Political theology in China: Difference between revisions
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== Key figures == |
== Key figures == |
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[[File:毛泽东和吴耀宗交谈.jpg|thumb|[[Mao Zedong]] and [[Y. T. Wu]] (June 1950)]] |
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* [[Wang Yi (pastor)|Wang Yi]] (b. 1973) |
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In the 1920s, Y. T. Wu was a pacifist and seek to create fellowship among youth. He aimed to cultivate the personality compatible with the spirit of Jesus for the liberation and development of the people's life. During next decade, Wu was attracted to the social gospel which aims to solve the problems of social injustice and to advocate gradual social reform. The focus would be shifted from individual salvation to social salvation. In his mind, Christians should participate in the social reform to create an ideal society, which is the way to advance the kingdom of heaven.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Wu Yaozong wenji|trans-title=Collected Writings of Wu Yaozong|last=Wu Yaozong|publisher=China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement|year=2010|isbn=|location=Shanghai|pages=386}}</ref> From the mid-1930s to 1949, Wu started to appreciate and sympathize with communist theory of social revolution and he gradually realized that communism would be the only way for the national salvation. In 1941, in his theological treatise ''No Man Has Seen God'', he wrote:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33983799|title=Christianity in China: From the eighteenth century to the present|last=Gao Wangzhi|chapter=Y. T. Wu: A Christian Leader Under Communism|date=1996|publisher=Stanford University Press|editor-last=Bays|editor-first=Daniel H.|isbn=9780804736510|location=Stanford|pages=342|oclc=33983799}}</ref> |
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<blockquote>Our conclusion is that belief in God is not contradictory to materialism, just as it is not contradictory to "evolution," because both "evolution" and materialism can be taken as the means by which God reveals Himself in nature…. A person who believes in God can also believe in materialism…. Even a materialist should be able to accept faith in God…. How do we know in the future the two seemingly contradictory systems of thought will not achieve a new synthesis?</blockquote> |
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This paragraph illustrates his expectation of harmonious relationship between Christian faith and communism. This belief encouraged Wu to carry on his career in the new China in the 1950s when Wu was trusted by the communist leader, because of his intimacy with communism, and launched the TSPM in 1951.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33983799|title=Christianity in China: From the eighteenth century to the present||last=Gao Wangzhi|chapter=Y. T. Wu: A Christian Leader Under Communism|date=1996|publisher=Stanford University Press|editor-last=Bays|editor-first=Daniel H.|isbn=9780804736510|location=Stanford|pages=338-352|oclc=33983799}}</ref> In order to response to the purge the political sphere of the impact of "Three Mountains" including imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism in the political sphere, the churches which participated in TSPM started to charge foreign missions. In a serial article under the title of "The Reformation of Christianity: On the Awakening of Christians," Wu said:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Documents of the Three-Self Movement: Source Materials for the Study of the Protestant Church in Communist China|last=|first=|publisher=National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A|year=1963|isbn=|location=New York|pages=13-14}}</ref> |
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<blockquote>we believe that renovation within Christianity must come. Christianity once passed from the Roman religion under feudalism to Protestantism under capitalism. Now the development is from capitalism to socialism…. Christianity must learn that the present period is one of liberation for the people, the collapse of the old system.… God had taken the key to the salvation of mankind from its hand and given it to another.</blockquote> |
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Before the 1950s, influenced by his predecessor Y. T. Wu, Ting joined the [[YMCA|Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)]], attempting to devote to the national salvation and advocating that Christianity focuses not just individual salvation, but also social salvation. At that time, he also appreciated communism, though he showed cautious. In 1948 when he commented on the civil war in China, he wrote:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19971381|title=No longer strangers ; selected writings of Bishop K.H. Ting|last=Ting|first=K. H.|date=1989|publisher=Orbis Books|others=Whitehead, Raymond L.|year=|isbn=9780883446539|location=Maryknoll, NY|pages=116|oclc=19971381}}</ref> |
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<blockquote>With the fall of Chiang and the Kuomintang government, and after the defeat of contemporary Chinese reactionaries who now rally around Chiang, a democratic coalition government will be formed in which Communists, Democratic Leaguers, progressive Nationalists and members of other anti-reactionary parties will all participate. What Americans think of as a Communist dictatorship is not in the wind for China's future.</blockquote> |
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[[File:Jinling Union Theological Seminary 2011-05.JPG|thumb|[[Nanjing Union Theological Seminary]], the flagship seminary of the [[Three-Self Patriotic Movement]]]] |
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After he returned the new China in 1951, he joined the Three-self movement which was led by Y. T. Wu and chose to cooperate with the CCP regime. Ting became one of most influential Christian leaders in the national [[Three-Self Patriotic Movement|Three-self Patriotic Movement]] and the [[China Christian Council]] since the 1980s. |
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Ting's writings were mainly published after the 1980s. Ting formally started to construct his theological discourse aiming to deal with the relation of Christian faith with communism and other religions; meanwhile, he promoted "theological reconstruction" in an attempt to construct indigenous theology on the basis of Chinese socio-political and religio-cultural context. |
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'''Ecclesiology''': The TSPM was regarded as the application of the three principles of self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation. Ting claimed that "it is work of God."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19971381|title=No longer strangers ; selected writings of Bishop K.H. Ting|last=Ting|first=K. H.|date=1989|publisher=Orbis Books|others=Whitehead, Raymond L.|year=|isbn=9780883446539|location=Maryknoll, NY|pages=143|oclc=19971381}}</ref> Ting avidly accused Wang Mingdao of distorting the meaning of three principles and refusing to cooperate with TSPM. Besides, he believed that the church should play an active role in the society for serving the people, rather than cling to the church just paying attention to individual salvation. |
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'''Cosmic Christology''': Ting summarizes that to understand Christ having a cosmic nature needs to know two aspects:<ref>{{Cite book|title=God is Love|last=Ting|first=K. H.|publisher=Cook Communications|year=2004|isbn=|location=|page=111}}</ref> |
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<blockquote>(1) the universal extent of Christ's domain, concern and care, and (2) the kind of love which we get a taste of in Jesus Christ as we read the Gospels being the first and supreme attribute of God and the basic to the structure and dynamic of the universe, in the light of which we get an insight as to how things go in the world.</blockquote> |
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Influenced by [[Alfred North Whitehead]]'s process theology, Ting argues that creation is a long process in which Christ not just participated in creation in the beginning, but continues to sustain the incomplete creation. Redemption is in the process of creation. Following this, he contends that not Christians but humankind are involved in Christ's redemptive work. In this way, he appeals to Christians to appreciate the values in communism and other religio-cultural resources.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tang|first=Edmond|date=October 1995|title=The Cosmic Christ — the search for a Chinese theology|url=http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.1995.1.2.131|journal=Studies in World Christianity|volume=1|issue=2|pages=131–142|doi=10.3366/swc.1995.1.2.131|issn=1354-9901}}</ref> |
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'''"The sinned against"''': Ting stresses that Chinese theology should emphasize "the sinned against" rather than the sin. Because China is a Confucian society where the theory of the goodness of human nature is the mainstream.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44801525|title=Love never ends : papers|last=Ting|first=K. H.|date=2000|publisher=Yilin Press|editor-last=Wickeri|editor-first=Janice|year=|isbn=9787806570678|location=Nanjing|pages=43-48|oclc=44801525}}</ref> The emphasis of "The sinned against" leads people to know the love of God and receive consolation after a long-time oppression and suffering in the history.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19971381|title=No longer strangers: Selected writings of Bishop K.H. Ting|last=Ting|first=K. H.|date=1989|publisher=Orbis Books|others=Whitehead, Raymond L.|year=|isbn=9780883446539|location=Maryknoll, NY|pages=72-74|oclc=19971381}}</ref> |
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'''Relation between Christians and atheists''': Atheists can be grouped into at least three categories of atheists: moral bankrupts, honest atheists and humanitarian atheists. The last category is referred to reformers and revolutionaries who have good morals and show God's love.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/844772768|title=Theosis, Sino-Christian theology and the second Chinese enlightenment : heaven and humanity in unity|last=Chow|first=Alexander|date=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=|isbn=9781137312624|location=New York|pages=115|oclc=844772768}}</ref> Ting considers that Christians should get along well with non-Christians and atheists of all sorts. Besides, he further stresses that "Provisional unities of truths we can observe with joy and thanksgiving because they illuminate us and point toward the ultimate unity in Christ which is the promise of his revelation."<ref>{{Cite book|title=God is Love|last=Ting|first=K. H.|publisher=Cook Communications|year=2004|isbn=|location=Colorado Springs, CO|pages=171-177}}</ref> |
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=== Wang Yi === |
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Wang Yi ({{zh|s=王怡}}; Pen Name: {{zh|p=Wang Shuya|s=王书亚}}) (b. June 1973) is a pastor in a Chinese Calvinist house church, Early Rain Reformed Church ({{zh|p=Qiuyu Zhifu Guizheng Jiaohui|s=秋雨之福归正教会}}), in Chengdu. He is also a productive writer, editor, and social activist, and was a scholar at Chengdu University before he resigned. In 2004, he was included in the list of "50 Most Influential Public Intellectuals of China" by [[Southern People Weekly]]. In 2005, he was converted, baptized, and started to serve in the house church. He was among the few pioneering Christian human-rights attorneys in China. In 2008, Wang attended Conference for Global Christians in Law in [[Washington, D.C.]] and was awarded "Prize for the Contribution to Promoting Religious Freedom." In the same year, he founded and started to serve the Chengdu Early Rain Reformed Church. In October 2011, he was ordained and became the senior pastor of the church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://refo500.stemi.id/home/indonesian|title=Reformation 500|website=Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International|language=en|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref><ref name="Chow"/> |
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'''Church-state relations''': Regarding the church-state relations, drawing the resources in the Western tradition, Wang Yi argues that the idea of the separation of church and state was originated from the tradition of Christianity. He criticizes the Three-self church in China which has been caught up in the danger of idolatry of nationalism. It is easy for a nation without the principle of separation of church to worship secular authorities, which results in idolatry. When he talks about this principle, Wang refers it to part of the American politics which are deeply rooted in Calvinist theology of church-state, rather than the strict application of secular principle in French constitution; he thinks, the latter one ignores the most important part in the theology: sovereignty of God. Furthermore, he claims that the nation cannot interfere with church affairs on the one hand and should be obliged to protect the religious freedom out of the divine duty on the other.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852503041|title=Ling hun shen chu nao zi you|trans-title=Revolution in the depth of soul|last=Wang Yi|date=2012|publisher=Ji wen she Chuban|year=|isbn=9789868637955|location=Taipei|pages=250-269|oclc=852503041}}</ref> All in all, Wang Yi "wants to assert the superiority of the perspective of Calvinistic Puritans in its simultaneous pursuit of a constitutional polity and a transcendent power, which thereby provides a stronger basis for the separation of church and state."<ref name="Chow"/> |
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'''Publicity of the house church''': Wang wants to promote the transparency and publicity of the house church. Wang advocates that churches are ought to not only listen for God's voice, but also engage in the public affairs. He summarizes that the Reformed church in China should have pastoral mission for the Chinese church and prophetic mission for Chinese society.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852503041|title=Ling hun shen chu nao zi you|trans-title=Revolution in the depth of soul|last=Wang Yi|date=2012|publisher=Ji wen she Chuban|year=|isbn=9789868637955|location=Taipei|pages=293|oclc=852503041}}</ref> |
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== Key documents == |
== Key documents == |
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Revision as of 13:56, 1 December 2017
 | This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (November 2017) |
Christian political theology in China includes responses from Chinese Christian leaders and scholars who deal with the relationship between Christianity and politics in the specific socio-political context of the region. The relationship between Christianity and politics in China can be seen from the religion's earliest encounters with the country during the imperial period, with the Church of the East's interaction with the Emperor Taizong and Jesuit missionaries in the Ming court. But it has developed the most in the 20th and 21st centuries after the establishments of the Republic of China and People's Republic of China, especially through the establishment of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and rise of house churches.
Imperial China
The history of the relationship between Christianity and politics in China could be traced to Tang Dynasty (618-907), when scholars believe that Christianity first came to China.[1] Emperor Taizong and his successors of adopted the policy of religious tolerance. They allowed the mission of Church of the East monks and invited them to translate scriptures for the empire. In 845, during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, the Church of the East was misunderstood as a sect of Buddhism and was banned by Emperor Wuzong. In Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), several Mongol tribes converted to Christianity through the Church of the East. During this time, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church also sent envoys to the Mongol Empire capital Khanbaliq (present day Beijing).
In Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Jesuits initiated mission in China. Matteo Ricci would be the most well-known among these missionaries. Jesuits exerted considerable influence at court via the policy of accommodation and converted several senior officials, such as Xu Guangqi. In Qing dynasty (1636–1912), Catholic missionaries still played important roles at court as consultants of emperors. In the 18th century, the Chinese Rites controversy had raised tension between the Vatican and Qing dynasty's Emperors. Emperor Yongzheng was formally against Christian converts among Manchu people and banned the mission again.
After the First Opium War (1839-1842), with the aid of several unequal treaties, Christian missionaries were allowed to evangelize in China and continue to import the Western civilization to China. The impression that missionaries allied with foreign powers made Chinese people became hostile to Christianity, which further influenced the relationship between Christianity and politics since then. Many anti-missionary riots (Jiao'an), the Boxer Rebellion, and anti-Christian movement, can be considered as the consequences of such relationship.
Republic of China
The 20th century witnessed the emergence of some indigenous theologians in China. Arising from the concern of national salvation in the background of foreign invasion, cultural crisis, and anti-Christian movement, Christian leaders like Y. T. Wu advocated Christianity as a way of saving China. Wu appealed to revolution theory and constructed indigenous Christian theology.[2]
People's Republic of China
After 1949, the founding of People's Republic of China, the Chinese Christian leaders encountered new challenges— the new regime of the communist government is based on atheistic ideology of Marxism. They had to decide how to deal with the relationship with the atheistic government. There were different attitudes and theologies among them: some of them, such as Y. T. Wu, who were willing to support the new government, initiated the Three-Self movement (TSPM) in 1950s and reconstructed theology in terms of cooperation; others, such as Wang Mingdao, who were unwilling to endorse the radical TSPM and refused to be pro-communist, are regarded as the forerunners of the present-day house church.[3]
In the 1950s Denunciation Campaigns, Some Christian leaders, such as Wang Mingdao, Watchman Nee, from the opposing camp were arrested and sentenced in the name of counter-revolutionaries. During the ten years of Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), all the religious activities were banned and many Christians met and worshiped in the Christians' houses.
In 1980s, religious activities recovered and churches gradually opened. However, Christians who were unwilling to joined the TSPM churches and chose to gather in unregistered house churches which gather in personal houses or apartments.[4] Y. T. Wu and K. H. Ting were leaders and representatives of the TSPM church; Wang Mingdao and Wang Yi would be representatives of the house church; the latter Wang is the pastor in the urban church in Chengdu which is not a traditional house church, but who still claims the link to the house church.[5]
On the other hand, in the Chinese Catholic church, owing to the unestablished diplomatic relation between Vatican and Chinese government, there is a tension among the Catholics who obey the Vatican and those Local government.
Key figures
- Y. T. Wu (1893–1979)
- K. H. Ting (1915–2012)
- Wang Yi (b. 1973)
Key documents
The Christian Manifesto
This document was published in July, 1950 and its original title was "Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of New China." The founding group of the Three-self Movement, including Y. T. Wu, drafted the document in consultation with Premier Zhou Enlai. During the Three-self Movement, 400,000 Protestant Christians signed on this document for public endorsement. The purpose of publishing of this document is:[6]
to heighten our vigilance against imperialism, to make known the clear political stand of Christians in New China, to hasten the building of a Chinese church whose affairs are managed by the Chinese themselves, and to indicate the responsibilities that should be taken up by Christians throughout the whole country in national reconstruction in New China.
This document marks the establishment of Three-self Movement and also shapes the basic relationship between the Three-self Church and state for the later period.
The 95 Theses of the Chinese Reformed Church
In August 2015, one of the most well-known Chinese urban church Early Rain Reformed Church led by its senior pastor Wang Yi in Chengdu posted a document titled "Reaffirming our Stance on the House Churches: 95 theses" in an attempt to reaffirm the Chinese house church's position in the relationship between government and society. These 95 theses demonstrates his opinion of the state-church relationship from the perspective of the house church.[7]
This document is divided into 6 sections:
- Theses 1-17: God's Sovereignty and Biblical Authority.
- Theses 18-31: God's Law and Christ's Redemption.
- Theses 32-39: Against the "Sinicization of Christianity."
- Theses 40-44: Church as the Body of Christ and His Kingdom.
- Theses 45-72: The Relationship between Two Kingdoms and the Separation of Church and State.
- Theses 73-95: Against the "Three-Self Movement" and Affirmation of the Great Commission.
See also
- Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
- House church (China)
- Political theology
- Three-Self Patriotic Movement
- Underground church
References
- ^ Bays, Daniel H. (2012). A new history of Christianity in China. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 4–16. ISBN 9781405159555. OCLC 707263763.
- ^ Kwok Pui-lan (May 2016). "Postcolonial Intervention in Political Theology". Political Theology. 17 (3): 223–225. doi:10.1080/1462317x.2016.1186443. ISSN 1462-317X.
- ^ Brook, Timothy (1996). "Christianity Under the Japanese Occupation". In Bays, Daniel H. (ed.). Christianity in China: From the eighteenth century to the present. Stanford: Stanford University Press. p. 334. ISBN 9780804736510. OCLC 33983799.
- ^ Liu Tongsu; Wang Yi (2012). Guan kan Zhongguo cheng shi jia ting jiao hui [Observations on the China's house churches in cities]. Taipei: Ji wen she Chuban. pp. 37–45. ISBN 9789868637962. OCLC 829939895.
- ^ Chow, Alexander (May 2014). "Calvinist Public Theology in Urban China Today". International Journal of Public Theology. 8 (2): 158–175. doi:10.1163/15697320-12341340. ISSN 1569-7320.
- ^ Documents of the Three-Self Movement. New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. 1963. pp. 19–20.
- ^ "95 Theses: The Reaffirmation of Our Stance on the House Church". China Partnership. Retrieved 27 November 2017.