Articles on Church and Culture
Supporting Article
Thoughts on Culture and Contextualization
The church does not exist in a vacuum. It responds to various cultural factors which raises many questions about the contextualization of the gospel. This article analyzes some key features of the cultural context of Chinese house churches.
CSQ Article
Might Christians and Confucians Actually Agree about Human Nature?
Theological Contextualization in China
For centuries, both Christianity and Confucianism have each sought to reconcile two families of ideas within their belief systems. The author suggests that these two ideologies may have a great deal in common.
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.
Peoples of China
Serving the Postmodern Generation
Having worked with Chinese students from overseas who are studying in North America, the author poses the question of how North American Chinese churches should modify their strategies in order to reach these students. After detailing some of the characteristics of postmodern students, he draws from his experience to explain and give examples of strategies he has found useful.
View From the Wall
The Postmodern Shift of Chinese Young People
The author looks at the postmodern shift in China as he has observed it and from a very practical point of view. He goes on to give examples of how this shift affects education, employment and daily living within the nation.
Supporting Article
Urge for Faith
Postmodern Beliefs among Urban Chinese
Historical events following Mao's death left an ideological vacuum in China. This has created a strong need for faith, even an urge, so as to avoid the risk of further social disruption and political instability. While postmodernism, with its relativity and lack of absolutes, is trying to fill this void, it also leaves people questioning and open to exploring faith.
Supporting Article
Identifying Postmodernism
The author provides a brief look at the history of postmodernism.
Lead Article
Postmodernism and Its Effects on China
An explanation of the rapid infiltration and rise of postmodernism in China is followed by a look at postmodernism's multifaceted effects on the nation. Postmodern trends in modern society, its challenges to traditional values and the infiltration of New Age and postmodern spirituality are discussed.
Editorials
Changing Culture
Editor's Note: This editorial originally appeared in "Chinese Culture: Continuity or Discontinuity?" (ChinaSource, 2010 Spring).