On the Road to Myanmar
David May, Professor of New Testament

A unique opportunity for me this summer is to teach a New Testament elective course, “The Johannine Writings: John and Revelation,” at the Myanmar Institute of Theology from July 13 to 31. I typically tell students that as they enter into the world of the New Testament they must be “considerate” travelers. The first-century world of the Bible is distant from ours in geography, values, customs, and rituals. I have heeded my own advice and begun preparing myself to be a considerate traveler/teacher in the country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

As a bibliophile versus a googlophile, I have immersed myself in reading books about Myanmar as a first step. I typically begin with a general overview that can be found in popular travel books such as the Lonely Planet Myanmar. This book provides for the basic survey of the land, people, and especially cities. The most recent edition is the 10^th edition which was published just in May 2009. However, for a deeper sense of the country, the must read book for understanding Burma is The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma (2006) by Thant Myint-U. The author, a grandson of U Thant who was a former United Nations General Secretary (1961-71), provides a historical overview of Burma’s history. It is a history that provides insights into the foundations of Burmese society and culture. It also documents the continuing perseverance of citizens who have experienced in a relatively short period of time, rule by a king, colonial domination, democracy, civil war, and a harsh military dictatorship. 

While the focus of The River of Lost Footsteps is mainly on the political history of Burma, the author does provide a few windows onto the religious life of Burma. The major religious tradition in Burma is Buddhism. Only about six percent of the population is Christian. Out of this number about 500,000 are Christians from the Karen tribe and belong to the Baptist tradition.

I have found it helpful, especially knowing early I was traveling to Burma, to create a file into which I gathered articles and information. In that file I had a paper by Dr. Simon Pau Khan En entitled “Understand Christian Mission: Myanmar Experience.” Dr. En presented this paper to the faculty of Central Seminary in 2008. His paper presented a wonderful analysis on the obstacles Christians experience in the context of Burma.  I also reread the Baptist Peacemaker from November-December 2008 which focused around the theme of “Baptists and Burma.” 

While I enjoy reading informational types of resources for understanding Burma, I also like reading narrative literature that often provides unique angles of insight. Being an English minor in college, one of my favorite authors was George Orwell, the pen name for Eric Arthur Blair. Most individuals are familiar with his books Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). Yet most people do not know that he spent five years (1922-27) in Burma working for the Indian Imperial police. He wrote the book Burmese Days (1934), a fictional account of the waning days of British colonialism in Burma. This book is one I plan on reading during the 25 + hours of travel time it will take to get to Burma.

No amount of reading, however, can ever truly prepare a person for the geography, people, and world of Burma. Only a personal and intimate experience of being in the country and visiting with individuals can provide insight into this marvelous country. And while I am going over to teach, I realize I will be the one being taught from this experience.

Enjoy more reflections from Dr. May on his blog.  He will blog every day during the July trip.