CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM CLTP 6
DFO November 1993
Great Men and Women of God - Part 2: Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)
(Suggested reading for age 9 and up)
(A glossary has been provided on page 20 for the words marked with an asterisk*.)
(Christian Leadership Training Program publications are circulated free of charge on a strictly non-profit basis.)
CONTENTS:
Adoniram Judson
2
Baptists' Early History
7
Burma (Myanmar)
8
Statistics
9
Life in Prison
11
Judson's Accomplishments
19
Pubs References
19
Glossary
20
ADONIRAM JUDSON
1. Associated for a time with Carey and particularly with his son Felix were Adoniram and Nancy Judson, who arrived in India in 1812. The Judsons, along with six other young missionaries, had come from the United States, and they held the distinction of being America's first foreign missionaries. Like so many missionaries before them, these Americans discovered the East India Company to be an unyielding barrier to missionary work, and they were forced to leave India. After months of complications and delays, the Judsons, separated from their colleagues, arrived in Burma, where they would spend the rest of their lives under extreme hardship and privation in an effort to bring the Gospel to the people of that closed and uninviting land.
2. Adoniram Judson was born in Massachusetts in 1788, the son of a Congregational minister. Judson was a very precocious* boy. When only three years of age he learned to read under the tutelage* of his mother while his father was absent on a journey. How great was the father's astonishment and delight upon his return, to hear his young son read to him a Chapter from the Bible.
3. He grew up in a devout Christian home. His father, a Congregational minister, cherished the fond hope that his son would follow in his footsteps. But Adoniram was enamoured* of his own brilliance and could not think of wasting his superb talents in so dull a calling as the ministry. Having vanquished* all rivals in intellectual contests, he graduated at nineteen from Providence College in Massachusetts (now Brown University) as valedictorian*.
4. He entertained the most extravagant ambitions and his imagination ran wild as he contemplated his future eminence*. He pictured himself as an orator, greater than Demosthenes*, swaying the multitudes with his eloquence; as a second Homer*, writing immortal poems; as a second Alexander the Great, weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer.
5. Judson was not only inordinately* ambitious, he was also openly atheistic. It was during the early years of the nineteenth century, while Judson was in college, that anti-Christ philosophies swept over the country. Providence College did not escape the contaminations of this vile flood of scepticism.
6. In the class just above that of Judson was a young man by the name of Jacob Eames, who was exceptionally gifted, witty and clever, and an outspoken atheist. He espoused* Deism*, a doctrine anathema* to the conservative Congregationalism in which he had been raised. Eames' views made a strong impact on young Judson, who was no longer intellectually satisfied with the faith of his father. An intimate friendship developed between these two brilliant young men, with the result that Judson also became a bold exponent* of infidelity*, to the extreme mortification* of his father and mother. When his father sought to argue with him, he quickly demonstrated his intellectual superiority, but he had no answer to his mother's tears and solemn warnings.
***
Discussion Questions
1) Judson grew up in a Christian home. His father was a minister. He began reading the Bible when he was very young. His father hoped that Adoniram would be a minister also. In spite of all this, he fell away from the faith of his father and mother. Why do you think this might have happened? (Paragraphs 2-6)
a) Judson was very intellectual. It's possible that when he studied the Bible when he was young, the Words never got past his mind to reach his heart.
b) It could be that since he was so smart and had been honoured as valedictorian, he became too proud to accept the simplicity of the Gospel.
c) He was extremely ambitious. He had a tremendous desire to be "great" in a worldly way.
d) It seems he had quite a high opinion of his own "brilliance". The text says that he "could not think of wasting his superb talents on so dull a calling as the ministry."
e) He also suffered negative peer pressure from the flood of scepticism that swept through his college.
f) Maybe his father's sample was too letter of the law.
g) Possibly all of the above.
2) What effect on Judson's life did his relationship with his worldly intellectual friend, Jacob Eames, have? (Paragraph 6)
***
7. After graduation, Judson returned to his home town, where he opened an academy and published two textbooks; but he was unhappy. Disregarding his parents' pleas, he set out to see the World, heading for New York City where he hoped to become a playwright. He joined a band of minstrels and lived, as he himself related later, "a wild, reckless life."
8. But Judson's stay in New York was short and unfulfilling. After a matter of weeks he was on his way back to New England, dejected and frustrated about his future. He was heading for nowhere in particular when he stopped one evening at a country inn. Apologetically, the landlord explained that, only one room being vacant, he would be obliged to put him next door to a young man who was extremely ill; in fact, probably dying.
9. "I'll take the room," said Judson. "Death has no terrors for me. You see, I'm an atheist."
10. Judson retired, but sleep eluded* him. The partition was very thin and for long hours he listened to the groans of the dying man--groans of agony, groans of despair. "The poor fellow is evidently dying in terror. I suppose I should go to his assistance, but what could I say that would help him?" thought Judson to himself; and he shivered at the very thought of going into the presence of the dying man. He felt a blush of shame steal over him. What would his former unbelieving companions think if they knew of his weakness? Above all, what would witty, brilliant Eames say, if he knew? As he tried to compose himself, the dreadful cries from the next room continued. He pulled the blankets over his head, but still he heard the awful sounds--and shuddered! Finally, all became quiet in the next room. At dawn, having had no sleep, he rose and inquired of the innkeeper concerning his fellow lodger.
11. "He is dead!"
12. "Dead!" replied Judson. "And do you know who he was?"
13. "Yes," the innkeeper answered, "he was a graduate of Providence College, a young fellow named Eames."
14. Judson was overwhelmed by the news that the young man who died the previous night in the adjoining room in evident terror of death was his college friend Eames, who had led him into infidelity. For many hours the words "Dead! Lost! Lost!" kept ringing in his ears. There was now just one place that beckoned him. Turning his horse around, he went home and begged his father and mother to help him find a faith that would stand the test of life and of death, of time and eternity.
15. The brilliant young sceptic realised at last what he needed: A faith for the testing of life! A faith for the emergency of death! A faith for time and eternity!
16. It was a time for soul-searching. When Adoniram arrived home in September of 1808, his father was one of several ministers involved in establishing a new seminary at Andover that, unlike Harvard and the other New England divinity schools*, would stand on the orthodox tenets of the faith. With the encouragement of his father and the other ministers, Adoniram agreed to continue his search for truth at this new seminary. He was admitted as a special student, making no profession of faith. At this time of acute spiritual struggle, when his mind was filled with the dark clouds of infidelity and his soul enveloped with the black darkness of sin, he turned to the Word of God. Before long his heart was cleansed, his mind illumined* and his soul enraptured* by the incoming tide of the Love of Christ. After only a few months he made a "solemn dedication" of himself to God. Henceforth Ephesians 3:17-19 was his great text and the Love of Christ was his theme. He was magnificently captivated by the Love of Christ.
17. Soon after his dedication, Judson read a printed copy of a stirring missionary message given by a British minister. Also, as a student at Andover Seminary, Judson heard and read of the work that William Carey and his associates were opening up in India. This influenced him to give serious consideration to the question of foreign missions. His first conclusion was that surely the Love of Christ, which had so marvellously banished the darkness from his own soul, was meant for all Mankind. By day he was haunted by the vision of vast nations bound and dying in the dark prison house of sin. By night he spent long, sleepless hours contemplating the awful condition of teeming multitudes beyond the sea sinking into Christless graves. But it was not easy to find and accept his place in the divine programme. There was a terrific struggle in his soul between his worldly ambitions and the claims of the Love of Christ.
18. Then one fateful day he went out into the woods and knelt down, praying: "More than all else, I long to please Thee, my Lord. What wilt Thou have me to do?" As he prayed, he felt the presence of Jesus close beside him and heard His voice saying, "Go to the uttermost parts and preach the Gospel of My Love. I send you forth, like Paul, as a witness to distant nations." And, also like Paul, he rose up determined not to be disobedient to his Lord's commission.
***
Discussion Questions
3) What was it about Jacob Eames' death that spoke to Adoniram? And what major changes came about in his life as a result? (Paragraphs 8-16)
4) What did Judson need to experience or have before he could be a sold-out disciple for Jesus? (Paragraphs 2-16)
5) If you were personal witnessing to a worldly, intellectual student who wasn't receiving or satisfied with the Truth of the Bible, how could you use the true story of Adoniram Judson's conversion to help you reach that student's heart?
6) Please discuss how Judson's life is a fulfilment of the verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Pro.22:6).
7) How did the published words of the British minister and the reports of Carey's work affect Adoniram? (Paragraph 17)
8) Even after finding Jesus and the Truth, Adoniram had a hard time giving up his worldly ambitions.
a) What happened that finally convinced Adoniram of the Lord's Will?
b) The Word teaches us that in order to find the Will of the Lord you have to have no will of your own. How did Judson fulfil this requirement before the Lord showed him what to do with his life?
c) Have you ever experienced such a time of great decision when you had to surrender your own will before the Lord could reveal His Will? Please discuss. (Paragraphs 17 and 18)
***
19. Judson vowed that he would be the first American foreign missionary. Andover Seminary was not a beehive of missionary zeal, but there were other students who were sympathetic, including Samuel Mills from Williams College who had been the ringleader of the "Haystack Prayer Meeting" some years before. This outdoor prayer meeting, an unplanned event, was a landmark in American foreign missions. A group of missionary-minded Williams College students, known as the Society of the Brethren, were in the habit of meeting outside for prayer. Caught in a thunderstorm one afternoon, they took shelter under a nearby haystack. It was there under that haystack that they pledged themselves to missionary service. Mills, having since transferred to Andover, was a strong supporter of Judson and the other Andover students who were interested in missions. He went on to become a great missionary statesman*, though he never served overseas as a missionary.
20. The heightened concern for missions among this small group of Andover students led to the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, commonly referred to as the American Board. Though there was a great deal of enthusiasm, the American Board got off to a bumpy start. Paralysed by lack of finances, the commissioners sent Judson to England in hopes of obtaining funds through the London Missionary Society. While the directors of the LMS were willing to sponsor American missionaries, they were clearly not willing to finance them under the American Board. Judson was prepared to offer himself and his colleagues to the LMS, but then word came of a sizable inheritance received by the American Board, and he returned home.
21. Before he had gone to England, Judson had "commenced an acquaintanceship" with Ann Hasseltine, better known as Nancy. Nancy, like Adoniram, had undergone a life-changing religious conversion that turned the flighty wayward teenager into a serious but vivacious* adult. Unlike Dorothy Carey, Nancy was burdened for the unevangelised and insisted that her going to India was not because of "an attachment to an earthly object," meaning Adoniram, but because of "obligation to God ... with a full conviction of it being a call...." In February of 1812, she and Adoniram were married, and thirteen days later they set sail for India, arriving in Calcutta in mid-June.
22. For Adoniram and Nancy, the long sea voyage was more than an extended honeymoon. They spent many hours in Bible study--particularly searching out the true meaning of baptism, a subject which had been weighing heavily on Adoniram's mind. The more he studied the more convinced he became that the Congregational view of infant baptism by sprinkling was wrong. Nancy at first was upset with his new ideas, arguing that the issue was not crucial and stating that even if he became a Baptist she would not. After a thorough investigation, however, she became convinced of believers' baptism by immersion of believers old enough to make the decision, and after arriving in India Adoniram and Nancy were both baptised by William Ward of Serampore. This was a serious decision. They could no longer expect support from the churches that sent them out. Would the Baptists of the United States, at that time a very feeble people, rise up to their support?
23. When word reached the United States that the Judsons as well as Luther Rice (one of the six other missionaries commissioned to India by the American Board) had moved into the Baptist camp, there was an uproar among the Congregationalists. How could their star missionary desert them after all they had invested in him? The Baptists, however, were elated, and they quickly moved to form their own missionary society and underwrite his support.
24. The Judsons' stay in India was short-lived. They were no match for the powerful East India Company. They were quickly ordered out of India by the East India Company, on the expectation that the missionaries would interfere with its nefarious* trading practices. Unable to remain in India, they sailed to the Isle of France off the coast of East Africa; but when their prospects for missionary work there seemed dim, they returned to India, landing at Madras. They were en route to Penang off the Malay Peninsula where they hoped they could conduct missionary work. Again the East India Company ordered them to leave the country immediately, else they would be deported back to England and to America. But with no vessel sailing for Penang, and once again under threat of deportation, the Judsons boarded a ship sailing for Burma. Interestingly, Burma had originally been Adoniram's first choice for a mission field, until he heard frightening reports of brutal treatment meted out to foreigners. For three weeks they were tossed about by a fierce monsoon in the Bay of Bengal.
25. The Judsons' arrival in Rangoon was a depressing time for them. Nancy had undergone a stillbirth on the voyage and had to be carried off the ship to their new land. Before them lay a squalid*, unspeakably filthy village, whose uncivilised life had been utterly untouched and unsoftened by western influence. Unlike India, Burma had no European community, and there was no caste system. The people appeared rather independent and free, in spite of the cruel tyrannical regime that ruled them. Poverty was everywhere. The narrow, filthy streets of Rangoon were lined with run-down huts, and there was a sense of oppression behind the happy smiles that greeted them.
26. The night was made terrible by the cries of the dogs and pigs, fighting for the garbage littered throughout the village. "That night," said Judson in a letter written soon thereafter, "we have marked as the most gloomy and distressing we have ever passed." Instead of rejoicing that at last they had reached a heathen land where they might stay and proclaim the Gospel, they found consolation, he writes, "only in looking beyond our pilgrimage, which we hoped would be short, to that peaceful region where the weary are at rest." Speedy death, either from disease or at the hands of Burma's notoriously cruel officials, seemed to stare them in the face and they were sorely tempted to return to America, concluding that God had shut the door in their face. But as they prayed through the long vigils of the night, the voice of the Lord comforted them, saying, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God" (Isa.41:10). Assured that their blessed Lord was with them and that their commission was still binding, they determined to go forward, whatever the cost, soothed and sustained by the constraints of Divine Love. They were:
Assured of their Lord's presence!
Comforted by His promise!
Made strong in His Love!
***
Discussion Questions
9) Do you think Nancy was a good companion and co-worker for Judson? Why? (Paragraph 21)
10) The Judsons were first sponsored by the Congregationalist American Board. However, right as they were to begin their missionary work, they converted to another Christian denomination--the Baptists. They did this because they came to share in the Baptists' belief that a believer makes his own choice about being baptised and that they should be baptised by being completely submerged in water, rather than by simply sprinkling babies with water as the Congregational Church did. The Judsons' change of belief in this one doctrine meant that they no longer had the support of the Congregationalists' American Board, but they did get the support of the Baptist Missionary Society. (Paragraphs 22 and 23) We have learned that water baptism isn't necessary--neither the sprinkling of babies nor submersion of believers old enough to make the decision.--And it probably didn't make much difference to the Lord whether the Judsons believed in sprinkling or submersion of believers old enough to make the decision. But there must have been some good reason why the Lord allowed Judson to change his beliefs on that subject. Can you name any possible reasons why the Lord might have done that?
a) The Judsons then began to work with William Carey, who was a Baptist. Had the Judsons arrived as missionaries sponsored by the American Board, with different views and doctrines, they might not have worked together as well or even at all.
b) Maybe the Lord also used the public testimony of baptism by submersion when Judson won converts. Seeing adults being completely "submerged" in a lake or pond or whatever would probably draw quite a crowd, and the person being baptised would be making a public statement about his new faith. In the early days of the Family, the Lord used public baptism of converted hippies at a beach or a lake to draw a crowd.
c) Possibly both of the above.
11) Why did the Judsons go to the apparently hostile country of Burma? (Paragraphs 1 and 24)
12) When the Judsons saw the living conditions in Rangoon and the state of the Burmese people they got so discouraged they were tempted to quit. What gave them the strength to carry on? (Paragraphs 25 and 26)
***
27. The Judsons were not the first Protestant missionaries in Burma. Others had come and gone, but only Felix Carey (William Carey's oldest son) and his wife remained; and they left soon after the Judsons arrived, when Felix was offered a position by the Burmese government (to which his father had sadly commented, "Felix is shrivelled from a missionary into an ambassador"). Later on Felix returned to India to work with his father and ably assist in the mission work there.
28. At last, two years after they had sailed from America, Adoniram and Nancy were finally able to establish their own missionary work. They had the large Baptist mission house in Rangoon to themselves, and there they spent up to twelve hours a day studying the difficult Burmese language. Nancy, through her daily contacts with Burmese women, caught on to the spoken tongue quickly; but Adoniram struggled laboriously with the written language, a continual sequence of letters with no punctuation or capitals, and no divisions between words, sentences, or paragraphs.
29. The language was not the only barrier standing between the Judsons and the Burmese people. They discovered that the Burmese had no concept of an eternal God Who personally cared about Mankind, and their first attempts to share the Gospel were discouraging: "You cannot imagine how very difficult it is to give them any idea of the true God and the way of Salvation by Christ, since their present ideas of deity are so very low." Buddhism was the religion of Burma, a religion of ritual and idol worship: "It is now two thousand years since Gaudama (Gautama), their last deity, entered into his state of perfection (state of nirvana--a state of complete happiness and peace; to achieve nirvana, people have to free themselves from all desires and worldly things); and though he now ceases to exist, they still worship a hair of his head, which is enshrined in an enormous pagoda*, to which Burmans go every eighth day."
30. The Judsons' status as the only Protestant missionaries in Burma was brief. Not long after they moved into the spacious mission house, they made room for George and Phoebe Hough and their children. Hough, a printer, came with his press and type and soon was printing portions of Scripture that Adoniram had slowly been translating.
31. Within two years, two more families arrived, but death, disease, and early departures kept the mission force small.
32. Burma was a discouraging field for the cultivation of Christianity. Every seedling of progress, it seemed, was beaten down before it could take root. At times there were encouraging signs of interest, but then the inquiries would suddenly drop off as rumours of official crackdowns surfaced. Toleration of the missionaries fluctuated from one extreme to another with the continual turnover of viceroys* in Rangoon. When the Judsons were in favour at the court, they were free to propagate* the Gospel, and the Burmese responded to the relaxed controls; but when they were out of favour, they laid low, spending their time at the mission house in translation work.
33. Judson's passion and prayer was to lead individuals to know Christ in His transforming power and to live to see one hundred converts. With great tact and consuming zeal, he preached by the roadside and dealt with inquirers. Years went by without a single convert, but he refused to be discouraged. When a member of the Mission Board in America wrote, deploring the lack of results, and inquired concerning the prospects, this intrepid* ambassador of Christ replied, "The prospects are as bright as the promises of God!" There were many disappointments, but six years of unwearied effort and fervent supplication were finally rewarded.
34. From their early days in Rangoon, the Judsons were unhappy with the out-of-the-way location of the mission house. They were in Burma to minister to the people, and they wanted the people to have easy access to them. For a short while they moved out of the mission house and lived among the teeming population of the city, but a fire ravaged through their section and drove them back to the secluded mission house. But they were not satisfied. They wanted to mingle with the people and reach them on their own level. How could this be accomplished in a culture so vastly different from their own? A zayat provided the ideal solution.
35. A zayat was a shelter open to anyone who wanted to rest or to discuss the day's events, or to listen to Buddhist lay teachers who often stopped by. It was a place to relax and forget the pressures of the day, and there were many such shelters in Rangoon. Judson was convinced that such a building would put him in touch with the people, but he was hampered in his plans by lack of finances. Finally, in 1819, five years after arriving in Burma, he was able to secure a reasonably priced piece of property not far from the mission house on the Pagoda Road, a well-travelled thoroughfare, and he and Nancy began building their zayat (a twenty-by-twenty-foot hut with a wide veranda, all elevated on poles several feet off the ground). But merely constructing a zayat was not enough. Adoniram and Nancy wanted the Burmese people to feel at ease, so they attended a religious service at a nearby zayat to familiarise themselves with seating patterns and other cultural peculiarities. They understood clearly that they were not opening a New England meetinghouse, but rather a Burmese zayat.
36. The concept worked. Almost immediately visitors, who would never have come to the mission house, began stopping by. Though Adoniram found little time for his translation work, he was excited about this new phase of his ministry. In May of 1819, only a month after the zayat opened, Maung Nau made a profession of faith in Christ at a Sunday service in the zayat packed with Burmese people.
37. Adoniram's journal, under the date of June 27, 1819, gives the thrilling record. "We proceeded," he says, "to a large pond, the bank of which is graced with an enormous image of Buddha, and there administered baptism to Maung Nau, the first Burman convert. Oh, may it prove the beginning of a series of baptisms in the Burman empire, which shall continue in uninterrupted succession to the end of time!" Slowly the little Burmese church in Rangoon grew, and by the summer of 1820 there were ten faithful baptised members. From the beginning, the Burmese converts took an active role in evangelism: One woman opened a school in her house, a young man became an assistant pastor, and others distributed tracts. The work went forward, even when the Judsons were gone.
38. Judson frequently went on extended preaching trips to villages scattered through the jungles. As Lower Burma is a delta region with innumerable streams, he usually travelled by boat. While living at Amherst, he became exceedingly burdened for the Salvation of his boatman. He frequently went to the man's house to converse with him on his favourite theme, the Love of Christ, but as soon as Judson left, the man and his wife would scrub the bamboo house to remove the contaminations caused by contact with the foreigner.
39. As they travelled by boat from village to village, Judson had many hours in which to enlighten his unwilling listener concerning his soul's need and to tell him of the Redeemer's Love. When a trip was completed and the man asked for his wages, Judson would say, "Come to the service Sunday morning and I will pay you." Greatly impressed by the missionary's life and passionate concern on his behalf, the man eventually came to appreciate and to appropriate "the riches of love in Christ Jesus." And so it was that the formerly depraved* and stony-hearted boatman became not only a Christian, but also a very zealous evangelist among his own people.
40. The desperate need of a perishing people was matched by the Love of Christ blazing in the soul of Adoniram Judson. In a letter pleading for missionary reinforcements, he speaks of "the sin of turning a deaf ear to the plaintive cry of millions of immortal beings, who, by their darkness and misery, cry, day and night, 'Come to our rescue, ye bright sons and daughters of America. Come and save us, for we are sinking into hell!'"
41. Next to official harassment, tropical fever was the greatest setback to the work in Burma. Both Adoniram and Nancy suffered frequently from bouts of fever that endangered their very lives. Death, they discovered, was always a very real threat. Baby Roger, born to them the year after they settled in Rangoon, filled their hearts with joy for six months before he suddenly succumbed to fever. In 1820 they left Rangoon for several months to seek medical care for Nancy in Calcutta. Then in 1822 Nancy parted with Adoniram for an extended sick leave that took her to England and back to the United States. While Nancy was away, Adoniram buried himself in his translation work, completing the New Testament in less than a year.
42. In the meantime, his situation had drastically changed. Dr. Jonathan Price, a medical missionary working with Adoniram, was ordered to appear before the emperor at Ava, several weeks' journey up river. Adoniram's fluency in the Burmese language obligated him to accompany Price on this important meeting, so he reluctantly packed his belongings for the journey. For a time the two missionaries enjoyed the favour of the royal court, but by early 1824 the political situation in Burma began to look ominous. Nancy had returned from the United States, and she joined Adoniram in Ava; but their reunion was brief. War broke out between Burma and England, and all foreigners were suspected of being spies. Both Adoniram and Price were arrested and confined in a death prison, where they awaited execution.
43. Adoniram's suffering affected Nancy as much as, or more than, it did him. Daily she sought out officials, explaining to them that, as an American citizen, Adoniram had nothing to do with the British government. Sometimes her pleas and bribes were heeded and Adoniram was given temporary relief, but more often than not she felt helpless to do anything about her husband languishing in prison. Shortly after Adoniram's imprisonment, she discovered she was pregnant. The only bright spots during the months that followed were the visits she was allowed to have with Adoniram through bribing officials and guards. Her visits stopped for a time, but then on February 15, 1825, eight months after Adoniram had been arrested, she came carrying a small bundle--baby Maria, less than three weeks old.
***
Discussion Questions
13) We learn that William Carey's son Felix had been a missionary in Burma also, but had left his missionary work to take a position with the Burmese government. William Carey's, reaction to that change of profession was: "Felix is shrivelled from a missionary into an ambassador." Explain in your own words what he meant by that. (Paragraph 27)
14) Felix Carey later returned to India to work with his father and assist in the missionary work. (Paragraph 27) What do you think are some possible reasons why he would have returned to missionary work?
a) He found greater satisfaction in helping people spiritually.
b) He got a better perspective on the true values of life.
c) His father was probably really praying for him to return to his work for the Lord.
d) He found out being in the System wasn't all he had expected it to be.
e) Possibly all of the above.
15) The Judsons found it very difficult to witness to and convert the Burmese people due to their religion of Buddhism. (Paragraph 29) Can you think of a Letter that Grandpa wrote that gives us good counsel about how to witness to Buddhists? What are the main points of that Letter? ("Give'm Jesus!" ML#2401)
a) Don't attack their religion.
b) They don't have to abandon Buddhist traditions and ceremonies.
c) We promote Jesus. Jesus is not a religion, He is a Person.
d) Get'm hooked on Jesus.
e) All of the above.
16) When the Judsons were in favour at the court (with the government) they were able to witness more openly. However, when there was a change in the government and there was unfavourable opinion against them, they had to lay low. What did the Judsons do during those times to redeem the time? (Paragraph 32)
17) What was the key to the Work taking off in Burma? In what way did the Judsons try to adapt their witnessing method to the customs of the local people? Discuss ways that you have "become one" with the local customs of the land where you live in order to be able to reach the people more effectively. (Paragraphs 34-36)
18) What does the testimony about the conversion of the boatman tell you about Judson? What was it about Judson that finally convinced the boatman to turn to Jesus? (Paragraphs 38 and 39)
19) Some of our own brethren have also been thrown in jail (not in Burma, TTL!) and suffered persecution and the Lord helped them endure that battle. What would you say are some of the most important things to do if you're in prison so you can stay in the victory and not get discouraged?
a) Pray, praise the Lord, and stay positive.
b) Read the Word (if you have a Bible or any Letters with you).
c) If you don't have your Bible or Letters with you, but you have access to paper and pencil, write down all the verses and quotes you can think of while they're still fresh in your memory.
d) Memorise and review verses.
e) Witness.
f) Sing songs.
g) All of the above.
***
44. The following May, with British troops marching toward Ava, the prisoners were suddenly removed from the prison house and forced on a death march (long, hard, gruelling march where many die of starvation and disease) to a location further north. Within days, Nancy, who had not heard about the transfer until after the fact, arrived at the new location, once again pleading her husband's case. But whatever she hoped to accomplish was soon obscured by baby Maria's and her own ill health. She became so sick that she could no longer nurse Maria, and only the mercy of the guards kept the baby alive. They allowed Adoniram to go out of the prison twice daily to carry the baby around the village to suckle from nursing mothers. Slowly mother and baby began to recover, but never would their health be fully restored.
45. Another of Judson's master passions was to translate the Bible into the Burmese language so that multitudes whom he would never see could read it and hear God's voice speaking directly to their own hearts. Having mastered the intricacies of this very difficult tongue, he spent long days, weary months and exhausting years in translation. It was while engaged in this pursuit, he was dragged away to languish in prison at Ava and Oung-PenLa. Ruffians were plundering every white man's house. What was to be done to preserve the precious manuscripts? What seemed to be a clever plan occurred to Nancy: She would hide the manuscripts in a pillow! Having done this, she brought the pillow to the prison and no one dreamed that the white man's head rested at night on the most precious of treasures--the Word of God.
46. Then came a crushing misfortune. Taking a fancy to the pillow, the jailer grabbed it and kept it as his own. Judson's spirit groaned within him. What an irreparable loss! But Nancy's ingenuity was not yet exhausted. Having made a prettier, nicer pillow, she brought it to the prison and Judson said to the jailer, "How would you like to exchange the old, soiled pillow for this bright new one?" The jailer readily agreed, wondering at the odd taste of the white man. Thus the precious manuscripts were recovered.
47. Many times, smitten down with disease and at death's door, Judson breathed out the prayer, "Lord, let me finish my work. Spare me long enough to put Thy saving Word into the hands of a perishing people." What a day of rejoicing it was years later when the Word of God came off the press with its stupendous invitation, "Whosoever will, let him take of the Water of Life freely."
48. Judson's concern to get the Gospel into the language of other tribes and nations was shared by his wife. Nancy was the first missionary to learn Siamese (Thai) and to translate a portion of Scripture, the Gospel of Matthew, into that tongue.
49. Finally, in November of 1825, after nearly one and a half years of prison confinement, Adoniram was released to help interpret peace negotiations with the British. While working on the negotiations, the Judsons spent a short time with the British officials, and for the first time in nearly two years they were able to enjoy themselves. To her brother-in-law Nancy wrote, "No persons on Earth were ever happier than we were during the fortnight we passed at the English camp." It was the last time of relaxation they would have together. They returned to Rangoon for a short time and then went to Amherst, where Nancy stayed alone with Maria while Adoniram returned to help wind up the negotiations. The weeks dragged into months, and before he was able to return he received a letter with a black seal. Nancy, his beloved companion, had died of fever. A few months later baby Maria also died.
50. Judson's immediate reaction to Nancy's death was to drown his sorrows in work. For more than a year he kept up a hectic pace of translation work and evangelism, but his heart was not in his labours. Beneath the surface was a pressure of guilt and grief that had to be released. He could not forgive himself for not being with Nancy when she needed him most, and he could not rid himself of the overwhelming sorrow that only seemed to grow more intense. As the depression increased, his output decreased. He began meditating for long periods and avoided any social contact with others. He even stopped eating with the other missionaries at the mission house. Finally, about two years after Nancy's death, he withdrew completely from fellowship with others and went into the jungle, where he built himself a hut and lived as a recluse. He went so far as to dig a grave where he kept vigil for days on end, filling his mind with morbid thoughts of death. Spiritual desolation engulfed him: "God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in Him, but I find Him not."
51. Fortunately, Judson's mental breakdown did not last indefinitely (as Dorothy Carey's had). There were no psychiatrists, there was no psychoanalysis*, and there was no group therapy*. There was, however, a tremendous outpouring of love and prayer both by his colleagues and by the native converts. But more important, there was a solid foundation to his faith that was able to endure even the most trying times of doubt. Slowly, he recovered from the paralysing depression, and as he did he acquired a new depth of spirituality that intensified his ministry. He began travelling around in Burma, helping other missionaries at their outposts. Everywhere he went, the response was the same--throngs of inquirers, converts, and signs of spiritual growth. He sensed a new spirit of interest "through the whole length and breadth of the land." It was an awesome feeling: "I sometimes feel alarmed like a person who sees a mighty engine beginning to move, over which he knows he has no control."
52. In the year 1828 an event of vast significance took place. Having come in contact with the Karens, a race of wild people living in remote and almost inaccessible jungles, Judson longed for the opportunity of winning a Karen for Christ and thus reaching all the Karen people in Burma. This opportunity came to him through Ko Tha Byu, a Karen slave who was sold one day in the bazaar in Moulmein and bought by a native Christian, who forthwith brought him to Judson to be taught and, if possible, evangelised. Ko Tha Byu was a desperate robber bandit. He had taken part in approximately thirty murders and was a hardened criminal with a vicious nature and an ungovernable temper. Patiently, prayerfully, lovingly, Judson instructed the wretched, depraved creature, who eventually not only yielded to the transforming power of Christ, but went through the jungles as a flaming evangelist among his people. The hearts of the Karens were remarkably and providentially prepared for the reception of the Gospel message by a tradition prevalent among them to this effect:
53. "Long, long ago the Karen elder brother and his young white brother lived close together. God gave each of them a Book of Gold containing all they needed for their Salvation, success and happiness. The Karen brother neglected and lost his Book of Gold and so he fell into a wretched type of existence, ignorant and cruelly oppressed by the Burmese. The white brother, however, prized his Golden Book, or Book of God, and so, when he sailed away across the oceans, God greatly blessed him. Some day the white brother will return, bringing with him God's Book, which, if the Karen people will receive and obey, will bring to them Salvation and untold blessings."
***
Discussion Questions
20) Discuss how the guards showed mercy to Adoniram and Nancy in allowing him to take their baby to other nursing mothers. What opinion do you think the guards had of the Judsons? What does this example teach you about how the Lord is able to supply your needs? (Paragraph 44)
21) How did Nancy outwit* the jailor and recover the precious manuscripts in the pillow? What does that testimony tell you about the Judsons and what they valued in life? (Paragraphs 45-48)
22) (From the "Life in Prison":) What conviction helped Nancy Judson endure all her sufferings? How was her attitude a good example of believing "though He slay me yet will I trust Him?"
23) How did God use Adoniram's knowledge of the language to help him? (Paragraph 49)
24) Do you think Adoniram Judson was actually to blame for Nancy's and the baby's deaths? If not, then explain why he had this terrible battle with guilt and grief. (Paragraph 50)
25) What truths can we cling to in the face of the death of loved ones?
26) How do you react to the fact that this man who was so used by God could fall into such a serious time of doubt and depression? (Paragraphs 50 and 51)
27) Have you ever felt really down and discouraged in your walk with the Lord? What did you do to pull yourself out of that battle? Please discuss.
28) Why do you think the Enemy uses his biggest attacks of discouragement on those of us who are serving the Lord?
a) He's trying to get us to quit.
b) He's trying to get us to doubt God's Word or make us think that the Lord doesn't love us and doesn't answer our prayers.
c) He's trying to distract us or get us to waste time.
d) All of the above.
29) What does Grandpa say you should do when you feel the Enemy is attacking you with doubts and discouragement?
a) Read the Word.
b) Rebuke the Devil.
c) Sing, quote Scriptures, praise the Lord.
d) Get busy with someone else's problems.
e) Ask for prayer.
f) All of the above.
30) If you could go back in time to counsel and encourage Adoniram during this time of tremendous testing when he wanted to give up and become a recluse, what would you share with him?
31) What did Judson's friends do when he was going through this big battle? Did it help? (Paragraph 51)
32) Can you see how Romans 8:28 applies to this time of terrible "paralysing depression" and the change that came about in Judson's life as a result? (Paragraph 51)
33) How was the conversion of Ko Tha Byu a good example of the fact that "you can never be too bad for Jesus"? (Paragraphs 52)
34) Please discuss how Judson's treatment of Ko Tha Byu was a good example of a missionary. (Paragraph 52)
35) Isn't the tradition of the Book of Gold in the Karen's society interesting! How do you think that story might have come about? (Paragraphs 52 and 53)
a) Maybe the Karens heard a true story of some missionaries and the Bible, but as the story passed from person to person by word of mouth it was slowly changed until it was no longer exactly the truth. It had evolved into a legend.
b) Maybe someone, like one of their old wise men, had a dream in which the Lord was showing him that story--instructing him and preparing the Karens to receive the Truth.
Can you think of any other possible explanations?
***
54. Accordingly, as Ko Tha Byu went on his unwearying preaching tours through the jungles, declaring that the long-looked-for white brother had returned with God's Book, hundreds received the message with gladness.
55. When a depraved slave, a bandit and murderer, was brought to Judson in 1828, who would have imagined that, a century later, the Christian Karens alone would have many splendid high schools, hundreds of village schools, some 800 self-supporting churches and a Christian constituency* of more than 150,000?
56. Being a missionary meant to Judson just one thing: To join with Christ in a supreme endeavour "to seek and to save the lost." He was a tireless seeker of souls and the theme of his message never varied. The following entry from his diary is typical: "March 11, Lord's day. Again took the main river. Soon came upon a boat full of men. Their chief, an elderly man, stated that he had already heard much of the Gospel.... We went to the shore and spent several hours very delightfully, under the shade of the overhanging trees and the banner of the Love of Jesus.... The old man went on his way, rejoicing aloud and declaring his resolution to make known the eternal God and the Love of Jesus, all along the banks of the Yoon-za-len, his native stream."
57. As exhilarating as Judson's itinerant* ministry was, he knew that there was an even greater job to be done--completing the Burmese Bible. It would take more than a snatch of time here and there between travels; it would take total concentration, and that meant setting aside two years and keeping up a pace of translating between twenty-five and thirty Old Testament verses each day from the original Hebrew into Burmese--two enormously complex languages. Judson met his goal of completing the initial translation, but there were years of less concentrated revision work ahead of him. It was not until 1840, fourteen years after Nancy's death, that he sent the last page of his Burmese Bible to the printer.
58. In the meantime, Judson had been concentrating on more than his revisions! In 1834, at the age of forty-six, he married Sarah Boardman, a thirty-year-old widow, who had gallantly stayed on in missionary work after her husband had died three years earlier. They were well-suited for each other. During the first ten years of their marriage she gave birth to eight children. But the harsh living conditions, coupled with having so many children so quickly, greatly weakened Sarah. In 1845, the year after her last child was born, while en route to the United States on medical leave, she died.
59. Judson and three of their children had accompanied Sarah, and the tragedy that had befallen them deeply saddened what would have been a joyous reunion with family and friends. It had been thirty-three years since Judson had last seen his native land, and what tremendous changes he found. He could not help being impressed by the country towns and fishing wharves that had turned into great cities and seaports, but the land of his childhood was forever gone. He hardly recognised the once familiar New England countryside. But the thirty-three years of progress were not all that prevented him from quietly returning to his boyhood haunts to assuage* his grief. He suddenly found himself a celebrity. Everybody, it seemed, wanted to see and hear this man whose name had become a household word and whose missionary work had become a legend. Though he disdained publicity, Judson nevertheless accommodated* his enthusiastic supporters and began a tiring circuit of speaking engagements. The people, however, were disappointed with their hero. They wanted to hear exciting stories about exotic people and customs, but all he preached was the Gospel, and they felt they had heard that before.
60. During his travels, Judson was introduced to Emily Chubbock, a young author of popular fiction written under the pseudonym* Fanny Forrester. Judson was delighted with her lively writing style, but he was astounded that such brilliant talent of a professing Christian (and a Baptist at that) would be wasted on secular endeavours. His suggestion that Emily write a biography of Sarah was enthusiastically received, and their friendship quickly blossomed. He proposed marriage in January of 1846, less than a month after their first meeting.
61. The decision to marry Emily was a controversial one. She had contemplated missionary work when she was younger, and there was no reason to believe that she could not be a faithful wife to Judson and a valuable asset to the missionary effort in Burma. But Judson was a venerated saint of Protestant America, and as such the expectations of him were inordinately high. Marrying a secular author still in her twenties, and only half his age, was not the proper thing to do, so said the American public. But the barrage of criticism only seemed to make their commitment deeper, and in June of 1846 they were married.
62. The following month they sailed for Burma, leaving the three children in care of two different families--never to see their father again. There were more children who had been left behind in Burma, who would never know the mother who had suckled them in infancy. The Judson saga, as much as any missionary story, illustrates the sacrifice that missionary work has brought to families--the trial of separation. Nevertheless, the Lord compensated and the children weathered these ordeals. Of Judson's five children by Sarah who grew to adulthood, two became ministers, one a physician, another a headmistress of an academy, and another served in the Union Army until he was disabled in battle.
63. In November of 1846 Judson and his new bride arrived in Burma. Emily had fared the voyage well and was ready to fill Sarah's shoes to the best of her ability. She became a mother to Judson's little ones (only two of whom had survived to greet them), and she enthusiastically plunged into language study and missionary work, never forgetting her talent for writing. Through her pen came some graphic pictures of the stark reality of missionary life. She was bothered by the "thousands and thousands of bats," but most of the other little creatures she took in stride: "We are blessed with our full share of cockroaches, beetles, lizards, rats, ants, mosquitoes, and bed-bugs. With the last the woodwork is all alive, and the ants troop over the house in great droves.... Perhaps twenty have crossed my paper since I have been writing. Only one cockroach has paid me a visit, but the neglect of these gentlemen has been fully made up by a company of black bugs about the size of the end of your finger--nameless adventurers."
64. Adoniram and Emily served three years together in Burma. The birth of a baby girl brought happiness to them, but much of the time was marred by illness. In the spring of 1850, with Emily soon expecting another child, Adoniram, who was seriously ill, left on a sea voyage, hoping to recover. Less than a week later, he died and was buried at sea. Ten days later Emily underwent a stillbirth, and not until August did she hear of her husband's death. The following January she, along with little Emily and Judson's two young sons, sailed for Boston to make a home for the children in the United States; but her own health was broken, and three years later she died at the age of thirty-six.
65. By the mercy of God, Judson lived not only to translate the entire Bible into the Burmese tongue, but also to see thousands pass from darkness and death to light and Eternal Life. At the time of his death there were sixty-three churches and seven thousand converts. "In achieving these triumphs," writes Dr. Boreham, "Judson constantly adhered to his favourite theme--the Love of Christ." He seemed convinced that the whole World could be converted if only each individual could be persuaded that there was a place for him in the Divine Love.
66. During the last days and weeks of his earthly life, he frequently referred to "the Love of Christ," his favourite theme, his chief inspiration. As his eyes kindled and the tears chased each other down his cheeks, he would smilingly exclaim, "Oh, the Love of Christ! The wondrous Love of Christ! The blessed efficacy* of the Love of Christ!" One day he said, "I have had such views of the loving condescension* of Christ and the glories of Heaven, as I believe are seldom granted to mortal men. Oh, the Love of Christ! It is the secret of life's inspiration and the source of Heaven's bliss. Oh, the Love of Jesus! We cannot understand it now, but what a beautiful study for eternity!"
The Love of Christ!
The efficacy of the Love of Christ!
The secret of life's inspiration!
The source of Heaven's bliss!
A study for eternity!
Oh, the wondrous Love of Christ!
67. Shortly before his departure to receive "a victor's crown," he expressed pleasure at the prospect of being buried at sea. It afforded, he said, a sense of freedom and expansion, in agreeable contrast with the dark and narrow confines of the grave. The vast blue ocean, to which his body was committed a few days later, seemed to Adoniram Judson a beautiful symbol of the Love of Christ--
Boundless in its breadth,
infinite in its length,
unfathomable in its depth,
and measureless in its height.
(When a man died at sea, he was wrapped in his hammock [used for beds by sailors] and accompanied by a service, his body was committed to the deep sea.)
68. In death, as in life, Ephesians 3:17-19 was uppermost in Judson's mind. The Love of Christ cleansed his polluted heart, lifted up his ambitions, glorified his tribulations, animated all his undertakings and transformed the Valley of Shadows into the bursting dawn of eternal day.
***
Discussion Questions
36) Reread paragraph 56. In this text and in many other places, it's plain to see that Judson had a tremendous love for souls. This love is what motivated him and he tirelessly witnessed to the lost people of Burma. Do you sometimes feel that you need more love for lost souls? If so, what do you think you can do to have more love?
a) Fall in love with Jesus.
b) Ask the Lord to help you to see and feel what people go through who don't know Jesus.
c) When you go witnessing, really listen to people, try to feel what they're feeling. Let your heart be broken for them.
d) Sing songs about the harvest so plenteous.
e) Share testimonies when you come home from witnessing.
f) When you watch the news or documentaries about World conditions or the traumatic experiences people have, think about how difficult it must be to face such things without the Lord, the Word or the Family.
g) Pray for more love for the lost.
h) Pray for people you see to know Jesus, whether rich or poor, happy or unhappy.
i) All of the above.
37) Judson had to give up his field ministry and go back to a desk job, where he laboured for years to translate and revise the Burmese Bible.
a) Would you have a hard time giving up the joy of fellowship, going places, and doing things in order to work at a desk on a task that may take years to complete and that you can only believe by faith will ultimately be longer-lasting and a greater blessing to more people than you personally could have reached? Explain.
b) What do you think gave Judson the strength to keep pressing in on his work? (Paragraph 57)
38) After ten years of marriage, Judson's second wife, Sarah, went to be with the Lord. Judson was deeply saddened by the loss. Discuss how fortunate and blessed we are in the Family to have precious loved ones to help us carry on our work for the Lord no matter what difficulties we may encounter.
39) In spite of his personal trials and heartache after Sarah's death, and although it was difficult at first, Adoniram nevertheless got busy witnessing and testifying and preaching the Gospel. Have you ever been in the dumps, but after going out witnessing and pouring out and making others happy, you got the victory? Talk about it.
40) When Judson attended speaking engagements he didn't tell stories about exotic people and their customs, he just preached the Gospel. This didn't seem to please his audiences much, because they had already heard the Gospel. They were disappointed, because he was a celebrity and his missionary work was a legend by then. But why do you think Judson only preached the Gospel and wasn't more accommodating to his audiences' desires to hear stories and testimonies? (Paragraph 59)
a) Maybe he felt an "exotic travelogue" wouldn't help them, but learning about the Love of Jesus would?
b) He had just suffered the loss of his wife. Having come face-to-face with death, maybe he was all the more convinced of the urgency for everyone to get saved.
c) He probably knew that he'd never speak to those people again, so he wanted to be sure to deliver his soul and give them the message they needed the most.
d) The text said he "disdained publicity." Maybe he just didn't like speaking to crowds like that. Maybe he just didn't want the people to go away thinking of him as great or publicising him, but rather going away remembering only the Gospel.
e) Maybe all of the above.
41) On the other hand, however, it is possible for a returning missionary to visit his home field and tell exciting stories of his missionary field and preach the Gospel at the same time. In fact, not only is it possible and what the people on the home fields expect, but it is what returning missionaries should do. What are the advantages when visiting home fields of telling exciting stories of your missionary exploits as you also preach the Gospel?
a) Sharing specific stories and testimonies gives the home folks the vision for what you're doing.
b) Most people love to listen to exciting, true-life experiences, so your audience would probably daydream less and listen more attentively if you spiced up your Gospel message with exciting, touching or eye-opening testimonies.
c) Specific stories make your need for support much clearer and touch people's hearts to give more.
d) Hearing testimonies from someone who has actually been a missionary can convict and encourage others to also give their lives to the Lord and become missionaries too.
e) Probably all of the above.
42) Judson only lived another three-and-a-half years after returning to Burma with his new wife, Emily. Discuss the possibility that the Lord's plan may have been for him to stay in the U.S., promoting his missionary work and raising support for his fellow missionaries of Burma by way of speaking engagements and creative use of Emily's writing talents.
43) The Judsons' children spent many years separated from their parents. Some children were left in the care of families in the States and some were left in Burma. While this was difficult for the children, does it seem that it was good for them or at least the Lord used it as a Romans 8:28 situation? (Hint: See how five of his children turned out.) (Paragraph 62)
44) Judging from the story of Judson's life, what evidence is there of his great love for lost souls? Explain in your own words what "the love of Christ constraineth me" means in relation to Judson's life.
45) What were Judson's two master passions? Did he live to see them realised? (Paragraphs 33 and 45)
***
BAPTISTS' EARLY HISTORY
The earliest Baptist leader was John Smyth, a clergyman in the Church of England. About 1607, Smyth went to the Netherlands with those English exiles who later became the Pilgrims of New England. While in the Netherlands, Smyth and 36 of the exiles formed a Baptist church. Differences of opinion developed within the church, and 11 members of the new congregation broke away. These members returned to England to form a church there in 1611. However, major Baptist growth did not occur in England until the Puritan revolution.
Except for the issue of baptism and a strong defense of freedom of conscience, there was little to distinguish early Baptists from Congregationalists. All the Congregationalists feared the authority of bishops and synods (councils) and strongly declared the rights of lay people and local congregations to govern themselves. Most Baptists accepted as their doctrine a slightly modified Westminster Confession of Faith formulated by the Puritans in the 1640s.
William Carey, an English Baptist who went to India in 1793, was one of the first English-speaking Christian missionaries. American Baptists joined the foreign missionary movement in 1812 when Adoniram Judson went to Burma, and missionaries later went to Europe and Latin America. Most countries today have at least a small Baptist community.
BURMA (MYANMAR)
BRITISH CONQUEST AND RULE. The last Burman kingdom was founded by Alanugpaya, a Burman leader, after the rebellion of the Mon tribe. Three wars with the British--triggered by Burmese resistance to Great Britain's commercial and territorial ambitions--led to the kingdom's collapse. The first war was fought from 1824 to 1826, the second in 1852, and the third in 1885. In these wars, the British gradually conquered all Burma.
After the third war with Britain, Burma became a province of India, which the British ruled. Under British control, Burma's population and economy grew rapidly. But educated Burmese called for Burma's separation from India and eventual independence. The Burmese protests led Britain to set up a legislature in the 1920s that gave
the people a small role in the government.
CLIMATE OF BURMA. Most of Burma has a tropical climate. Temperatures in Mandalay, in central Burma, average 68 degrees F. (20 degrees C) in January and 85 degrees F. (29 degrees C) in July. Temperatures in Rangoon, on the delta, average 77 degrees F. (25 degrees C) in January and 80 degrees F. (27 degrees C) in July. Burma has three seasons: (1) rainy, (2) cool and (3) hot.
The rainy season, during which Burma receives nearly all its rain, lasts from late May to October. Rainfall varies greatly in each region of the country. For example, the Mandalay area receives only about 30 inches (76 centimetres) of rain a year. However, the Tenasserim Coast is drenched with more than 200 inches (510 centimetres). The heavy rainfall is brought by seasonal winds called monsoons, which sweep northeastward from the Indian Ocean.
The cool season lasts from late October to mid-February. Temperatures are lowest at this time, though the climate remains tropical throughout most of Burma.
The hot season lasts from late February to about mid-May. During this season, temperatures often top 100 degrees F. (38 degrees C) in many parts of Burma.
Statistics:
Area: 678,000 sq. kilometres. Isolated from India, China & Thailand by a ring of mountains.
Population: 36,900,000. Annual growth 2.2%. People per sq. km. 54
Peoples: Bhama: 65.1% & related Mogh (Arakanese) 5%. The dominant people.
Ethnic minorities (with their own states within the Union): 24.1%. Karen 4,000,000; Shan 2,660,000; Kachin 860,000; Mon 720,000; Chin 720,000; Kayah 190,000.
Other ethnic minorities: 2.2%
Immigrant minorities: 3.6%. Chinese 750,000; Bangladeshi/Indian 300,000.
Literacy: 78%.
Official language: Burmese.
All languages: 90.
Bible translations: 12 Bibles, 10 New Testaments, 16 portions
Capital: Rangoon, 2,674,000.
Other major city: Mandalay 725,000.
Urbanisation: 30%
Economy: Very poor due to years of unrest, inefficient socialism & isolationist policies of the government. Huge illegal trade in opium breeds corruption at every level in the country. Some economic relaxations since 1980. Income/person $180 (1% of U.S.A.). Inflation 9.2%.
Politics: The country has known very little peace since the Japanese invasion in 1942. There has been much unrest & war since independence, with constant ethnic & political revolts. Burma has been a one-party socialist republic since a 1962 military coup & has suffered almost total isolation of its people & economy from international contacts.
Religion: There is freedom of religion. Buddhism is no longer the state religion, but it has great influence in governmental affairs.
Buddhist 87%. Mixed with animist* practices.
Animist 2%. Many Buddhists are more animist than Buddhist
Muslim 3.6%. Bengali & Arakanese
Hindu .9%. Indian.
Christian 5.9%. 95% from animistic & 5% from Buddhist background. Of this 5.9%, Roman Catholics make up 1.2% (442,000) & Protestants make up 4.7% (1,730,000).
Protestant denominations: 43
Missionaries from within Burma: approximately 1,000.
Background of the Church in Burma:
Burma is a divided & troubled land, with private armies fighting for ethnic independence, Communism & the protection of the lucrative opium trade. Over the last few years the central government has given Christian workers & missionaries greater freedom to witness--as a bulwark against Communism.
Missions have done a good work, especially the Baptist work pioneered by Adoniram Judson from 1813 onwards. So when the government expelled all Protestant & most Roman Catholic missionaries in 1966 (375 left the land), the Church was able to make the many painful adjustments speedily & carry on the ministry. Since that time, most believers have been isolated from contacts with Christians outside the country.
The churches have continued to grow steadily at nearly 4% per year. Many young people have been converted in the churches & through various evangelical groups. The most remarkable growth has taken place among the tribal groups, & now the majority of the Kachin, Rawang, Lisu, Lahu, Lushai, 60% of the Chin, & 26% of the Karen are Christian.
Some of the challenges facing the church in Burma: Lethargy among 3rd & 4th generation Christians; most Christians are from minority groups that are embroiled in military actions against the central government; economic hardship is so great that many Christians in the "Golden Triangle" area are tempted to grow opium; there is a shortage of Bibles & all forms of Christian literature in Burmese & minority languages because of strict import restrictions; there is nothing of God's Word in 57 of the Burma languages.
The missionary burden of the native Christians has been thrilling. Right through the mountain areas missionaries have evangelised in one of Asia's most dramatic missionary outreaches. Teams of young people & pastors have made evangelistic tours in very difficult & dangerous conditions. There are now at least 1,000 Burmese missionaries.
Family's Statistics in Burma
(Estimated as of October 1991)
Missionary Journeys
35
Total No. of Missionaries Sent
45
Full-time National Missionaries Won
11
Pages Gospel Lit Distributed
200,000
Souls Won
2,500
***
Life in Prison!
Now Judson, as ill-luck would have it, had been drawing his money by orders on Bengal, through the British resident in Ava. This convinced the Burmese that he must be a spy, not that it made much difference--soon after he arrived there all Europeans in Ava except Mrs. Judson were summarily arrested. She was pregnant, yet at great risk devoted herself to helping the prisoners. Life in the "death prison" was appalling. The missionaries were confined with common criminals in a filthy, vermin-infested*, dark, dank* prison house, with fetters* binding their ankles. At night the Spotted Faces (prison guards whose face and chest were branded for being one-time criminals themselves) hoisted* the ankle fetters to a pole suspended* from the ceiling, until only their heads and shoulders rested on the ground. By morning the weary prisoners were numb and stiff, but the daytime offered them little relief. Each day executions were carried out and the prisoners never knew who would be next.
Adoniram Judson lingered long months in the "death prison", where captive foreigners had been crammed in a hundred to a room. He survived because Mrs. Judson, bribed & cajoled* his captors, bringing in food, smuggling medicine to sick prisoners, even managing to hide Judson's precious Biblical translations for him in a pillow.
The jailers in the "death prison" had themselves been common convicts. The prison governor, nicknamed Tiger Cat, a convicted & branded murderer, was cruel & ruthless but took Mrs. Judson's bribes, & that saved Judson's life.
The rains ended in October, but the British were stuck fast in the mud of Rangoon. Then on 15 December they defeated Bandula in a pitched fight outside the city, & advanced up the river Irrawaddy to Prome. This plunged the Burmese from over-confidence into superstitious gloom.
The European prisoners were tied up with a thin cord, & dragged barefoot across eight miles of sand & gravel to a place where it was rumoured that they were to be burned alive. Having been bound in prison for most of a year without exercise, the prisoners were unprepared for the arduous* pace under the scorching sun, and some did not make it alive. Adoniram's blistered feet were soon raw and bleeding. Each step was excruciating* torture. As they marched, they crossed over a bridge that spanned a dry rocky river bed, & Adoniram Judson admitted later that he "ardently longed to throw himself into the river bed to be free of misery. But the sin attached to such an act alone prevented." It would have been the easy way out, but he suppressed the temptation and kept on going, only to be confined once again in prison. His wife meanwhile had borne her third child, Maria.
While her father was being taken off to what all predicted would be his funeral pyre*, little Maria caught smallpox, & her mother went down, first with dysentery, then with spotted fever. As Mrs. Judson lay there, with shaven head & blistered feet, undergoing the desperate remedies of the time, the girl who looked after little Maria for her caught smallpox, too. What kept Mrs. Judson from "sinking under my accumulated sufferings," was, in her own words, "an assured conviction that every additional trial was ordered by love & mercy."
Suddenly, Adoniram Judson was released, his mind clear, but his nerves permanently shaken. He was led to the Burmese army camp, to act as adviser & interpreter, in their negotiations with the British.
Judson's Accomplishments
He read at the age of three years, took navigation lessons at ten, studied theology as a child, entered Providence College (now Brown University) at seventeen. He was "a veritable bookworm." His conversion not only saved his soul, it smashed his dreams of fame and honour for himself. His one pressing purpose became to "plan his life to please his Lord."
He mastered the Burmese language (possibly the most difficult language to acquire, except Chinese), writing and speaking it with the familiarity of a native and the elegance of a cultured scholar, and he also translated the Bible into Burmese.
There was not one known Christian in Burma, that land of millions. And there were no friends in that robber-infested, idolatry-infected, iniquity-filled land. And there were no converts. It was to be six, long, soul-crushing, heart-breaking years before the date of the first decision for Christ.
Except for a few months (when he returned to America after 34 years from his first sailing), Judson had spent 38 years in Burma. On April 12, 1850, at the age of 62, Judson died at sea. Although he had waited six years for his first convert, sometime after his death a government survey recorded 210,000 Christians, one out of every 58 Burmans! It was a partial fulfilment and a monument to the spirit and ministry of the man, who at Ava, the capital city, gazed at the temple of Buddha and challenged, "A voice mightier than mine, a still small voice, will ere long sweep away every vestige of thy dominion. The churches of Jesus Christ will soon supplant these idolatrous monuments and the chanting devotees of Buddha will die away before the Christians' hymns of praise."
***
For additional information about Burma, please check the following pubs:
BURMA (Family Pubs references)
HH 3 Pg.1617 Courses on Burma
Vol.15 Pg.78 God's Call to Burma! (ML #1821)
GN 152 All The "Burma" GN
GN 157 Pg.14 Adoniram Judson (Letter from Honey)
GN 269 All "In Karen Country" (Pictorial issue)
GN 332 Pg.4 World Currents!--No.36 ("Ne Win from Burma")
GN 344 Pg.3 World Currents!--No.38 ("Burma")
GN 483 Pg.8 World Currents!--No.58 ("Ne Win of Myanmar")
FSM 10 Pg.274 Burma Pioneer News!
FSM 11 Pg.32 To Burma with Love!
FSM 12 Pg.155 To Burma with Love!
FSM 12 Pg.156 News from Burma!
FSM 15 Pg.6 Burma's Calling!
FSM 17 Pg.48 The Call of Burma--For You?
FSM 27 Pg.3 Music Miracle in Burma
WND 221 Pg.7 Burma!
WND 249 Pg.3 9,000 students, supporters join Burmese rebel groups
WND 285 Pg.2 Burma to allow 14-day tourist visas
WND 342 Pg.2 Leading Burma warlord called top drug dealer
WND 346 Pg.7 Burma is now Myanmar
WND 357 Pg.2 Bumper crop (of opium in Burma)
WND 364 Pg.3 Burmese Strongman Denounces Critics
***
Glossary
Listed below are the meanings of specific words used throughout the previous pages. The meaning you will find is the one as it was used in the text, even though this might not be the most common meaning. Be sure to consult a dictionary if necessary.
accommodate -- oblige; adapt; make adjustment for
anathema -- a person or thing that is utterly detested or condemned; the act of denouncing and condemning some person or thing as evil
animist -- a person who believes that natural phenomena and inanimate things have souls
arduous -- strenuous; difficult; requiring much effort
cajole -- to persuade by pleasant words; flattery; coax
assuage -- to calm or sooth
condescension -- to come down willingly or graciously to a lower level of one's inferiors
constituency -- group of members or supporters
dank -- unpleasantly damp; moist; wet.
Deism -- the belief that God exists entirely apart from our World and does not influence the lives of human beings
Demosthenes -- a great Athenian orator
depraved -- having very bad morals; corrupt; perverted
divinity schools -- a school or college of theology
efficacy -- the power to produce the effect wanted; effectiveness
elude -- avoid; escape
eminence -- rank or position above all or most others; greatness; fame
enamoured -- in love with; very fond of
enraptured -- filled with great delight; moved
espoused -- to take up or make one's own; adopt
excruciating -- causing great suffering; torturing
exponent -- a person who argues for a policy, programme, etc.; advocate
fetters -- to bind; restrain; chain the feet
funeral pyre -- a pile of wood for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
Homer -- ancient Greek poet who wrote the epics "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey"
hoisted -- lifted up with ropes or pulleys
illumined -- (figurative) to enlighten; inspire
infidelity -- unbelief in Christianity; lack of religious faith
inordinately -- much too great; not kept within proper limits; excessive
intrepid -- dauntless; very brave; courageous
itinerant -- to travel from place to place, especially in connection with some employment or vocation
manacling -- to handcuff; putting on fetters for the hands
mortification -- a cause or source of shame; humiliation
nefarious -- very wicked, villainous
outwit -- to get the better of by being more intelligent; be too clever for
pariah -- a member of a low caste in southern India or Burma; social pariah--a social outcast
pagoda -- Buddist temple
precocious -- developed earlier than usual in knowledge skill or the like
propagate -- to increase in number or intensity; to multiply
pseudonym -- a name used by an author instead of his real name; a "pen name"
psychoanalysis -- the examination of a person's mind to discover the unconscious desires, fears, anxieties, or motivating forces which produce certain emotional and mental disorders
psychopath -- a person having a disorder of personality characterised by anti-social behaviour and indifference to morality
statesman -- a person skilled in managing the public affairs of a group
squalid -- very dirty; filthy
suspended -- to hang down by attaching to something above
therapy -- the treatment of diseases or disorders
tutelage -- under the guardianship of a tutor or teacher
valedictorian -- the student who gives the farewell address at the graduation of his class. The valedictorian is usually the student who ranks highest in his class.
vanquish -- defeat or overcome; conquer
vermin infested -- filled with troublesome small pests such as: lice, bedbugs, fleas, rats and mice
viceroy -- a person ruling a country, colony or province as the deputy of the sovereign
vivacious -- lively; sprightly; animated; cheerful