The Scarlet Cord - Moriel Ministries

Moriel Thailand – Continued
it seems her heart is softening up a little
bit. But from recent reports, she’s still very
much on the attack. She doesn’t just need a
softened heart. She needs an entirely new
heart through being born again.
On Saturday morning we left the church
at 5am to go to a market and sing and
preach. We started on one side, but it was
a bit noisy, so then we moved to another
side right in front of a 7/11. The children
sang many songs while we handed out
tracts. Marisa later said that people are very
anti-Christian in this area, more so than in
Nakornsawan, seeing many people refusing
to take a tract. When it came my turn to
preach a second time, I felt a lot of freedom
in preaching about Jesus being the Savior
and the only way to heaven.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been
teaching part of a course for Bethany College
of Missions students on witnessing to
Buddhists. In preparing for this course, I
read an article which talks about how one
should witness to Buddhists. This is written
by a Thai woman whose husband is a Thai
pastor. In December of 2010 our neighbor,
Marisa was a Buddhist. She came to our
house to talk with Khae one day. Khae talked
with her for about an hour, clearly explaining
the Gospel. When Marisa went back
home she told Paul she wanted to become a
Christian. The witness that Khae gave that
day broke almost all of the “rules” that this
Thai “expert” is teaching missionaries. For
example, she says, “Christians can bring up
religious issues only when they have deep
relational bonding with non-believers.” At
that time Khae and Marisa hardly knew
each other. Also, the apostle Paul did not
follow this approach in going to many new
cities to preach.
Then, in critiquing some traditional evangelistic
methods, the author of this article
quotes an unbeliever in her survey as saying,
“I do not want anyone to talk about death.”
Khae brought up the issue of death very
clearly with Marisa that day. Another rule
that is brought out in this article is, “do not
contrast religions.” Again, Khae did not follow
that rule and she pointed out the benefits
of believing in Jesus as opposed to Buddha.
Of course that doesn’t need to be done
in an offensive way, but at some point the
unbeliever needs to see what the real differences
are. In Buddhism people are told
to be a refuge unto themselves. In Jesus
Christ we have a Savior who saves us—
something we could never do by ourselves.
Even Khae’s dad, as good a man as he was,
when his wife tried to bring him back to
Buddhism, told her, “I’ve found the way to
salvation, and you want me to go back to
the dead end way”
This same article advocates using chanting
during Christian worship and Buddhist
rituals to reconcile with people. Because
Khae spoke clearly and uncompromisingly
in love that day, Marisa made a clear break
with her old life and now she, Paul, her
daughter, son, and niece are real Christians.
Of course it was God who did the real work
in their lives, but my point is that God uses
truth to set people free (John 8: 31-32). If the
church is using lies and compromises, that
is a hindrance to the truth and a hindrance
to people being set free. Thailand needs
truth, not compromise, Thais and missionaries
who shun to declare all the counsel of
God (Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God.”).
Aside from this we continue to teach
English and Bible at the women’s prison
every week, have a weekly Bible study
with mostly non-Christian college students,
teach part time at a junior high and
a college, and we have a weekly class at
our house for students, teaching them English
and the Bible. This is a busy schedule,
so I’m hoping to cut down on the English
classes at the junior high and college for
next term (two months from now). But, it
has been good to be there this term in order
to meet new students and invite them to
classes where they can hear the Gospel.
Praise God we have a Savior in Jesus
Christ. We are not left to our own limitations.
In Christ,
Scott
Book Review:
I don’t know how popular this book is
overseas, but I keep encountering it here in
Thailand, even in its English version. So, I
wrote a review of it, hoping to slow the tide
of syncretism which this promotes...
From Buddha to Jesus by Steve Cioccolanti:
A book review by Scott Noble
Exaltation of the Buddha
Throughout this book there are frequent
comments exalting the Buddha. Here are
some examples:
“...one leads to the other...The last words
of Buddha open up to the first words of
Christ in the New Testament.” (33) “...Buddha
was a very wise man...” (46) [the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Did the Buddha fear the Lord] “Buddha
pointed to the way...Buddha did the
Christian a great service...” (50) “I think
Buddhism is really a friend to Christianity...”
(55) “Buddha’s excellent teachings
to Asians carries the same heart as God’s
commandments to the Jews.” (60) “...we
have a strong ally in Buddha’s moral commands.
They are virtually the same laws as
God’s laws.” (76) [Only if by “virtually the
same” he means it’s OK to omit the first 4
of the 10 commandments, and change two
others]. “You are Buddhist That’s Great!”
(84) [Is it great to be on a path leading away
from God and unto damnation]
“...we’re all bad Buddhists!” (93) [We
are Steve frequently tries to put Christianity
and Buddhism on the same level, even
though one is of man, and the other is of
God] “Buddha was wise. Why, Buddha, is
there suffering Buddha said because of
your karma...Buddha was right!” (110) [In
addition to “conversing” with the Buddha
here, Steve also falsely equates karma with
sin. Karma is an impersonal system for justice,
in which there is no person overseeing
the whole process. To sin is to break the
commands of the personal God of the Bible.]
“Buddha was a man of reason and evidence,
of which reincarnation has none.”
(115) [Steve has exalted the Buddha so
much now, that he cannot believe the Buddha
actually taught reincarnation—contrary
to the Pali Canon—though re-birth
would be a more correct term, because of
the doctrine of anatta. This highlights another
theme (Gnosticism) throughout this
book. Instead of representing Buddhism
according to what the Pali Canon teaches,
Steve just comes up with his own ideas
of what the Buddha really taught. This is
Gnosticism—finding “secret knowledge,”
not based on real evidence, but on spurious
claims or wishful thinking. It’s the DaVinci
Code (a story based on imagination, not
evidence) applied to Buddhism.]
“Reincarnation is one of the best doctrines
Buddhism is known for. I think it is a
great friend to us who are Christian.” (129)
[Here, Steve contradicts himself again while
offering more praise to Buddhism.] “What
is Jesus saying to us Exactly what Buddha
was teaching.” (137) [Really] “Buddha
never denied the existence of God.” (141)
[The Buddha’s whole life was a denial of
the existence of God, even if he did not put
that into words. His followers understood
this. At the World Buddhist Sangha Council
(WBSC) in 1981 they stated, “Whether
Theravāda or Mahāyāna, we do not believe
that this world is created and ruled by a god
at his will.”] “Buddha was a very humble
person.” (146) [Contrary to Steve’s opinion,
the Pali Canon records the Buddha’s
no- so-humble proclamation, “Chief am
I in the world, Eldest am I in the world,
Foremost am I in the world! This is the last
birth!” (D II, 12)]
“Buddha really paved the way for sinners
to trust in Jesus.” (160) “Because they
know Buddha taught the right thing...”
(195) “If you say you’re Buddhist, then
you should follow Buddha” (197) [I would
never encourage someone to follow the
Buddha]. “Buddha’s prediction was not so
far off from what Jesus teaches us about the
End Times.” (202) [This is like his “virtually
the same” comment regarding the com-
28 Moriel Quarterly • September 2012