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Communication Strategies for Christian Witness Among the Lowland Lao Informed by Worldview Themes in Khwan Rituals

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Communication Strategies for Christian Witness Among the Lowland Lao Informed by Worldview Themes in Khwan Rituals COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR CHRISTIAN WITNESS AMONG THE LOWLAND LAO INFORMED BY WORLDVIEW THEMES IN KHWAN RITUALS By Stephen K. Bailey A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of World Mission And Institute of Church Growth FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Intercultural Studies May 2002 ABSTRACT Bailey, Stephen K. 2002 “Communication Strategies for Christian Witness Among the Lowland Lao Informed by Worldview Themes in Khwan Rituals.” Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission. Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies. 441 pp. Protestant missionaries have been communicating the gospel among lowland Lao people for more than one hundred years with discouraging results. This research was undertaken with the purpose of understanding Lao worldview in order to suggest more effective strategies of communication for Christian witness in Laos. The study of Lao worldview was approached through an analysis of khwan rituals. Khwan rituals are among the most important and commonly practiced Lao rituals. In Part I the theoretical assumptions brought to the interpretation of khwan rituals and Lao worldview are explained. It pays special attention to the theory of hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur. Relevance theory is used alongside of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics to help explain how meaning is constructed in communication. Part II analyzes the social context of Lao society and considers the field data on khwan rituals using a structural approach. Following Ricoeur, my interpretation of these rituals moves past the structural viewpoint to a more historically situated interpretation. Part III presents a description of Lao worldview themes making extensive use of Mary Douglas’ grid and group theory. I suggest that the structure of Lao society reflects a hierarchical cosmology. The strategies for communicating the gospel among the Lao are iii intended to flow within Lao society’s high group and high grid social dynamics. I suggest that by communicating within these social dynamics, Lao people will better understand the intention of the gospel. I understand the intention of the gospel is to bring people into covenant relationships with God and others. This intention directly addresses the Lao concern for social relationships. Christians must communicate the intention of the gospel by engaging Lao people in covenant relationships that look to the cross and the kingdom of God in order for Christ to be incarnated in Laos. Mentor: R. Daniel Shaw 291 words iv Dedication To my wife Jacqui v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deep appreciation to R. Daniel Shaw, my mentor, for his guidance and encouragement throughout my study program at the School of World Mission. His insight kept me on track and his enthusiasm for learning kept me moving forward. In particular I am in his debt for the application of relevance theory to the task of communicating the gospel cross-culturally. I must also express my thanks to Charles H. Kraft. When I first read his book Christianity in Culture (1979), I was in seminary. It came as a breath of fresh air that I desperately needed. My interest in the dynamics of communicating the gospel began with that reading. It has been a great honor to have him serve on my doctoral committee. There are so many Lao and expatriate friends in Laos to thank. Several people gave hours of their time sharing their feelings and knowledge about the calling of the essence of life, or what the Lao call khwan. Unfortunately, because of the persecution of Christians in Laos, I am unable to mention them by name. I am so grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to have lived a significant portion of my life in Laos. David Andrianoff and Bruce Lockhart read a draft of the dissertation and provided valuable feedback. Laura Hollister, Carol Sippy, Sharon Lacanilao, and Judi Brodeen helped to prepare the manuscript. I could never have done this without their help. I want to express my deep appreciation to World Vision and the Christian and vi Missionary Alliance (C&MA) for their support of my doctoral studies. My special thanks to David Fitzstevens and Phil Skellie for their encouragement and support. I, of course, take responsibility for any errors or weaknesses that this dissertation may contain. I am so grateful to my wife, Jacqui. She read all my tutorials, as well as each draft of this dissertation, and listened to me think out loud about my research long after it stopped being interesting. Finally, I am grateful to God for godly parents, Helen Elizabeth Frye Bailey and the late Dr. Richard Weber Bailey, who discipled me in Christian faith. It was my father who encouraged me to do doctoral studies long before I thought seriously about it. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................iii DEDICATION......................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.....................................................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................. xv LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................xvii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................. xix CHARACTER CHART: TRANSLITERATION OF LAO CHARACTERS.................. xxi MAP OF LAOS AND REGION .......................................................................................xxiii PART I FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES.................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................... 3 Intentions for This Dissertation.................................................................................. 8 Purpose ............................................................................................................ 8 Objectives........................................................................................................ 9 Problem Statement.......................................................................................... 9 Research Questions......................................................................................... 9 Definitions ................................................................................................................. 10 Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 13 Limitations................................................................................................................. 17 Assumptions .............................................................................................................. 19 Target Audience ........................................................................................................ 22 Methodology.............................................................................................................. 23 Chronology of the Research Process........................................................... 23 Field Research Methodology ....................................................................... 28 Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 29 Theoretical Issues ......................................................................................... 30 Analysis of the Data on Khwan Rituals....................................................... 32 Findings......................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 2 INTERPRETATION THEORY................................................................... 35 Paul Ricoeur: Reading Culture................................................................................. 38 viii Sense and Reference .....................................................................................38 Metaphors and Symbols in Language..........................................................43 Explanation and Understanding ...................................................................46 Clifford Geertz: Writing Culture ..............................................................................51 Summary of Ricoeur and Geertz ..............................................................................54 Mary Douglas: Two Social Dimensions ..................................................................56 Ritual Studies.............................................................................................................63 Roy Rappaport: Ritual and Religion Make Humanity................................63 Victor Turner: Interpreting Ritual Symbols ................................................66 Worldview Theory.....................................................................................................71 Historical Overview......................................................................................71 Personality and Culture ....................................................................73 Linguistics and
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