The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back from the dead
Noah's Dove
By Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
Read in Cambodian/Khmer language here: .PDF file
The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who
came back to life a changed man!
Story told by Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
My Early Years
Hello! My name is Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu. I am from the country of
Myanmar. I would like to share with you my testimony of what happened
to me, but first I would like to give some brief background
information from my life growing up.
I was born in 1958 in the town of Bogale, on the Irrawaddy Delta area
of southern Myanmar [formerly Burma]. My parents, who were devout
Buddhists like most people in Myanmar, named me Thitpin [which means
'tree' in English]. Our lives were very simple where I grew up. At the
age of 13 I left school and started working on a fishing boat. We
caught fish and sometimes also shrimp from the numerous rivers and
streams in the Irrawaddy area. At the age of 16 I became the leader of
the boat. At this time I lived in Upper Mainmahlagyon Island
[Mainmahlagyon means 'Beautiful Woman Island' in English], just north
of Bogale where I was born. This place is about 100 miles southwest of
Yangon [Rangoon], our nation's capitol city.
One day, when I was 17, we caught a large number of fish in our nets.
Because of the many fish, a large crocodile was attracted to us. It
followed our boat and tried to attack us. We were terrified so we
frantically rowed our boats toward the riverbank as fast as we could.
The crocodile followed us and smashed our boat with its tail. Although
no one died in this incident, the attack greatly affected my life. I
no longer wanted to fish. Our small boat sank because of the crocodile
attack. We had to go home to our village that night on a passenger
boat.
Not long after, his employers transferred my father to Yangon City
[formerly spelt Rangoon]. At the age of 18 I was sent to a Buddhist
monastery to be a novice monk. Most parents in Myanmar try to send
their son into a Buddhist monastery, at least for a time, as it is
considered a great honor to have a son serve in this way. We have been
observing this custom for many hundreds of years.
A Zealous Disciple of Buddha
When I turned 19 years and 3 months old (in 1977), I became a normal
monk. The senior monk at my monastery gave me a new Buddhist name,
which is the custom in our country. I was now called U Nata Pannita
Ashinthuriya. When we become a monk we no longer use the name given to
us at birth by our parents. The name of the monastery I lived at is
called Mandalay Kyaikasan Kyaing. The senior monk's name was called U
Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [U Zadila is his title]. He was the most
famous Buddhist monk in all of Myanmar at the time. Everyone knew who
he was. He was widely honored by the people and respected as a great
teacher. I say he "was" because in 1983 he suddenly died when he was
involved in a fatal car accident. His death shocked everyone. At the
time I had been a monk for six years.
I tried hard to be the best monk I could and to follow all the
precepts of Buddhism. At one stage I moved to a cemetery where I lived
and meditated continually. Some monks who really want to know the
truths of Buddha do things like I did. Some move deep into the forests
where they live a life of self-denial and poverty. I sought to deny my
selfish thoughts and desires, to escape from sickness and suffering
and to break free from the cycle of this world. At the cemetery I was
not afraid of ghosts. I tried to attain such inner peace and self-
realization that even when a mosquito landed on my arm I would let it
bite me instead of brushing it off!
For years I strived to be the best monk I could and not to harm any
living being. I studied the holy Buddhist teachings just like all my
forefathers had done before me. My life proceeded as a monk until I
got very, very sick. I was in Mandalay at the time and had to be taken
to the hospital for treatment. The doctors did some tests on me and
told me I had both Yellow Fever and malaria at the same time! After
about one month in the hospital I was getting worse. The doctors told
me there was no chance for me to recover and discharged me to make
arrangements to die.
This is a brief description of my past. I would now like to tell you
some of the remarkable things that happened to me after this time...
A Vision that Changed My Life Forever
After I was discharged from the hospital I went back to the monastery
where other monks cared for me. I grew weaker and weaker and was
lapsing into unconsciousness. I learned later that I actually died for
three days. My body decayed and stunk of death, and my heart stopped
beating. My body was prepared for cremation and was put through
traditional Buddhist purification rites.
Although I faded away in my body I remember my mind and spirit were
fully alert. I was in a very, very powerful storm. A tremendous wind
flattened the whole landscape until there were no trees or anything
else standing, just a flat plain. I walked very fast along this plain
for some time. There were no other people anywhere, I was all alone.
After some time I crossed a river. On the other side of the river I
saw a terrible, terrible lake of fire. In Buddhism we do not have a
concept of a place like this. At first I was confused and didn't know
it was hell until I saw Yama, the king of hell [Yama is the name
ascribed to the King of Hell in numerous cultures throughout Asia].
His face looked like the face of a lion, his body was like a lion, but
his legs were like a naga [serpent spirit]. He had a number of horns
on his head. His face was very fierce, and I was extremely afraid.
Trembling, I asked him his name. He replied, "I am the king of hell,
the Destroyer."
The terrible, terrible lake of fire
The king of hell told me to look into the lake of fire. I looked and I
saw the saffron colored robes that Buddhist monks wear in Myanmar. I
looked closer and saw the shaven head of a man. When I looked at the
man's face I saw it was U Zadila Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw [the famous monk
who had died in a car accident in 1983]. I asked the king of hell why
my former leader was confined to this lake of torment. I said, "Why is
he in this lake of fire? He was a very good teacher. He even had a
teaching tape called 'Are You a Man or a Dog?' which had helped
thousands of people understand that their worth as humans is far
greater than the animals." The king of hell replied, "Yes, he was a
good teacher but he did not believe in Jesus Christ. That's why he is
in hell."
I was told to look at another person who was in the fire. I saw a man
with very long hair wrapped on the left hand side of his head. He was
also wearing a robe. I asked the king of hell, "Who is this man?" He
replied, "This is the one you worship: Gautama [Buddha]." I was very
disturbed to see Gautama in hell. I protested, "Gautama had good
ethnics and good moral character, why is he suffering in this lake of
fire?" The king of hell answered me, "It doesn't matter how good he
was. He is in this place because he did not believe in the Eternal
God."
I then saw another man who looked like he was wearing a soldier's
uniform. He had a large wound on his chest. I asked, "Who is this
man?" The king of hell said, "This is Aung San, the revolutionary
leader of Myanmar." I was told, "Aung San is here because he
persecuted and killed Christians, but mostly because he didn't believe
in Jesus Christ." In Myanmar the people have a common saying,
"Soldiers never die, they live on." I was told that the legions of
hell have a saying "Soldiers never die, but they go to hell forever."
I looked and saw another man in the lake of fire. He was a very tall
man and he was dressed in military armor. He was also holding a sword
and a shield. This man had a wound on his forehead. This man was
taller than any person I have ever seen. He was six times the length
between a man's elbow and the tips of his fingers when he stretches
his arm out straight, plus one span of a man's fingers when he spreads
out his hand. The king of hell said, "This man's name is Goliath. He
is in hell because he blasphemed the Eternal God and His servant
David." I was confused because I didn't know who either Goliath or
David were. The king of hell said, "Goliath is recorded in the
Christian Bible. You don't know him now, but when you become a
Christian you will know who he is."
I was then taken to a place where I saw both rich and poor people
preparing to eat their evening meals. I asked, "Who cooked the food
for these people?" The king of hell replied, "The poor have to prepare
their own food, but the rich people get others to cook for them." When
the food had been prepared for the rich people they sat down to eat.
As soon as they started a thick smoke came up. The rich people ate as
fast as they could to ease their consciences. They were struggling to
breath because of the smoke. They had to eat fast because they were
fearful of losing their money. Their money is their god.
Another king of hell then came to me. I also saw a being whose job is
to stoke the fires beneath the lake of fire, to keep it hot. This
being asked me, "Are you going into the lake of fire too?" I replied,
"No! I am only here to observe!" The appearance of this creature
stoking the fire was very terrifying. He had ten horns on his head and
a spear in his hand that had seven sharp blades coming from the end.
The creature told me, "You are right. You came here just to observe. I
cannot find your name here." He said, "You must now go back the way
you came." He pointed me toward the desolate plain that I had first
walked along before I came to the lake of fire.
The Road of Decision
I walked a long time, until I was bleeding. I was hot and in great
pain. Finally, after walking for about three hours I came to a wide
road. I walked along this road for some time until I came to a fork.
One road, going off to the left, was wide. A smaller road went off to
the right hand side. There was a signpost at the fork saying that the
road to the left was for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The smaller road to the right was for believers in Jesus.
I was interested to see where the larger road led so I started down
it. There were two men walking about 300 yards ahead of me. I tried to
catch up with them so I could walk with them but no matter how hard I
tried I couldn't catch them up, so I turned around and went back to
the fork in the road. I continued to watch these two men as they
walked down the road away from me. When they reached the end of the
road they were suddenly stabbed. These two men cried out in great
pain! I also cried out when I saw what happened to them! I realized
the bigger road ended in great danger for those who traveled down it.
Looking into Heaven
I started walking down the believers' road instead. After traveling
for about one hour the surface of the road turned to pure gold. It was
so pure that when I looked down I could see my own reflection
perfectly. I then saw a man standing in front of me. He was wearing a
white robe. I also heard beautiful singing. Oh, it was so beautiful
and pure! It was much better and more meaningful than the worship we
have in churches here on the earth. The man in the white robe asked me
to walk with him. I asked him, "What is your name?" but he did not
answer. After I asked his name six times the man answered, "I am the
one who holds the key to heaven. Heaven is a very, very beautiful
place. You cannot go there now but if you follow Jesus Christ you can
go there after your life has finished on the earth." The man's name
was Peter.
Peter then asked me to sit down and he showed me a place to the north.
Peter said, "Look to the north and see God create man." I saw the
Eternal God from a distance. God spoke to an angel, "Let us make man."
The angel pleaded with God and said, "Please don't make man. He will
do wrong and will grieve you." [In Burmese literally: "He will make
you lose face."]. But God created a man named anyway. God blew on the
man and the man came to life. He gave him the name "Adam". [Note:
Buddhists do not believe in the Creation of the world or of man, so
this experience had a significant impact on the monk].
Sent Back with a New Name
Then Peter said, "Now get up and go back to where you came from. Speak
to the people who worship Buddha and who worship idols. Tell them they
must go to hell if they don't change. Those who build temples and
idols will also have to go to hell. Those who give offerings to the
monks to earn merit for themselves with go to hell. All those who pray
to the monks and call them 'Pra' [respectful title for monks] will go
to hell. Those who chant and 'give life' to idols will go to hell. All
those who don't believe in Jesus Christ will go to hell." Peter told
me to go back to the earth and testify about the things I had seen. He
also said, "You must speak in your new name. From now on you are to be
called Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu ["Paul who Came Back to Life."].
I didn't want to go back. I wanted to go to heaven. Angels opened a
book. First they looked for my childhood name (Thitpin) in the book,
but they could not find it. They then looked for the name I had been
given when he entered the Buddhist monk hood (U Nata Pannita
Ashinthuriya) but it wasn't written in the book either. Then Peter
said, "Your name is not written here, you must return and testify
about Jesus to the Buddhist people."
I walked back along the gold road. Again I heard beautiful singing,
the kind of which I have never heard before or since. Peter walked
with me until the time I returned to the earth. He showed me a ladder
that reached down from the heaven to the sky. The ladder didn't reach
to the earth, but stopped in mid-air. On the ladder I saw many angels,
some going up to heaven and some going down the ladder. They were very
busy. I asked Peter, "Who are they?" Peter answered, "They are
messengers of God. They are reporting to heaven the names of all those
who believe in Jesus Christ and the names of those who don't believe."
Peter then told me it was time to go back.
It is a Ghost!
The next thing I was aware of was the sound of weeping. I heard my own
mother cry out, "My son, why did you leave us now?" I also heard many
other people weeping. I realized I was lying in a box. I started to
move. My mother and father started shouting, "He is alive! He is
alive!" Other people who were farther away did not believe my parents.
I then placed my hands on the sides of the box and sat upright. Many
people were struck with terror. They cried out, "It is a ghost!" and
ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.
Those who remained were speechless and trembling. I noticed I was
sitting in smelly liquid and body fluids, enough to fill about three
and a half cups. This was liquid that had come out of my stomach and
my insides while my body was lying in the coffin. This is why people
knew I had indeed been dead. Inside the coffin there was a type of
plastic sheet fixed to the wood. This sheet is placed there to retain
a corpse's liquids, because many dead bodies release much fluid like
mine did.
I learned later that I was just moments away from being cremated in
the flames. In Myanmar people are placed in a coffin, the lid is then
nailed shut, and the whole coffin is burned. When I came back to life
my mother and father were being allowed to look at my body for the
very last time. Moments later the lid of my coffin would have been
nailed shut and I would have been cremated!
I immediately started to explain the things I had seen and heard.
People were astonished. I told them about the men I had seen in the
lake of fire, and told them that only the Christians know the truth,
that our forefathers and us have been deceived for thousands of years!
I told them everything we believe is a lie. The people were astonished
because they knew what kind of a monk I had been and how zealous I had
been for the teachings of Buddha.
In Myanmar when a person dies their name and age is written on the
side of the coffin. When a monk dies, the monk's name, age and the
number of years he has served as a monk are written on the side of the
coffin. I had already been recorded as dead but as you can see, now I
am alive!
Epilogue
Since 'Paul who came back to life' experienced the above story he has
remained a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. Burmese pastors
have told us that he had led hundreds of other monks to faith in
Christ. His testimony is obviously very uncompromising. Because of
that, his message has offended many people who cannot accept there is
only one Way to Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite great
opposition, his experiences were so real to him that he has not
wavered. After many years in the Buddhist monk hood, as a strict
follower of Buddhist teachings, he immediately proclaimed the Gospel
of Christ following his resurrection and exhorted other monks to
forsake all false gods and follow Jesus Christ with all their hearts.
Before the time of his sickness and death he had no exposure to
Christianity at all. Everything he learned during those three days in
the grave was new to his mind.
In a bid to get his message out to as many people as possible, this
modern-day Lazarus began distributing audio and video cassette tapes
with his story on them. The police and Buddhist authorities in Myanmar
have done their utmost to gather these tapes up and destroy them. The
testimony you have just read has been translated form one of those
cassette tapes. We are told it is now quite dangerous for citizens of
Myanmar to be in possession of these tapes.
His fearless testimony has landed him in prison at least once, where
the authorities failed in their bid to silence him. Upon his release
he continued to testify of the things he saw and heard. His current
whereabouts are uncertain. One Burmese informant told us he is prison
and may have been killed, while another informant was told he is now
released from prison and is continuing his ministry.
Did you know that Buddha himself Prophesized about Jesus about 500
years before Jesus was miraculously born? Read about this: here
Read this Khmer (Cambodian) language document: Do you want to know
God personally?
kombipete
> http://bibleprobe.com/backfromthedead.htm
> By Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
> Read in Cambodian/Khmer language here: .PDF file
>
> The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who
> came back to life a changed man!
>
> Story told by Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
>
>
> My Early Years
>
> Hello! My name is Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu. I am from the country of
> Myanmar. I would like to share with you my testimony of what happened
> to me, but first I would like to give some brief background
> information from my life growing up.
>
> Read this Khmer (Cambodian) language document: Do you want to know
> God personally?
Christians just can't stop proselytizing.
Rahula
A friend wrote this in 2000:
Dear All NDE Fans,
I was alerted and requested by someone in a responsible position to
check for the authenticity of the story behind this posting. After
speaking to and exchanging Emails with Myanmar (Burmese) monks as well
as fellow Myanmar Buddhism experts in many countries, I am 100%
confident that this NDE story is completely fictitious. The reasons
are given below.
(1) All Burmese experts said they had never heard of the story about
this Myanmar Buddhist monk before.
(2) There is also no reports either in Burma or outside Burma of mass
defection of Myanmar Buddhist Monks to join the Christian Church.
(3) The monk in the story said he became a novice at the age of 18. It
is rather unusual as most boys Burmese boys join the monastic life at
younger age than 18.
(4) At the age of 19, he became a monk. This is also unusual as the
entry age for becoming a fully ordained monk is 20. (There is one
exception when one considers the foetal life while in the mother's
womb)
(5) U Zadila, also known as 'Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw' was described as
probably the most famous Buddhist Teacher of the time. That is
disputable. Venerable Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw was indeed well known and
very popular as public speaker and preacher. But he was not regarded
as the most distinguished monk academically and intellectually.
(6) The monk said 'Kyar Ni Kan Sayadaw' died in a car crash in 1983 .
In fact Sayadaw died in Myanmar Era 1339 = about 1977. There was a 6
years discrepancy which is unacceptable as the monk said he studied
under him. He should know the exact year when his teacher died. And
that 1977 was also the year when he became a monk. This fact alone is
enough to brand the story as a fake or invention.
(7) He said he was given a new name of 'U Nata Pannita Ashinthuriya'
when he entered the monastery. In Burma, the title 'shin' was used for
the novice. 'U' was never used for a novice.
(8) The monk's new name itself was unusual nor unheard of, according
to the monks I consulted.
(9) Doctors diagnosed Malaria and Yellow fever. Actually the Yellow
Fever was not known to exist in Burma.
(10) To recover completely after very severe malaria is most unusual
especially after being discharged to die.
(11) To regain Life after the body started to decay (decompose) is
impossible according to conventional medical thinking.
There are other discrepancies regarding his actual NDE. But there is
no need to dig deeper. It is a complete FICTION. It is very
regrettable that a Christian Church was reported to be involved in
creating this dishonest practice. We expect 'James' to say something
about our findings. He is the one who reported the story to the world
media. After reading his various postings to this forum, I believe
that he is either a priest or a serious Christian. We welcome his
reply as well as the communication from the Church authorities who
wrote the Introduction to this fictitious story and published in their
regular bulletin.
Rahula
Resurrected Burmese Monk Story Revisited
During the year 2000, numerous emails circulated on the Internet
passing on the dramatic story: 'BACK FROM THE DEAD The Remarkable
Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who came back to life
a changed man!'
With CCG Ministries' involvement in Asia, including Myanmar, we were
very interested in this story and its authenticity.
It was brought to 'life' on the Internet through the promotion of a
Christian missionary organization then called, Asian Minorities
Outreach, later changing its name to: Asia Harvest, headquartered in
Texas, USA, and operating from Thailand. Its Director, Paul Hatthaway,
has written several books, including 'The Heavenly Man'.
For quite some time the 'resurrected Buddhist monk' story appeared on
the front page of the organisation's website. Then the actual story
was removed from their website, but a remaining reference to it
encouraged people to request a copy of the story by email. The
following explanation for the change, was given by the group at the
time:
'A Quick Note: We have been asked by many people why this testimony
is no longer available on our website. We were ordered to remove the
story by the government of Singapore, who had apparently received
complaints from Buddhists. As our website is housed in Singapore at
the moment, we didn't have much choice.'
AMO/Asia Harvest introduced the story with the following
introduction:
'The story that follows is simply a translation of a taped testimony
from a man with a life-changing story. It is not an interview or a
biography, but simply the words from the man himself. Different
people react in different ways when they hear this story. Some are
inspired, some skeptical, a few will mock and ridicule, while some
others have even been filled with rage and anger, convinced these
words are the ravings of a mad man or an elaborate deception. Some
Christians have opposed the story simply because the radical and
miraculous events described herein do not fit their feeble image of an
Almighty God.'
We were concerned with the above wording and commented in our 2001
report that it was interesting to note the approach they took in the
introduction. Anyone who questioned the story would immediately be
labelled as a sceptic, a mocker or ridiculer, someone filled with rage
and anger, or worse a Christian whose concept of God is feeble and who
does not believe that an Almighty God can be radical and perform
miracles.
This could be seen by some as a form of bullying and intimidation to
dismiss any form of thought and questioning of the story. It is not a
healthy or biblical approach to dealing with questions about such a
dramatic story, nor does it encourage people to use their minds.
The resurrected monk's story was quite a dramatic tale and it has
impressed many people. It was even reported in the well-known
Christian Singaporean magazine: IMPACT (June/July 2000, p.45). It
continued to be circulated and passed on through emails for some time.
But was it true? If it was, it SHOULD be circulated - whatever the
consequences. But what if it was NOT true? Should it then continue to
be circulated never-the-less? We believe not!
It should be noted that there have been several versions of the story
circulating. One version, which was circulating in March and April of
2000, began with an 'Extract':
'Myanmar: Buddhist monk raised from the dead - 300 monks turn to
Jesus. "In 1998, a Buddhist monk died. A few days later, his funeral
was held, at which he was to be cremated. From the smell, it was
obvious that his body had started to decompose - he was very clearly
dead!" according to the report from missions agency Asian Minorities
Outreach. "We have attempted to verify this report which reached us
from a number of sources, and are now convinced that it is accurate,"
they write.
Hundreds of monks and relatives of the dead man attended the funeral.
Just as the body was about to be burned, the dead monk suddenly sat
up, shouting 'It's a lie! I saw our ancestors burning and being
tortured in some sort of fire. I also saw Buddha and many other
Buddhist holy men. They were all in a sea of fire!' 'We must listen to
the Christians,' he continued emphatically, 'they're the only ones who
know the truth!'
The events shocked the whole region. Over 300 monks became Christians
and started to study the Bible. The resurrected man continued to warn
everyone to believe in Jesus, because he is the only true God. Tapes
of the monk's report were distributed throughout Myanmar. The Buddhist
hierarchy and the government were soon alarmed, and they arrested the
monk. He has not been seen since and it is feared that he was killed
to keep him silent. It is now a serious crime to listen to the tapes,
because the government wants to dampen the sensation.'
On Sunday 19th November 2000, CCG Ministries' Director, Adrian van
Leen, interviewed and spoke with a man who claimed to be the
'resurrected' Paul in a hotel function room in Yangon in the company
of four Myanmar Christian leaders.
That interview raised serious questions as to the authenticity of the
story under consideration.
Our detailed review of the interview with the man claiming to be Paul,
the 'resurrected' monk, was published as a report, sent to Asia
Harvest, and placed on our website. After emailing a copy of the
report, we also sent a 'hard' copy of the TACL containing the printed
article, to Asia Harvest. In the latter part of 2003 we received the
following email from Asia Harvest:
Greetings!
I'm sure you will remember our communications a year or two back
regarding the story of the Buddhist monk in Myanmar who came back to
life. We were the ones who first had his testimony translated and
published on our website.
Then you travelled to Myanmar and met with a man regarding this story.
Your graphic report of that interview, his seemingly unstable mind and
completely inconsistent testimony left us with no option but to
withdraw the story from our website and offer our deep apologies. The
last thing we want to do is discredit the name of our Lord Jesus by
publishing any story that is untrue. I wrote to you of our intentions
and you accurately reported,
[After Asia Harvest received a copy of this report they removed all
references to the story from their website and stopped sending out
email transcripts of the claimed resurrection account. They will be
making some statement regarding their initial endorsement of the
story. When this is available we will gladly append it to this
report.]
However, when we received your magazine article which carried a
picture of the man you interviewed, we showed it to two Burmese
pastors who met the original "Paul" in Myanmar and they immediately
said this was the wrong man! Later a missionary who lives here in
Thailand but who works in Myanmar also said the man you interviewed
looks nothing like the monk, being much younger.
More information since has revealed that there are actually three or
four different people in Myanmar who claim they were monks who rose
from the dead! Our contacts in Yangon (Rangoon) say that two of these
are completely untrustworthy men, with little evidence of a genuine
conversion to Christ. One of these is the young man you interviewed.
No wonder his birth-date and other key facts were different from the
testimony we published - it was not the same person! It almost seems
that Satan sent along these counterfeits with false testimonies and a
poor witness in order to discredit the original testimony.
Can we absolutely guarantee the story we published is true - of
course not. Only God and the person involved can know what happened in
such a story. We stated this when we first released the transcript of
his testimony. But as far as can be verified, we have yet to be
convinced that this testimony is false. We have been told it now seems
likely that the monk Paul was killed. He was in hiding for more than
12 months and has not been heard of since. Another ex-monk who lives
in Shan State, who also converted to Christ through miraculous
circumstances is also being hunted by the authorities in a bid to
silence him.
In the interests of fairness, would you be willing to publish our
comments in this email with the story that is on your website?
God bless you,
Asia Harvest
Unfortunately, this update from Asia Harvest still fails to answer
many of the questions and issues CCG Ministries raised in our report
initially.
Our report had already acknowledged that there were several people in
Myanmar (Burma) claiming to be the 'resurrected' monk: Further
complications have arisen with this whole saga. According to the
beliefs of some people in Myanmar (or some with friends and/or
relatives in Myanmar), several different people supposedly, or
apparently, are claiming to be the resurrected Buddhist monk - at
least an older man and a not-so-balanced young man.
Even if we completely remove the questionable 'Paul' interviewed by
CCG Ministries' Director and several Myanmar Pastors, we are still
left with serious questions about the whole story anyway. These were
made clear in our 2001 report and remain unanswered by the recent
comments from Asia harvest.
Apart from the contradictions made by [the suspect] Paul in front of
witnesses, there are still serious questions about the content of his
[the 'original 'Paul'] supposed visions or visit to hell and heaven,
as well as questions about editorial comments made by Asian Minorities
Outreach/Asia Harvest.
AMO/Asia Harvest has made statements about Paul being radically
transformed and having a 180-degree shift in his life, and him
continuing to be a fearless witness for Christ, of him being
persecuted, scorned by family, friends and colleagues, and facing
death for his unwillingness to compromise. But some Myanmar Christian
leaders have asked (as we do also) on what do they base this, apart
from his say so [or the say-so of unnamed pastors whose comments seem
in clear conflict with that of the majority of pastors - especially
from known established churches and denominations]? What evidence do
they have?
Statements that [the 'original'] Paul had been arrested and
imprisoned - probably several times, not seen since, and that it was
feared that he had been killed to keep him silent - are all highly
emotive. While claims of imprisonment in such a situation are
plausible and even probable, they remain unsubstantiated.
AMO/Asia Harvest has stated that the story was first told them by
several Burmese church leaders, and that since being initially told
they 'have attempted to verify this report which reached us from a
number of sources, and are now convinced that it is accurate.' IMPACT
Magazine reported that a spokesman for AMO/Asia Harvest stated: 'We
believe it to be true as there are many witnesses to these events.'
CCG Ministries' Director, Adrian van Leen, before, especially during,
and after his visit to Myanmar in November 2000, [and subsequent
visits in 2001 and 2002] has spoken to a number of [numerous] Myanmar
Christian leaders - including a number who are involved in inter-
church/inter-denominational work, as well as leaders of several
denominations. He spoke with leaders from Yangon and across Myanmar
who attended a conference in Bago, and also Christian leaders in
Mandalay and a regional township. Many of these leaders from across
varying denominations had contact with other Christian leaders across
the country.
No one was able to give ANY form of authentication to the story. A
number of leaders, including those who had been in Christian
leadership in Mandalay, knew of no evidence to confirm any part of the
story. Some of the Myanmar Christian leaders would very much like to
know who the 'several Burmese church leaders' are that AMO/Asia
Harvest refers to as their sources for this story.
In fact, it was pointed out very clearly that, had the story been
true, especially had there been a number of Buddhist monks converted
to Christianity - especially as many as 300 and very much so if there
were as many as 7,000 - the news would have spread rapidly. While the
government-controlled media might have tried to suppress such news -
the Christians and churches (particularly in the Mandalay area) would
not have been able - nor have wanted to - suppress such news. It would
have spread rapidly and widely through the churches. The Buddhist
community would also have spread the story - though for different
reasons.
The claim that 'there are many witnesses to these events' is also
disputed by Myanmar Christian leaders, who have stated that they had
never met anyone who had been a direct primary witness - nor anyone
who had personally met a direct witness to these events... The reality
is that in Myanmar itself no one has been able to find any witnesses
or any evidence whatever, to support the story of the resurrected
Paul.
It was also pointed out that [the 'original'] Paul's claim to have
seen Aung San, the revolutionary leader of Myanmar (father of current
opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi) in hell 'because he persecuted
and killed Christians, but mostly because he didn't believe in Jesus
Christ' was completely without foundation. He is a well known figure
in Burmese/Myanmar thinking and history - and there is no evidence at
all that he persecuted any Christians, let alone killed any.
AMO/Asia Harvest has invited 'Christian believers to judge it [Paul's
resurrection story] according to Scripture.'
As one senior Myanmar pastor pointed out, the story and description
of hell given by Paul, is itself contrary to Scripture. Paul's story
is also in conflict with the story Jesus told in the account of the
rich man and the beggar, Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). When carefully
examined it is also in conflict with the comments of the Apostle Paul
in 1 Corinthians 15 - in particular where that Paul was able to name
eye witnesses to the resurrection of Christ - and acknowledged at the
time that some were still living - in other words, he was able to
produce witnesses who could testify to the authenticity of his
claims.
Pastors in Myanmar are still asking for real evidence and living
witnesses to the claimed miracle with whom they can discuss and verify
the story. So far, the story's authenticity remains with the claims
made by Asia Harvest.
The story of the 'resurrected Paul' is known throughout much of
Myanmar - and his tape has circulated (in several versions). Hardly
anyone in Myanmar - especially amongst Christian leaders - has
accepted or believed the story. There is just nothing to back it
up.
Far from the 'resurrected monk' story providing a 'fearless and
faithful witness to Jesus Christ, whose testimony is converting
Buddhists, strengthening the church or bringing glory to God's name',
Myanmar pastor have told our Director that it has brought fear and
suspicion to many Christians in the country. We concluded our 2001
report with the comment: Whatever the truth behind this sad saga,
most Christians, and most pastors and church leaders in Myanmar, are
not taking this story seriously and see little value in it for the
growth of the Christian community in that country.
From the evidence we have been able to examine, including the claims
and content of the story itself, and all the discussions with Pastors
and others in Myanmar, we believe it would have been wiser for the
story not to have been published and circulated.
We believe that 'miracle stories' which cannot be adequately
substantiated ought to be treated with caution - especially if those
stories, or significant parts of those stories, do not conform to
Scripture. Lives continue to be changed by the resurrected and living
Jesus Christ - sometimes dramatically, sometimes quietly - the
substance of those changed lives are quiet miracles that are often
clear and undisputed. They continue to honour Christ and encourage
others.
Sonny
852d-20d...@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
> http://bibleprobe.com/backfromthedead.htm
> By Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
> Read in Cambodian/Khmer language here: .PDF file
>
> The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk in Myanmar (Burma) who
> came back to life a changed man!
>
> Story told by Athet Pyan Shinthaw Paulu
>
>
<snip>
Yeah, we've all seen this one before. Unless you've forgotten, you posted
the same screed back in 2003.
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:36:14 -0800
From: Noah's Dove <noahdo...@lighspeed.ca>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.buddhism
Subject: The Remarkable Testimony of a Buddhist monk
Message-ID: <181120030936146307%noah...@lighspeed.ca>
Organization: Noah's Dove
Apparently the person to whom this happened has been unable to keep his
story straight as to when he was ordained as a monk, how old he is, and
when he "died" and had his vision.
this webpage from a Christian group in Australia checked into the
authenticity of the claims and got conflicting answers.