The Challenge to Christianity in China

I'm not a fan of World Magazine. It's been a Dominionist publication from the beginning. That said, like all news media it is not without some value, sometimes for reasons the editors and publishers don't intend.

Maybe that's why this article caught my eye. If you read between the lines you can discern the effect Dominion theology is already having on Protestantism within China. This is accompanied by the influence of Western Liberalism in general. I'm not speaking of what American conservatives consider 'liberal' but instead the host of ideas that come out of Classical Liberalism... the intellectual and social tradition at the core of modern Western thought.

The Christians in China are clearly being affected by this. Because they're not subject to the political divides in the West, they are at the same time embracing both the ideas of dominion as well as the categories of Liberalism... things like a concern for 'human rights' etc. The two notions are actually incompatible and while American Christianity has tried to weave them together it doesn't work and even now the Christian Right is increasingly turning away from the values and ideas of Liberalism. But in order to maintain the Christian America narrative they are forced to engage in revisionist history on a massive scale. Given China's own history, the Chinese Church will face different challenges and reckon with these questions by means of a different road.

The Underground Church is of course still on the fringes and has not embraced this agenda. That said, I think (based on my research) there are a lot of people that transcend the categories and float between the two ecclesiastical spheres. While Evangelicals lament the non-descript meeting places in 'seedy' neighbourhoods... thus exposing their Sacralist proclivities... I actually celebrate that status and would wish more Western congregations would embrace such forms of thinking. I was reminded of some of the Europeans congregations I witnessed meeting in storefronts and industrial parks. While this will sound baffling to readers who are unfamiliar with the categories I'd adhere to, I find these arrangements far preferable to the standard steeple-house/temple model employed by most congregations.

But I digress. My point in this piece was to point out that the World Magazine article is both interesting and telling. There are things happening that are encouraging but it comes with caution.

Additionally I am repeatedly reminded of the very popular Huntington Thesis regarding the Clash of Civilisations. The model is still very much at the forefront of thought in various Establishment circles. Others of course are hostile to it and their reasons vary. What is always striking to me is that with China, even while it seeks to revert to 'traditional' forms of religion which encapsulates everything from traditionalist practice, and forms of Buddhist and Confucian ethics, it is unable to do so and the tension is being felt. The migration of peoples means the abandonment of traditional rites and obligations. The cult of ancestor worship is in decline as people no longer inhabit their traditional locales. Even as traditional forms of religion seek to openly reconstitute, they find themselves unable to do so.

Capitalist life and its ethics are at odds with the values of Confucian society. I would contend Capitalism essentially becomes its own religion but that's for another time.

With regard to China, while there will likely be some kind of Hegelian synthesis at some point and indeed we may already see a phase of this, it means that much of what was at the heart of Chinese society has changed. While Confucianist social ethics are resurgent they are modified and while Beijing may still exert authoritarian control, the very nature of that control over the individual and the individual's relationship to the central government is changing. Contrary to the apologists of the free market it is clear that Capitalism does not bring freedom and yet when compared to the strictures of Confucian society it may appear (for a time) as something akin to freedom. In reality Chinese society is in flux and the arrangement is complicated. Capitalism through its various phases changes the way in which the individual relates to the larger society. The obligations and expectations change but in the end (as we in the West are learning) it too degenerates into forms of tyranny and manipulation. Such is life in a fallen world. Life in the Capitalist West might be better than living in North Korea, Eritrea or even China but it's no panacaea and it contains its own dangers.

The story of the Church in China will be one of the great chapters in Church History not only for the 21^st century but probably for the Church Age in general. What happens in China and the 'Developing World' will play a large role in setting the stage for generations and centuries to come. The groundwork is being laid and while there are definitely some signs of encouragement, overall I am burdened and see storm-clouds on the horizon. Am I speaking of persecution? Of course, we should always expect that. If it's not happening it's almost a sure sign of friendship with the world and apostasy... the tale of Christianity in the West.

But instead I speak of further heresy and ultimately apostasy. I lament the fact that the Churches in Latin America, Africa and Asia are looking to Western Evangelicalism for guidance. These Churches are like toddlers and adolescents. It's as if they're being fed large doses of steroids. They will (for a season) be invigorated and impressive in terms of power but having imbibed poison, ultimately they will grow sick, self-destruct and die.

I hope I'm wrong.

https://world.wng.org/2017/11/eastern_upheaval