BUDDHISMT H R O U G H C H R I S T I A N E Y E S

A L E X G . S M I T H

© OMF INTERNATIONAL(formerly China Inland Mission)

Published by Overseas Missionary Fellowship (USA) Inc.10 W. Dry Creek Circle, Littleton, CO 80120Website: www.omf.org

Published 2001

ISBN 1-929122-10-1

All rights reserved, including translation. No part of thisbook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy-ing, recording, or any information storage and retrieval sys-tem without written permission from OMF International,10 W. Dry Creek Circle, Littleton, CO 80120. Printed in theUnited States of America.

Cover photo by Kevin Morris

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

SECTION ONE

1 RECOGNIZING BUDDHISM ON THE MOVE 7

2 IDENTIFYING CURRENT TRENDS AND CONCERNS 14

3 FINDING AND DEFINING THE BUDDHIST WORLD 19

4 COMMUNICATING WITH THE BUDDHIST MIND 23

5 PRAYING FOR BUDDHIST PEOPLES 27

6 SHARING LIFE WITH BUDDHISTS 31

SECTION TWO

THE GOSPEL FACING BUDDHIST CULTURES 37

INTRODUCTION

The recent growth and renewal of Buddhism, espe-cially in the West, is a phenomenon of the last half

century and is likely to increase into the 21st century.The interlacing of Buddhism and Christianity seems tobe a growing fashion at the folk religion level.

The clouding of differences between Buddhism andChristianity can only be clarified as we clearly under-stand the principles and precepts foundational to both.So many think that these two great religious systemsare quite similar. Actually they are extremely differentat many points.

This book is needed today. It will help Christiansand Buddhists alike understand each other better.Many Christians are largely ignorant of Buddhism andmany Buddhists know little of fundamental Christianfoundations. There are many varieties of both groups.This complicates simplicity of explanation.

Section 1 analyzes contemporary folk Buddhism, itsgrowths and contrasts. Section 2 focuses on principlesfor effective communication in local cultures.

May this brief writing stir the hearts of bothChristians and Buddhists to seek deeper truth with alltheir minds, souls and spirits. To that end I send thisbook forth.

March 30, 2001Alex G. Smith, D.Miss.Portland, Oregon U.S.A.

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SECTION ONE

RECOGNIZING BUDDHISM ON THE MOVE

Among the major world religions, Buddhism, withits emphasis on meditation, purity, peace and

ethics, appears to be the most non-threatening. Contrastthis image with the common perception of Islam withits frequent threats of terrorism, bombings and hijack-ings. The picture most Westerners have of Buddhism isthat of the Dalai Lama — smiling, sophisticated, sweetand serene. Surprisingly in some “Christian” seminariesin the USA a large portrait of him has been placedprominently in their chapels, though photographs ofIslamic leaders are never present.

A Burgeoning BillionThe phenomenal growth of Buddhism, particularly inthe last quarter century, has made major inroads intothe West. Historically Christianity was most popular inthe West, and by the early 1900s the majority ofChristians were still Westerners. But since then, majoroutreaches of missions have resulted in significant peo-ple movements, bringing multitudes on all continentsinto the Church. Consequently today the number ofChristians located in the rest of the world is probablydouble that in the West.

Buddhism, on the other hand, was a major focus ofthe East, particularly in populous North, East andSoutheast Asia. Significantly only in recent decades hasit spread like wildfire throughout the West.

Today it claims ten million followers in the USAalone where over one thousand five hundred Buddhisttemples are countable and hundreds of Buddhist asso-ciations flourish. No wonder the notable historianArnold Toynbee wrote that the latter half of the 20th

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century would be marked by “the interpenetration ofBuddhism and Christianity.” According to ChristianityToday (Dec. 6, 1999, p.34) University of Chicago sociol-ogist Stephen R. Warner told Religion News Service,“The world of American religion is going through enor-mous change. It will be increasingly difficult to distin-guish Christians and Buddhists.”

Today Buddhism strongly influences about a billionpeople, many of whom would be classified as “folkBuddhists.” An estimated figure popularly quoted forRoman Catholics today is one billion. Protestants alsoclaim one billion. Like the folk Buddhist billion, theseare largely nominal “folk Christians.”

A Syncretistic MixThe impact from the spread of Buddhism may be illus-trated by a product from a kitchen blender. Blendbananas—representing animism or Shintoism, apples—depicting indigenous religions like Taoism andConfucianism, and throw in pears—indicative of tribalbelief structures. The composite mixture in the blenderstill remains a light, creamy color. Then add strawber-ries—symbolizing Buddhism, and the whole mixture ischanged suddenly, saturated with a pink hue. That isprecisely the effect of Buddhism. It eclectically absorbedbut did not alienate indigenous religions or animism.Under its Doctrine of Assimilation, Buddhism dominat-ed but did not dislodge these elements. In fact, in hisexcellent studies among Buddhist peoples, Dr. S.J.Tambiah of Cambridge University claims that whileWesterners may analyze Buddhism into different reli-gious elements — Buddhistic, animistic, Brahmanistic,Taoistic and others, the folk Buddhist sees those ele-ments as one integrated whole, namely Buddhism. Likethe mix in the blender, Buddhism permeates the wholeand blends all together without losing the flavor of each

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element. Thus we find many variegated varieties of folkBuddhism throughout the world.

Major Schools and CultsThe plethora of Buddhist “denominations” with theirinnumerable cults is quite astounding. Here Buddhismcertainly shows its tolerance, without sacrificing itsbasic integrative doctrinal foundations. Buddhism hasmany faces throughout the world. Primarily, however,there are two major schools: the conservative Thera-vada, known as Southern Buddhism, and the liberalMahayana, known as Northern and Eastern Buddhism.Theravada tends to be focused mostly in Sri Lanka andSoutheast Asia, though even there elements ofMahayana are commonly mixed in as well. Mahayanacovers the globe, with major concentrations in EastAsia. The Kwan Yin Buddhist cult, emphasizing afemale bodhisattva of mercy, has revived and expand-ed worldwide, particularly in the latter 1900s. Trulythere is little pure Buddhism on earth, except amongsome dedicated intellectual Buddhists and long-termcommitted priests.

Nevertheless, Buddhism is the integrating and iden-tifying religion of approximately one billion. Buddhismis bigger than you think. Theravada accounts for about150 million people. Mahayana accounts for approxi-mately 850 million folk Buddhists, including around 16million followers of Tantric Tibetan Buddhism, alsoknown as Lamaism, Vajrayana, or Mantrayana. TibetanBuddhism acknowledges the Dalai Lama as its visiblehead. It is quite popular in the USA because of the pres-ence, policies and political cause of the Dalai Lama.Major branches of the Mahayana school include Tendai,Zen, Pure Land, Nichiren, Soka Gakkai and many oth-ers. Japan particularly has a proliferation of Buddhistcults. Probably 70% of the Japanese adhere to some

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form of Buddhism. In China on July 22, 1999, the PRCauthorities outlawed the Falun Gong cult, which incor-porates Tai Chi with Buddhist meditation and prac-tices. Popular even among Communists governmentofficials, this Buddhist cult claims over 160 millionadherents. Currently Falun Gong is administered andrun out of New York via the Internet.

Beliefs and BehaviorsThe basic beliefs of Buddhism are well known.Meditating on the Middle Way, Siddharta Gautamaintuitively realized the Four Noble Truths which focuson the condition, cause and cure of universal suffering.The Buddha taught that by following the Eight-foldPath of self-effort one could escape life’s suffering, andits changing illusion. Attaining enlightenment by elim-inating all desires (the cause of suffering), one entersNirvana which primarily is a state of escape (a breakingfree from the endless cycles of birth and rebirth).

Underneath and behind Buddhist beliefs are strongconcepts of karma and reincarnation, borrowed oradapted from Hinduism, out of which it was a reac-tionary renewal movement. From the start the Buddharejected all gods and spiritual beings, including theconcept of humans as living souls. He consideredeverything to be changing, illusionary and imperma-nent. Only by self deliverance and doing good can onehope to proceed to a better reincarnation and eventual-ly, after tens of thousands of births and rebirths, hope-fully attain Nirvana.

Such kinds of ideal beliefs are common in many reli-gions, but the “real” behavior of their followers is oftenquite different. Many follow basic Buddhist precepts,but the majority also practice many of the elementsrejected by the Buddha, including belief in gods, spirits,ancestor worship, and many other indigenous forms of

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religion. Thus a multitude of forms of Buddhism havebeen proliferated. This population of a billion people isa crucial challenge for the Church of the 21st century.Buddhist peoples are the neglected giant in mission.Even among the Christian community, many areunknowingly affected by subtle Buddhist ideas.Recently someone introduced herself to a relative ofmine as a “Jesus Buddhist.” Last year a friend receiveda Christmas card from a Christian associate signed “InZen.” Among Christians and occasionally from pulpitsone hears Buddhist connotations commonly being spo-ken today such as “nirvana,” “in a former life,” “it’s mykarma,” “my next reincarnation,” “let your mind goblank,” “dig deep down within you,” and so on. This isa subtle effect of the “blender” of Buddhism.

Trouble in “Paradise”Lately some cracks and crevices have appeared inBuddhism, though divisions and controversies are notnew to this religion. The Bangkok Post of February 19,1999, reported that, according to Phra Dhammapitaka,a highly respected Thai monk, aberrant schisms hadarisen at Wat Dhammakaya. These were “corruptingthe doctrine and discipline of Theravada Buddhism”and “negates Buddha.” Such teachings and practiceswere contrary to the basic tenets of the Dhamma andthe Sangha (Order of the Monks). Those who propagat-ed divergent doctrines such as “Nirvana is a permanentheaven thus possessing atta, or self,” were promptlydisciplined and proscribed. Other charges included“commercialization of Buddhism, monks’ misconductand opaque business investments.”

Incidents of priests being defrocked for moral laps-es or corruption are not uncommon. During the sum-mer of 1999 in Japan, the Nichiren Shoshu High Priestordered the destruction of the expensive and ornate

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Shohondo, the Grand Worship Hall at the foot of sacredMt. Fuji. The festering cause was sparked by longtimeinternal conflicts and power struggles among the thirtyNichiren sects, especially with reference to the SokaGakkai. Around 150,000 members left Shoshu. Bitterrivalries also still exist among sects in Tibetan and othergroups. The Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) was adoomsday Buddhist cult in Japan that went awry whenits leader, Shoko Asahara, began to call himself aMessiah. The result of their misinterpreting Buddhismsadly ended, according to Newsweek June 1, 1998, withthe 1995 lethal attack on the Tokyo subway system,“releasing deadly sarin gas that killed a dozen peopleand made 5,000 others sick.” Despite these aberrantexamples, Buddhism is on the move and growing.

Resurgence and ResistanceThe First International Buddhist PropagationConference was held in Kyoto, Japan April 8-13, 1998. Akey discussion centered around the growing concern toprotect existing Buddhist populations from religiouschange. Prominent Buddhist leaders from 17 Asiancountries attended, although the notable absence of keyrepresentatives of Shinshu and Zen Buddhist sects inJapan was striking. Strong statements against thosegroups “proselytizing” Buddhists were made. TheVenerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, a leading Buddhistscholar and prolific author from Sri Lanka noted that“poverty and ignorance were exploited to convert inno-cent Buddhists and to disrupt their ancient cultures andpractices. Many countries which were buddhist (sic) arein danger of losing their buddhist predominance due tothese despicable methods employed by these so called‘evangelists’.”

In most Southeast Asian countries restrictions onspreading the gospel are already legally in place,

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although not always strongly enforced. In Laos pressureis put on all Christians to attend anti-religion seminarspropagating the government and party line. Encouragedby the Buddhist majority in a Communist-ruled situa-tion, officials demand each person to sign documentsbefore the authorities, affirming that they will resignfrom all foreign religions, involvement in which is inter-preted as being illegal activity. Their signatures enjointhe government and Party to punish them appropriate-ly for any infractions thereof. A similar movement isafoot in Vietnam, particularly targeting HmongChristians. Maranatha Christian Journal, October 1, 1999,reports that radical Buddhists in Myanmar (Burma)have declared Christian radio broadcasting a threat toBuddhism, and have specifically named some Christianagencies as culpable. The extremists with otherBuddhist leaders have distributed documents listingsystematic methods for eliminating Christianity.

Aggressive Buddhist outreach is also increasing, par-ticularly in the West. A former Nichiren member saysthat the largest Buddhist temple in the USA, located inHacienda Heights, California, was built primarily as aBuddhist missionary training center to reachWesterners. Los Angeles Times, dated October 2, 1999,describes the new private Soka Buddhist Universitycurrently being constructed by Soka GakkaiInternational in Aliso Viejo, California. Twelve of theseventeen administrators are SGI members. Early in theyear 2000 Buddhist monks officially dedicated “ThaiTown” in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. About70,000 Buddhist Thai live nearby. In Northern Thailandoutreaches to tribal groups by the Buddhists resulted inwhole villages of Karen and other tribes becomingBuddhist, including some former Christian villages.Buddhism is on the move.

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IDENTIFYING CURRENT TRENDS

AND CONCERNS

Renewed ContextualizationWith the DalaiLama’s exampleand encourage-ment, and in orderto make Buddhismmore palatable toNorth Americans,Tibetan Buddhistshave endeavoredto reduce the mag-ic and Tantric ele-ments, except forthe sand mandalaswhich invoke thespirits and deitiesto be present andresident. Mandalashave already beenset up in someCanadian and Am-

erican cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. TheDalai Lama’s 1996 book on Jesus, The Good Heart:Buddhist Perspectives on the Teachings of Jesus publishedby Wisdom, has attracted some Christians toBuddhism. His popular writings emphasize the newfoci of Buddhism: ethics for the new millennium, hap-piness, liberation, tolerance and “peace without reli-gion.”

Also played down is the fact that fundamentalBuddhism relegates to women an inferior position. InTheravada Buddhism, until a woman is reborn as a

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man she has no hope of ever attaining Nirvana. Thisscaled back low key approach has influenced manyunsuspecting Americans, especially as Hollywoodfilms have publicly popularized Buddhist tenets andphilosophies. Key well-liked actors, talk-show hosts,and even some high level politicians openly identifythemselves with Buddhism. The January 2000 issue ofCivilization magazine claimed a “Buddha boom” wasprogressing in the West. This described how big busi-ness and economics have been tied in, so that“Boardroom Buddhism” is now commonplace.

New Buddhist approaches and outreach have alsobeen contextualized by adopting Christian evangelisticmethods and strategies. For example, in Korea the tra-ditional Buddhist temples were isolated up in themountains away from the population concentrations.Today, however, many Korean priests have moveddown into the cities and urban centers to set up “housetemples.” This occurs also in the USA. Converts to SokaGakkai have long used “the cell group” approach, likechurches do. In various Buddhist lands, in order tobecome more compatible with Christian response,some Buddhists adapt Christian forms of singing andmusic in their services, preach in the vernacular lan-guage, and add Sunday schools to their programs. InMyanmar some Buddhist priests even use the Bibleselectively to preach and interpret their doctrines. Inthe West some Protestant church buildings have beenconverted into Buddhist temples.

Practical IssuesThis new explosion of the Buddhist world shouldawaken urgent responses from theologians and missi-ologists. First, it demands a critique of currentChristianity so as to acknowledge our failures and torepent of our weaknesses. It calls for concerted efforts

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towards the renewal of the church. Second, it requires acareful evaluation of the Christian ministry, especiallyservice to those outside the church. A redeployment ofpeople and resources to catalyze an accelerated trans-formation of society is needed. New efforts to stimulatefresh energies in evangelism, practical social concernand cross-cultural mission must become the drivingforce and vision for the church in the world of the 21stcentury. A new wave of compassion, consideration andlove for fellow humans will sensitize the church to theneeds and opportunities that abound in all communi-ties. Buddhist neighbors and peoples around the globeare to be full recipients of God’s love and His gospelalso. This task is not easy. Third, it calls for some todevelop a deeper analytical understanding of folkBuddhism and to comprehend the ramifications for thechurch’s role and contribution in serving withinBuddhist influenced societies. Here considerableresearch and experimentation are required.

Theological ConcernsWhile there may seem to be some congruency betweenChristianity and Buddhism, the contradictions are glar-ing and significant. Certainly the Buddhists modelexamples for the church in maintaining discipline with-in the clergy and in defending high standards of purityin their fundamental teachings. They discern deviantand divergent doctrine and discipline those whoexceed acceptable limits. The church should continue todo this also. However, the underemphasized gift of dis-cernment is probably more crucial for this time thanever before. Relativism, humanism, universalism andmany other “isms” assail the Christian doctrine andmessage. Theological and missiological discerners areneeded today. Vital distinctions and differentiationsbetween Buddhism and Christianity call for clarification

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in order to avoid confusion and to sharpen cloudedconceptualizations.

Some theological issues contrasting these two reli-gions which need clear differentiation and expositioninclude: 1) divine revelation or human intuition, 2) thenature of God—personal Creator/controller or imper-sonal non-being (like karma), 3) the nature of Christ—God/man or only human, redeeming substitute orimpotent to help, 4) the nature of life—one single life ora circle of multiple lives via reincarnation, 5) sin—transgression or illusion, 6) the means of salvation—faith or works, grace or karmic merit, divine provisionor self effort. Many other similar differences show thatthese two religious perspectives are truly diametricallyopposed. Many suggested similarities are mostlysuperficial.

Furthermore, meaning discrepancy is a serioussemantic problem in discussions between Buddhists andChristians. The use of similar words does not meanequivalent meanings in both religions. Even the samesymbols may have very divergent definitions and con-notations. For example some Buddhist scholars likeBhikku Buddhadasa Indapanno say Buddhists believe inGod. In The Sinclaire Thompson Memorial Lectures:Christianity and Buddhism printed in 1967, he interpretedGod to be equivalent to karma (cause and effect) andalso to ignorance (a source of suffering). For thoseengaged in dialogue or debate, careful identification ofdiscrepancy in meaning will be crucial to full under-standing. Not being on the same page guarantees failureto reach agreement or to arrive at adequate conclusions.

Missiological ChallengesWith specific reference to folk Buddhists, missiologicalissues to be studied are numerous. I suggest three sig-nificant questions: 1) Can the Buddhist concept of

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transfer of merit from priests or bodhisattvas and othersources be compared with Christ’s grace through Hissubstitutionary sacrifice? Does human effort and meritequate with God’s propitiation through Christ? 2) Canthe concept of a future Maitreya Buddha be used as aredemptive analogy fulfilled in Jesus Christ, or only asa point of contact from which to proceed towards thegospel? Does such a redemptive analogy give too higha credence of revelation to Buddhist scriptures? Is beinga “Messianic Buddhist” acceptable to either the churchor to the Sangha? Buddhist scholars would deny such apossibility because this is still the Age of GautamaBuddha, so Christ’s coming around 2000 years agoalready negates the possibility that He fulfilled thecoming Buddha. 3) Can the church and missions main-tain contextual credibility with the current threat ofnew syncretism in the church at home and abroad?What dangers lie ahead because of confusing defini-tions and the clouding of distinctions betweenChristian and Buddhist perspectives and principles?What must be done to preserve the faith and founda-tions of Christianity in today’s pluralistic climate? Itseems that rough rapids of opposition and persecutionwill increasingly face the church in the future. If she isto maintain her mandate to make disciples of all peo-ples, tongues, tribes and nations, a new genuineness inloving service and a heightened sensitivity in witnessto the Savior will be required.

Chapters 1 and 2 were originally printed in theOccasional Bulletin of the Evangelical Missiological Society

Vol. 13 No. 2, Spring 2000

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FINDING AND DEFINING

THE BUDDHIST WORLD

The prophet Daniel was in a Babylonian palace whena Hindu prince, Gautama Siddharta, was born in a

palace of the Shakya tribe in northern India (nowNepal). This was about 560 years before Jesus Christwas born. Israel was already in captivity, under God’sjudgment for failing as God’s people. The gloriousTemple had been destroyed 23 years earlier. Gautamabecame the founder of Buddhism. About that time, therise of other Eastern religions occurred, including

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Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, and Jainism. Itseems Israel’s spiritual demise opened the door for awave of new humanistic religions. What a lesson forthe church in today’s pluralistic times!

Three periodsThe life of Gautama is seen in three periods. First wasaffluence. His father pampered him with luxury andpleasure, protecting him from seeing pain and suffer-ing, and preventing him from contact with death anddecay. By nineteen, he was married and had a son.

Then the second period started when, one day hewent beyond the protective walls of the palace and sawthe sights of four people—old, sick, dead, and an asce-tic. This shocked him, and that night, without wakinghis wife or son, he left the palace. For the next six years,he followed the rigorous austerity of an ascetic, disci-plined life. One day, because of weakness from fasting,he almost drowned while bathing. He realized that thisstringent path did not provide the answers to life.

He returned to Bodh Gaya where he started on thethird period of seeking and inquiring. He deeply med-itated under the Bo fig tree for seven weeks. During thistime he received enlightenment, including the FourNoble Truths: 1) All is suffering. 2) The cause of suffer-ing is desire. 3) The solution is to extinguish desire. 4)The method to do so is through the Eight-fold Path.

Denying the existence of God, soul or spiritualbeings, the Buddha, as he was now called, taught thatKarma (cause and effect) of past lives resulted in theconstant circle of birth, death, and rebirth (reincarna-tion). He believed the only way to be free of this isthrough individual self-effort. Immediately he foundfive ascetic men and preached to them in Deer Park.They were converted and formed the first BuddhistSangha or community. He also saw many family mem-

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bers and famous people become his followers. TheBuddha died about 480 BC, probably of food poisoning.

ExpansionFor the next two hundred years, Buddhism was con-fined to north India. Then it expanded dramaticallyunder King Asoka (274 - 232 BC). He consolidated hisconquests by sending out Buddhist missionaries topreach and convert the people—north, south, east, andwest. Thus, all of India came under Buddhist sway.Asoka also sent his own relative as a missionary toCeylon. Buddhism spread into China, Afghanistan, andas far away as Greece and Cyrene (North Africa). Laterit expanded through Korea and Japan, the East Indies(Indonesia), and throughout Southeast Asia. Within1,500 years, Buddhism had covered and largely con-trolled the cultures of Asia. It has maintained a domi-nant influence in Asia ever since.

From the early Nestorians’ outreach to Ceylon (537AD) and to China (635 AD), Christian missions facedstrong resistance from Buddhist peoples. Minimal fruitfor Christianity occurred, usually under one percent,except in South Korea, though over two-thirds of thatcountry still does not acknowledge Christ. Christianoutreach in Buddhist lands is like slicing a swordthrough a lake’s water. Immediately thereafter no per-ceptible impression is seen.

AssimilationIn contrast, wherever Buddhism spread, it had a vacu-um cleaner effect, sucking up indigenous religionsunder its broad umbrella. Thus, it dominated and inte-grated local belief structures including animism andother isms, but did not dislodge nor destroy them.Therefore, a great variety of Buddhist societies arose.The amalgamation of many religious elements under

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Buddhism produced a strong national, racial, and reli-gious identity with Buddhism. This has become thestrongest barrier to conversion and an obstinate obsta-cle to evangelization. “To be Thai, Burmese, Tibetan,Lao . . . is to be Buddhist.” The strength of this under-lying philosophy and conceptualization among theAsian peoples was seen when the repressive, stringentpressure of Communism was released in the early1990s. Buddhism immediately bounced back in coun-tries such as Mongolia, Vietnam and China, just like arubber ball is restored immediately the pressure of thethumb is released.

A Global ReligionToday, in its variegated forms, the all-pervasive influ-ence of a Buddhist world view saturates Asian peoplesand envelopes all continents, including the 20th centu-ry popular inroads into the West. It did decline in Indiawhen it was reabsorbed by Hinduism, though a newrevival movement recently arose there. Buddhismtoday influences about one billion people, primarilyranging from south Russia to Indonesia, and from westIndia to Japan. Significantly, this is the eastern half ofthe 10/40 Window where almost one half of humanitylives and where the majority of unreached peoples arefound. Most of them are affected by some form ofBuddhism. Thus, the challenge to the church of the 21stcentury is to sacrifice through patience, perseverance,and purity of life in order to reach this large remainingBuddhist bloc. Here is a call to pray, to go, to send, toevangelize, and to plant churches among all Buddhistpeoples of Asia. OMF has worked among Buddhists forthe last 135 years. Join us and others in advancing thegospel to them in the 21st century.

First published in East Asia’s Millions Spring 1999

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COMMUNICATING WITH

THE BUDDHIST MIND

The shadow of the Bo tree, originally casting itscanopy over Nepal only, has spread in the last 2,500

years. Today Buddhism holds vast influence over muchof Asia, particularly the East and the Southeast. Itsbroad shade also now extends to all continents. In itsmany variegated forms Folk Buddhism holds swayover one billion of the earth’s inhabitants.

Like an invisible vapor, it has enveloped the globe,even infiltrating the thinking of unsuspectingChristians. Its dramatic quiet growth arose throughtraveling business people, Asian immigrants andrefugees, direct missionary efforts, and its all-pervasiveeclectic absorption of and penetration into other beliefstructures including New Age. As a result, today thismixing of Buddhism and Christianity is prevalent.

In this age of pluralistic thinking, many believe thatone doesn’t need to worry about the clouding of theo-logical definitions or the reducing of the biblical man-date “to make disciples of all the ethnic peoples.” Afterall, they say, all religions believe in God and are paral-lel ways to reach out to the Creator.

Having been an OMF missionary to Thailand foralmost 20 years, I have often heard the Buddhist Thairespond to Christ’s gospel: “Oh, Buddhism andChristianity are just the same.” While some superficialsimilarities seem to exist between Buddhism andChristianity, there are some significant and serious dif-ferences. Following are some core Buddhist beliefswhich I will compare with the beliefs of Christianity.

There is No GodThe biblical concept of a supreme personal God whoexists outside of His creation and who, in power and

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glory, brought all things into being is denied byBuddhism. All supernatural beings, including angels,demons and all gods were rejected by the Buddha. Onewell-known Buddhist pundit wrote that he believed inGod, but then explained that God must be equatedwith either “ignorance” or karma! Thai students oftensaid that if I could show them God then they wouldbelieve in Jesus. I simply asked them to show me firstthe scent of a rose or describe what the essence of elec-tricity looks like. Neither are visible but nonethelessexist and can be experienced.

Christ’s Deity DeniedAs the perfect God-man, Christ is the only sinlessSavior of the world. Often I have asked my Buddhistaudience whom they thought Jesus was. Repliesincluded: a good man, a prophet, the founder of theChristian religion, and the younger brother of theBuddha! The concept of Christ’s deity is incomprehen-sible to the Buddhist mind.

Man is Not a Spiritual BeingThe Bible teaches that man and woman were “made inthe image of God.” All are spiritual beings possessing aprecious eternal quality. Humans are living souls withpersonality, value and dignity. The Buddha did nothold to mankind having soul or personality. To him,people were impermanent and transitory, ever facingthe problem of how to escape from suffering. All life ismeaningless. Christ received, however, brings rich ful-fillment and gives true meaning to life.

Karma is the Iron LawIn Buddhism karma is the iron law. No one escapeseither reincarnation or suffering. This engenders fatal-istic attitudes. In contrast, Christ’s gospel offers hope,

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salvation and optimism for both present and future,even in the midst of suffering. I remember workingwith Mr. Yu, a leprosy patient in Thailand. As aBuddhist he believed that in previous incarnations hemust have been extremely bad to have contracted sucha dreadful disease. Because he lost toes and fingers andeven much of his nose to leprosy, he had given up onlife and just wanted to die. Then OMF missionariescontacted, treated and witnessed to Mr. Yu. He lateraccepted Christ, was rehabilitated, trained in Bible andgiven a livelihood. He served as a fruitful evangelistand an energetic pastor for about three decades. Thepower of Christ brought positive changes to his life.

Sin Has No ConsequencesThe two systems’ concepts of sin stand in stark con-trast. To Buddhists sin does not have any consequencesbefore a holy God. It is not defined by doctrine, for tothem existence is sin. They think that “desire” or tran-sitory deception is sin. Popularly, sin is killing life inany form. Sin is believed to be the effect of one’s karma.I remember a Thai woman once saying to me, “I havenever sinned.” It is difficult to help one who does notsense a need. At best, sin is an illusion, though thekarmic consequences will accumulate for those whofail to break the endless cycles of reincarnation. TheChristian identifies sin as a principle in all humankind,a flaw resulting from the Fall. In practice, sins are vio-lations of God’s character, an affront to Him by missingthe mark, and subsequently moral failures.

Salvation Through SelfTo the Christian, salvation is possible only through thegrace of God in the provision of Christ. In Buddhism,no savior exists. In fact, the Buddha said he could nothelp anyone; he could only point the way. Each must

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deliver one’s self. Thus, by humanism Folk Buddhistsattempt self deliverance by doing massive good worksand making merit. One must overcome karma by selfeffort. The concept of substitution is lacking inBuddhism. It is difficult to comprehend and acceptChrist’s substitutionary death. This poses a major prob-lem in the evangelization of Buddhist peoples.Fortunately, I found an illustration from Thai folklorethat portrays substitution. Long ago, a king from theSouth besieged the king of Chiangmai in the North.Rather than see the city destroyed, the two kingsagreed to select one man each for a contest to see whocould stay under water the longest. The two men divedinto the river. The first to emerge was the man from theSouth. Freedom for Chiangmai was assured. When theNorth’s man did not come up, the king sent men in tosearch for him. They found he had tied himself to a treelimb and so deliberately sacrificed his life for the city.

Death, Not LifeThere are other contrasts between these two religions,such as impermanence and eternity, self-centered ori-entation and altruism, but the most glaring contrast isthat the ultimate “hope” in Buddhism is death orextinction. In Christ it is eternal life.

Biblical Truth and OutreachThese belief systems are not similar but rather diamet-rically opposed. This challenges churches today in twoways: to shore up the foundations of biblical truth withtrue knowledge and discernment; and to renew urgentoutreach to the billion Buddhists in concerted prayerand by loving and meaningful ministry. Let Christianshelp banish ignorance by sharing the gospel of Christ,the living Redeemer, with all.

First published in East Asia’s Millions, Spring 1999

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PRAYING FOR BUDDHIST PEOPLES

Buddhism is alive and well in the 21st century. At thesame time Christianity in the West seems to be lack-

ing in fervor and commitment. Probably the best exer-cise for Christians to practice in modern times is tocommit to concerted prayer for our world today.Consecrated intercession for the Buddhist World andother unreached peoples demands much discipline anddetermination. Dedication to meditating on God’sWord and translating that into supplication to the Lordis vital for our generation.

The BurdenAn American professional couple who are my encour-aging friends have for years prayed for missionariesand motivated their church to get involved in spread-ing the gospel. Normally they go to Europe for vacationin midyear. For the summer of 2000 they decided tochange and go to Thailand instead. This literally trans-formed them. They reported that “it was an eye-open-ing experience.” They loved the Thai people, but wereshocked by the prevailing Buddhism and its enormouspower over the populace. They saw temples galore,idols without number, abundant devotees, and no lackof saffron-robed priests. On their return they wrote,“Our burden for the lost caught into Buddhism hasgrown exponentially. We have been intensely prayingfor the Buddhist World.” Now that’s a burden!

Tough WorkIn lands where Buddhism prevails, the gospel lan-guishes in its impact. Preaching the gospel there is liketrying to hold back an avalanche. Generally today thechurch among Buddhist nations such as Japan,

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Thailand, Myanmar, Mongolia, and other Buddhisticpeoples elsewhere is really tiny, usually less than 1%.Evangelizing in the Buddhist World is like repeatedlybanging one’s head against a proverbial brick wall,making no perceptible impact.

Tribal groups in Buddhist lands have been muchmore receptive to the gospel than the Buddhist peoplethemselves. In Myanmar and Thailand, 97% of theChristians there are tribal, though these ethnic peoplesare in the minority. Recalculating Christian percentagesfrom among Buddhist peoples without the Christian-ized tribes reveals a desperate need and a shockinglylow proportion of Christians from among the Buddhistgroups. But in recent years some encouraging signs ofchurch growth have been occurring in pockets aroundthe world. God is at work even in the Buddhist World!A burden to pray for these peoples is not only a signif-icant, but also a strategic challenge. Tears of interces-sion with a deep love and concern for Folk Buddhistsworldwide will move the church forward on its knees.OMF is encouraging the launching of a new movementof prayer calling for “A Million Praying for a BillionBuddhists.” We need to pray consistently as part of ateam with this burden. Andrew Murray said, “He whoprays most helps most.” Will you join us in praying forthe Buddhist World?

Praying Biblically1. Praise the Lord of the Church that “a people for His

Name” will be established among every unreachedBuddhist nation, tribe, people and tongue. (Rev.7:9-10)

2. Bind the forces of darkness, resisting all demonicrulers and spiritual powers which, in heavenlyplaces, influence Buddhist countries among others.(Eph. 6:12-13, Dan. 10:13, 20)

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3. Break down spiritual strongholds and humanphilosophies or arguments against God which pro-duce barriers of resistance through social solidarityamong Buddhists. (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

4. Claim Christ’s complete victory over all demonichordes that blind and enslave almost one billionBuddhists, including Han Chinese. (Col. 2:15)

5. Pray out “God-sent, willing, skillful workers” foreach of many hundreds of unreached Buddhist peo-ple groups. (Matt. 9:38)

6. Intercede for lasting fruit from the sacrifice of exist-ing missionaries of the various agencies workingamong Buddhists. (John 12:24)

7. Plead with our Lord for the opening of Buddhists’eyes to the revelation of the true and living God andHis Christ, the unique Savior. (Eph. 1:17-23)

8. Believe God to enlighten the minds of Buddhistsabout the folly of making images and practicingidolatry. (Psa. 115:4-8)

9. Ask God to help Christians discern the biblical dif-ferences between Buddhist terms and the gospel sothey can intelligently communicate the gospel.(Prov. 2:2-3; 2 Tim. 2:7)

10. Pray for Buddhist hearts to understand the gospel,especially the doctrines of Christ’s substitution andredemption. (Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:18-29, 2:24)

11. Intercede for Buddhists and their families to cometo faith in Christ, repenting from their totaldependence on their own good works. (Eph. 2:8-9)

12. Pray for protection and nurture of new believersfrom Buddhist cultures, claiming God’s protective“wall of fire around them.” (Zech. 2:5; Psa. 91)

13. Ask that believers will share the gospel as bold wit-nesses to their Buddhist families, friends and neigh-bors. (Acts 4:29-31)

14. Uphold all Christians in Buddhist lands before the29

Throne of God that they will exhibit holy, disci-plined lifestyles as examples and models of Christ.(2 Cor. 3:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; 2:21)

15. Plead with God to multiply churches and beginchurch-planting movements among each Buddhistpeople group. (Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:9-10)

16. Intercede for the raising up of national church lead-ers to train and care for God’s flocks and to extendthe church into each Buddhist group. (Acts 20:27-32; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)

Helpful ResourcesResources for stimulating information and materials ofChristian concern for Buddhists include:1) Days of Enlightenment: Prayer for Buddhists, a pocket-

sized 15-day selected prayer guide available fromInternational Mission Board Resource Center,Richmond VA (e-mail: resource.center@imb.org).

2) One Billion Wait materials such as videos, pam-phlets and books from OMF International, 10 WestDry Creek Circle, Littleton CO 80120-4413.

3) Tearing Down Strongholds: Prayer for Buddhists, byElizabeth Wagner, Living Books for All, PO Box98425 (TST) Kowloon, Hong Kong.

4) Siamese Gold: The Church in Thailand, by Alex G.Smith, Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers)Dindaeng, Bangkok, Thailand.

5) Website: www.us.omf.org or direct www.onebil-lionwait.org.

“Praying Biblically” was first published inEast Asia’s Millions, Spring 1999

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SHARING LIFE WITH BUDDHISTS

In today’s pluralistic climate it is important to learnhow to live and share with others of differing view-

points. To do so without sacrificing personal convic-tions or compromising Christian standards takes muchtact, charity and understanding. This especially relatesto sharing our Christian witness with Buddhist neigh-bors and friends. I suggest three practical actions forconsideration.

Clarify Essential ConceptsBetween Christians and Buddhists there exists muchmisunderstanding about the definition and meaningsof the terms and concepts, falsely taken as equivalent toeach other. Patient discussion may help clarify thesefoundational beliefs.

Christians must clearly explain key concepts that aremost difficult for Buddhists to comprehend or accept.The use of analogy, stories, and illustration as skylightsfor understanding should be used along with relevantScripture. Here are some topics:1. Creation and the nature of the universe. Concrete

reality versus transitory illusion needing detach-ment.

2. God, transcendent and personal as Creator andController versus over all impersonal void or noth-ingness.

3. Christ’s deity and uniqueness as the God/man andsacrificial Redeemer versus only a human Jesus.

4. Nature of humankind with soul/spirit versuskarmic recycling lacking soul/spirit.

5. Nature of sin as rebellious nature and selfish actsaffronting a holy God versus an illusion, “igno-rance” or killing life.

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6. Grace freely bestowed through Christ versus theabsolute law of karma.

7. Salvation through Christ’s substitutionary death inour place versus unrelenting karma.

8. Regeneration through new birth versus reincarna-tion of accumulated karmic consequences.

9. Destiny in eternal resurrection life versus virtualextinction (release of existence) of nirvana.

Have Confidence1. Be sure God is working sovereignly in the lives of

those He is calling into His Church. So trust God todo His work.

2. Be aware that the Holy Spirit is the primary agentof mission in producing conviction and conversion.Only God’s Spirit can open blind eyes to see thetruth of Christ. So find out where God is workingand get alongside.

3. Only the powerful Word of God proclaimed, clearlyunderstood, and received by faith can transformlives, families, societies and whole people groupsdominated by Buddhist influence and secularhumanism anywhere. So meditate on, memorize andshare God’s Word sensitively and appropriately.

4. Be faithful in following Christ's model: Jesus “wentabout doing good” (Acts 10:38). Only the godly liv-ing witness of Christ in Christians, national believ-ers and missionaries can demonstrate God’s loveand peace to Buddhists. So be “living letters aboutChrist.”

5. Be available as God’s instruments of service.Jonathan Bonk says, “Jesus’ life was filled withdivine interruptions.” These were opportunities toproclaim, to serve, and to heal, even at most incon-venient times. So be ready and prepared to ministeralways.

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6. Be hopeful, for Jeremiah said, “Ye shall seek me andye shall find me when you shall search for me withall your heart” (Jer. 29:13 ). So be expectant and pos-itive.

7. Be dependent always on Christ through prayer,obedience, and faith. So intercede faithfully.

Practice Love and Patience1. Remember to pray first! Ask God to open minds,

hearts and eyes spiritually. Request the Lord to givediscernment and wisdom, and to bring everythought captive through obedience to Christ.

2. Respect the followers of other faiths as humanbeings whom God created with dignity. Do notdestroy their faith, but help transfer their faith fromthe wrong object to the right one.

3. Reflect models of the Christian home with moraland ethical living yourself.

4. Rigorously earn the right to speak—be credible,honest, and loving with integrity and humility.

5. Recognize that all religions have some good inthem.

6. Reject any attitude to judge, criticize, or make fun ofothers’ beliefs. Open up discussion and dialoguewith them on why they believe as they do.

7. Relate to them in true Christian love and genuineaffection. Be good neighbors—truly friendly andgenuinely caring.

8. Be ready to share Christ. Give them God’s Word asappropriate occasion or interest arises.

9. Resist the temptation to pressure them to believe orto listen to the gospel. Only the Spirit persuades.Serve them sensitively and patiently as opportuni-ty affords. For example, pray for them when theyare sick, encourage them in trouble, help them incrisis.

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10. Rejoice at what God is doing and will do in theirlives and families.

Illustrating These PracticesThe following true story elucidates these fundamentalprinciples. The names of the two men have beenchanged to protect them. Some years ago I met Mr.Tawd, an elderly gentleman who was a Buddhist priestfor 20 years before he became a Christian. He was bornin a Buddhist village of about 150 households inBurma, now called Myanmar. There were no schools inthe villages in those days, so he went to the Buddhistmonastery for education for about ten years.

After this, Tawd went into the Buddhist temple as anovice for five years, and then went on to be a fullBuddhist monk for the next 15 years of his life. In orderto gain a bachelor’s degree in Buddhism, he left his vil-lage. As he studied in the Buddhist university, Tawdprogressed as high as he could in the Buddhist religion.The Buddhist leaders in the Sangha recognized him asa teaching lecturer in Buddhism. They sent him to visitmany cities and towns throughout the land to lectureon Buddhism.

One day he went to teach in a certain town wheremany of the people spoke English. Since he could notspeak English fluently, Tawd decided he would learnEnglish so that he could speak with the people in thatarea about Buddhism. He found that the only qualifiedteacher to help him with English was a lay Christianleader who was pastoring a little church in town with-out pay. His name was Mr. Thom.

In time Tawd approached Thom and asked if hewould teach him English. Pastor Thom said he wouldbe glad to do so, but that he had two conditions. First,Tawd would have to meet with him every day for anhour between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. This gave the pas-

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tor repeated contact with Tawd. Secondly, Thom saidthey would need a textbook, and the textbook that hechose as the instructor was the New Testament inEnglish. The pastor understood that the Word of Godwould eventually speak for itself. Tawd accepted thesetwo conditions, saying, “For me no problem.” The realreason the Buddhist priest wanted to learn English wasto get a wider knowledge by reading English Buddhistbooks. For six months Tawd studied daily with Thomso he could spread Buddhism among the Englishspeakers there.

After some time, Tawd, the Buddhist priest, cameacross John 14:6 and seemed to be in confusion overthis verse. He asked himself how could this be? TheBuddha claimed to “only point the way,” but Jesus said,“I am the way.” The Buddha said, “The light arosewithin me,” but Jesus declared, “I am the light of theworld.” The Buddha said, “I learn truth by self-intu-ition,” but Jesus affirmed, “I am the truth, I am theway.” So these questions challenged Tawd day andnight. The “I ams” of Jesus contrasted with the “Iknow” of the Buddha. What was the truth about theTruth? Slowly, through the study of the Bible and dis-cussions with the pastor, the light dawned upon Tawd.He became motivated to change and soon acceptedChrist. He did leave the priesthood soon after.

Tawd explained to me that the Buddha’s philosophywas so rich and full of good teaching, but it questionedGod. The Buddhist scholars did not believe in CreatorGod, so Tawd’s dilemma was centered on “no God”versus the God of the Bible. The Buddha himselfclaimed "omnisense" (self knowing) for himself. AsTawd meditated on the Bible he began to discover Godas Creator, Sustainer and Savior. He already felt thatmerits of humans cannot fulfill the demands of karma.He had faithfully done lots of practice of the 227 rules

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to follow as a Buddhist priest, but still felt unfulfilled.These were just the basic laws, but actually there arethousands and thousands of rules to follow on the wayto “purity.” How could he fulfill all of those? It wasimpossible and hopeless for any person. Tawd con-cluded that in Buddhism the future was not sure, andthat there was not much hope of attaining nirvanaeither.

In contrast, he told Thom that the Lord Jesus said, “Iknow you are my witnesses.” Here was present assur-ance and hope. So despite the high Buddhist standardsin Tawd’s own life, he suddenly realized that hope andtrue life were to be found only in Christ. In this Saviorare all the promises of God. This added double joy.Tawd did not reject the good parts of the teaching ofBuddha, but recognized that Buddha had only part ofthe truth and part of the light, because Buddha himselfwas searching for truth. He believed that by discover-ing Christ in relationship to God’s revelation, he hadfound the truth. In Buddhism the merits leading totwenty heavens and the demerits leading to many hellswere to be contrasted with God’s grace provided inChrist received freely by faith alone. Certainly, karma isa judge, but karma and merit cannot balance each otherout, Tawd argued.

Today Tawd is very elderly but still teaching youngChristians how to relate to and witness to theirBuddhist neighbors, friends and families. Thom hasbeen dead for many years. The grace of God’s gospel isstill the “power of God unto salvation to everyone whobelieves” (Romans 1:16).

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SECTION TWO

THE GOSPEL FACING BUDDHIST CULTURES

Current statistics clearly indicate that the bulk ofnon-Christian populations are concentrated in Asia

among three large blocks of people—the Chinese, theHindus, and the Muslims (Winter 1977: 123-126). TheBuddhist bloc comes next. In all four of these popula-tions, only comparatively small numbers haveresponded to the gospel of Christ. It is also unlikely thatduring the last three decades in China, centuries ofBuddhist philosophical thinking would be entirelywiped out. Certainly changes have occurred, but a lotof Buddhist conceptualization mixed with spiritisticbeliefs probably still pervades Chinese thinking today.Thus the Buddhist peoples may form the largest groupof unreached people today. The Chinese alone claim apopulation of one billion—a quarter of the world’spopulation and one third of the unevangelized threebillion today. It is therefore most fitting that thought begiven to presenting the gospel to a Buddhist culture.

Vital IssuesThe Christian Church among Buddhist peoples,whether the Mahayana or the Theravada school, is atiny minority, usually less than 1% of the populationwith rare exceptions, notably Korea. Consequently thevital theological issues concerning the gospel and theBuddhist culture focuses around at least three majorareas, all of which are somewhat inter-related:1. The survival of the church facing solid social soli-

darity and opposition.2. The development of a sense of belonging or identi-

ty within the unfavorable context and climate.

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3. The need to communicate Christ acceptably toBuddhists so that the church can extend and pene-trate the barriers of social resistance.Two specific areas for study should be identified: 1)

Ethnotheology and 2) Evangelistic Theology andStrategy. Both should progress side by side. The churchmust be kept from becoming an insular sub-society,which fails to communicate Christ effectively to itsBuddhist neighbors. Ethnotheology must thereforetake into account communicating the gospel to thedominant population in its development. My mainemphasis will be on this evangelistic communication.

This book will not deal in depth or detail with themany facets of this vast and complicated subject. It will,however, briefly set the topic in perspective. Essentialdifferences between Buddhism and Christianity arehighlighted as well as the problem of the communica-tion of the gospel. The last half of the paper focuses onsome strategies and practical approaches for presentingthe gospel to Buddhists.

Christian Encounter with BuddhistsIn its two thousand five hundred year history,Buddhism has been one of the great religions of theworld. The main expansion occurred during the firsttwo millennia. Kenneth S. Latourette observed that itsgrowth among people of high civilizations or advancedreligion, did not fully displace its religious predeces-sors. It was only among peoples “where the prevailingreligion was animism, that Buddhism became domi-nant” (1956:43). Actually even here, it dominated butdid not dislodge animism. Buddhism has made no sig-nificant advance in the last five centuries, except possi-bly in the West.

Christian encounter with Buddhists can be traced along way back to the Nestorian period. Richard Garbe

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writes, “Christian influence on Buddhism in Tibet andChina has been possible since AD635, for from this yearwe have evidence of a Nestorian mission that set outfor those lands under a leader by the name of Olopanor Alopen” (1959:176).

Despite continual Christian encounters since thattime, early Roman Catholic missions followed byProtestant ones produced only meager results in termsof church growth. In fact some of the earlier missions toBuddhist peoples in Asia did not even survive. Threemain causes account for the lack of permanent self-per-petuating Christian communities among Buddhist peo-ples. First is persecution, second is syncretism, andthird is the failure of the church to break through thesocial solidarity of Buddhist communities. These stillpose basic problems facing Christian theologians andevangelists today.

Recognizing some historical and doctrinal similari-ties between Christianity and Buddhism, many peoplethink they are both much the same. Similarities of ethi-cal standards such as the Ten Commandments and theBuddhist Sila (prohibitions) and other observationssuch as those listed by Paul A. Eakin (1956:27-31)appear to add weight to this. A warning is needed,however, regarding the precise meaning and definitionof such concepts and principles so compared. Are theytruly equivalent or even similar? Not really!

First, Buddha basically taught the ability of self tofree oneself from corruption and suffering, to obtain astate of perfect non-existence, without the help of God.Thus in modern terms, the basis of Buddhism isHumanism, that is, man does not have to answer to ahigher authority than himself, and man is basicallygood and can become good by his own efforts. This hecan do without any help from God, or any reference toGod. Like other human-initiated religions, Buddhism is

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a projection of human thinking out to the infinite.Christianity, on the other hand, stems from God’s self-disclosure to man. This divine revelation climaxed inthe incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel istherefore centered in a transcendent God, revealingHimself in terms of man’s own culture and language.

Second, Buddhism rejects the concept of a personalGod and for that matter, of any spiritual personality,either human or divine. God in the Christian sense isunknown to Buddhists. In place of a personal Creatorthey hold the error of karma—cause and effect—as theexclusive principle to explain the universe. What orwho initiated karma is undetermined. In modern times,God has been interpreted in Buddhist religious termi-nology. Again the danger of definitions and conceptu-alization is to be carefully discerned. The followingindicated subtle syncretism by taking the Christianform of God into Buddhistic writings, while maintain-ing basic Buddhist meaning.

Bhikkhu Buddhadasa Indapanno, a leading Bud-dhist scholar, equated God with karma, rejecting per-sonality in favor of “nature” as cause. In terms of com-parison, not equivalents, this is reasonably acceptablethinking, though it begs the question of prime initia-tion. In gospel terms, God is the final point of orienta-tion for all His purposeful relation to the world. InBuddhism the final cause is the principle of karma.Indapanno also equated God as creator with theBuddhist term, avijja (1967:66-67). This means lack ofknowledge or ignorance, the basic cause of evil. HenceGod in Buddhist terms is ignorance, being the power ofnature which caused all things to exist, and as suchcaused suffering. Such an interpretation of God isabsolutely unacceptable.

Third, D.T. Niles brilliantly clarifies the basicBuddhist doctrines of anicca (impermanence or transi-

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toriness), anatta (soullessness or absence of self), anddukkha (sorrow, suffering):

If we do not start with God we shall not endwith Him, and when we start with Him we donot end with the doctrines of anicca, anatta anddukkha.

The existence of God means the existence ofan order of life which is eternal—nicca (perma-nence). It means that there is postulated for thesoul—atta—an identity which is guarded byGod’s sovereignty, and that sorrow—dukkha—isseen to consist, not so much in the transitorinessof things, as in the perverseness of our willswhich seeks these things instead of the thingswhich are eternal. The circle of the Christianfaith can thus be described as that which start-ing with God leads man to the realization thatGod alone affords the most adequate base for amost meaningful explanation of life’s most sig-nificant facts (1967:27). (Note: In Pali, the prefix“a” negates, meaning “not.”)

Buddha saw life was meaningless in itself, and setout to rescue men from this meaninglessness. Jesus sawlife could become meaningful in God, and set out to callmen to share that meaning (John 10:10). Furthermore,in Buddhism, death is the final category. In the gospel,the final category is life (Niles 1967:29,34,35). Bud-dhists seek to shorten life, to escape from the neverending cycle of rebirths. The gospel emphasizes ever-lasting life.

A fourth contrast shows that true Christianity is cen-tered in altruism. Because karma encourages preoccupa-tion with self-dependence, Buddhism becomes self-cen-tered. This social difference is significant. The Buddhistsocial order is dominated by the individual, and there isa lack of sense of relation, man to man, and man to God

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(Eakin 1965:56, 63). In Thailand, for instance, it is almostinconceivable for the Buddhist to believe that the mis-sionary has come out of pure concern for them withoutan incentive for personal gain. They often ask the ques-tion, “What are you getting out of this? A higher salary?Government sponsorship? More merit? Or what?” Theconcept of selfless constraining love of Christ for othersis foreign to Buddhist thinking.

To the Christian the way up is down, taking the ser-vant role, being a doormat to fellow men. To theBuddhist the way up is a self-centered preoccupation.To walk over others or use them for your own advance-ment is acceptable. Of course it can be noted that in allmen, even among Christians, such attitudes can pre-vail, but they are contrary to the biblical gospel.

Another major difference is in the principle of salva-tion, or ultimate attainment. For the Buddhist, self-effort and “boot-strap” deliverance through their ownhuman energies and ability, is a cardinal principle.“Depend only on self.”

The gospel on the other hand declares that depend-ence on self and confidence in the flesh spells doom. Weare utterly helpless apart from the grace of God inChrist alone. Salvation comes through dependence onAlmighty God, made operational through the peni-tent’s faith (Eph. 2:8-9, Gal. 2:20, 3:7, Rom. 3:28, 4:1-28).

Furthermore, Buddhist karma tends to engenderfatalism, hopelessness, self-excusing and pessimism inthe majority of the population. Buddhism has no possi-bility of forgiveness, for “Karma is the iron law towhich there is no exception”(Appleton 1958:52).Contrast this with the gospel of the loving God whogives forgiveness, hope, and an exchanged life, mani-fested in a spiritual dimension through the power ofJesus Christ’s shed blood. Christ’s atonement is suffi-cient for cleansing from the past, power in the present,

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and hope in the future.The honest evangelist or theologian settles for nei-

ther integrative syncretism, nor a fully indigenizedBuddhistic gospel. Both would distort the true mean-ing. An expression of the gospel in Buddhistic culturesmust be dynamically equivalent to the pristine biblicalcore and clothed in meaningful communicative garbappropriate to each cultural context.

In this present time when cultural relativism, situa-tional ethics, secularism and humanism are flooding thecommunicative media, pressures are brought upon thechurch and her emissaries to reduce the uniqueness ofChrist, the authority of the Bible, and the necessity ofthe Christian gospel, to an “on-par” level with otherworld religions. Through this the Church is in danger ofbeing swallowed up by a gross life. Unfortunately,sometimes seminaries perpetuate this lie—professorsteach it, students believe it. Christians, however, mustreject its error. Faithful missionaries, church leaders andChristians everywhere must resist this unscriptural phi-losophy.

At the same time a call for sympathetic understand-ing of the Buddhist in his dilemma is needed. AChristian approach should always be with humilityand loving persuasion, backed by the testimony ofdynamic personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A liv-ing demonstration of the gospel, not a pharisaical pre-ciseness of evangelical doctrines, is required. Every-where men are lost in sin, alienated from God theirCreator. An increased concern to communicate thegospel to the Buddhist and renewed zealous evangel-ism to present Christ the only Savior is urgently need-ed. The effectiveness of Christ’s ambassadors will beproportionate to the dependence on the power of theHoly Spirit and their sensitivity to the cultural conceptsof those to whom they go.

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Effective Evangelism Demands EffectiveCommunicationThe contextual barriers to cross-cultural communica-tion are many, particularly to the Buddhists. The socialsolidarity of the religious overlay is strong. Thai cultureitself is deeply steeped in Buddhism. The religious andeducational language is heavily infiltrated withBuddhistic terms, connotations, and concepts. Thegospel through its dynamic expansion, the Reformationand evangelical awakenings established a Christianmoral base in many Western nations. Buddhism like-wise tied together the fragmented peoples of Asia, par-ticularly those animistic populations in the process ofculture change and group integration. Thus theology,learned behavior and education at home or school, aresaturated with foundational Buddhistic teachings. Thisreligious overlay forms the framework or grid in whichcommunication takes place.

Consider some of the hindrances in this communi-cational dilemma applicable to the evangelist, theolo-gian or Christian medico-social worker. First, manyunwittingly believe that communication is what is said,rather than what is heard. How often we hear, “What aclear presentation of the gospel!” Our main concernshould really be, how clear was the reception? InBuddhist lands, the linguistic terms the Christian usesare inevitably loaded with Buddhistic meaning andoften are identical in language terms. The preacher orteacher has in mind a Christian concept of sin, heaven,hell, God, faith or whatever, but as he speaks he usesBuddhist words loaded with Buddhistic connotations.Is it any wonder that Buddhists listening to him oftenreply, “Oh, if that is Christianity, it is just the same asBuddhism.”

Second, the frustration of the gospel proclaimerrevolves around the problem of meaning. The commu-

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nicator fails to remember that he cannot transfer mean-ing. The Christian may encode the message, but theBuddhist must decode it. Therefore the communicatorcan only transfer “bits” of information. The meaning isthen formed in the mind of the receiver in terms of hisown cultural grid. This is equally true for the cross-cul-tural missionary as well as for a Ceylonese Christianspeaking to a Buddhist neighbor.

The solution demands action to establish a circle ofa communicative process. Communication is not por-trayed by a straight line. It is not a verbal echo orrebound of the actual words. Effective communicationrequires the reflex of the hearer’s understanding themeaning, equivalent to that sent by the encoder. Thus afeedback mechanism is essential for evaluating honestcommunication. Conversational interchange is helpfulhere, rather than just the “pulpit announcing” mode.

Listening is therefore a vital part of the process ofeffective communication, especially for audiences suchas Buddhists whose comprehension is based on dia-metrically opposed presuppositions and premises. Themore interchange and feedback to clarify meaningoccurs, especially through successive repeated contact,the more likely biblical understanding is to be con-ceived.

Nevertheless, while preciseness of communicationis a requirement of theological responsibility, it is theHoly Spirit alone who communicates spiritual truth.There are times when the Holy Spirit works, despite theignorance and blunders of the preacher. However, thisis no excuse for failing to make determined efforts tosharpen clear communication of the gospel.

Local Flavored MediaIn Asian cultures, especially among rural and tribalpopulations, oral communication forms are basic and

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tend to predominate. The electronic and print media insuch populations usually have a low profile as localcommunicative media. Studies in ethno-media such asindigenous song, dance, drama, music and other artsare urgently needed in many Buddhist cultures.Research and experimentation with pilot projectsshould be implemented. Evaluating and measuring theeffectiveness of increased communication is needed.Use and adaptation of the grassroots media should beencouraged in all teaching. In urban areas and somerural ones too, some Western forms of media such asfilms have been somewhat indigenized. Christian com-municators should carefully study the indigenizedprinciples and process behind the acceptance of suchmedia, and not glibly follow Western mode and psy-chology in utilizing these media.

Every Christian should be concerned to find mean-ingful expressions and indigenous illustrations applica-ble to communicating theological truth. To use aBuddhist Thai idiom, “108” illustrations from daily lifeare pregnant with meaning, awaiting spiritual applica-tion. The evangelist and theologian should constantlybe on the lookout for keen historical illustrations, pow-erful in the minds of the hearers, to apply spiritualtruth through them. For example in Thailand, the theo-logical concept of substitution which presupposessomeone vicariously giving his life for another is incon-gruous with Buddhist religious beliefs. A beautiful his-torical illustration of the famous Queen Suriyothai ofthe Ayuthia period helps open the windows of under-standing here. Briefly stated, the Thai King went out tofight the opposing Burmese ruler. Suriyothai dressedup disguised as a Thai warrior. Unbeknown to herroyal husband, she rode out to the battle. In the ensuingfight the Thai King was losing the advantage. He wasabout to be cut down. Seeing this, the Queen deliber-

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ately drove her elephant between the Burmese Kingand her husband. She was slain by the long-handledknife wielded by the Burmese ruler, but her husbandescaped. He later built a special memorial to her inhonor of her bravery and sacrifice. The gospel applica-tion is obvious.

The use of parable, symbol and analogy is generallymore acceptable to the Buddhist mind than strictlyfocused arguments. Word pictures can be employed toadvantage. The Bible is full of rich parables and illus-trations. However, missionaries and Christians tend toover-explain these instead of letting the meaning shineforth. Parables or analogy are great ways to get theBuddhist to open up for discussion, thereby helpinghim evaluate the gospel’s meaning. To large sections ofBuddhist populations, the majority of whom are rural,Pauline arguments in strict linear logic form, such asthose in the book of Romans, are difficult to follow.Their minds tend to be conditioned more to contextualtype logic, similar to the spokes in a wheel pointing toa common hub of meaning. Such an approach is used inHebrews. Studying the indigenous process of commu-nication and utilizing these principles for proclamationand teaching will probably be a crucial issue in effectiveevangelism and theological education. This is true bothfor national church leaders and foreign apostles.

Some Theological Strategies and ApproachesMany approaches have been suggested and tried inpresenting the gospel to Buddhists. No major break-through has been seen through the use of any onemethod, strategy or approach. This is not surprising asit is a much better principle to tailor the approach to theindividual or particular group being reached. Buddhistbeliefs vary dramatically even within one country, asdo the people groups (homogeneous units). Therefore

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the Christian evangelist and theologian must be sensi-tive to take this into consideration. Several approacheswill be suggested.

1) The Apologetic Approach. First is the apologeticapproach to the thinking Buddhist. Some Christian the-ologians feel there are many contrasts betweenBuddhism and Christianity, which are in fact largelyopposites in concept. Inconsistencies in Buddhism thenform the basis of argument to logically convinceBuddhists of the gospel. Dorothy Beugler concisely list-ed some of these contrasts and inconsistencies in TheReligion of the Thai in Central Thailand.

Paul A. Eakin suggests the most effective presenta-tion of Christ will be made by those who know andsympathetically study Buddhism, rather than theChristian who is ignorant of it. He feels, however, thatthe gospel should be presented to the Buddhist mindwith the “explosive force of a brand new affection.” Heaffirms also that the Buddhist will not reach Christ bet-ter or clearer through the medium of Buddhist philoso-phy. His apologetic centers around two main “gaps.”First a challenge to the traditional Buddhist cosmology,using Genesis to convince the truth of God as Creatorof the world and men. The second focal point of Eakin’sapproach is the fact of salvation, and the possibility offorgiveness and remission of penalty through Christ(1956:61-62).

Significantly, Daniel McGilvary, pioneer apostle tonorthern Thailand, gained his first convert, Nan Inta,by predicting the total eclipse of the sun on August 17,1868. Nan Inta, a Buddhist abbot and diligent studentof Buddhism, had argued with McGilvary on subjectssuch as the science of geography, the shape of the earth,the nature of eclipses, and so on. Of course there ismuch myth in unfounded scientific concepts in early

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Buddhist cosmology. Finally, when Nan Inta saw theeclipse as predicted, his faith in the old cosmology wasshattered. He turned and became a Christian. He wasone of thousands to turn to Christ in north Thailand inthe next half century (McGilvary 1912:96-97).

Wan Petchsongkram also likes the apologeticmethod, and centers his arguments around the personof God and God as Creator (1975:54f, 64f). He also dealswith such conflicting interpretations or concepts withinBuddhism as vinyaan (soul, spirit) and nipaan (nirvana)(1975:39f, 119f).

Preaching about God must be done so as not tomake God seem evil in terms of Buddhist thinking. Anew interpretation of avijja must be taught starting notwith God the Creator (Genesis 1, 2) but with the Fall ofMan (Genesis 3) as the real source of ignorance andconsequent suffering.

Another leading elderly Thai apologist, BoonmiRungruangwongs, argued bluntly in his Thai bookletson “God,” “Desire,” and a 22-point rationale for killinganimals. He does this, however, in the context ofBuddhist thought.

One of the best published approaches presenting thegospel to the Buddhist is Buddhism and the Claims ofChrist by D.T. Niles (1967). It is written in a style com-patible with the thought patterns of the Buddhist mind,yet from a thoroughly Christian viewpoint. I recom-mend it.

I have found that the apologetic approach has beenvaluable in teaching Christians to understand theirfaith in contrast to the Buddhist way, rather than as aprime strategy for winning groups of Buddhists toChrist. Most of those who take the apologetic approachusually claim their approach is to the thinking, educat-ed Buddhist. However, most Buddhists do not fall intothis category.

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2) The “Point of Contact” Approach. A secondapproach is through the use of Buddhism as a steppingstone to Christianity. Ethical and moral similarities areused as the basis for presenting Christ. Some look at thedoctrine of karma as dealing with an incompleteness,rather than an absolute falsehood—an incompletenesswhich is to find its fulfillment in Christ. In seekingwhat Don Richardson calls “redemptive analogies” inBuddhism, one becomes quite frustrated. However, inthe animistic foundations of many Buddhist societies,careful research may identify some redemptive analo-gies. God is the God of all cultures. He has allowed cer-tain elements to be placed within different cultures tobe used as bridges for the gospel. For example, amonganimistic beliefs, the Sawi Tribe in Indonesian WestIrian had a custom of offering a peace child in order tobring about and restore normal relations between war-ring villages. The application to God’s Peace Childresulted in the establishment of a church among theSawi. Similarly, the Yali people had a practice ofassigned places of refuge, a beautiful transition toNumbers 35 and the Place of Refuge in Christ. Anothertribe has an impressive and symbolic ceremony of thenew birth. Sometimes elements such as these have beenleft within cultures as residual reference back to theoriginal creation and fall of man and to the trueredemptive plan of God. They lay latent waiting forChristian emissaries to apply them as levers or spring-boards for preaching and teaching the gospel.

Three times I have visited Korea, a Buddhist landwhere a strong Christian movement has taken placesince 1907. One key to Korean church growth under theHoly Spirit was a missionary’s choice of an indigenousname for God: “Hananim.” Once a year the KoreanKing would go to an island in the middle of the riverwithin the capital to make special offerings to

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“Hanylnim” who was thought of as a high lofty beingin heaven, i.e. Hanyl. When early missionaries taughtabout Hanylnim in deeper terms, with a more intimateand authoritative knowledge of him than the KoreanKing or elders had, the people listened. This was a sig-nificant element in turning thousands of Koreans toChrist. Soon “Hananim” (Hana = one), a more biblical-ly accurate term, became widely accepted amongProtestants.

One particular Buddhist point of contact that somemissionaries have used should be noted. As mentionedearlier, a movement among northern Thai Buddhistsoccurred between 1884 and 1914 in the days of DanielMcGilvary. Between these years the church grew from152 members to 6,900. Usually such growth is causedby a number of intertwining causes. One of these ele-ments, however, appears to have come from a Buddhistpoint of contact. In 1895 W. Clifton Dodd wrote a briefarticle “Siam and the Laos” in which he noted “theprovidential preparation” of the northern ThaiBuddhists for the gospel. He referred to “the prepara-tion of Buddhism” whose “meaningless ritual in anunknown tongue (the Pali)” provided “inadequateanswers for either head or heart” (1895:8-10). Dodd, aveteran missionary to the Lao, as the ethnic northernThai were then known, suggested that “the more posi-tive preparations are found in the Laos Buddhistbooks” as against the negative failure to keep the peo-ple from worshipping the spirits. Indeed one of the fac-tors which had some bearing on this movement was theBuddhist teaching of a future savior. At least threenames referred to this final savior: 1) Phra See An, 2)Phra Ahreyah Metrai (also spelled Maitreya), and 3)Phra Pho Thi Sat. (This last one is also known toChinese Buddhists.) Part of this Buddhist mythicalprophecy says:

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Myriads of ages ago a white crow laid fiveeggs; that each of these eggs was to hatch andbring forth a Buddha; that these Buddhas were toappear in the upper world, one by one; that fourhave already appeared; and that the last is about tocome. The people believed that he will be the great-est and best of all; that he will gloriously reign84,000 years, and that in his time, all men willbecome pure in heart (Harris 1906:214, italicsmine).Dodd also wrote of a widely prevalent tradition con-

cerning Punyah Tum, a kind of John the Baptist:Its advent is to be heralded by a forerunner,

Punyah Tum, who will prepare the way; therough placed shall be made as smooth as“Temple ground”. Then the elder brother ofBuddha is to become incarnate as a savior. Hisname is Alen-Yah Metrai (sic). Only the goodshall be able to see him, but all who see him shallbe saved. The proclamation to the Laos people ofthis fullness of time and the completed salvationis predicted to be by a foreigner from the South.He is to be a man with white hair and a longbeard, who will not fly in the air like a bird, nei-ther will he walk on the earth like a beast, butwho will come bringing in his hands the true tencommandments (Beach 1902:315).The impact of pioneer Daniel McGilvary’s appear-

ance in the North in the light of this expectation musthave impressed many of the Christians. A witness tothe arrival of McGilvary on one of his northern tours,described him as “a man with long, white beard,mounted on an elephant. When he dismounted hebegan teaching out of a book” (McFarland 1928:183).

Arthur J. Brown quoted Dodd and Briggs in relationto “a general expectation of another reincarnation of

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Buddha” (1908:343). Dodd said:Most of our auditors looked upon Jesus as the

next Buddha, the Savior, Ahreyah Metrai. Manylifted both hands in worship of the pictures, thebooks, and the preachers. Our colporteurs weretreated in most places as the messengers of theBuddhist Messiah. Offerings of food, flowers,and wax tapers were made to them. In return,they were expected to bless the rivers. Theyexplained that they themselves were sinnersderiving all merits and blessing from God, andthen reverently asked a blessing from Him. ThusChristian services were held in hundreds ofhomes.

Dr. Briggs reported of one of his tours:The message was received with outspoken

gratitude and intelligent interest, many of thepeople remaining long after midnight, readingthe books and tracts by the light of the fire andasking questions of the Christians in our compa-ny. These people, hungry for truth that satisfiesand longing for light, are very anxiously await-ing the coming of the promised Messiah ofBuddhism.Some of the missionaries capitalized on these pre-

dictions “pointing to the salvation wrought out by theblessed Son of God.” They used this as a starting pointof contact within the Buddhist culture to bridge the reli-gio-cultural gap in meaningful communication. Theywent on to expound the riches of Christ.

Most missionaries, however, were cautious in usingthis Buddhistic lever as an approach. Many of the finerdetails were contrary to the biblical account. There wasno complete comparison of Ahreyah Metrai and Christ,nor did they attempt to integrate or synthesize the two.It was only a point of contact, an interest awakener.

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Christian missionaries avoided giving credence andauthority to Buddhist writings. They maintained a highview of the authority and uniqueness of the biblical rev-elation. They were also careful not to syncretize Christinto the Buddhist structure; they preached a uniqueSavior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in their evangelism.

This illustration may be irrelevant to modernBuddhists today. Nevertheless the sensitive search foradequate points of contact should continue. Meaningfulbridges to the people should be explored.

3) The Shame Theology Approach. A third approachfocuses on a theological difference between Shame andGuilt. Among the “losing face” societies of BuddhistAsia, shame rather than guilt is a dominant trait in cul-ture. Theologically speaking, there is considerable roomfor investigating this theme in relation to the gospel’sapproach to the Buddhist. Lowell L. Nobel has made aworthy contribution here in his anthropological, biblicaland sociological study of shame, entitled Naked and NotAshamed. He makes some interesting observations onthis subject related to Japan, China and Thailand(1957:46-63). Joseph R. Cook’s paper “The Gospel forThai Ears” also majors on the “shame” approach.

Thus the evangelistic message becomes “sin-shame-Savior” in place of “sin-guilt-Savior.” Actually shame isreferred to in Scripture more than guilt. More researchand study should be done on the shame approach. Anumber of problems still need to be clarified. One of themain issues is overcoming the Buddhistic preoccupa-tion with self and an acceptance of accountability toGod. Western and national theologians must think thisapproach through in terms of the conceptual defini-tions of Buddhistic cultures. Shame in the West is notnecessarily identical to shame in the East.

In a “losing face” or shame culture, one can have54

shame from purely selfish reasons alone, especially inThailand’s individualistic society. The theologicalissue is to see in one’s shame a responsibility to othersand especially to God. The shame approach, to havebiblical basis, must overcome the syndrome of purelyrevolving around self. There are points where shamedoes have a wider orientation.

4) The “Scratch Where It Itches” Approach. Fourth isa “scratch where it itches” theology. Christ alwaysapplied His message to the appropriate needs of theindividual or group. He was constantly teaching totheir need, applying the gospel where the people hurt.Christianity needs to be practical in these days, not justin the demonstration of good works, but also in apply-ing their teachings to the real needs of the people.Evangelists and theologians should observe carefullyand listen conscientiously to the heartbeat of the com-munity. Research and surveys are needed to discoverthe deep-felt needs of various people groups. We mustfind out where people are itching and then scratchthere with the gospel. Theologizing divorced from thereal needs of people is futile. But so is social servicewithout gospel pronouncement.

Furthermore, through this incarnational approach tothe community, the gospel minister builds his credibil-ity among the people. He sits where they sit and feelsas they feel. He also becomes a living demonstration ofthe gospel he proclaims, as he ministers and teaches tothose needs.

Patience is needed when working with Buddhistpeople. A time for diffusion of the message is usuallynecessary. Gospel saturation helps break the ignorancebarriers over a period of time. Few people in Asia knowmuch about the true gospel, yet the evangelist oftenexpects them to make an immediate decision for Christ.

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Rather he should evaluate where each community is onthe “scale of awareness” devised by Engel and Norton(1975:45). He can then decide what would be the nextmost appropriate action to take in leading themtowards Christ.

Also one aim should be to locate the receptive fami-lies and responsive units of the population. Theseshould be the prime focus for intensive evangelism andteaching. No amount of impersonal approach from ahigh pulpit will effectively do this. As personal contactat the grassroots defines the needs and hopes of people,then the balm of the gospel can be applied. As H.Richard Niebuhr concluded in his book Christ andCulture (1956), “Christ is the transformer of culture.”

In the midst of cultural change, innovation andacculturation, the sociological factors of communitiesmust be taken into consideration in our preaching andour theological approaches. Urban populations todaymay not be so much Buddhist as secularist and materi-alist. Nevertheless, the underlying Buddhist assump-tions will be similar.

A beautiful illustration of “scratching where it itch-es” is seen in the Thailand Southern Baptists’ approachto the slums. A whole strategy based on sociologicalsurveys of need and practical Christian involvement ishelping meet those needs along with the teaching andpreaching of the gospel. Their objective is to establishlocal house churches grounded in the local community.

It is significant to observe that much church growthin Buddhist lands has been initiated at the point ofhuman weakness. Man’s extremity has become God’sopportunity for church growth. Henry Otis Dwight,referring to the large blocs of non-Christian popula-tions under Buddhism, Islam and such, says that these“bulwarks of resistance” loom large before the churchas “great hostile fortresses all long the line of her

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advance.” Dwight suggests looking for cracks in theresistant walls, or flaws in the stubborn strongholds as“strategic points for effective evangelism.” Thus bylocating smaller units of responsiveness, often incon-spicuous among the dominant population, missionar-ies avoid “striking in force at a main center before itstime has come” (1905:82-83). Of course the large resist-ant blocks must not be neglected. Research and variousapproaches to them must be found. But in the mean-time those cracks and flaws must be utilized to the full.The opportunities must be taken. Ripening fields mustbe harvested.

Many Buddhists who have come to Christ have firstcome “to the end of themselves.” Many conversionsfrom Buddhism swing on the pivot point of the inabili-ty to accomplish perfection by oneself.

In rural Thailand the movement amongst leprosypatients is an example. They found their social, physi-cal, and spiritual needs met through missionary lep-rosy clinics and subsequently Christian churches. Ihave described some of that process in the bookStrategy to Multiply Rural Churches (1977:134-135).Numerous other people have also turned to Christbecause of other medical extremities and their contactwith Christians in clinics or hospitals (Smith 1977:173).

Another point of weakness is the pressure from evilspirit oppression or witchcraft. Many of those whoturned from Buddhism to Christ in the early movementin north Thailand did so to obtain freedom from witch-craft accusations and the social ostracism associatedwith it. I have met quite a few cases of Buddhists whobecame Christians to be freed from spirit oppression orpossession. They had prayed to Buddha and othergods, made offerings to the spirits, worshiped idols,gone into the priesthood, and still had no release.Frustrated, they met Jesus at the point of their extremi-

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ty (Smith 1977:158).Others come to Christ out of economic extremity or

impoverishment. Disaster, flood or famine have met upwith them. Their karma has overplayed itself. They arefed up, hopeless, frustrated and discouraged. Hearingthe gospel and seeing Christ’s love through His ser-vants often turns some to Christ.

Another pointed case is the Southeast Asianrefugees from Buddhist lands, now over 100,000 inThailand alone. These were a very receptive peopleespecially in the early days of their freedom. At thepoint of their exasperation and frustration they soughtfor someone to truly depend on. Is it any wonder thatthe Thailand Southern Baptists alone baptized 2,100Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees during the threeyears following 1975?

In all these cases, motivation may differ from personto person. The exact motivation for turning people toChristianity at the point of their extremity is not alwaysclear. Nevertheless, this opportunity to teach, preachand nurture these people in the ways of God’s Wordprovides an approach to Buddhist people that mustnever be neglected.

In recent decades most of the major Buddhist landsin Asia today have been through some traumatic expe-rience. Political and military excursions, and in somecases complete takeovers, have challenged the very coreof these countries and their religion. In the trauma oftoday when national crises, economic chaos and mili-tary clashes are prevalent in Asia, one wonders, “Is Godbringing the Buddhist nations to an extremity, to an endof trusting in themselves, in order to steer them towardsthe gospel of His grace, and to cause them to call out inutter dependence on the One who alone can help?”

Another clue to the frustrations of many relates tothe question of death. Many Buddhists fear hell, death,

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and the afterlife. There is deep concern for all the ances-tral spirits and the retribution that will come to thosewho fail to give obeisance to them. Further research isneeded to find out at what point the gospel truly“clicks” with those deep-seated fears and aspirations ofthe Buddhist heart’s need.

5) The Power Encounter Approach. Finally, sinceBuddhist nations have a more modified animism thanpure Buddhism, we must accept the possibility that thepower encounter element is a most strategic approach.A leading Buddhist scholar writes that from the longdistant past “Thai Buddhists have had a god.” This isclearly shown in the word phrachao, a truly Thai termreferring to “something which one fears and mustbeseech or flatter, an instinct among all thinkingbeings.” Even before Brahmanism or Buddhism came,the Thai people believed in some kind of god in termsof spirit and divine being. The Brahmans introducedthe concept of the King as an incarnation of god, hencethe original word phrachao was also used for the King.The personal term “I” then became Khaphrachao. (Khameans servant-slave and chao or phrachao means lord orgod.) When Buddhism became dominant, there was atendency to glorify each king as a Buddha. The first-person pronoun was then changed to Khaphra-Buddhachao, which in its present day use has beenabbreviated to Khapachao (Indapanno 1967:61,63).

Furthermore, Thai Buddhists have a deep respectfor phra, an impersonal quantitative supernaturalpower. Many other beliefs and concepts involve powerin holy water, incantations, tattoos, amulets, and minia-ture phra objects they hang around their necks or otherparts of the body (khryang raang khong khlang). Most ofthese are tied up with the concern for protection, secu-rity and invulnerability, or for power over others espe-

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cially in economic and love life.Thus the gospel should present Christ as the superi-

or power over all these elements. Using this powerapproach I noticed increased response in Thailand. Themessage of power might be presented as follows:1. God is the original source of all power and perfec-

tion. The Lord Jesus Christ is the all-powerful Lord.He is Creator and Governor over all. (John 1:1-3,Colossians 1:16-17)

2. God created man in the image of God, and gave himpower to govern the world. Man was originally per-fect and enjoyed his freedom and power in the pres-ence of God without shame, sin or death. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7-25)

3. Man lost that power through his own willful dis-obedience and rebellion against God. He then cameunder the power of evil and demonic spirits, result-ing in suffering, shame and death. Man thus startedthe process of “karma” and became slave to sin.(Gen. 3, Rom. 5:12, John 8:34, Eph. 2:1-3)

4. The Lord Jesus Christ saw man had no possible wayto free himself from the power of Satan, sin, andkarma. Christ came down to break the power ofSatan in man’s life, to set him free from the power ofevil spirits, and to redeem him from sin and karma.By the miracle of dying in man’s place, He bore thepenalty of man’s sin and shame. The perfect sinlessJesus restores God’s power in man’s life and giveshim a new quality of life connected spiritually toGod Himself. (John 1:14, 18, 29)

5. Man can have this power through repentance andfaith by receiving Christ as his Lord and Source ofconstant dependence. God, through His grace, givesthis power freely, apart from man’s work or merit.God gives this power to man through His HolySpirit whom His disciples are to obey. (John 1:10-13,

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15:26, 16:12-15)6. Christians must share this gospel of power and free-

dom from karma with their relatives, friends, neigh-bors and nation. (Acts 1:8, Ezek. 3:19-20)Obviously a polemical foundation teaching the exis-

tence of God is vital. The power encounter approachstill requires time for diffusion, teaching and satura-tion. A group movement usually arises from an insideinnovator or prophet who takes God at His word. Hisbold demonstration of breaking with the old way isoften the spark that ignites a greater movement.

The Bible abounds with illustrations of powerencounter—the challenge of the power of God appliedagainst the power of evil, Satan, and the demonicworld. For example, Gideon destroying the family spir-it grove; Elijah challenging the population and priestsat Mount Carmel; Daniel’s three friends in the fiery fur-nace; and Daniel proving the power of God in the lions’den. Truly the superiority of the power of Christ aboveeverything else in our lives is the only dynamicapproach that will bring Buddhists to a living relation-ship with Christ. The challenge of Joshua was a powerencounter call: “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve— Jehovah or those other gods? But as for me and myhouse, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15). Thesocial solidarity of the family in this call is applicable toBuddhist lands today. Herein the church will grow andreceive its stability and permanence in the midst of asocially antagonistic society.

ConclusionThe practical conclusion in terms of reality of the taskbefore us calls for a theology dealing with three basicissues. First the spiritual conflict demands concentratedprayer to break the controlling forces of darkness in theheavenlies. God has and will answer prayer, but the

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demonic forces may hinder and frustrate His answersbeing appropriated at times (Dan. 9:3-4, 17-23). AskGod to break down these powers and to free Buddhisthearts to hear the Word of God through the Holy Spirit.

Second is the socio-cultural clash. This solid socialcoherence comes largely from the religious thinking. Tobe Thai in most people’s mind means to be Buddhist.To turn from being a Buddhist is like becoming a traitorto one’s own nation. What widespread conditions willprepare the Buddhist population for social change inreligion? There are signs of such changes at work today.

Third is the bold, though humble, confrontation ofthe gospel with Buddhism. A dynamic encounter of theliving Lord in contrast to the sleeping Buddha is needed.Let those prophetic advocates arise, like Elijah, todemonstrate power encounters. Many lessons are to belearned. More will be gained through sympatheticappreciation of the people than by cold logic. A culturalsensitivity should be welded to incarnational evangel-ism based on a deep biblical foundation. This requires aperson-centered approach while maintaining a truth-centered gospel. To find the best evangelistic approachesto each Buddhist population, much research and carefulexperimentation should be implemented speedily.

All this calls today’s theologians to a new practicaltask of dealing with various grassroots issues in com-munication so that large pockets of Buddhist popula-tion can and will be won to Jesus Christ, and becomefunctional members in His Church now and in thedecades ahead.

Bibliography

Appleton, George. The Christian Approach to theBuddhist. London: Edinburgh House Press, 1958.Beach, Harlan D. A Geography and Atlas of Protestant

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Missions. New York: Student Volunteer Movement forForeign Missions, 1901.Beugler, Dorothy. “The Religion of the Thai in CentralThailand.” Mimeographed, undated.Brown, Arthur J. Article in Missionary Review of theWorld, 1908.Chaiwan, Saad. The Christian Approach to Buddhists inThailand. Bangkok: Suriyaban Publishers, 1975.Cooke, Joseph R. “The Gospel for Thai Ears.”Mimeographed, unpublished, 1978.Dodd, W.C. “Siam and the Laos,” Missionary Review ofthe World, 1895.Dwight, Henry Otis (ed). The Blue Book of Missions for1905. New York: Fung & Wagnalls Co., 1905.Eakin, Paul A. Buddhism and the Christian Approach toBuddhists in Thailand. Bangkok: R. HongladarompPrinter & Publisher, 1956.Engel, James, and Norton, H. Wilbert. What’s GoneWrong with the Harvest? Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1975.Garbe, R. India and Christendom. Illinois: The OpenCourt Publishing Co., 1959.Harris, W. “Unprecedented Opportunity in the FarEast,” Students and the Modern Missionary Crusade. NewYork: Student Volunteer Movement for ForeignMissions, 1906.Indapanno, Bhikkhu Buddhadasa. Christianity andBuddhism. Bangkok, Sinclaire Thompson MemorialLectures, fifth series, 1967.Kaufman, Howard Keva. Bangkuad: A Community Studyin Thailand. New York: J.J. Augustine, Inc. Publishers,1960.Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Introducing Buddhism. New

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York: Friendship Press, 1958.McFarland, George Bradley. Historical Sketch ofProtestant Missions in Siam, 1828-1928. Bangkok: TheBangkok Times Press, Ltd. 1928.McGilvary, Daniel. A Half Century Among the Siameseand the Lao. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.Mole, Robert L. Thai Values and Behavior Patterns.Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. 1973.Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. New York:Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1956.Niles, D.T. Buddhism and the Claims of Christ. Richmond,Virginia: John Knox Press, 1967.Noble, Lowell L. Naked and Not Ashamed. Michigan:Jackson Printing, 1975.Petchsongkram, Wan. Talk in the Shade of the Bo Tree,translated and edited by Frances E. Hudgins. Bangkok:private printing, 1975.Pfanner, David E. and Ingersoll, Jasper. “TheravadaThai Comparison,” The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol.XXI, No. 3, May, 1962.Smith, Alex G. Strategy o Multiply Rural Churches (ACentral Thailand Case Study). Bangkok: OMF Publishers,1977.Tambiah, S. Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in NortheastThailand. Cambridge, England: University Press, 1970.Winter, Ralph D. “Who are the Three Billion?” ChurchGrowth Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 5, May, 1977.

Originally read and presented as a paper in November 1978 atthe Asian Theological Association Annual Meeting held at the

University of Singapore. Subsequently published by ATA in 1980as part of the Asian Perspectives Series.

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