Tag: Chinese Christianity
China’s Banned Bestseller
The availability of the Bible in China has long been a contentious topic. Whether it’s China “rewriting the Bible,” scripture apps disappearing from the Internet, or crackdowns on unofficial publishing, what we hear about the Good News in China is often anything but good news. A new book by Cynthia Oh suggests a different narrative. […]
Identity Beyond Nationalism
The journey of identity for Christians on both sides of the strait is to "leave the old identity" and experience a journey of a new identity, no longer bound by the unchangeable "past determining the future" but renewed in the light of the gospel.
The Predicament of Young Pastors in Contemporary China
I believe that this is not an era that demands achievements or pursues accomplishments, but rather an era that yearns for spiritual awakening. We must genuinely return to a place of rest, waiting upon God, encountering him in the depths of our souls, and hearing his gentle whisper. We must recognize that he is greater than all our actions and possessions, yet he encompasses our entire lives.
Crossing Cultures: Conveying the Gospel
Worldviews are extraordinarily resistant to change, and archetypical cultural and gospel metaphors shape how missionaries convey the gospel across cultural boundaries. That is why it is so important for Chinese missiologists to “understand and critically integrate” imported cultural and metaphor worldview presuppositions lest what they “staunchly affirmed as biblical may have had more to do with nurturing cultural mores…than with God’s eternal truth,” as Brent Fulton writes.
Homeward Bound: A Christian’s Return to China
Three months ago, I returned to China, and upon returning, I found the situation more urgent and needed than I imagined. From a spiritual perspective, China is like a dried-up pond, and I hope more people will come to serve in China, as it urgently needs your help. I am waiting for your arrival here.
Dragons and Devotion: Bridging Cultural Heritage with Christian Faith
I am not Chinese, and yet I was so helped by this exploration of the Year of the Dragon. And I realize that for my Chinese Christian brothers and sisters this series of articles may have produced a much deeper sense of relief than mine. For this I am grateful and looking forward to an eternity in which I can know them better.
Taking Confucian Spirituality Seriously
The Renovation of the Heart in Dallas Willard and Zhu Xi
We should not erect an artificial barrier to sharing the gospel of Jesus by insisting on a Western language that non-Christians in Asia are not familiar with. Jesus is the answer, yes, but to what questions? East Asian people have a rich tradition of spiritual formation in the general sense of renovating the heart.
American Evangelicalism and China: A Necessary Conversation
Addressing his readers in China, Ren Xiaopeng asks, “If American evangelicalism is in such an intellectually vacant state, where would Chinese Christianity, deeply influenced by American evangelicalism and fundamentalism, go next?” Their answer will be critical for the future of the Chinese church—and, if we are willing to listen, for the church in America as well.
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind and Chinese Christianity
Without a thorough understanding of American evangelicalism and how it was conceived within a specific historical context, Chinese Christianity could be prone to "imitating blindly," which could lead to "maladjustment" and "malnutrition," hindering its healthy growth and development in the future.
From Auspicious Dragon to Christian Devil
The Metamorphosis of Myth into Faith
In his reflection on cultural heritage, Rev. Chow acknowledges that while no one has physically seen a dragon, it stands as a potent spiritual symbol for the Chinese, embodying a complex and profound mix of emotions—a reverence filled with honor and dignity. Rather than dismissing the dragon for its mythical nature, Rev. Chow proposes that we "value it doubly, as an integral part of our treasured traditions."