Church and Culture
Reconsidering Traditional Teachings in Difficult Times
Could the entrance of Buddhism into China offer cultural insights on how to share the message of Christ in China today?
What to Take Home for the New Year
As Chinese Christians flock home for the New Year, Pastor Cheng Fengsheng encourages them to bring the most important gift of all.
CSQ Article
Might Christians and Confucians Actually Agree about Human Nature?
Theological Contextualization in China
For centuries, both Christianity and Confucianism have each sought to reconcile two families of ideas within their belief systems. The author suggests that these two ideologies may have a great deal in common.
Pastoral Advice During Chinese Valentine’s Day
On August 28, Chinese celebrated “Qixi,” also known as “Chinese Valentine’s Day." The holiday is based on a mythological Chinese folk story about a goddess who falls in love with a cowherder. Legend has it that prayers offered to the goddess on this day will bring blessings and wisdom.
The holiday has grown in popularity in recent years, sparking more discussion online about if and how Christians should celebrate the holiday. In this article, Chen Fengsheng, a Three-Self pastor in Wenzhou, provides Christians with pastoral advice regarding Qixi.
The Importance of the Gospel during Chinese New Year
This week sees the arrival of Chinese New Year, the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. Most of China will shut down for the week as people return to their ancestral homes to celebrate with family. For Chinese Christians, the holiday can often bring them mixed emotions: happiness and distress. Christians are excited to celebrate with family and friends. But, they also experience instances when their Christian faith rubs up against cultural expectations. In a society where Christianity often runs counter-cultural, Chinese New Year is a particularly concentrated moment of trials. In this translated article from Christian Times, the author reminds Christians of what is most important when they return home for the New Year.
Is Confucianism a Religion or an Ethical System?
The Debate Goes On
In the 17th and 18th centuries there was a dispute between Jesuit and Dominican missionaries in China about whether or not Chinese converts should be allowed to continue practicing traditional rites and ceremonies that were rooted in Confucianism, such as ancestor worship. The Jesuits said they should be allowed; the Dominicans said no.
We’ve Come this Way Before
Throughout history as various attempts have been made to introduce the gospel to China, a series of “perennial questions” have arisen regarding the relationship between the Christian faith and Chinese culture.
Relational and Cultural Renewal
Through Acknowledging the Multiformity of the Ru (Confucian) Tradition
Having read Wang Jun’s article “The Preeminence of Love in Chinese Families” in the most recent ChinaSource Quarterly (18.2), “Christian Ethics and Family Living in China,” I would like to respond with a few thoughts that I trust will be helpful, and that might open further dialogue on this important topic.
Chinese Urban Churches Engaging Culture
As urban churches in China face significant changes in the 21st century, will they effectively engage their own culture and reach out with the gospel cross-culturally?
Happy New Year
新年快乐！
Four Chinese characters to spark meaningful conversations during the Chinese New Year.