F or years, Khruu Ice wondered why she could tell almost instantly if someone was involved in the “spiritual dark side.” Many told her they could tell she “had what it takes” to practice black magic. Why did she have these seemingly supernatural powers of discernment, and why were so many people telling her she should become a witch? Her curiosity was piqued, so she decided to visit a wise old Buddhist monk who claimed able to tell people about their previous lives. Hoping that a clearer understanding of her past lives would help her make sense of the present, Khruu Ice entered the temple with nervous trepidation.
“You were heavily involved in black magic,” the old monk told her. “In fact, you used to enrich yourself from it. People would come to you for spells to get what they wanted. As a result of your practice, families were torn apart, and there was much sorrow and misery.”
Khruu Ice sat at the monk’s feet spellbound. “What do I need to do to make up for this?” she asked with desperation in her voice.
“To atone for your past, you must help people who have been cursed by black magic. You must work to undo the damage that is being done.”
Khruu Ice left the temple with a deep sense of guilt and an intense desire to do what she could to rectify the damage she believed she had caused in her previous life.
Cindi and I listened intently as our language teacher shared this story about her past with us. She was quite distressed as she elaborated about the details of her current situation and her desperate desire to help friends who were involved in the “spiritual dark side.” She told us she had a hard time sleeping at night and sometimes went three or four nights without any sleep.
The next thing she shared caught us both by surprise. “I recently consulted a Hoodoo practitioner, and he is helping me use white magic to help reverse the curses of black magic.” Knowing that Khruu Ice claimed to be Christian, I was alarmed at the extent to which she was being affected by the purported sins of her past life and her use of white magic to try to atone for them. Does she not know about the dangers of the occult world? I wondered. Doesn’t she realize that God is more powerful than any form of magic?
“Have you prayed that God would deliver your friend from the evil powers?” I asked her.
“Yes, I tried that, but I didn’t see any results, so I consulted with the Hoodoo practitioner,” she replied. Clearly, she didn’t have much faith in the power of prayer.
Over the past six months, we have had many conversations about religion with Khruu Ice. From the beginning, we have sensed that she has a belief in God and a desire to know Him more. We have been praying for wisdom about what to share with her. Just a few weeks ago we asked her if we could begin reading the Thai Bible in class as a way to learn Biblical terminology, and she readily agreed. We told her to pick out whatever portion of scripture she would like us to read, and if she has any questions, we would be happy to help answer them. This opened the door to many lengthy discussions.
The more we talk with Khruu Ice, the more we see the syncretism in her belief system. She has even told us that she believes it is okay to worship both God and Buddha. From her perspective, both are able to provide help for life’s problems, so why not go to both? If one doesn’t help, the other surely will.
Unfortunately Khruu Ice’s outlook is a common one among Thai Christians. Many of them still hold onto Buddhist or animistic beliefs and practices. This has reaffirmed in our minds the absolute necessity of gaining a deep and thorough understanding of Thai cultural and religious beliefs before we can develop a successful approach to cross-cultural evangelism. Over the next year or so, our Central Thai team will be engaging in a deep study of Thai religion and culture. Please pray that as we do this we will be able to gain understanding to develop powerful and effective evangelistic techniques that will show Thai Buddhists that God truly is the most powerful spiritual force in the universe, and that He alone is sufficient.
