Blog Entries on Christianity in China
What Day Is This?
I'm already two weeks into my current episode of jet lag, so I know there is no excuse. However, I still find myself waking up in the morning and wondering, "What day is this anyway?"
Coming to Terms with the Church
An article that appeared last month in China's official press raises interesting questions about how the church in China is viewed by both the Chinese state and society.
The Church in China: Asking the Wrong Questions?
The church in China is often viewed through two prevailing and related paradigms. The "persecuted church" paradigm positions the church and the Chinese government in perpetual opposition to one another, while the "Christian China" paradigm sees Christianity as bringing a new moral order to China and foresees the day when the church will usher in political change.
Victor Plymire: A Faith Worth Imitating
This article looks at a few key events in the life of Victor Plymire, a pioneer missionary to Tibet in the early 20th century. My prayer is that this brief glimpse into his life will enlarge your view of God so that your faith would be strengthened and you might pursue God with renewed determination. Additionally, I hope that you would see the tremendous value of history and biography for the Christian life and the Church universal.
St. Matteo?
The Atlantic magazine just published an article about a move within the Vatican to canonize Matteo Ricci, the first Jesuit missionary to China, titled "Can Matteo Ricci's beatification mend China's rift with the Catholic Church?"
Catholic or Christian?
When I first went to China, I was bombarded with many odd (to me anyway) questions: can you use chopsticks? How much money do you make? Why do American parents kick their children out of the house at age 18? On and on they went.
But I'll never forget the time a student asked me, "What's the difference between Catholic and Christian?"
How Many Catholics in China?
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the 25th National Catholic China Conference at Loyola University in Chicago. The United States Catholic China Conference sponsored the conference and the theme was "The American Catholic Church and China in an Era of Globalization."
Remembering Samuel Lamb
Rev. Samuel Lamb (Lin Xiangao) passed away in Guangzhou on August 3, 2013. He was 88 years old.
Pursuing the Right “Dream”
The "China Dream" which the country's newly installed leaders are promoting is largely a vision of economic growth and prosperity, couched in terms of national pride and increasing strength vis-a-vis the international community. This vision of a strong and prosperous country is not new; late-Qing reformers and May 4th activists alike sounded a similar call, and progress a century later is still measured against the backdrop of this longstanding national struggle.
China’s Church through Western Eyes
Scanning the headlines on any given day, one cannot but take note of the vastly different portraits of China which emerge.