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Christians can find
receptivity in China

CORRECTION Tuesday, July 12, 2005 » The Rev. Don Eads, author of the July 2 "On Faith" column on Page D10, is enrolled in the University of Hawaii China-U.S. Relations master's degree program. The column incorrectly identified the study program. The column about China also incorrectly identified the 19th-century Taiping Rebellion as the Taipei Rebellion. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

China today is a delightful mix of old and new. With the 2008 Olympics approaching, China is sprucing up for visitors. Gov. Lingle and her entourage experienced just how friendly and full of "Chinese-style aloha" most of the Chinese people are toward Americans and especially Hawaiians.

To get the most out of a journey in China, it is important to try to understand some of the basics in the new Land of the Dragon. In its relations with the West, the Chinese emphasis is on Western science and technology, often ignoring the philosophical/religious underpinnings of Western society. The West is equally guilty of underestimating the Chinese way of thinking.

Just as Americans tend to mistrust communism, the Chinese tend to mistrust Christianity and Western religion. The Taipei Rebellion is a good example from the past to understand the mistrust. The leader, Hong Xiuquan, became delusional while sick, thought he was Jesus' relative and started killing millions of people. This is a very short synopsis, but it gives an idea why China might mistrust those coming in Jesus' name, even today. Words like "imperialism" are inextricably bound up with Christianity in the Chinese psyche, based upon real events in the past and aided by repetition over time.

To embrace China is to experience its religious and cultural diversity. There are 56 official minority cultures in China, each with a distinct tradition and language. A traveler may also enjoy the diverse religious traditions China has to offer, whether Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian or Chinese Christian.

Christianity could learn from the unending adaptability of Chinese Buddhism as it integrated into, and transformed, Confucianism and Taoism.

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COURTESY OF DON EADS The Rev. Don Eads conducts chapel at the International Academy of Beijing.

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To be sure, as Christianity is emerging in China, it is a distinctly Chinese form. To comfort nervous Christians, it might be helpful to compare the central values of Confucianism with those of Christianity and the Bible. Confucius was not against the idea of God. He simply said he had no experience with that, but that he wanted society to go back to the good old days and act right. For example, children should honor their parents, and a man should strive diligently to become a gentleman, a superior role model in society. There is a great complementarity between the fundamental values espoused by Confucius and those of Jesus of Nazareth. Confucianism might even be helpful to Western society.

To begin to understand China is to embrace the chop-suey nature of Chinese culture. It is perfectly OK in China to believe simultaneously in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, using whatever elements of each philosophy one needs at the time. This is double insurance that everything will be OK.

So for the average Chinese, to accept Jesus means adding one more form of triple insurance. This kind of thinking is often misinterpreted in the West as illogical, when it might actually be supra-logical. Christians, of course, have no other form of insurance except Jesus.

New intertwined forms of Confucianism have emerged in places like Boston, demonstrating that Confucianism is quite compatible with Christianity and American society. This could prove useful if America is to compete effectively with the values of China today.

When you come to Beijing, I invite you to our home church, Beijing International Christian Fellowship. It has grown from a small group in the 1980s to a congregation of at least 5,000 people from 96 countries. We have two churches now, with different languages used at services with translations. A typical service is attended by 700 to 1,000 people.

Look me up when you come to Beijing. Zaijian!

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