The Malaysian Bible Controversy Matters
On Sunday we had a visitor at church in Bangkok. When I was chatting with her after the service, I asked if she was a Christian (note: we get lots of non-Christian visitors and we are grateful for that). She said, "I'm Thai." This was her way of saying, "No, I'm not Christian, I'm Buddhist."
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of Thai Christians, despite the fact that Thailand has a pretty good respect for religious freedom, there is still a very strong sense in certain circles that to be truly Thai is to be Buddhist.
In Malaysia many people believe that to be Malay is to be Muslim. It's a much stronger and legally enforced connection than it is in Thailand. In Thailand it's about social pressure, in Malaysia there are legal issues. But religion, the choice to be religious or not. The choice of which religion to follow or how closely to follow is a fundamental human right.
That's why the Malaysian government's game play with regard to religious freedom is so disturbing.
The latest example is that 30,000 Bibles are being held hostage by the same Malaysian Government that claims to support religious freedom. Not only is the government not supporting religious freedom but they are lying about it. They are not even allowing free access to the Scriptures of Christianity.
To make matters worse, the government promotes itself as multicultural utopia. Malaysia has been running advertisements for years that I see on local TV here in Bangkok proclaiming their national diversity. I have visited Malaysia a few times and the parts of the country I have seen have been charming. And part of the charm is the diversity and apparent harmony that exists. You see people of a wide-variety of cultures and faiths mixing freely in the public arena. But apparently just beneath the surface lies discomfort.
Why would the government object to the Christians scriptures being available in the Malay language?
Why would they see fit to lie about it? (The government has claimed that the 30,000 Bibles are not being held at port. They claim that no one has tried to pick them up. That's insulting and it's easy to understand why the Christians are upset.)
Does the government think Malay people are such weak muslims that if Christian Scriptures are available in their language there will be mass conversion?
Bringing in Bibles translated into one of the dominate language of the country is not some sort of disrespectful proselytizing. It is not standing on a street corner and proclaiming the end is near. It is simply making the Christian Scriptures available to anyone who is curious in a language they can understand. It's hard to imagine a good reason for any government to limit the ability of Christians to do that.
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of Thai Christians, despite the fact that Thailand has a pretty good respect for religious freedom, there is still a very strong sense in certain circles that to be truly Thai is to be Buddhist.
In Malaysia many people believe that to be Malay is to be Muslim. It's a much stronger and legally enforced connection than it is in Thailand. In Thailand it's about social pressure, in Malaysia there are legal issues. But religion, the choice to be religious or not. The choice of which religion to follow or how closely to follow is a fundamental human right.
That's why the Malaysian government's game play with regard to religious freedom is so disturbing.
The latest example is that 30,000 Bibles are being held hostage by the same Malaysian Government that claims to support religious freedom. Not only is the government not supporting religious freedom but they are lying about it. They are not even allowing free access to the Scriptures of Christianity.
To make matters worse, the government promotes itself as multicultural utopia. Malaysia has been running advertisements for years that I see on local TV here in Bangkok proclaiming their national diversity. I have visited Malaysia a few times and the parts of the country I have seen have been charming. And part of the charm is the diversity and apparent harmony that exists. You see people of a wide-variety of cultures and faiths mixing freely in the public arena. But apparently just beneath the surface lies discomfort.
Why would the government object to the Christians scriptures being available in the Malay language?
Why would they see fit to lie about it? (The government has claimed that the 30,000 Bibles are not being held at port. They claim that no one has tried to pick them up. That's insulting and it's easy to understand why the Christians are upset.)
Does the government think Malay people are such weak muslims that if Christian Scriptures are available in their language there will be mass conversion?
Bringing in Bibles translated into one of the dominate language of the country is not some sort of disrespectful proselytizing. It is not standing on a street corner and proclaiming the end is near. It is simply making the Christian Scriptures available to anyone who is curious in a language they can understand. It's hard to imagine a good reason for any government to limit the ability of Christians to do that.
