Karl Dahlfred

University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity - World Christianity, Alumnus

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Masters of Divinity, Alumnus

Talbot School of Theology, Master of Theology (Th.M), Alumnus

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I teach courses in church history and intercultural studies at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I have a particular interest in the history of Christianity in Thailand and much of my academic writings focused on themes related to this area.
Address: Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Papers by Karl Dahlfred

The Indelible Mark of Boon Mark Gittisarn on Twentieth-Century Christianity in Thailand: A Brief Biography

Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, 2023

Over the course of nine decades in the twentieth century, Thai pastor and evangelist Boon Mark Gi... more Over the course of nine decades in the twentieth century, Thai pastor and evangelist Boon Mark Gittisarn tirelessly preached the Gospel throughout Thailand, asserted Thai leadership when missionaries were slow to yield control, and helped launch Thailand's Pentecostal movement. His spiritual journey began with American Presbyterians and shifted to fundamentalism, then Pentecostalism, and ended with Seventh Day Adventism. During this time, he linked himself to diverse evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal figures including John Sung, Carl McIntire, and T. L. Osborn. Bold and charismatic, Boon Mark fought against missionary paternalism, decried theological liberalism, and provided leadership that united and divided Thai Christians and missionaries, leaving an indelible and transformative mark upon the churches of Thailand.

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Conservative in Theology, Liberal in Spirit: Modernism and the American Presbyterian Mission in Thailand, 1891-1941

Ph.D thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2021

This thesis examines to what extent, and in what ways, modernism impacted the American Presbyteri... more This thesis examines to what extent, and in what ways, modernism impacted the American Presbyterian Mission (APM) in Thailand between 1891 and 1941. At the end of the nineteenth century, an American Protestant missionary consensus assumed proselytization and social service as legitimate goals of mission but the spread of theological liberalism, later classed as modernism, eventually disturbed that consensus. The American Presbyterian mission, however, sought to preserve missionary consensus in Thailand even after it had broken down in China. The APM, which was virtually the only Protestant mission working in Thailand from the mid-nineteenth century until World War II, sought to project a broadly conservative image while engaging in evangelistic, educational, and medical work. The presence of modernism among the missionaries, however, impacted their relationships and work. There were four dimensions of modernist influence among the APM Thailand missionaries, 1) their responses to modern biblical criticism, 2) the influence of theological revisionism in the west, 3) the encounter with Thai Buddhism and its implications for Christian uniqueness, and 4) the desire to modernize Christianity to appeal to Thailand’s educated elite. Though the APM Thailand missionaries were not always aware of the theological convictions of their fellow missionaries due to geographical separation and a pragmatic prioritization on their own work, tensions developed among them. Starting in the late 1920s, the nature and extent of these tensions were brought into relief by foreign visitors who interpreted what they found in Thailand through the lens of their own experience of modernism and fundamentalism in the United States and China. Unitarian journalist Charles Selden, American fundamentalist Donald Grey Barnhouse, and Chinese evangelist John Sung each brought their own unique perspectives, interpreting and engaging with the theological diversity they found among APM missionaries in Thailand. The PCUSA Board of Foreign Missions and the leaders of the APM Thailand mission worked hard to hold together missionaries whose theological differences became more evident over time. However, in the years just prior to World War II, controversy related to divergent theological convictions ultimately proved impossible to avoid. Though modernist thinking was not absent from changing missionary motivations and perceptions of non-Christian religions and evangelism, there was ultimately little explicitly doctrinal controversy in Thailand when compared to the United States and China. This thesis concludes that modernism was present among American Presbyterian missionaries in Thailand and contributed to tensions among them yet did not lead to significant modernist-fundamentalist controversy due to factors related to the Thailand mission context. In the area of world Christianity, the primary contribution of this research is to show how modernism intersected with the development of Protestant mission strategy in Thailand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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Book Review - Aminta Arrington, Songs of the Lisu Hills: Practicing Christianity in Southwest China

Studies in World Christianity, 2021

Readers familiar with mission history in East Asia may have heard of J. O. Fraser, the early-twen... more Readers familiar with mission history in East Asia may have heard of J. O. Fraser, the early-twentieth-century C.I.M. missionary who did pioneer evangelism among the Lisu people of south-west China. His story has been the subject of multiple biographies, but many may not know what has become of Lisu Christianity since Fraser. In Songs of the Lisu Hills, Aminta Arrington skilfully fills this gap, recounting the history and development of Lisu Christianity from its early days to the present in a way that puts the Lisu Christians, and not Fraser and other missionaries, at the centre of the story. This book is not a mere history of Lisu Christianity, however, but also the reflective analysis of a participant-observer who weaves together first-hand accounts of modern Lisu Christians and their practices with academic analysis, setting the Lisu Christians in cultural, religious, linguistic and political context.

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A New Hope for Understanding: Adapting the Buddhist Paradigm of Merit Transference to Explain the Substitutionary Sacrifice of Christ

This paper aims to examine the implications, benefits, and challenges of using the Buddhist conce... more This paper aims to examine the implications, benefits, and challenges of using the Buddhist concept of merit transference to explain the redemptive work of Christ to those with a karmic worldview, with particular attention to the Theravada Buddhist context. The first part of the paper will examine the nature of karma, merit, and merit transference as they exist in the minds of Buddhists, particularly Theravada Buddhists. The second part of the paper will deal with adapting the merit transference paradigm to explain the cross of Christ, followed by an analysis of the potentially positive and negative consequences of presenting the Gospel in this way.

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The Sinner’s Prayer in Animistic Cultures: Problems and Solutions

Mission Round Table, 2020

This article briefly reviews the origin and history of the altar call and the sinner’s prayer, re... more This article briefly reviews the origin and history of the altar call and the sinner’s prayer, reflects on misunderstandings that can occur when used among those with animistic worldviews, and suggests an alternative approach to helping people come to Christ. The reflection is based on Dahlfred’s experience in the context of Thai folk Buddhists who practice a combination of Theravada Buddhism and various local animistic beliefs. As animistic cultures around the world share similar worldviews and practices, the conclusions of this article should be broadly applicable to a variety of cultural contexts in diverse parts of the world where evangelical Christians are seeking to share the gospel with people influenced by animism.

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