MMN June Mag 2026 Online - Flipbook - Page 9
intertwined. For many of the families we serve, life is lived under the
heavy weight of a karmic worldview. This perspec琀椀ve suggests a
direct connec琀椀on between moralis琀椀c cause and e昀昀ect, leading many
to believe that an individual is personally culpable for their current
sta琀椀on in life, whether incurred in
this life or one previous.
Erin
Consider the story of Erin, a single
mother of two pre-teen girls. Her
younger daughter was born with
cerebral palsy, facing signi昀椀cant
cogni琀椀ve and health challenges. In
her community, Erin’s interac琀椀ons
were characterised by a painful
mixture of pity and judgment. She
faced snide comments, dismissiveness, and whispers behind her back
on a regular basis. Because she was
descended from local hill tribe people, she was already viewed as an
outsider; combined with the s琀椀gma of her daughter’s disability, she
was condemned to a life of ostracisa琀椀on and s琀椀gma. The prevailing
cultural logic suggested that either
she or her daughter must have
commi琀琀ed grave wrongs in a past
life to be “punished” with such a
condi琀椀on.
This sense of shame and aliena琀椀on is a familiar struggle for those
working with families a昀昀ected by
disability in Southeast Asia. It is
di昀케cult to express the weight of
the emo琀椀onal baggage that comes
with being told that you are to
blame for your own su昀昀ering, and
that you are simply ge琀�ng what
you deserve. And yet, history has
proven 琀椀me and 琀椀me again that it
is through dark and desperate condi琀椀ons, like this, that the hope of
the gospel 昀椀nds fer琀椀le soil to take
root.
Christianity
Chris琀椀anity has been present and
safe from persecu琀椀on in Thailand
for well over 150 years, during
which 琀椀me missionaries have been
free to share their faith, conduct
ministry, and gather for worship as
they pleased, and yet the Chris琀椀an
popula琀椀on a昀琀er all that 琀椀me remains less than 2%. This suggests
that tradi琀椀onal strategies have
failed to communicate the gospel
e昀昀ec琀椀vely within the Thai context.
Two major contribu琀椀ng factors to
this widespread resistance in Thailand is the percep琀椀on of Chris琀椀anity being “western” (foreign) as
well as the apparent similari琀椀es
between the two religions from a
karmic perspec琀椀ve.
Karmic religions are primarily
works-based and heavily emphasise the importance of moral tenants in one’s life to achieve spiritual
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