Separation of Church and State:

A Case Study of Myanmar (Burma)*

Pum Za Mang**

Introduction
The military regime in Myanmar (Burma) has systematically committed a
crime against humanity — political oppression, religious persecution, massive
human rights violation, and ethnic cleansing — in the name of national security
ever since 1962, and the church in Myanmar (Burma) has been silent in the face
of those human evils primarily because of two basic theological grounds, namely,
the principle of separation between church and state and the subjugation of
church to the political authority. This paper takes a different direction by strongly
arguing that a deeper combination of church and state for the well-being, full
humanization, and authentic liberation of all human beings is necessary. The
church in Myanmar (Burma) must daringly resist the state when the state denies
social justice, political liberty, religious freedom, human rights, and democratic
principle, and that its silence in the face of social evils simply means betraying
Christ who was unfairly accused, trialed, tortured, and condemned to death for
the liberation of those oppressed, persecuted, and dehumanized.

Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar designates today the same nation.

Pum Za Mang is a lecturer at Myanmar Theological College, Mandalay, Burma.

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Whether in Burma/Myanmar or any other country colonised earlier, these

countries have gone through or going through internal, ethnic and thus political
turmoil for various reasons. Thus the issue of the role of the church in such
countries continue to whet the theological reflection of upholding freedom, human
rights etc., as for Christ.

Burma is a very ethnically diverse country, with over 100 different ethnic
groups, and the majority Burmans make up an estimated 68 percent of Burma's
60 million people. Other major ethnic groups include the Chin, Kachin, Karen,
Karenni, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan, and those non-Burman ethnic groups are
called ethnic nationalities.' Burma is also a very religiously diverse country, and
Buddhism is practiced by 89 percent whereas Christianity is practiced by 6
percent, Islam by 4 percent, and Hinduism by 1 percent of the population.^
Burma is truly a land of diversity, and she is known to the global community as
a land of golden pagodas. No doubt Burma is a very rich country with fertile
agricultural land, vast forests with a variety of hardwood, and a soil abounding in
gems and minerals, but people are extremely poor basically because of 5 decades
of the military rule. Accordingly, it has become one of the ten poorest countries
in the world and was, thus, listed by the United Nations (UN) as the least
developed country.^

Unfortunately, contemporary Burma is a land torn apart by human evil. Burma

is ruled by one of the world's most brutal regimes, which took power by force,
ignored election results, continued religious persecution, perpetuated ethnic
genocide, violated human rights, and survived by creating a climate of fear. The
military regime perpetrates crimes against humanity. It takes people for forced
labor, uses villagers as human minesweepers, captures children and forces
them to become soldiers, systematically rapes ethnic minority women," and
burns down villages, churches, and crops.^ Being cognizant of those human
evils, Jeff Haynes rightly stated that "Burma has never experienced democracy
in over 50 years of independence, now ruled by the oppressive military regime,
and it is a government with a very poor record in relation to civil liberties and
political rights."*

In Burma, "law and order" simply implies absolute submission to the

oppressive law and order of the repressive military regime, and "peace and
stability" simply means silent subjugation to the total control of the military regime

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and the continuation of their political power in the country. Likewise, "national
unity" means the assimilation of all ethnic minority groups in Burma Into
Burman — Burmanization. Moreover, "suppression of terrorists" means
suppression of all social activists who daringly speak of and work for human
rights, democracy, freedom, and just peace in Burma. In this specific relation,
Benedict Roger clearly claimed, "The military regime has killed thousands, and
stands accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Over a million people are
displaced in the jungles without food, shelter and medicine. 1,500 political
prisoners remain behind bars."^ Kanbawza Win, as Haynes and Roger did,
contended that "Burma has been undergoing a process of ethnic cleansing for
nearly half a century even before the country gained independence in 1948."^

Unfortunately, the church in Burma has been silent in the face of such
inhumane socio-political evils, especially the appalling military regime, because
of its two basic theological grounds: the separation between church and state,
and the subjection of church to the state. In this particular connection. Lap Yan
Kung accurately wrote, "One of the characteristics of the Baptist tradition is the
separation between politics and religion, and it may become an excuse for the
church in Burma to refrain from politics."^ Indeed, I know from my personal
experiences with the church in Burma that with an overemphasis on the theory
of subjugation to the authority and separation between church and state, Burmese
churches are too submissive to the authority and are mostly silent in the face of
political oppression, religious persecution, ethnic genocide, and human rights
violations brought about and perpetuated by the repressive military regime.
Consequently, the presence of Christianity, Christian seminaries, Christian
churches, Christian pastors, and Christians in Burma surely guarantee nothing
for the liberation of the Burmese from their social, political, and economic
sufferings.

Against the traditional conception of the absolute demarcation between

church and state and of the subjugation of church to the political authority, it is
the thesis of this provoking article that the church must necessarily intervene in
and daringly oppose the state, if the latter oppresses and abuses God's children,
solely for political, religious, cultural, economic, social, and intellectual freedoms.
Moreover, the church must not be subject to the state if the latter becomes a
source of political oppression, religious persecution, social injustice, economic
exploitation, human rights violation, and ethnic genocide. All in all the church

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remained, remains, and musf remain a vifal source of social movemenf for
polifical freedom, social jusfice, efhnic equalify, democrafic regime, religious
liberfy, and just peace. This paper is divided info three parfs, namely, efhnic
genocide, polifical oppression, and fheological reflecfion.

Ethnic Genocide
The world musf regreffully confess her original sin in fhe presence of God
primarily because when efhnic genocides in fhe modern fime, including Rwandan
genocide, rufhiessly fook millions of innocent lives, fhe infernafional communify,
especially fhe Unifed Nafions,'° and fhe global church, especially fhe World
Council of Churches (WCC) and fhe Vafican," failed fo prevenf fhose ferrible
genocides againsf humanify. While falking about those dreadful human evils,
efhnocide is now faking place in differenf parfs of fhe world, including Burma, in
differenf forms. Some mighf quesfion or doubf fhe occurrence of efhnic genocide
in Burma. Whaf consfifufes genocide! Johannes Morsink carefully buf clearly
wrofe in fhis regard:

On December 11,1946, the very First General Assembly of the United

Nations passed a resolution declaring genocide to be a denial of the
right of existence of entire human groups. The purpose of the Genocide
Convention was fo prevent the destruction of racial, national, linguistic,
religious, or political groups of human beings. At fhat Convention,
genocide was defined as any deliberate act committed with the intent to
destroy the language, religion, or culture of a national, racial or religious
group on the grounds of national or racial origin or religious belief.'^

In fhis lighf, all efhnic nafionalifies in Burma have suffered efhnic genocide
af differenf sfages in fheir long hisfory of suffering—polifical oppression and
religious persecufion. Thus, Guy Horton, fhe Brifish human righfs researcher,
has righfly argued, 'The acfions of fhe Burmese miiifary againsf efhnic nafionalifies
consfifufe genocide under infernafional law."'^

Narrowing down fhe scope of my research, cerfain affempfs are made here
in fhis paper fo explore fhe biffer experiences of efhnic genocide sysfemafically
perpefrafed and incessanfly perpefuafed by fhe Buddhisf miiifary regime againsf
fhe efhnic Karen and Chin Chrisfians in confemporary Burma as part of fhe
infamous policy of nafional assimilation dubbed Burmanizafion. The Karen, a
fribe in Burma's easfern regions, number between four and five million, and have

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foughf ever since 1949 fo keep fheir homeland and national idenfify. Many — at
leasf 50% — are Chrisfjans, and have suffered all forms of oppression and all
kinds of persecution.'" The Burmese milifary force has continued ifs military
offensive againsf fhe Karen National Union (KNU) in easfern Burma, and fhe
milifary offensive has resulted in fhe displacement of over half a million civilians
and fhe destruction or forced relocation of more than 3,200 villages befween
1997 and 2007. Unforfunafely, aftacks on innocent civilians, exfrajudicial killings,
and forced displacements have continued fo occur in easfern Burma. Nof
surprisingly enough, over fhe pasf year, an estimated 66,600 people have been
forced fo leave fheir homes as a resulf of fhe military attacks, including 27,000
villagers in four townships in fhe northern Karen Sfafe where fhe regime's offensive
was mainly concentrated.'= The Burmese milifary regime is currently continuing
ifs milifary offensive againsf fhe Karen armed resistance groups in easfern Burma
and more than 40,000 Karen civilians are fleeing fheir homes fo Thailand for
survival while working on fhis projecf.

Why do fhe Burmese milifary generals keep assimilating, oppressing,

persecuting, and killing fhe efhnic Karens rufhiessly? Whaf is fhe hidden agenda
behind those inhumane persecutions? In a public sfafemenf in 1992, Major
General Kef Sein proclaimed fhe regime's intention, "In fen years all Karen will
be dead. If you wanf fo see a Karen, you will have fo go fo a museum in Yangon.'"^
Hence, in December 2002, Baroness Cox charged fhe Burmese junta wifh
genocide. She argued, "The regime continues fo perpefrafe gross violations of
human righfs, such as fhe use of forced labor, human minesweepers, child
soldiers, milifary offensives againsf innocent civilians, rape, torture and massacre.
Such atrocifies in fhe Karen sfafe confinue unabated. The violations are so
systematic, rufhiess, and comprehensive thaf fhey can jusfifiably be designated
as efhnic genocide.""' In summing up, instead of profecfing ifs citizens, fhe
milifary regime made a campaign of efhnocide againsf fhe ethnic Karens in
Burma.

Accordingly, thousands of fhe Karens have, as nofed earlier, leff fheir

homeland behind, and I am fold fhaf more than 120,000 Karens are currenfly in
fhe refugee camps along fhe Thai-Burma borders. Some world leaders, including
US Congressman Joseph Piffs, have been well aware of fhe persecutions and
fhe sufferings fhe Karens were and are facing. Joseph duly championed fhe
cause, and he visifed fhe Karens in 2003. In an orphanage af fhe Mae La refugee

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camp, Karen children, most of whose parents had been killed by the Burmese
military personnel, gathered to tell their stories. One little girl began to talk about
her father who had died, and as she spoke, tears flowed down her cheeks.
Unable to continue, she clapped her hand over her mouth and stopped. Joseph
returned to Washington deeply affected by what he had seen and vowed to
strengthen his voice and influence for the cause. He did just that by introducing
in the US House of Representatives a resolution calling for intervention in Burma.
Joseph tells the world that the military yunfa is engaged in "ethnic cleansing"
which amounts to "genocide under international law." In his speeches, Joseph
told the Congress, "if the US Government and the international community fail
to act, we will all be responsible for the successful genocide campaign and
ethnic cleansing going on by the vicious military of SPDC."'^

Knowing deeply the ethnic nationalities' critical situations in Burma, Roger

insisted, "If the Karen and other ethnic armed resistance groups give up their
arms now, they are slowly but surely going to get squashed. Then, the Karen
tribe shall no longer exist. When you see that happening in front of your eyes in
the modern day it is scary. It is the same thing Nazis did to the Jews."'^ Indeed,
the Karen are the most persecuted and the least wanted ethnic group in Burma,
and they are encountering ethnocide for more than half a century though nobody
is born for genocide. To summarize the points made so far, the oppression, the
persecution, and the suffering they are facing do constitute ethnic genocide
under international law.

The Chin, a tribe in Burma's western corner, number 1.5 million and is 2.5%
of the whole population in Burma, but more than 95% of the Chin population are
Christians. They are particularly targeted for religious and political repression by
the military regime primarily because of their minority status and religion,=°
implying that they are suffering religious persecution and political oppression. In
addition, Burma's military regime is systematically persecuting the Chins as
part of a program of national assimilation — Burmanization, and Burmanization
here implies the notion of one race, one language, and one religion — Burman,
Burmese, and Buddhism.^' While working on this project, three Chin churches
— the Myomya Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and the Assembly of
God Church — in Kanpalet, a small town in southern Chinland, are ordered by
the military authority to stop building their respective churches. On November
17,2010, the Dawdin Baptist Church, Gangaw Township, Mergui Division, has

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also been closed by the local authority, and they ordered Pastor Mang Tling
indefinitely to stop in the church regular worship service and other related
programs. In sum, the military regime is systematically committing an act of
ethnocide against the ethnic Chin Christians by trying to destroy their religious,
cultural, linguistic, and national identities in order to Burmanize them.

First, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) documents the restriction on freedom
of assembly and worship, the arrest of pastors, the destruction of Christian
churches, censorship on Christian literature and publications, discrimination
against Chin Christians, coerced conversion, the destruction of crosses, and
others. In the Chin State, where the people are 95 percent Christian, crosses —
displayed by the people on mountain tops and roadsides as a symbol of their
faith — are routinely destroyed, and people are forced to build Buddhist pagodas
in their piaces.^^ Second, the Chin language and culture is another target for the
military regime. Although Article22anú 27oi the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) clearly state that everyone has the right to show, develop, and
protect their culture and literature,^^ the Chin Christians lost those innate rights.
The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) states that the prohibition of Chin
language in schools and the restrictions on the publication of Chin literature has
effectively deprived younger generations of the chance to learn their own language.
One former schoolteacher described how he was arrested for teaching his students
the Chin language.^" Though unbelievable but true learning the Chin language as
weil as Chin culture at schools is illegal in their own homeland.

The HRW reports that Chin people are undergoing harsh forced labor, ruthless
sexual abuse, exploitation of resources, military attacks on innocent civilians,
the destruction of homes, places of worship, arbitrary arrests, detention, torture,
imprisonment, execution, religious repression, crop and livestock confiscation,
and other restrictions on fundamental freedoms. The HRW also documented 16
extrajudicial killings, including four children, perpetrated by military forces in the
Chin State between 2005 and 2007. None of the perpetrators in these cases
have been brought to justice.^^ According to the CHRO, many priests were killed
before 2004.^^ Many more were arrested and tortured for celebrating the Christian
Centennial Celebration at Thangtiang, western Burma.^'

Against the basic foundations of the historic Panglong Agreement, such as

ethnic equality, political equality, economic equality, and social equality between
national groups in Burma,^^ forced labor, forced portenngs, violent tortures, and

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religious restrictions have become part of the Chins' daily lives in their homeland,
and they become slaves in the homeland of their ancestors. Since the Chins are
no longer safe in Chinland, they have left their homeland behind to seek refuge
in India, Thailand, and Malaysia.^^ Alexander's documentation perfectly reflects
the real sufferings of the Chins in

To conclude my historical documentation or record of ethnic genocide in

Burma, I would reiterate Roger's short but dear report of a campaign of ethnocide
against the Karen in eastern Burma. In terms of ethnic genocide it includes:
1) Destruction of villages, 2) Looting and burning, 3) Detentions, 4) Summary
execution, 5) Systematic rape, 6) Poisoning the water, and 7) Violations of medical
neutrality.^' Similarly, Samuel Ngun Ling rightly contended that the ethnic
Christians in Burma have lost social justice, religious freedom, ethnic equality,
and political freedom.32

Political Oppression
Since 1962, the Burmese dictatorial regime has incessantly repressed political
opponents, Buddhist monks, university students, and ethnic nationalities in the
name of national security and the rule of law. The rights abuses range from the
suppression of civil and political rights to arbitrary detentions and problems
associated with the lack of an independent judiciary. It is really inconceivable
that even Buddhist monks and nuns were brutally arrested, tortured, imprisoned,
and murdered in the so-called Buddhist country. Consequently, Burma remains
on the U.S. State Department's list of eight Countries of Particular Concern.^^

Since then many mass uprisings have erupted for upholding democracy,
human rights and personal freedom including the one in August 1988,^" when
many were killed,^= including the attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy (NLD)^^ the 60-day curfew imposed in 2007.^''

On October 11, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement

calling for restraint and the early release of political prisoners.^^ Why did Buddhist
monks come out from monasteries to the streets in the cities across Burma?
U. Gambira, leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution, claimed, "The dictatorship
has committed crimes against humanity. This is a great tragedy for our people
and for the Buddha dhamma in our long history of monastic Buddhism. At present,
the Sangha is the enemy of the regime. Our spiritual obligation is to freedom.

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nof fo silence or submission. So we, fhe Sangha of Burma, will nof sfop unfil fhe
goal is reached."39 On fhe day of his arresf, fhe Washington Posipublished an
arficle by U. Gambira in which he said:

The regime's use of mass arresfs, murder, torture, and imprisonment

has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from
us. We have taken their best punch. Now it is the generals who must
fear the consequences of their actions. We adhere to non-violence, but
our spine Is made of steel. There is no turning back. It matters little if it
takes my life or the lives of colleagues should be sacrificed on this
journey. Others will fill our sandals, and more will join and follow.""

He was sentenced in November 2008 fo 68 years in prison and was soon

fransferred fo a remofe labor camp in wesfern Burma. U. Gambira's mofher.
Daw Yay, visifed her son in fhe unpopular labor camp in early 2009, soon affer
he began a hunger strike. She said he was resolufe in his commifmenf fo change
in Burma, felling her, "If one wanfs fo follow fhe way of Buddha, one musf pracfice
Buddhism. If one wanfs independence, one musf pracfice fhe way fowards
independence.'"" Like U. Gambira, hundreds of monks, sfudenfs, efhnic leaders,
and NLD members were arresfed, puf on frial, and imprisoned for decades.''^

The predominanf religion in Burma is Buddhism, af fhe hearf of which are

compassion (metta) and non-violence {ahimsa), and people cannof pracfice
Buddhism wifhouf metta and ahimsa. Here my quesfion is why fhe cenfral feaching
of Buddhism in Burma has so little impacf on fhe lives and deeds of fhe ruling
miiifary leaders. Despife fhe eternal message of metta and ahimsa, fhey killed
polifical dissidenfs, social acfivisfs, sfudenfs, efhnic nafionalifies, ordinary
civilians, and even Buddhisf monks. I wonder how is if possible fhaf Buddhisfs
kill Buddhisf monks in a Buddhisf counfry. Killing life is fruly un-Buddhisf. The
Buddha sfricfly prohibifs desfrucfion of nof only human life buf also all ofher
lives.

Theological Reflection
"Lef every person be subordinate fo fhe higher aufhorifies, for fhere is no
aufhorify except from God, and fhose fhaf exisf have been esfablished by God •
(Rom 13:1). How shall fhe church inferpref fhis biblical fexf in such a socio-
polifical confexf of Burma where God's children have suffered polifical oppression,
religious persecufion, social injusfice, and efhnic genocide rufhiessly under fhe

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Pharaoh of fhe milifary regime? Can if sfill continue fo argue that fhe church
should be subjecf fo fhe authority which utterly denies polifical freedom, social
jusfice, human righfs, and democratic principle in Burma primarily because of
Romans 13? How shall Burmese Chrisfians theologically, ethically, and rationally
defend fhe principle of separafion between church and state in such a social and
political context of Burma? James H. Cone articulated in fhis relation that "as
Chrisfians, we are commanded nof to follow principles but fo discover fhe will of
God in a troubled and dehumanized world.'"'^ Indeed, fhe eternal message of
Chrisf is called fhe Good News primarily because if calls for fhe holistic liberation
and full humanizafion of those economically exploited, politically oppressed,
socially marginalized, materially poor, and ethnically alienated in sociefies. Ideally,
fhe Bible is truly a book of liberafion from oppression. In this respect, Paul
Lehmann, a former professor of Princeton, precisely sfafed that "whaf God is
always doing is fo make and keep human life human.""""

In addition, there is no hesitation fhat an acf of sympathetic love, civil courage,

and social justice for those who are denied of fheir innafe righfs, inherent dignify,
and inborn freedom, is nof going beyond the mandate, responsibility, and call of
persons who are effectively engaged in the mission of God (missio Dei). Chrisf
faughf equality - polifical, social, economic, and efhnic equality, as part of his
selfless mission and ministry on earth back in fhe 1=' cenfury. Thaf is fo say
fhaf, fhe agenda of God's mission should not narrowly be confined fo the frame
of worship and rituals only because fhe mission of God necessarily includes
promotion of human dignify, human value, and human righfs. In fhis connection,
M.M. Thomas was right when he called for fhe integration of fhe church's
presentation of Christ with the struggles of the people for fheir selfhood and
dignify."= So, unless and until fhe efernal message of Chrisf becomes a liberating
force for human beings, especially those on the margins of society, if loses
touch wifh our contextual realities, and if ceases fo be fhe Gospel. Calling for
'engaged' Christianity, Edmund Za Bik, former professor of MIT, made a remarkable
nofe:

If our theology does not come to grips with our situational realities,
theology becomes barren, non-existential, fossilized and disorienting.
Theology should be academic, but not divorced from the hard realities
of life. Burmese theology should be dialectic between academic and
involvement, between commitment to Christ and solidarity with the
victims of injustice and suffering, between ritual celebration of the cross
and the struggle for human wholeness, freedom and dignity."^

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What for is the existence of the church? Can the church in Burma be the
true church of Jesus the Christ and not stand for the oppressed, persecuted,
and murdered in the country? Can one be a theologian in Burma and not address
the social, political, ethnic, and human rights issues in the country? Can one be
a church leader in Burma and not involve in the struggle of peoples for social
justice and for just peace in the country? Can one be a faithful follower of Christ
in Burma and not take the issues of religious persecution, ethnic genocide, and
human rights violation in the country? I strongly believe that Christ constantly
calls the church toward solidarity with those oppressed, arrested, tortured,
imprisoned, and murdered for social justice, for political freedom, and for genuine
peace. In this relation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer profoundly insisted that "Christ is the
man for others and the church is the church only when it is there for others.""'

Likewise, Martin Niemoller emotionally spoke of his sin of omission that

"when the Nazis came for the Communists, I said nothing — I wasn't a
Communist; when they locked up the Social Democrats, I said nothing — I
wasn't a Social Democrat; when they took away the Catholics, I said nothing —
I didn't protest - I wasn't a Catholic. When they came for me, there was nobody
left to protest.'"'^ Is it enough if we pray for those arrested, tortured, and murdered?
If the church is truly Christian, it must co-suffer with those dehumanized and
victimized. What should be the message of the church to such a situation?
Oscar Romero of El Salvador ardently claimed:

Brothers, you are part of our own people. You are killing your own
brothers and sisters. And over any order to kill... God's law must prevail:
You shall not kill! The church, defender of the rights of God, of the law of
God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such
abomination. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering
people, whose laments arise to heaven, each day more tumultuous, I
beg you, I beseech you, and I order you in the name of God: Stop the
repression!''^

As noted before, the church in Burma must not claim that she is not
responsible for the killings, and that her hands are clean just because she does
not commit a sin of commission. Not killing is not enough, and the church must
do something to stop the killing. Gustavo Gutierrez thoroughly argued, 'There
are not two histories, one profane and one sacred, juxtaposed or closely linked.
Jesus' redemptive work embraces all the dimensions of existence and brings

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them to their fullness. The history of salvation is the very heart of human history.''^"
For him, the church's mission is to proclaim an integral liberation, because nothing
is left untouched by the saving work of Christ.^' Of course, Christ carried the
cross not in the holy sanctuary but in the profane world for human liberation from
human sufferings. Christ also commands us to carry our respective cross not in
the sacred church, but in the secular world for freedom, justice, equality, and
peace. We must stress the lordship of Christ in all spheres of human life. We
should press that Christ cannot be shut up in the sacred society of the church
but he must be served in the secular world. This means, there is nothing that
stands outside the relationship to Christ. To this end. Brain K. Blount wrote,
"The spirituals look not to metaphysical liberation, but physical justice and
freedom."^^

Let us return to the ongoing issue of the principle of separation between

church and state in Burma. The unknown numbers of the Chin and Karen Christians
have been arrested, tortured, and executed in the homeland of their ancestors.
Some disappeared, and their dead bodies were found later. Similarly, thousands
of the Burman political dissidents and ethnic nationalists have been repressed,
arrested, tortured, and murdered. Can the church in Burma still continue to argue
that she should be obedient to the authority in the present context of Burma?
How should the church respond to such theoiogicai and ethical issues? What
should the church's reaction be? Romero asserted:

As a shepherd, I am obliged by divine mandate to give my life for those

I love — all Salvadoreans, even for those who may be going to kill me.
If their threats are carried out, from this moment I offer my blood to God
for the redemption and for the resurrection of El Salvador. A Bishop will
die, but God's church, which is the people, will never

Subordination to the political authority in contemporary Burma context is

simply betrayal to Christ, who was persecuted, arrested, tortured, and condemned
to death for the cause of social justice, political freedom, racial equality, and
just peace.

In this instance Gustavo Gutierrez argued, "When the church speaks about
the promotion of justice in human societies or when it urges the faithful laity to
work in this sphere according to their own vocation, it is not going beyond its
mission."^" Indeed, the goal of the very mission of God undertaken by the church

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includes the promotion of social justice, political freedom, ethnic equality, human
rights, and democracy in human societies, and it includes the full humanization
of those dehumanized and enslaved by social evils, including the state. The
church in Burma must not disengageUom the secular world but engage with the
profane world to resist the state when the state creates a culture of d e a t h -
political oppression, religious persecution, social injustice, human rights violation,
and ethnic genocide.

Concluding Remarks
In his classic speech delivered in April 1933, Bonhoeffer spoke of three
possible tasks of the church: "The church can ask the state whether its actions
are legitimate and in accordance with its character as state. The church can aid
the victims of state action. The church is not only to bandage the victims under
the wheel, but to put a spoke in the wheel itself."^^ This third one is a direct
political action that the church should take when the state ceases to function as
a state with law and order. Bonhoeffer continues to say, "Man is challenged to
participate in the suffering of God at the hands of a godless world."^^ Likewise,
the church in Burma is challenged by God to responsibly engage with civil courage
and deep faith more in the socio-political struggles of the Burmese against the
state, which has become a source of political, social, economic and ethnic
problems in contemporary Burma. It is overdue for the church in Burma to
reinterpret the principle of separation between church and state, and the church
must boldly resist the state, when the latter becomes oppressive and abusive,
simply to protect humanity from destruction. I entirely agree with Jim Wallis
when he said, "To prophetically challenge unjust structures and policies is part
of our religious vocation.""

Karl Barth interpreted subjection to the will of the authority, which Paul in
Romans 13 demands from Christians, as simply paying somebody the respect
due to his or her position. By no means would "due respect" to the authorities
have the meaning of affirming and voluntarily supporting the intentions and
enterprises of the authorities, even when these are oriented to suppress rather
than protect the proclamation of the Gospel of justification. Karl Barth said,
"Christian respect to the authorities assumes a critical form."^^ Barth did not
make a plea for tyranny, referring to the Zurich reformer Zwingli and to the
Confessio Scotica. For Zwingli, "a faithless government, which has abandoned
the rule of Christ, must be dismissed with the help of God." In the Calvinist

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Confessio Scotica (1560), if is fhe Chrisfian vocation fo support fhe life of the
good people, fo oppress fhe fyranf, and fo defend fhe weak againsf fhe violence
of fhe malicious.=3 Barfh firmly insisfed, 'The church never thinks, speaks, or
acfs on principle. Rafher, if judges spirif ually and by individual cases."*" Ideally,
unless and unfil fhe miiifary regime respecfs democrafic principle and human
righfs, upholds social jusfice and civil freedom, and cares for fhe poor and fhe
leasf in fhe counfry, fhe church in Burma musf daringly resist and fighf againsf
fhe miiifary aufhorify in non-violenf ways.

Kathrin Wessendort, The Indigenous World 2009 (Copenhagen: The International Work
Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2009), 368.
Simon Pau Khan En, "Syncretism: A Key to Doing Relevant Contextual Theology for Myanmar,"
in Myanmar Theological Bulletin, Vol. 3 (ed) Vanlal Vena (Mandalay: Methodist Press, 2007),
100.
Saphir Athyal, Church in Asia Today: Opportunities & Challenges (Singapore: ALCWE,
1996), 349.
Some hundreds of the ethnic women have suffered physical violence and sexual abuse in
the war zone in eastern Burma and many of them have been beaten, suffocated, and
stabbed to death after being raped. For more reading, see: Shan Human Rights Foundation
and The Shan Women's Action Network, License to Rape, May, 2002.
For more information about ethnocide against the ethnic nationalities in Burma, see: Benedict
Roger, A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People (Oxford:
Monarch Books, 2004).
Jeff Haynes, Politics in the Developing World: A Concise Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing, 2002), 160.
Benedict Roger, A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People, back
cover.
Kanbawza Win, "Are Christians Persecuted in Burma?" in The Asia Journal of Theology,
Vol. 14, No. 1 (ed) K. C. Abraham (Bangalore: BTESSC, April 2000), 170.
Lap Yan Kung, "Love Your Enemies: A Theology for Aliens in Their Native Land: The Chin in
Myanmar," in Studies in World Christianity (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009),
93.
Unfortunately, Member States in the United Nations refused to admit that genocide was
occurring in Rwanda. For more reading, see: Derek S. Jeffreys, Defending Human Dignity:
John Paul and Political Realism (Grand Rapids: Brozos, 2004), 178-180.
Surprisingly enough, the church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, was not the answer
but part of the problem, which brought about ethnic genocide in Rwanda and took one million
lives. For more reading, see: Theo Tschuy, Ethnic Confiict and Religion: Challenge to the
Churches (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1997), 40-56.
Johannes Morsink, "Cultural Genocide, the Universal Declaration, and Minority Rights," in
Human Rights Ouarterly, Vol. 21, No. 4 (November, 1999), 1024.
Sille Stidsen, The Indigenous World 2006 (Copenhagen: The International Work Group for
Indigenous Affairs, 2006), 347.

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Nathanayla, "The Karen of Myanmar," in Engagement: Judson Research Center Bulletin,

Vol. 7, ed. Samuel Ngun Ling (Insein: MIT, 2006), 15-21.
Kathrin Wessendorf, The Indigenous World 2009, 371.
Benedict Rogers, A Land without Evil: Stepping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People, 40.
ibid., 226.
ibid., 228.
ibid., 204.
Samuel Ngun Ling, Theological Themes for Qur Times: Reflections on Selected Themes of
the Myanmar institute of Theology (Insein: MIT, 2007), 155.
Lap Yan Kung, "Love Your Enemies: A Theology for Aliens in Their Native Land: The Chin in
Myanmar," in Studies in World Christianity, 88.
Human Rights Watch, The Chin People of Burma, Unsafe in Burma, Unprotected in india
(New York: Human Rights Watch, 2009), 45-52.
Damien Keown, Buddhism and Human Rights (Richmond: Curzon Press, 1998), xiii-xiv.
Human Rights Watch, The Chin People of Burma, Unsafe in Burma, Unprotected in India, 45.
Ibid., 26.
Salai Za Uk Ling & Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide
Against Chin Christian in Burma (Ottawa: Chin Human Rights Organization, 2004), 45-50.
Kanbawza Win, "Are Christians Persecuted in Burma?," in The Asia Journal of Theology,
173.
Lian H. Sakhong, Religion and Politics among the Chin People in Burma (1896-1949) {Uppsala:
SIMR, 2000), 319.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-28-voa19.cfm
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-28-voa19.cfm
Benedict Roger, A Land without Evii: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People, 25ff.
Samuel Ngun Ling, "Our Hope and Their Hope: Reading Amos' Justice Message in Myanmar
Context," in CTC Bulletin, Vol. xxiii. No.'2, (ed) Hope S. Antone (Chiang Mai: CCA, 2007),
65-73.
Paul A. Marshall, Religious Freedom in the World (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,
Inc, 2008), 110.
During the public uprising in Burma which started on August 8, 1988, more than 3,000 lives
perished at the hands of the military regime, and the said day was known in Burma history as
the bloody 8888.
Federico Ferrara, "Why Regime Creates Disorder: Hobbes Dilemma during a rangoon
Summer," in The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 47, No. 3 (June, 2003), 305.
Donald M. Seekins, "Burma and US Sanction: Punishing an Authoritarian Regime," in Asian
Survey, Vol. 45, No. 3 (May-June, 2005), 437.
Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle, Peace Jam: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace (New
York: Penguin Group, 2008), 184.
David I. Stenberg, Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2010), 138.

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Aung San Suu Kyi, The Voice of Hope: Conversations witfi Alan Clement (New York: Seven
Stories Press, 2008), 224.
Ugambira, "What Burma's Junta must Fear" in Washington Post, November 4, 2007, 7.
Human Rights Watch, The Resistance of Monks: Buddhism and Activism in Burma (New
York: Human Rights Watch, 2009), 67.
Forum-Asia, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development: Asian Solidarity and Human
Rights for All, 15 June 2009, 2.
James H. Cone, "Black Theology on Revolution, Violence, and Reconciliation," in Christian
Declaration on Human Rights (ed) Allen O. Miller (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1977), 74.
Edmund Za Bik, "Liberation Now" in RAYS MtT Journal of Theology, Vol. 2 (ed) Samuel Ngun
Ling (Yangon: MIT, 2001), 1.
M.M. Thomas, "The Struggle for Human Dignity as a Preparation for the Gospel," in What
Asian Christians Are Thinking (ed) Douglas J. Elwood (Quezon City: Publishers, 1978), 268.
Edmund Za Bik, "Liberation Now" in RAYS MIT Journal of Theology, 2.
I vividly remember that when members of the National League for Democracy, dissident
monks, university students, and ethnic leaders were arrested, put on trial unfairly, and taken
to the infamous labor camps following the Saffron Revolution in 2007, the church in Burma
was completely silent. On the bloody 8888, when thousands of Buddhist monks, university
students, and ordinary civilians were ruthlessly massacred by the military personnel, the
event still remains in my memory. The blood of those innocent lives would surely reach God,
but the church in Burma really did nothing to prevent those horrible killings. She might have
thought that she was not responsible, and her hands were clean. As a matter of fact, silence
in the face of human evils like the bloody 8888 has indisputably constituted indirect co-
operation or solidarity with those in power who are responsible for the murder of countless
innocent lives.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Who Is Jesus Christ for Us Today? (ed.) Renate Wind (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 2002), 5.
Hans Hafenbrack, "Martin Niemoller [1892-1984]" in Ecumenical Pilgrims: Profiles of Pioneers
in Christian Reconciliation (eds) Ion Bria & Dagmar Heller (Geneva: WCC Publications,
1995), 159.
I was deeply shocked that when students, monks, nuns, and civilians were arrested, tortured,
and murdered in Yangon and Mandalay streets, the churches in Burma, especially the
Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC) and the Myanmar Catholic Bishops' Conference
(MCBC), were silent like Pilate. As stated earlier, the presence of Christian Institutions in
Burma surely guarantees nothing for political freedom, social freedom, and economic freedom,
and it also guarantees nothing for those struggled and died for democracy, social justice,
and human rights in Burma. For me, the church in Burma completely failed to play an
important role in nation-building. Moreover, those arrested, tortured, and murdered are
simply our own brothers and sisters.
Maria Teresa Porcile Santiso, "Oscar Romero 1917-1980" in Ecumenical Pilgrims: Profiles
of Pioneers in Christian Reconciliation, 196.
James B. NIckoloff, Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings (ed.), (New York: Orbis Books,
1996), 79.
Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings, 260.

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Brian K. Blount, Cultural Interpretation: Reorienting New Testament Criticism (Eugene;

Fortress, 2004), 66-67.
Maria Teresa Porcile Santiso, "Oscar Romero 1917-1980" in Ecumenical Pilgrims: Profiles
of Pioneers in Christian Reconciliation, 199.
Gustavo Gutierrez: Essential Writings, 62.
Renate Wind, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Spoke in the Wheel (Grand Rapids; William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1992), 69.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, published originally as Prisoner for
God, ed., Eberhard Bethge, trs., Reginal H. Fuller (New York: Macmillan, 1962), 198.
Jim Wallis, Faith Works: Lessons from the Life of an Activist Preacher (New York: Random
House, 2000), 177.
HIaing Bwa, "The Relation between Church and State; 20th Century Karl Barth and Dietrich
Bonhoeffer," in Engagement: Judson Research Center Bulletin Myanmar Institute of Theology,
Vol. 6 (Insein; MIT, 2006), 105.
Ibid., 106.
Ibid., 104.

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