Praying for trouble
- Source: Global Times
- [23:09 April 25 2011]
- Comments
Song Jun, a prominent scholar in Protestant theology and a Shouwang pastor, said in a speech in Hong Kong in 2009 that the most important thing that needs to be done to help home churches grow is not to obtain political legitimacy but moral legitimacy, the Hong Kong-based Christian Times reported.
Song emphasized the importance of charitable behavior during the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, and encouraged the church to maintain dialogue with the government.
"The strong intellectual component of Shouwang was behind the decision to fight for political legitimacy," said Chen Qijia, an associate professor at Renmin University and Chinese Christianity scholar.
"Shouwang has been very transparent in every aspect of their church management," said Chen. "And from my understanding, their motive is not complicated." Shouwang said in their statement the outdoor service was purely religious in nature with no political or human rights motives.
However, making a defiant position against the government during the sensitive time has inevitably added the political connotation to Shouwang's religious service, said sociologist Xia Xueluan.
"By bringing religious activities to the public space, they disrupt social order," said Xia, "And it's questionable what their motives really are, especially during this politically sensitive time."
Throughout history, Christianity flourished only after it earned the trust of the government.
When Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci came to China during the Ming Dynasty, he spent 20 years learning Chinese culture and working to understand Confucianism, and gained the trust of Chinese people and the government, said Shi Hengtan.
But the foreign born religion clashed with the Qing government when the Roman curia forbade Chinese Catholics from worshiping Confucius or their ancestors, enraging and causing emperor Kangxi to ban Christian missions in China.
