Editor’s note: What gospel obstacles have kept Christianity from taking deep root in China?
Guo Muyun, a house church pastor, thinks the challenges go back millenia. In Part 1 of this series, Guo argued that Christianity has made inroads in China three different times: with the Nestorians during the Tang Dynasty; with the Jesuits in the 1500s and following; and then in the 1800s as Protestant missionaries began to arrive.
Guo believes Chinese Christians need to hold tightly to the truth, and not seek to “over-contextualize” their faith. Instead of bending Christianity to conform to China, ordinary people need to see what true faith preaches, and to witness that true faith lived out. For Christianity to grow like a native plant in China, normal people need to see how faith challenges, blesses, and changes society.
Gospel Obstacle: Jesus and Gunboats
The third time Christianity came to China, this time via Robert Morrison [who in 1807 was the first Protestant missionary to China], it took root successfully. That time, the missionaries came in – and they succeeded. But the lingering side effect of that success is that, even today, mainstream ideological textbooks and articles tell us that Christianity came into China with the gunboats and cannons of imperialism.[1]
This is actually a complex matter. Basically, the critique of Christianity arriving on gunboats is nonsense – but it’s not totally without basis. The vast majority of Christian missionaries gave excellent witness and sacrificed themselves for China, including Hudson Taylor and many others.
Even today, mainstream ideological textbooks and articles tell us that Christianity came into China with the gunboats and cannons of imperialism.
Yet, at the same time, it’s pretty clear that a small number of both Catholics and Protestants did indeed collude with officials, merchants, and religious figures. This brought on some very negative influences. It’s worth reflecting on these different aspects.
Sinicize Christianity – or Christianize China?
As we look to Chinese culture today, we face a choice between two common phrases: the “Sinicization of Christianity,” and the “Christianization of China.” These two terms are completely different, and they represent a fundamental choice over which direction we should go.
Nestorianism taught us that excessively flattering Chinese culture, overestimating Chinese culture, and leaning too extensively on Chinese culture to express Christian faith is not the best choice.
We also see that it might not work to try the “high-level route.” Our situation is not like that of barbarian tribes occupying Europe in the early church period, when converting the king meant converting the nation. We need to think of other approaches.
Excessively flattering Chinese culture, overestimating Chinese culture, and leaning too extensively on Chinese culture to express Christian faith is not the best choice. We also see that it might not work to try the “high-level route.””
For ordinary people, witness is crucial. It’s not just about theological purity. Your level of practical demonstration may be even more important than theological purity. You need to let ordinary people see what these things look like in action.
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I can draw certain reflections from all this. As Christians in China, it is important that we maintain theological purity. Our doctrinal positions must be clear, and we should not go down the path of trying to “Sinicize Christianity.” “Christianizing China” is the right direction.
Understand the World
Finally, don’t “hide yourself away in your own little world.” [2] Don’t shut your ears to what is happening outside, and have your heart set only on reading the Bible. You need to understand the personal experiences and actual needs of ordinary people.
We should not go down the path of trying to “Sinicize Christianity.” “Christianizing China” is the right direction.
If you live in Hong Kong now, you need to know what Hong Kong people are doing. If you’re in Xinjiang, you need to know what Xinjiang people are doing. If you’re in Wuhan, you need to know what kind of suffering the people of Wuhan are enduring. You need to understand these things, and empathize deeply with the people. You need to let people feel that you are not standing aloof and detached, “untouched by worldly concerns.”[3]
Instead, you need to be like the early Christians. By their witness and good deeds, the early believers won unanimous recognition through all levels of Roman society.
Even when Diocletian, the Roman emperor, was persecuting the Christians, he himself had to acknowledge: “Look at what these Christians are doing. This is what we ourselves should be doing, yet we fall far short of them.”
These are several important reflections we can gain from examining history.
[1] The relationship between missionaries and Western colonialism – especially after Western powers forced China to open to the world following the Opium Wars – is a common emphasis in Chinese histories. The connection between missions and colonialism created a lasting suspicion of Christianity as a “foreign religion,” a suspicion that still exists today.
[2] This is a famous line from a poem by well-known early 20th century Chinese author Lu Xun. The line goes: “Hiding away in your own little world, who cares if it’s winter or summer? Who cares if it’s spring or autumn?” Lu Xun wrote the lines to criticize intellectuals who withdrew from society.
[3] This is a Chinese idiom that reads “不食人间烟火,” or “bù shí rén jiān yān huǒ.” Literally translated, it means “not eating the smoke and fire of the mortal world.” The idiom is used to describe someone who is seeking an ascetic life, free of materialistic desires and untouched by the struggles of ordinary human existence.
Guo Muyun is a pseudonym for a house church pastor. He was converted and baptized in college, and taught in a Chinese university for many years while also serving his church. He is married, and the father of four children.
Pray for God to break down gospel obstacles, so Christianity can flourish as a native fruit in China.
