Biblical Interpretation and the Thai Church
One of the greatest needs of Thai churches today is the desire and ability to rightly divide the Word of God.
If you were to visit Thai churches across the Protestant and Pentecostal spectrum, you would often hear sermons that are only loosely connected to the Bible. There are many self-help sermons, allegorical sermons, and rousing exhortations to serve God and receive his blessings. Many sermons are topical, meaning that the preacher has chosen a topic that he wants to preach on and then has sought out a Bible passage (or passages) that support what he wants to say. In church small groups, it is common for Christians to read the Bible together and then immediately ask, “What does this mean for me?” instead of first asking, “What does this passage mean?”
We should praise God for growing his church in Thailand, and for changing the lives of Thai Christians, bringing them from the darkness of sin into the light of God. However, how can we understand what God is telling us about himself, about ourselves, and about the world around us if we don’t have basic skills in biblical interpretation? I am not talking about high level academic skills but rather basic Bible study skills that lead believers to ask questions like, “What is happening in this passage?” “Who are the characters?” “What are people saying and doing?” “What is the background to this story or letter?” “What did this mean to the original readers?” and “Is this passage history, poetry, prophecy, parable, or something else?”
Closely related to these basic Bible study questions is the conviction that the entire Bible is God’s Word to us; and the whole Bible should be read, studied, preached, prayed through, and meditated upon. Churches need to preach though entire books of the Bible, such as Genesis, Isaiah, Matthew, or Ephesians. We cannot feed ourselves spiritually (and pastors cannot feed their flocks spiritually) with a continual diet of random verses stapled to entertaining stories, and personal anecdotes and experiences. Jesus told his disciples to teach ALL that he commanded them (Matt 28:20), not just an assortment of inspiring highlights.
Unfortunately, neither the traditional educational or religious background of most first-generation Thai Christians has prepared them to read and understand the Bible. Similar to many other places in East Asia, traditional Thai education emphasizes memorizing the information given to you by the teacher, and then repeating that information on the test. Asking questions, critical thinking, and summary and evaluation of information is not valued in most Thai schools. Unlike Christianity, Thai Buddhism does not have a central holy book that everyday Buddhists are encourage to study, discuss, and memorize. Buddhist preaching pulls wisdom and anecdotes from multiple sources, piecing them together as the preacher sees fit. And in the Buddhist worldview, you can acquire merit simply by listening to a sermon even if you don’t understand what it is about.
Despite all these challenges, there seems to be an increasing number of Thai Christians who are hungry to know God’s Word. They want to understand their Bibles better in order to know God better and grow spiritually.
The new term just began here at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary (CTS) and the biggest class is Principles of Biblical Interpretation (หลักการตีความหมายพระคัมภีร์). Last year, this course only attracted 5-6 students but this year, the class is overflowing with 40 students. That’s a huge increase! Both Thai church leaders and everyday church members want to learn how to better read, understand, and interpret God’s Word.
Professor Thanit teaches a course at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary
Besides formal training like seminary courses, there are also multiple informal or semi-formal training seminars and workshops on Biblical interpretation, teaching, and preaching that happen in Thailand. For example, over the last several years the Langham Partnership has been working alongside local Thai pastors, professors, and missionaries to run preaching workshops and preaching clubs to help both full-time and lay preachers to develop their ability to understand and teach the Word of God. These initiatives are supported by the Thai-language publication of materials such as Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” (อ่านพระคัมภีร์อย่างไรให้คุ้มค่า) and several booklets in the “Pray, Prepare, Preach” series. These books and more are available from Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers Thailand).
Praise God for theological seminaries, churches, and parachurch organizations in Thailand that are teaching Thai Christians to read and interpret the Bible. Pray for groups like Chiang Mai Theological Seminary, the Langham Partnership, and numerous churches and schools that are faithfully teaching God’s Word and are responding to the desire of Thai Christians to know God’s Word, and to rightly understand and teach it. Like many places around the world, poor handling of God’s Word and Gospel-lite preaching are common in Thailand. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s pray.
