Missiological Missteps and the Need for Theological Education in Myanmar

Abstract

In the history of missions in Myanmar, a number of missiological practices and stratagems have failed to promote unity between different groups of converts and, in fact, have fostered or encouraged disunity among a people already predisposed toward isolationism. Tribal exclusivism, Western individualism, and denominational separatism have all served to extend and expand that gulf of identity, which already separates many people in Myanmar. Furthermore, a lack of proper theological education hinders unity, as a host of conflicting doctrinal systems collide among the local churches, resulting in congregants looking ever-increasingly inward for fellowship, seeking only those most similar to themselves.

Sociopolitical obstacles to Christian unity in Myanmar: A missiological appraisal

“…These are critical issues for missiology. In the history of Christian missions in Burma, there is even evidence that Western missionaries, at times, exacerbated the divisions between tribes, even if only by tacitly overlooking the reality of intertribal conflict (Curtis, 2018). This author has been directly involved in this dilemma: working in Myanmar with Christian leaders from different tribes, who were unwilling to study and/ or serve together, due to suspicions and concerns brought about solely by their tribal differences.…”