The Challenge of Buddhism

Belief in God. Buddhists do not believe in a Cre­ator and divine Ruler of the universe. One of the first things that the evan­elist should attempt to do is to lead his hearers to a belief in the true God. The apostle Paul considered himself the apostle to the Gentiles. His labors were directed mainly to the heathen, and he was success­ful in bringing many to an acceptance of Christianity. A study of his methods will give much insight into the problem of reaching non-Christians today. Paul's method of teaching the heathen of his day about the true God is no doubt the one that will prove to be the most successful in working for Buddhists. Ellen G. White gives this description of Paul's approach at Lystra :

The apostles endeavored to impart to these idolaters a knowledge of God the Creator, and of His Son, the Saviour of the human race. They first directed attention to the wonderful works of God, —the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beautiful order of the recurring seasons, the mighty snow­capped mountains, the lofty trees, and other varied wonders of nature, which showed a skill beyond human comprehension. Through these works of the Almighty, the apostles led the minds of the heathen to a contemplation of the great Ruler of the universe.

Having made plain these fundamental truths concerning the Creator, the apostles told the Lys­trians of the Son of God, who came from heaven to our world because He loved the children of men. They spoke of His life and ministry, His rejection by those He came to save, His trial and crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension to heaven, there to act as man's advocate. Thus, in the Spirit and power of God, Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in Lystra.¹

Origin of sin. Buddhists believe in evil spirits and live in constant fear of them. This subject appeals to them and should be presented very early in a series of stud­ies or meetings. Freedom from the power of the spirits, as Saunders points out, is one of the strong appeals that Christianity can make to Buddhists. He says:

It is clear that Christianity can dispel the per­sistent superstitious terrors of demon-haunted vil­lages and can lessen the horrors of the slums of the great cities. One who lives in a Christian country can scarcely imagine, much less estimate, the relief which is thus brought into the lives of thousands. A country like Burma is not interested in a new system of ethics. It is satisfied with what it already possesses in the way of moral standards. But it does sorely need and should heartily welcome the sense of spiritual freedom and power which Chris­tianity can impart.²

Bible as the Word of God. Another ques­tion on the questionnaire was: "How and when do you endeavor to convince non-Christians that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God?" Some of the replies are quoted below:

In the early part of the campaign, by referring to it as the world's oldest book; also by preaching the signs of the end, and the fulfillment of proph­ecy.

As early as possible—as soon as they will listen to the evidence. The evidence is in the Book itself, not in what people say about it. Do not condemn the "sacred" writings of the non-Christians. State the claims which the Christian Bible makes for it­self, and test those claims.

The plan of gradually introducing the Bible during the first few meetings is prob­ably the most satisfactory. The evangelist should be very tactful about trying to prove the inspiration of the Bible, and should allow it to speak for itself and let the peo­ple convince themselves that the Bible is the Word of God.

Old Testament history. In order to pre­pare non-Christians for an understanding of the mission of Jesus to this earth and the plan of salvation, it is important to teach them something about God's dealings with the people of this earth and acquaint them with the outstanding characters of the Old Testament.

Seventh-day Adventist missionaries have commented as follows on the value of sto­ries of Old Testament characters:

The stories of these Old Testament characters offer an excellent opportunity to teach the truths of the plan of salvation, and to show God's attitude toward sin and His care for His people.

I think it is important to teach non-Christians the stories of the Old Testament, as they provide insights into the character of God, and inspire peo­ple to live for God.

Several missionaries have suggested that these stories be presented as special fea­tures, preferably with slides, before the reg­ular evangelistic sermon. Non-Christians will be able to understand the principles of the gospel much better if they are presented in connection with the lives of people. Therefore, evangelists should place more emphasis on the Old Testament in working for non-Christians than they have in the past.

Promises and prophecies of a Saviour. Since Buddhists do not have a Saviour in their religion, it is difficult for them to un­derstand and appreciate the virtue of Christ's death on the cross. A knowledge of the prophecies that pointed forward to Christ will not only strengthen the faith of the non-Christian in the Bible, but will also help him to understand and appreci­ate the mission of Jesus to this earth. Again notice Paul's method in teaching the people of his day about Christ.

Our ministers need more of the wisdom that Paul had. When he went to labor for the Jews, he did not first make prominent the birth, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, notwith­standing these were the special truths for that time. He first brought them down step by step over the promises that had been made of a Saviour, and over the prophecies that pointed Him out. After dwelling upon these until the specifications were distinct in the minds of all, and they knew that they were to have a Saviour, he then presented the fact that this Saviour had already come. Christ Jesus fulfilled every specification.³

Life and teachings of Jesus. The life and teachings of Jesus should receive heavy em­phasis in evangelistic work for Buddhists.

Some Seventh-day Adventist evangelists have not been spending much time on this subject. However, this was the main theme of the preaching of the disciples. Ellen G. White gives us this account of their preach­ing:

It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. The name was given them be­cause Christ was the main theme of their preach­ing, their teaching, and their conversation. Con­tinually they were recounting the incidents that had occurred during the days of His earthly min­istry, when His disciples were blessed with His personal presence. Untiringly they dwelt upon His teachings and His miracles of healing. With quiver­ing lips and tearful eyes they spoke of His agony in the garden, His betrayal, trial, and execution, the forbearance and humility with which He had endured the contumely and torture imposed upon Him by His enemies, and the Godlike pity with which He had prayed for those who persecuted Him. His resurrection and ascension, and His work in heaven as the Mediator for fallen man, were topics on which they rejoiced to dwel1.¹

The first objective in working for Bud­dhists must be to lead them to an accept­ance of Christ as their personal Saviour. The fact must be emphasized that Chris­tianity is union with Christ and not merely the acceptance of a new set of rules to gov­ern their conduct. Only then will they be in a position to appreciate and respond to distinctive Seventh-day Adventist doctrines.

Meeting the Challenge

For several years the Burma Union has been giving serious study to finding ways of interpreting the gospel more effectively to the Buddhist people of Burma. Early in 1962 a special committee was appointed to give study to this matter. The report of this committee was considered and approved by the union committee in September, 1962. A comprehensive plan was thus set in motion to strengthen the evangelistic pro­gram of the Seventh-day Adventist Church among the non-Christians in Burma.

One of the main features of this program was the preparation of various types of evangelistic material that would be beamed mainly to Buddhists. It was the plan to have R. H. Woolsey, who was on furlough at the time, spend practically his full time, on his return to Burma, in preparing these new materials. Pastor Woolsey had spent one term in Burma, had mastered the Bur­mese language, had done considerable evangelism in Burma, and had demon­strated a definite talent for writing. We felt that he was well qualified to prepare the new literature that was needed.