What to Preach? Christian Witness in China, with Reference to the Party's Policy of Mutual Accommodation

Kung, Lap Yan

doi:10.3366/swc.2002.8.2.206

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Religious communities are directed, for instance, to love their country and to support socialism and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. See Kung (2002).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…On the other hand, it can be seen as theological dressing for a process that is essentially political in nature. Bishop Ting is criticised, for instance, for his argument for justification by love instead of justification by faith: he argues that justification by faith signifies that the Christian religion is an exclusive religion and this is likely to lead to disharmony with other religions as well as with nonbelievers (Kung, 2002). Making a sharp distinction between doing responsible contextual theology and establishing a political position is not easy, and it is an issue which faces religions not only in authoritarian societies but in democracies too.…”

Section: The Church As the More Dependent Actormentioning

confidence: 97%

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The Emergence of Exchange Politics in China and its Implications for Church–State Relations

Kung¹

2010

Religion, State and Society

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The politics of efficiency characterised by economic growth alone cannot help to strengthen the legitimacy of the Chinese authorities, because people demand justice, equality and rights. The authorities have therefore introduced the politics of equity, in the form of exchange politics, and the ideology of a harmonious society. Under the new political order characterised by exchange relationships it is not an adequate understanding of Chinese religious policy to see it just as a matter of curbing the growth and influence of religion. In fact, the churches have relatively greater freedom and a greater public role than in the 1980s and 1990s. As the more dependent actor, the churches are still subjected to an authoritarian government. Nevertheless, the more dependent actor is not completely passive, for exchange relationships are always dynamic rather than static. In this paper I focus on Protestantism, and I suggest that the churches should seize this opportunity to work with the government for the common good, on condition that the churches are engaged in reframing the question of the legitimisation of the government by an involvement with the concerns of the people. The churches will need to use soft power rather than hard power, not only because exchange politics in China does not allow challenges to the authority of the government, but also because, unlike the churches in some former Eastern European socialist countries, the churches in China do not have much bargaining power.

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“…Religious communities are directed, for instance, to love their country and to support socialism and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. See Kung (2002).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Church As the More Dependent Actormentioning

confidence: 97%

The Emergence of Exchange Politics in China and its Implications for Church–State Relations

Kung¹

2010

Religion, State and Society

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“…Second, in order to fulfil the first task, this article requests that religions develop a theology of harmonious society. The main concern is to accommodate religious beliefs to the government's ideology of a harmonious society in accordance with the policy of mutual accommodation proposed in 1994 (Kung 2002). Under these two basic directions, the article spells out specifically the number of goals to which a harmonious religion must be committed: religious harmony, patriotism, reforming outdated doctrines, high moral standards, providing social services, good leadership training and good management of churches or temples.…”

Section: A Harmonious Society and Christianitymentioning

confidence: 97%

The Trinity, the Church, and China's Harmonious Society: A Politics of Persuasion

Kung¹

2011

Studies in World Christianity

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Taking seriously Karl Rahner's comment that most Christians in their practical life are 'mere monotheists', this paper illustrates and argues how the Trinitarian God is better understood within the model of persuasion, and how this understanding of the Trinitarian God may shape what Chinese society may look like, how Chinese churches engage in a harmonious society, and how the Three-Self churches (official churches) and house churches (non-registered churches) treat one another. This paper has adopted a kind of social Trinitarianism, but it is not necessarily projectionist, for theology is always a human construction based on God's revelation. Bishop Ting has taken a courageous step to construct the Trinitarian God in terms of restoration of relations in order to respond to society, but his attempt is too absorbed by both Yihe Weigui and the ideology of a harmonious society. As a result, Chinese Christianity has been turned into a hexie (accommodating) Christianity. Taking both the cultural resources in terms of the Confucian tradition and the sociopolitical conditions in terms of the emergence of exchange politics into consideration, this paper suggests the Trinitarian God as a God of persuasion reflected in the Scripture and characterised by dialogue, respect of difference, participation, and good work, provides an alternative to a politics of propaganda and efficiency. This is what the Christian contribution to a harmonious society is.

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Church, State and Civil Society

Fergusson

2004

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At a time when secular liberalism is in crisis and when the civic contribution of religion is being re-assessed, the rich tradition of Christian political theology demands renewed attention. This book, based on the 2001 Bampton Lectures, explores the relationship of the church both to the state and civil institutions. Arguing that theological approaches to the state were often situated within the context of Christendom and are therefore outmoded, the author claims that a more differentiated approach can be developed by attention to the concept of civil society. The book offers a critical assessment of the effect of the First Amendment in the USA and, in a concluding chapter, it defends the case for continuing disestablishment in England and Scotland.

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What to Preach? Christian Witness in China, with Reference to the Party's Policy of Mutual Accommodation

Cited by 14 publications

References 1 publication

The Emergence of Exchange Politics in China and its Implications for Church–State Relations

The Emergence of Exchange Politics in China and its Implications for Church–State Relations

The Trinity, the Church, and China's Harmonious Society: A Politics of Persuasion

Church, State and Civil Society

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