in his face. As we prepared to pray for her, he asked if he should take off his amulets, and we said yes. He proceeded to take off 4 or 5 necklaces filled with amulets and talismans - one necklace with about 15 small amulets, another with 3 or 4 large amulets, and so on. Some of these amulets are no doubt very expensive - but they are only the tip of the iceberg of spirit involvement of Thai people, not just in the military, but from every walk of life (including many teachers). This military officer may have more amulets than the average person, but most Thai have at least one, and they are almost all involved in spirit rituals and paraphenalia.

A recent craze in Thailand illustrates this: A temple in Southern Thailand issued a special release of a particular talisman that is common in that city. Thousands of people crushed in trying to 'rent' these amulets at a 'bargain' price; several people died in the crush. "In one day alone ... the amulet trade produced no less than 100 million baht [over 2.8 million dollars] throughout Nakhon Si Thammarat province [primarily featuring this one amulet]" (Matichon Weekend, cover story, 13-19 April 2007).

I could go on and on about the grip that Satan has on the hearts of Thai people through the spirits. Please pray for us as we preach the freedom found only in Jesus Christ. Please pray for the Thai church as they stand against the lies and attacks of the enemy. Please pray for the Thai people who are under the bondage of spirits, many trying to manipulate the spirits. Please pray for this couple, that they may relinquish all ties to the spirit world and come under the one true Lord, Jesus Christ. "

Idol Madness

We recently took a field trip to Southern Thailand to check out a potential ministry opportunity in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province and, among other things, we observed how much the people there are into a particular amulet called Jat-Tu-Kham-Rama-Thep. In fact, the amulet comes from Nakon Sri Thammarat and is so immensely popular right now that people come from all over the country to buy up these amulets and resell them at a 30-60 fold profit. Jat-tu-kham, unlike a lot of other amulets, is not a Buddha image but is an image of an ancient king of Nakon Sri Thammarat who has been elevated to divine, or angelic, status. Every place in Nakon is selling these things - restaurants, beauty shops, malls, convenience stores - everyplace. It's idol madness, really.

Something really notable about the Jat-tu-kham, besides the fact that it is so immensely popular with Thai people, is the probable reason why it is so popular. I recently read an article in a Thai national newspaper's weekly magazine that said the Jat-tu-kham amulets are popular because what the amulet promises corresponds to Thai people's current needs - i.e. the desire to have money and get rich! The economy is down and people want something to help them make money (or get rich, perhaps). Listen to some of the names of the different editions (or models) of the amulet that have been produced: "Money Rolls In", "Money Rolls In 2, Special Edition", "Gold Pours In", "Rich to the Skies", "Creates Wealth", "Creates Luck", and so forth.

The difference between worshipping something like Jat-tu-kham-rama-thep and the Living God of the Bible is this: People who hang the Jat-tu-kham amulet around their neck do not do so out of a sincere love for Jat-tu-kham or because of the excellent and praiseworthy attributes of Jat-tu-kham. The amulet is a tool. Use the tool to get what you want. In this case, money. If the tool doesn't work, you move on and find a new tool. The God of the Bible, however, is not a tool to be used. He is the Almighy Holy Creator who is to be worship because He is God and there is no other. If God does not give us what we want, we do not move on and pragmatically find some other god that will. Like Job, we confess that "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Lord". And like David in the 23rd Psalm, we throw ourselves upon the Good Shepherd who will lead us to still waters although we must first pass through the valley of the shadow of death, by the grace of our Lord. God doesn't remove the bad times, but helps us through them.

It pains me to see people pinning their hope on something that can not help - in this case a round piece of hardened clay in a shiny little case hanging around their neck. The popularity of this amulet and the vast numbers of people who believe it will help them drives me to pray more diligently that God will open people's eyes and change their heart to put their hope in the Living God and in our Savior Jesus Christ who, while not promising riches, promises that he will walk with us through all of life's difficulties and sustain us until we reach our heavenly home.

Jatukhamramathep amulets for sale in a Thai shop (photo credit: www.jatukarm.com)

Demonic Happenings at New Thai Airport

This Monday, Dec 4th, we'll be flying to Thailand and arriving at the newly constructed Bangkok airport, which opened in September 2006. The construction of it was plagued by a series of accidents and the Thai authorities decided to bring in a bunch of Buddhist monks to chant over it for good luck. The following excerpt from the Bangkok Post (Sept 24, 2006) tells of the bizarre event that happened during the chanting ceremony and gives some insight into the spiritual realities that shape the lives of Thai people.

“Last Saturday there was a large ceremony held at the new Bangkok International Airport which is due to open this week. Ninety-nine Buddhist Monks chanted on masse to improve the luck of the new airport. Half way through the rite, a man appeared quivering and began to speak in a commanding voice claiming to be the guardian spirit of the airport land. He ordered that a proper spirit house be built at the airport to allow for its smooth operation. The man, who was unidentified, later passed out and woke up to find the spirit had left him” (Bangkok Post article, 24^th September, 2006)

The spirit world is very real to Thai people. Please pray that they would understand the true nature of the principalities and powers of this dark world and would come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.