[null, null, {"document_url": "http://xenizonta.blogspot.com/2015/12/canada-china-church-observers.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ehABKuUdAg/VnDkUYWuhJI/AAAAAAAAAqI/FHaEzBIvHIM/s200/nanjing%2Bseminary%2Bfront%2Bsign.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ehABKuUdAg/VnDkUYWuhJI/AAAAAAAAAqI/FHaEzBIvHIM/s200/nanjing%2Bseminary%2Bfront%2Bsign.jpg", "formatted_filename": "nanjing Bseminary Bfront Bsign", "rendered_width": 200, "rendered_height": 150}, null, {"document_url": "http://xenizonta.blogspot.com/2015/12/canada-china-church-observers.html", "unformatted_src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ObKNIE05uA4/VnDnh30GyFI/AAAAAAAAAqg/sFr7DZ4iirU/s200/yang%2Bhuilin%2Bbook.jpg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ObKNIE05uA4/VnDnh30GyFI/AAAAAAAAAqg/sFr7DZ4iirU/s200/yang%2Bhuilin%2Bbook.jpg", "formatted_filename": "yang Bhuilin Bbook", "rendered_width": 133, "rendered_height": 200}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]

Canada, China, Church: An Observer's Observations Two weeks ago I had the privilege of being an 'observer' at a forum between the China Christian Council and the United Church of Canada.  It was held at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. My presence there was part of growing partnership between the CCC and the Uniting Church in Australia. We had held a similar joint forum with the CCC in 2013 and hope another one might eventuate in the near future.

Here are a few highlights and learnings: Daniel H. Bays, A New History of Christianity in China (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)

Jason Kindopp and Caroll Lee Hamrin, God and Caesar in China: Policy Implications of Church-State Tension (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution 2004).

Justin Tan,  "Chinese Protestant Christianity" in The Church in China (Adelaide: ATF Theology, 2010) 83-120.

Yang Huilin, China Christianity and the Question of Culture  (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2014).

Gloria S. Tseng, "Revival Preaching and the Indigenization of Christianity in  Republican China", International Bulletin of Missionary Research 39 (2014): 177-182.

Alan Hunter and Kim Kwong Chan, Protestantism in Contemporary China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) Several themes emerges from even a rapid engagement with these works: the sheer complexity of the history (ancient and recent) of Christianity in China; the immense diversity of Christianity in China, a diversity which extends from the impact of contemporary Pentecostalism to alliances between Christianity and folk religion; and the challenges of being the Christian community in a one-party state (a challenge which is not reducible to the status respectively held by the registered and unregistered churches); and the need for Westerners to recognise that 'state' oversight of religious activities has been part of Chinese culture and society for over a millennium. I would also draw particular attention to the work by Yang Huilin mentioned above. Huilin is a leading Chinese academic, presently the Vice-President of Renmin University in Beijing. Huilin is among a group of Chinese intellectuals - only some of whom are Christian - who engage with Christian theology as an intellectual discipline in its own right. In this particular book Huilin engages Christian ethics, the place of theology in the humanities, Zizek's post-secular appropriation of Christianity, and even a chapter on Scriptural Reasoning, as tools for dialogue between China and the West. Whilst I understand there is some ambivalence from the church theologians towards this enterprise, it is fascinating - and perhaps salutary- that intellectuals outside the church find Christian ideas interesting precisely as ideas which have contributions to make to the welfare of Chinese culture.

Once again, I returned from a visit to China deeply grateful for the opportunity to be exposed to this growing church, and on this occasion also to learn about another united/uniting church, i.e., the United Church of Canada. The blog which the UCC delegation produced throughout its visit can be found here. I'm grateful to both delegations for letting me eavesdrop on their conversation.

Posted by Geoff Thompson at 3:46 PM Labels: Chinese Christianity, Contextual Theology, Ecclesiology, Gospel and Culture, Nanjing Theological Seminary, United Church of Canada, UnitingWorld
 United Church of Canada said...

A wonderful post! We've linked to it from our blog:

December 22, 2015 at 1:59 AM