† 24.1.2 Tang Dynasty [618–907]
·
Nestorians: The Nestorians sent missionary Olopan to
† 24.1.3 Yuan Dynasty [1271–1368]
·
Father John: Franciscan missionary John Montecorvino visited
† 24.1.4 Ming Dynasty [1368–1644]
·
Matteo Ricci 利馬竇(1552–1610)— Matteo Ricci was a Jesuit proficient in Chinese
language and culture. He was invited to
† 24.1.5 Qing Dynasty [1644–1911]
·
Jesuits: Kangxi Emperor banned Christian missionaries as a result of the
controversy involving Chinese rites [1721]. Later, all Christianity was banned
[1775], and the work of the RCC in
† 24.2.1 Missionaries
·
Robert Morrison 馬禮遜(1782–1834)—Scotsman: He settled (and eventually died) in
·
Hudson Taylor 戴德生(1832–1905)—English: He founded the China Inland Mission [1865]. He
spent most of his adult life in
· The “Cambridge Seven” 劍橋七傑—7 Cambridge graduates joined the China Inland Mission [1885].
† 24.3.1 Anti-Christian activities
· May 4 Movement [1919]: It was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement. Because Christianity was regarded as part of imperialism, the movement also opposed Christianity.
·
Anti-Religion Coalition [1922]: It was formed by academics who opposed and criticized
Christianity. Large scale labour strikes were organized. Many foreign
missionaries were forced to leave
† 24.3.2 Establishment of independent churches
· [1] The Church of Christ in China 中華基督教會[1927]; [2] Christian Tabernacle 基督徒會堂[1925]: founded by Wang Ming Dao王明道 in Beijing; [3] Local Church 地方教會[1927]: founded by Watchman Nee倪柝聲 in Shanghai; [4] Jesus Family 耶穌家庭[1919]: founded by Jing Dian Ying敬奠瀛 in Shandong.
† 24.4.1 Period 1: Reorganization [1949–1960]
· Three-Self Movement: In 1949, there were an estimated 3 million Christians in China. 3,000 foreign missionaries were expelled by 1951. The communist government helped the formation of the Three-Self churches [1954]. They were controlled by the communists and used for political indoctrination.
† 24.4.2 Period 2: Persecution [1960–1976]
· Corruption: The Three-Self Movement gradually became a propaganda tool of the communists. House churches were founded after 1960s. They were suppressed by the government but grew quickly. The Three-Self Movement cooperated with the government by exposing the location of house churches.
· Cultural Revolution [1966–1976]: All public churches stopped worship services. Bibles, hymn books, and books were all burnt. Leaders of the Three-Self Movement were purged. Yet the house churches did not stop meeting. Miracles frequently occurred, leading to new converts. They were more developed in rural areas.
† 24.4.3 Period 3: Adjustment [1976– ]
· Change in policy: After the Cultural Revolution, the government relaxed its policy towards religions. Worship services in the public three-self churches started [1978]. The printing of Bibles began again. The government, however, periodically suppressed the church, such as after the release of Document 6 [1991].
· Recent situation: In 2006, the government forced all house churches to register with the government and they started a new cycle of persecution. Despite the suppressive policies, the gospel continues to convert thousands of new Christians everyday. The present estimated number of Christians is between 80 and 100 million.
† 25.1.3 World Council of Churches (WCC) founded in Amsterdam [1948]
· WCC has turned to the left in their objective, making salvation earthly and physical rather than spiritual. It often sacrificed sound theology for union based on the lowest common denominator. Evangelization gives way to radical political and social revolution. It became an instrument of socialism and communism.
† 25.2.7 International Congress on World Evangelization founded in Lausanne [1974]
· The Lausanne Movement is the response of the conservative Christians to the WCC. It aims for “the total evangelization of the world.” They emphasize loyalty to the inspired Scripture as the infallible rule of faith and practice, and that social concern and action are a relevant part of the gospel.
† 25.3.2 Liberation Theology
·
In
† 25.4.1 Characteristics of Evangelicalism
· Evangelicals are those who hold to the historic doctrines of Christian faith, including the Bible as God’s Word, the deity of Christ, and salvation by faith and not works. They emphasize evangelism.
† 25.4.2 Increase in the number of Evangelicals
o There has been a clear decline in attendance in liberal mainline churches. In contrast, there has been an increasing attendance in evangelical churches. Research shows that orthodox Christian belief is the best predictor of church participation. In the Third World, there are massive conversions to Christianity and most churches are evangelical.
† 25.4.3 New directions in Evangelicalism
o
Televangelism—Evangelism
through radio and television began in late 1970s. Today, they reached an audience of 50 million
each work and received millions of contributions every week. However, it has
been tainted by moral lapses of televangelists Marvin Gorman [1986], Jim Bakker
[1987], and Jimmy Swaggart [1988].
o Social involvement: The liberal evangelicals stressed the defense of social and economic rights of the poor and the oppressed, and the protection of the environment, but they support moral relativism. The conservative evangelicals affirm both social assistance and social action. They emphasize moral issues such as abortion and homosexuality.
|
[1] treasure our heritage |
The gospel was brought to China by
selfless western missionaries. |
|
[2] appreciate God’s providence |
The Chinese church grows despite
cycles of persecution by the communists. |
|
[3] avoid past errors |
Decline mainline churches is
caused by compromising the Word of God. |
|
[4] apply our knowledge |
Both Wang Ming Dao and Watchman
Nee emphasized the commitment of Christians to live a deeply dedicated life. |
|
[5] follow past saints |
Many Chinese Christians died or
were jailed for 15-30 years for their faith. |