what do you think of this?
The New York Times ran a story on September 26 that provides incredible evidence that there is within the human heart a yearning to be born again. In “For a Fee, a Thai Temple Offers a Head Start on Rebirth,” reporter Seth Mydans tells of a Buddhist temple that “offers, for a small fee, an opportunity to die, rise up again newborn and make a fresh start in life.”
As the paper reports:
Nine big pink coffins dominate the grand hall of the temple, and every day hundreds of people take their turns climbing in for a few moments as monks chant a dirge. Then, at a command, the visitors clamber out again cleansed — they believe — of the past.
It is a renewal for our times, as recent economic hardship brings uncertainty and people try seeking a bailout on life. In growing numbers, they come here from around Thailand to join what has become an assembly line of resurrection.
The photographs are gripping. Individuals line up to enter coffins, assume a burial posture, and lie briefly under a shroud. Then, they arise and, in some cases, even take on new names. These so-called “funerals for the living” are attracting so much attention in Thailand that a movie, “The Coffin,” is now in Thai cinemas.
Posted on October 2, 2008, in Church Business, Daily Word. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
Robin Steele 
seems like a mock baptism to me. what do you think?
Pastor, I agree. These poor people are traveling from all over to die a false death. They walk out of that temple the same way they came. I remember the night I went down in a watery grave. I did not have to pay anyone a fee. I was supernaturaly changed. It was such a change, I knew I could never go back to the way I was before. It was joy unspeakable.
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
I agree Will.
Maybe we could get there address and invite them to PSM to show them how God would change there life Forever. Show them his loveand the best part is its FEE FREE!!!
🙂
Bishop Phillips used to say: ” for every fake, there is a genuine article.” Unfortunately, millions of people have not found the genuine new birth and are so desperate they grab for straws like this. Last night’s mission service was right on.
When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong.
Romans 2:14 (The Message Bible)
This story reminded me of this passage in Romans. Something inside them echos that they need a rebirth. It is woven into thier fabric…it is in thier DNA.
Seeing this post reminds me of my not too distant past. In my life I came to the realization that I was carrying a lot of baggage with me where ever I went. So it got to be at one point that after I did something that my conscience could not bury, I would go pop into a Catholic church, partake in communion and leave with a sense that I had done something to die in a sense to my faults. I was feeling fresh and new upon leaving the parking lot. This newness only lasted about the day, until dusk and deeds would soon set in again. These people we see here will continue to get in and out of the box of life. Until one day when they are climbing in they have not the strength to climb out again. At this point there will be two hands reaching out to them. One will be the hand will be of our Adversary, openly beholding answers of ease, and freedom of the moment. The other, the Hand of our Savior, scarred by iron, and stained from the blood that attaineth life, attesting to the penalty of sin that bringeth death. It is at this very moment, when their life hinges on eternity. It is at this instant, that we need to be there. For you see, we are called to be the hand of Christ. I assure you that if we are not there, the former will be….
I know, I am speaking to myself here, as usual, but it is just a different take on the picture.
I love that Joshua.