More Christianity in China
Just finished reading a very good article on Christianity in China in the English version of La STampa. I thought fellow CAS readers might like to do the same. While the bulk of the article focuses on Chinese Catholics, it provides some eye opening insights into how shallow Christianity is in China.
From the article:
"Most of the time, when asked about the meaning of the cross, the bearer will answer proudly and clearly: Yes, I am a Christian. Yet, after that, everything becomes blurred. Most people don’t know the difference between being Christian (“jidujiao,” which in China refers to Protestants) and being Catholic (“tianzhujiao”, a totally different word). Nor are they familiar with the various branches of the Protestant faith."
"In the countryside, there are also many Mormons and Evangelicals. Most just follow whichever pastor they meet out of “yuanfen,” or fate."
"Many pastors mix Christianity with Taoism and Buddhism."
"In sum, many of these new Chinese Christians are new converts to "modernity," which in China is largely tantamount to “Westernization”—or the American way of life. They pray to Jesus as they eat at MacDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken."
"In the same way they add soy sauce or rice vinegar to their food, to Evangelical faith they may add belief in feng shui ("wind and water," traditional Chinese geomancy) and the Yijing (an ancient soothsayers’ manual)."
To be fair, the article does point out that the primary reason for the shallow understanding of Christianity is due to the overwhelming force of ancient Chinese culture. With the upcoming Olympics, the article is a good insight into modern Chinese Christianity. Read it all.
Source: The Catholic "destiny" in China
From the article:
"Most of the time, when asked about the meaning of the cross, the bearer will answer proudly and clearly: Yes, I am a Christian. Yet, after that, everything becomes blurred. Most people don’t know the difference between being Christian (“jidujiao,” which in China refers to Protestants) and being Catholic (“tianzhujiao”, a totally different word). Nor are they familiar with the various branches of the Protestant faith."
"In the countryside, there are also many Mormons and Evangelicals. Most just follow whichever pastor they meet out of “yuanfen,” or fate."
"Many pastors mix Christianity with Taoism and Buddhism."
"In sum, many of these new Chinese Christians are new converts to "modernity," which in China is largely tantamount to “Westernization”—or the American way of life. They pray to Jesus as they eat at MacDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken."
"In the same way they add soy sauce or rice vinegar to their food, to Evangelical faith they may add belief in feng shui ("wind and water," traditional Chinese geomancy) and the Yijing (an ancient soothsayers’ manual)."
To be fair, the article does point out that the primary reason for the shallow understanding of Christianity is due to the overwhelming force of ancient Chinese culture. With the upcoming Olympics, the article is a good insight into modern Chinese Christianity. Read it all.
Source: The Catholic "destiny" in China
Labels: Catholicism, China, Evangelism
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