Have never given much thoughts to child monks and of course, here, it means Buddhist monks. Have seen them in Chinese kung fu movies and they probably are all over Asia; in Thailand, Myanmar especially; it's customary, even an honour ; for young boys to enter a Buddhist monastery and become a novice monk. Child preachers, however are something new to me even though they have been in existence for a long time. In America, their heydays was said to be in the 1920s and 1930s. Some branches of Christianity, especially American pentecostalism, a Protestant Christian movement that emphasises direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit, even ordain children as ministers. Ezekiel Stoddard, for instance, was ordained in Maryland in 2012 when he was 11 and has been touted as America’s next superstar evangelist. Marjoe Gortner, in the 40s, at just four could already give sermons and his parents even arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony. I can't remember seeing child Buddhist monks performing ceremonies and giving sermons though.
Comments