Articles by G. Wright Doyle

G. Wright Doyle

G. Wright Doyle is the director of China Institute (www.reachingchineseworldwide.org) and Global China Center (www.globalchinacenter.org), the editor of Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity (www.bdcconline.net), and co-editor of Studies in Chinese Christianity, published by Wipf and Stock. For more on effective ministry among Chinese, see Reaching Chinese Worldwide, by G. Wright Doyle.

Supporting Article

Changing China, Changing Roles, Unchanging Commission

Foreigners in China Today

The changes in China are both positive and negative, and they require us to rethink the kinds of foreign Christians who are still needed in that country. Some kinds of foreigners are not needed while there is a great need for another kind—those who exemplify biblical values and priorities in all aspects of their lives. Not only can they help strengthen the testimony of Chinese believers and those who shepherd them, they can also act as evangelists.

Supporting Article

Confucian Comeback

An Interview with Fenggang Yang

Professor Fenggang Yang provides insightful answers to questions about Confucianism. His comments address topics such as the groups of people among whom Confucianism is growing, the influence of New Confucianists from overseas on Chinese society and thought, and concrete signs that Confucianism is growing in China.

Supporting Article

A Chinese Christian Critique of Confucianism

Chang provides a Christian understanding of the nature of Confucianism, its classics and the basic teachings of Confucius. This is followed by a critique of Confucianism from a biblical standpoint using classical theological categories (God, creation, man, sin and salvation and eschatology) to frame his comments. He also discusses a key component of traditional Confucianism, ancestor worship.

Book Reviews

The Christian Faith in Chinese Culture

A Book Review

Confucius, the Buddha, and Christ by Ralph R. Covell
and
Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation: A Systematic Theological Analysis of the Basic Problems in the Confucian-Christian Dialogue by Paulos Huang
Reviewed by G. Wright Doyle

Covell traces the history of the gospel in China from the Nestorians up to about 1980 and ways in which foreign missionaries, and then Chinese Christians, tried to express the gospel in terms which were, or were not, readily accessible to the people they hoped to reach. Huang's aim is to explain how different types of Confucianists have understood, and responded to the Christian doctrine of salvation.

Editorials

Perspectives on Confucianism

The guest editor's point of view.

Supporting Article

How Should Chinese Urban Churches Organize Themselves?

Over the past sixty years, the Protestant church in China has grown exponentially. Most of this increase has taken place in what are often called house churches. Many of these congregations meet in large buildings and are still called house churches. Therefore, the debate of whether it is better to meet in smaller groups in homes or to gather together in a larger venue. In addition, there is also debate about whether individual home-based congregations should join together in larger networks. This article will examine the question of a proper place for Christians to meet together.

Book Reviews

China’s New Confucianism

Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society

Daniel A. Bell, China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-691-13690-5; hardcover; 340 pages, including two appendices, notes, and bibliography.

Reviewed by G. Wright Doyle

Articles

Is Christianity a “Chinese” Religion?

Dr. Doyle brings a fresh perspective to the question of whether or not Christianity is a Chinese religion. Going beyond the traditional view, he approaches the question from many different directions providing compelling evidence that Christianity in China is Chinese.

Book Reviews

Practical Advice for Chinese Relationships

Encountering the Chinese: A Guide for Americans by Hu Wenzhong and Cornelius L. Grove. 

Reviewed by Sarah Doyle and G. Wright Doyle

Book Reviews

Where East Meets West

One World: Two Minds, Eastern and Western Outlooks in a Changing World by Denis Lane, 

Reviewed by Wright Doyle