Christianity also negates the worship of images and it is a command given as early as in the Old Testament times to Moses on Mount Sinai. Early idol-worship practices occurred and Paul, the Apostle states that the sacrifices pagans offer to are for demons and not to God. So, Jesus himself abolished the Jewish sacrificial system and instituted worship to God with prayers. Any form of idolatry is prohibited as the spirits are identified as demons or evil spirits impersonated by Satan and believers are not to engagein praying to the spirits. The Christian perspective of death is that Jesus has overcome the power of death through his resurrection and He has abolished the fear of death over all those who believe in Him. As a result, Chinese Christians, even pregnant women need not have any qualms about attending funerals as the fear of spirits is unfounded, and they are in victory, liberated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Anderson (2015) explains in his series of books the different aspects of freedom in Christ and one aspect is freedom of man in Christ from superstition and atavistic fears. There is a distinctive contrast between Christian practices and Chinese traditional culture regarding beliefs in the afterlife. In the Chinese cultural context, the present life and the afterlife are connected and they cannot be separated, due to the influence of Buddhist teachings. If the soul of the deceased is adequately provided for, it would not wander around and cause difficulties for the living. Instead they have the ability to bring prosperity humans. The spirits are also considered dangerous as they are believed to feel offended if they are not appeased by sacrificial offerings. Tan (2003) explains that Chinese believe that the dead will benefit from the actions of the living descendants and vice-versa. However, according to the bible, he emphasizes, there is no merit system’and in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, the dead are said to be ignorant of all ‘two-way the human affairs of the living and have nothing to do with those who are alive. In other
Christianity also negates the worship of images and it is a command given as early as in the Old Testament times to Moses on Mount Sinai. Early idol-worship practices occurred and Paul, the Apostle states that the sacrifices pagans offer to are for demons and not to God. So, Jesus himself abolished the Jewish sacrificial system and instituted worship to God with prayers. Any form of idolatry is prohibited as the spirits are identified as demons or evil spirits impersonated by Satan and believers are not to engagein praying to the spirits. The Christian perspective of death is that Jesus has overcome the power of death through his resurrection and He has abolished the fear of death over all those who believe in Him. As a result, Chinese Christians, even pregnant women need not have any qualms about attending funerals as the fear of spirits is unfounded, and they are in victory, liberated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Anderson (2015) explains in his series of books the different aspects of freedom in Christ and one aspect is freedom of man in Christ from superstition and atavistic fears. There is a distinctive contrast between Christian practices and Chinese traditional culture regarding beliefs in the afterlife. In the Chinese cultural context, the present life and the afterlife are connected and they cannot be separated, due to the influence of Buddhist teachings. If the soul of the deceased is adequately provided for, it would not wander around and cause difficulties for the living. Instead they have the ability to bring prosperity humans. The spirits are also considered dangerous as they are believed to feel offended if they are not appeased by sacrificial offerings. Tan (2003) explains that Chinese believe that the dead will benefit from the actions of the living descendants and vice-versa. However, according to the bible, he emphasizes, there is no ‘two-way merit system’and in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, the dead are said to be ignorant of all the human affairs of the living and have nothing to do with those who are alive. In other
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