“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you...
For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”
In the book of Acts, Apostle Paul introduced the one true God to the Athenians. This is something completely new to the Athenians, so the Apostle Paul used many touch points that existed in the Greek religion and quoted Greek philosophers.
The Thai world view is significantly different from those in the West. There are many matters in life that can be used as touch points between the Thai world view and the Christian faith. THAI WORD continues to create new Christian literature that will explore these touch points, such as the sacredness of marriage, spirits that rule the land, work ethics, etc. The end goal is to use these touch points to communicate the truth of the love of God through Jesus Christ.
Here are some features of the Thai world view that Westerners may not be familiar with.
Reincarnation
As part of Buddhist/Hindu belief, Thai people believe that humans and other living creatures experience birth, decay, sickness, and death in endless cycles until nirvana. Good deeds and bad deeds will result in corresponding rewards and punishments in the next reincarnation.
It may be difficult for Westerners to grasp that the belief in reincarnation is real and pervasive in the Thai psyche. Oftentimes, when Thai people experience suffering, they will blame themselves that perhaps they have done something really bad in their previous life. This fatalistic tendency can lead to a certain attitude of helplessness to fight against evil.
Spiritual Powers
Thai people are much more keen to see spiritual powers as influencing everyday life than those in the West. They try to appease the local spirits, and attempt to use spiritual powers to gain worldly advantages (money, love, career, etc.). Some of the practices are outright black magic. This belief is pervasive from all facets of status, poor and rich, ignorant and educated, honored and despised, and in all occupations from top politicians to common laborers.
From a Christian point of view, this is a wonderful touch point. God the Creator is the source of ultimate power, wisdom, and beauty. Christians can point out that no power in the world has the authority to overcome God the Creator and his chosen Christ.
Attitude toward Attachments
Buddhism teaches that attachments cause suffering. The ultimate goal is to rid oneself of all attachments.
In the Christian world view, some attachments are ordained by God and can be a huge source of blessings.
For example, marriage is viewed by Buddhists as a mere social convention. It is a form of attachment that Buddhism deems ambivalent. Marriage is not deemed to be a spiritual blessing and therefore not especially spiritually sacred. But marriage is sacred to Christians, because God specifically created male and female and blessed them in a strong union. Christian teaching on marriage is rich in experience and truth. This can be a wonderful touch point to lead Thai people to the loving God who created marriage to be a tangible form of sacred spiritual attachment.