8a. The Churches of Asia Flashcards
Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910
John R. Mott, the American Secretary of the YMCA and the convener of the famous 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference. All the missions agencies came together to decided how they were going to bring the gospel to the world.
How did Christianity get to India?
It came to Asia by way of the overland trade routes that began in Jerusalem and moved eastward through what is now commonly called the Middle East. The tradition that St. Thomas first brought Christianity to India is a deeply held tradition that is not easily dismissed.
Mar Thoma Church
Church in India
How did Christianity get to China?
Christianity came to China by means of the same kind of Christians that had brought it to India centuries earlier, Syrian Christians, later followed by Roman Catholic missionaries, though it was repelled at several critical points. It was only during the later period of colonization represented by European incursions into Asia during the 17th through the 19th Centuries that the Church made real inroads.
What Asian Countries have the most Christians?
The Philippines and South Korea. Philippines is 71% Catholic, and South Korea is 31% Christian.
Who was the famous Spanish missionary that brought Catholicism to China?
Francis Xavier
Why were the Jesuits successful in China?
They made major attempts to contextualize the Gospel with the intent of reaching the educated class and rulers. As part of that contextualization process, they debated about how to handle the issue of ancestor worship, ceremonies sponsored by the Confucians. They agreed to allow such ceremonies to be practiced by Christians, classifying them as cultural events rather than as religious ones.
“Rites Controversy”
While the Jesuits had made significant strides among the intellectuals of China, the Dominicans and Franciscans who began to reach China were convinced that the Jesuits had done so by illegitimate means. They believed that the Jesuits had, in fact, compromised the Gospel by allowing for what the Dominicans and Franciscans believed were pagan rites, not rituals of family honor.
First, the envoy sided with the Franciscans and Dominicans against the Jesuits, and he made that point clear. The Jesuits were informed that they were to cease their work as it was currently configured. The Emperor countered with an edict that expelled all non-contextualized missions.
A Scottish Presbyterian with the London Missionary Society
Robert Morrison
Opium Wars
The English were looking to offset the trade deficit, so the English got the Indians to grow opium, which they, in turn, sold to China for silver. Many were the Chinese who became addicted to opium. The Chinese government passed legislation outlawing the opium trade. When the government of China complained that the English were violating Chinese opium laws, the English invaded China.
What treaties ended the Opium Wars?
Treaty of Nanjing and Tianjin
Unequal Treaties
The treaties gave complete freedom of access to all foreigners in China. Not even the Chinese had freedom to go where they wanted. This meant that no foreigner was subject to Chinese law. No Chinese court could prosecute a foreigner. In addition, the treaty demanded religious toleration. The end result was that foreign missionaries could go anywhere they wanted to go and do anything they wanted to do with impunity.
Who founded the China Inland Mission?
Hudson Taylor
What were the “Three Self Priciples, and who wrote them?
John Nevius drew up a series of principles that became associated with churches he pioneered.
- First, the Church would be self-propagating, that is, everyone was to have a teacher and everyone was to be a disciple.
- Second, the Church would be self-governing. Every group was to have an unpaid leader. Circuits, whose leaders would be paid, would connect these groups.
- Third, the Church would be self-supporting. The various groups of believers would provide all meeting places.
Mao Tse Tung
Led the communist uprising in China.
What were the limitations set by the communists on the church?
- not to include any public ceremonies or engage in evangelism
- adult members, but it was not to include minors
What positive influence did the communist party have on religion in China?
such things as shamanism and fortune telling were outlawed as being superstitious
What was the China Christian Council known as before it got that name?
Three-Self Patriotic Movement
How did the Catholic Church respond to Mao?
The Vatican also refused to recognize the communist government of Chairman Mao as legitimate, but officially recognized Taiwan as the legal Chinese government.
In 1958, a Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association was formed and took upon itself to elect new bishops to the church, thereby defying the Vatican.
Little Red Book
With the 1960s came the great Cultural Revolution. Led by Chairman Mao and the Red Guard (patriotic student army), intellectuals and various social institutions were again denounced. Chairman Mao’s little red book, The Thoughts of Mao Zedong became the new “Bible” for the revolution. Persecution of Christians, the closure of churches, the burning of Bibles and other religious symbols became common place.
What is the actual number of Christians in China?
No one knows. People get baptized in secret because they don’t trust the government. It’s hard to keep track of numbers because so man churches are underground. It is in the interest of various Christian agencies to provide figures that are inflated.
What is the theological leaning of the China Christian Council?
Almost all churches in China, including those in the China Christian Council tend to be Bible-based, theologically conservative, and Pentecostal/charismatic.
Where are most churches in China located?
The majority of churches in China are rural in nature. While signs and wonders play a role in more rural manifestations of the faith, as income has risen, such things have declined among worshippers.
How and when did Christianity get to Korea?
There is some evidence to suggest that Christianity came early to Korea but that it did not take full root at that time. Scholars have argued that it first emerged in the 7th or 8th Century through the “Nestorians” who were then working in China. That attempt was short-lived, however, and it would be the 13th Century before Roman Catholics, working in Mongolia would make a similar attempt.
