For the last thirty years, we have supported R & S. R is a fellow Talbot Alum; he and his wife, S, live in Taiwan and minister in another big country. In their last prayer letter, R summarized a recent television commercial airing in “Central City.” To understand the “product,” he gave some background on the practice of bai-bai (pronounced “bye-bye”):
When people go to a brick and mortar temple in Taiwan, their prayer ritual goes through several steps:
- As they hold their incense sticks, [worshipers] pray to their favorite deity, sitting there carved and silent.
- Then, they can step closer to the altar and pick up several kidney-shaped blocks. These are thrown down on the ground and, depending upon the way they land, the answer is either yes or no.
- Lastly, there is a large cup with carved, long sticks in it. These are loosely held and shaken until one stick appears to stand out from the others.
- The stick is picked out and it has a number carved or printed on it which corresponds to fortunes that are available off to the side in a cupboard in dozens of numbered pigeonholes.
- Once the fortune is given and the desired answer is secured, the “worshiper” then goes home happy with the answer, satisfied their religious duty has been performed and life is going to work out after all.
Here is what R saw in the commercial. A mother and daughter are admiring the latest cell phone. Phones are not the featured product, but an internet service for your cell, a “virtual temple worship service for every occasion.” Here’s R’s summary of the benefits of using this internet based bai-bai .
- No need to hack your way through traffic! And why pay the fees to buy the incense and other paraphernalia at the temple to do your worship? You already have it right here at your fingertips.
- Just hit a couple of buttons on your phone and bingo - there’s the incense!
- Hit another, and boom! You’ve thrown the blocks. Yes or no? If you don’t like the answer, try again!
- Push another sequence of buttons, and behold! There’s your fortune for the week.
I couldn’t agree more with R’s summary: Hi-tech meets the world of smoke and shadows! Now people can be spiritually misled through the virtual world at their fingertips, too. Satan is a master of disguise and now he’s in the middle of our 21st century gadgetry, ready to snare whoever is looking for his form of “guidance,” whether in person or through the web. Not much different from some of our own websites, is it?
Thank God, He leads our feet on level ground and on paths of righteousness for His sake - no need for special software! Just plug into His Word on a daily basis, and we receive all the guidance we need.
Amen, Brother! Preach it!
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