When Archbishop Kanishka Raffel came to Australia in 1972 as a small child, his home faith was Buddhism. The story of how he came to believe in Jesus has now been told on video, which is available for playing in churches or to pass on to friends.
The Archbishop’s story has been told in print and on radio, but he was moved to record a video version after a request from Anglican Chinese churches. He talks about how he became interested in studying Buddhism as a teenager and also asked Christians about their faith.
“I had a conversation with a Christian friend of mine and asked him what it meant for him to be a Christian,” the Archbishop says in the video. “He said it meant he had lost control of his life to Jesus Christ. It was a very surprising answer for me as a Buddhist, knowing that part of my Buddhist practice was to exercise mental and physical control over every part of my life.”
In reading John’s gospel, he was intrigued by the dynamic and engaging personality of Jesus.
“In John's gospel, the writer uses the phrase, ‘At this, the people were divided’,” he says. “Jesus will do something, and people will divide in their response to it, and I began to ask myself the question, ‘Which side am I on? Why am I not on Jesus’ side?’
“Eventually, I couldn't think of a good reason for being against Jesus and I decided to follow him.”
You can watch Archbishop Raffel’s video story on YouTube at youtube.com/sydneyanglicans – or download for your church or friends at vimeo.com/sydneyanglicans in English or with Chinese subtitles.
