Practical Contextualization: A Case Study of Evangelizing Contemporary
Chinese
Enoch Wan
Professor, Western Seminary
Published in Global Missiology, Contextualization, Oct. 2003, www.globalmissiology.net
Abstract
Fourth in a series of six articles, this focuses on the
topic of practical contextualization. We
move from a general discussion of theological methodology to suggestions for
practical Christianity in terms of evangelizing Chinese. Based on work in
First published in Chinese Around the World, 1999 (A Ministry of Chinese Coordination Centre of World Evangelism) and posted at http://www.missiology.org.
Send comments to: ewan@westernseminary.edu
I. REVIEW
Last time, a summary of the problems
and perils of employing the "either-or" cognitive pattern in
"traditional Western theology" (TWT) was presented and the
"both-and" way was proposed as an alternative method of theologizing
in "Sino-theology" (ST).
For the sake of review, the
definitions of two key-terms in the last article are quoted below:
"Contextualization":
the efforts of formulating, presenting and practicing the Christian faith in
such a way that is relevant to the cultural context of the target group in
terms of conceptualization, expression and application; yet maintaining
theological coherence, biblical integrity and theoretical consistency.
"Sino-theology": a
unique theological orientation specifically designed for the Chinese people in
contra-distinction from TWT: employing the Chinese cognitive pattern (e.g.
"both-and" vs. "either-or" of TWT) and Chinese cognitive
process (e.g. synthetic vs. the dialectic of TWT), the Chinese way of social
interaction (e.g. relational/complementary vs. dichotomist/confrontational of
TWT), Chinese vocabulary (e.g. "tien" [天]
= heaven), Chinese cultural themes (e.g. group solidarity such as the family
vs. self-fulfillment of TWT. ), etc. The goal is not to transplant
Christianity in the "pot" of Western culture but to plant it in the
Chinese cultural soil so it can take root, flourish and grow.
II. INTRODUCTION
In the last article, we have
examined one aspect of TWT, i.e. the problematic use of the
"either-or" cognitive pattern. We also proposed the possible
use of the "both-and" cognitive pattern in ST as an alternative
theological worldview to TWT.
In this paper, we will focus on the
topic of practical contextualization. I regard this article as a sequel
to the last one on theological contextualization and my intention is to move
from a general discussion of theological methodology to suggestions for
practical Christianity in terms of evangelizing Chinese.
For the purpose of being
context-specific, the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong Chinese is chosen for
this article with the full knowledge that Chinese people are vast in number,
diverse in culture and varied in accordance to local contexts: e.g.
"Chinese in the Mainland" (華人) with five major ethnic groups
(i.e. Han, Manchurian, Mongolian, Muslim, and Tibetan), and dozens of minority
groups; "overseas-born-Chinese" (OBC), including those who have
immigrated to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, USA, Canada, etc., and
"local-born-Chinese" (LBC), including American-born-Chinese (ABC),
British-born-Chinese (BBC), Canadian-born-Chinese (CBC), etc.
Generalizations of all Chinese are not helpful when fruitful discussion is
intended.
Though there are many aspects of
practical contextualization such as style of Christian living and worship,
patterns of social interaction and religious institutions, processes of
membership recruitment and integration, etc., we will examine the following
three: conceptualization, expression and application of evangelism as an
illustration of practical contextualization for Hong Kong Chinese.
III. CONCEPTUALIZATION FOR
EVANGELISM
In TWT, the "message of the Gospel"
is usually presented as the forgiveness of sin by the atoning death of Jesus
Christ to save the condemned from the wrath of a righteous God who reckons
sinners as justified. The socio-cultural background of Western
civilization for the doctrine of salvation of TWT is reviewed briefly as
follows:
"Western culture has a
Greco-Roman, politico-legal base and Judeo-Christian ethical foundation.
The Greek social system of city-state, the Roman law, etc. have been well
developed for 'millennia' in the West. The influence of the
Judeo-Christian value system and moral code has left its mark in the mind and
heart of people in the context of western civilization, so much so that
anthropologists who have conducted cross-cultural comparative studies have
classified the western culture as a 'guilt culture' in contrast to the 'shame'
culture of the East (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.)" (Wan
1995:156)
From the above quotation, readers
may discover the reason for the popularity and the rationale behind the
pragmatic use of the "Four Spiritual Laws" in the West.
In Sino-theology, salvation should
be presented as having "en-qing（恩情）" (gracious-intimate-relationship among the "three
persons of the Trinity") and "en-yue（恩約）"
(gracious-covenant of the Triune God for human kind) as the foundation of
salvation due to the high value of Chinese culture on relationship. The focus of salvation is "yong-ru
jiu-en-lun（榮辱救恩論）" (Christ's shame-bearing death and honor-gaining
resurrection) for honor is very desirable and shame is to be shunned at all
cost by the Chinese.
When we share the Gospel to the
Chinese, Jesus Christ should be presented as the "zhong-bao（中保）" (mediator), "jiu-shu-zhu（救贖主）"(redeemer) and "fu-hu-zhe（復和者）"
(reconciler) because "guan-xi（關係）"(relationship)
is of supreme importance and harmonious relationship is the ideal for Chinese.
Chinese people try hard to avoid
confrontation, which would cause someone to "lose face" and run the
risk of breaking the relationship. The use of match-making in traditional
marriage arrangements, the go-between for business deals, the guarantee of a
reputable person rather than the signing of a legal document, etc. are all
time-honored cultural practices that prepare the Chinese to accept Christ
as "zhong-bao" (mediator), "shu-jia-zhe（贖罪者）"
(debt-payer), and "fu-hu-zhe"
(reconciler). We present Christ as a "go-between" between
God and human beings because salvation is best understood by the Chinese in
terms of a reconciled vertical relationship with God and a peaceful horizontal
relationship with one's fellow man. (Wan 1998, 1999).
_________________
Table 1 - "fu-hu-shen-xue-lun（復和神學論）" (theology of reconciliation) (translated from Wan
1999:121-122)
RECONCILIATION
NECESSITY
WAYS
AND
MEANS
RESULT
HUMAN KIND
胇 We're
at enmity with God because of our own wickedness (Ro 5:1-11;Col
1:21)
耎 Reconciled
to God in Christ because of God's grace and love (objective: 2 Co 5:19) and our
positive response (subjective, 2 Co 5:20)
粀 Have
been reconciled to God through the death of the Son (Ro 5:10; Col 1:21-22)
紃 Jesus Christ puts to death the hostility by the cross,
makes peace through his blood (Eph 2:16; Col 1:20)
竑 After
reconciled, believers are citizens in the kingdom of God, are children of God's
household, have made peace with each other (Eph 2:11-22)
竑 After
reconciled, entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation and preaching the
Gospel of peace (2 Co 5:18-19; Col 1:21-22)
CREATED NATURE
粀 Has
been groaning, awaiting the liberation from the bondage of decay and redemption
from the curse (Ro 8:18-23)
耔 Through
Jesus Christ to reconcile all things to God Himself, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood , shed on the cross (Col
1:20)
粀 Has
been groaning with the pains of childbirth, waiting for the full redemption,
which has "already but not yet" come. (Ro 8:22-23)
________________
Table 2 -
"yong-ru-shen-xue-lun（榮辱神學論）" (theology of honor/shame) (translated from Wan
1999:102-105)
GLORY\SHAME
GLORY
(pre-fall)
SHAME
(post-fall)
Glorification
(post-reconciliation)
JESUS CHRIST -
THE SON
Pre-incarnation:
胍 Glorious prior to incarnation (Col 1:15-19)
Incarnation is:
笁 Christ emptying Himself, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human
likeness, humbled himself and became obedient to death * even death on the cross (Php 2:5-11)
笁 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal
3:13; 2 Co 5:21)
苡 Has forsaken by God the Father (Mt 27:46)
Glorification is:
籿 God the Father exalted the resurrected Son with the name that is
above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee shall
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess
that He is Lord (Php 2:9-11)
胇 Has raised from the dead and seated at God's right hand in the heavenly realms (1 Co 15:4; Mk 16:19; Eph 1:20)
罘 Much superior to the angels (Heb 1:4)
胇 Will come back
and judge the world (Ac
1:11; 17:31)
HUMAN KIND
胇 Were created in the image of God (Ge
1:26-28; 2:7)
胇 Were crowned with glory
and honor (Ps.8:4-5)
胇 Were made rulers over the creatures (Ge
1:26-28; Ps 8:6)
胇 Were naked but felt no shame (Ge 2:25)
籹 Felt shame and was afraid
to see God (Ge 3:9-10)
籸 Every inclination of
the thoughts of his heart was only
evil all the time:
i.e. total depravity (Ge 6:5-6)
胇 Were cursed and punished (Ge 3:15-19;
6:7)
籿 God made garments of skin and clothed them (Ge 3:21)
耎 Regain the image
of God in Christ (Eph 4:24)
竑 Are new creations in Christ (2 Co 5:17)
耎 Receive power from the Holy Spirit, are transformed by the renewing of
the mind after regeneration (Ro 12:1-2)
竑 After reconciled with God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, will receive glory, will judge angels
(1 Co 6:3)
____________
Table 3 - "jia-ting shen-xue-lun（家庭神學論）" (the theology of family)(translated from
Wan 1999:165-175)
True God
True Christians
True Church
= universal fatherhood of God to all believers
= believers being born into the family
of God
Sonship of all Christians adopted in Christ
Universal brotherhood of all believers
= the
"household of God"
constituted by believers regardless of time, race, place, etc. and the communion of
the saints in Christ
spiritual family: nature = transcendent
(transcending time & space)
cross-cultural
(embracing different
cultures)
multi-ethnic (transcending various races)
Man was created in the image of God and enjoyed close communion with Him before
the Fall. However, his misuse of the gift of human free will brought in sin and severed his relationship with God and the created order (relationships with others and the natural order included). Yet God initiated
the plan of salvation and implemented the process of reconciliation with Himself in the Son.
This relational reinterpretation
of the doctrine of salvation for the Chinese is summarized in Table 1 above:
Another way of conceptualizing
the message of salvation for the Chinese is in terms of the Chinese cultural theme of "honor and shame."
As shown in Table 2, Jesus
Christ is both the shame-bearer for sinners and honor-winner for believers. He did so because of the fall of mankind and the fact that spiritually
speaking sin and shame are closely related. On the other hand, salvation/redemption
and honor/glory are also closely related.
This culturally relevant understanding
of the Chinese and doctrinally
correct conceptualization of "honor and shame" is summarized in Table 2 above:
Since "family" is one of the key features of Chinese culture, an
alternative way to present
the message of salvation is "the theology of family."
For instance, the use of the parable of the prodigal
son of Luke 15 to show the fatherly love of God for sinners is a good starting point. God the Father's giving of His only
begotten Son to save sinners as portrayed in the
Gospel of John will be more
appealing to the Chinese than the cold and impersonal
"forensic" nature of the Gospel in
TWT. Becoming a Christian is
the believer's adoption in Christ to become a child of God. Key concepts of "jia-ting shen-
xue-lun（家庭神學論）" (the theology of family) are the universal fatherhood of God to all believers; the church is inclusive of the universal brotherhood of all believers of all times and all ages;
the local church is
"the household of God"
(1 Tim 3:15); heaven is the
perfect home in eternity with the perfect communion of the
saints, etc., as shown in CATW, March 2000 (see page 22).
The conceptualization of salvation in Sino-theology
is in contra-distinction from
TWT, which can be historically and theologically described as:
"The
Protestant reformation had a strong
emphasis on the doctrine of 'justification by faith.' The favorite New Testament books of
western evangelicals for reading
and preaching are usually
Romans and Galatians. Anglophone Caucasian Christians usually define 'sinners' as 'people violating God's law' and the message of
salvation is expressed in terms of 'forgiveness of
sin...the penal substitution of Christ...imputed righteousness.' The
gospel is introduced in the
form of 'law-principle,' and in terms of
'justification by faith in Christ as Savior." (Wan 1995:157)
The message of
the Gospel within the Chinese
cultural context should be characterized by the emphasis on honor, relationship, and harmony, which are at the core of traditional Chinese cultural values. It should
be different from TWT's overemphasis on the forensic
nature of the Gospel, the legal dimension of Christ's penal substitution and
divine justification. Of course, the whole counsel of God should be taught
subsequently in discipleship
programs, but Chinese non-Christians
should not be alienated by cultural elements in
the soteriology of TWT. At
the Jerusalem Council of Acts
15, it was already resolved that Gentiles were
not required to become Jews (by circumcision, Mosaic laws, etc.) prior to becoming Christians. Similarly, Chinese should not be alienated from
the Gospel because certain Westernized
Chinese Christians' insistence on Western interpretation
of the doctrine of salvation as if that is the litmus test of orthodoxy.
IV. EXPRESSION
IN EVANGELISM
The rationalistic argument, lineal logic, and abstract proclamation of TWT in evangelism are less appealing to relationally-oriented, co-relational
thinking, and pragmatically-inclined Chinese. The
life-changing reality of Christianity,
the Christ-like character
of the bearer of the Gospel, and the loving relationship among believers are usually a more powerful
expression of Christianity when
evangelizing Chinese.
Chinese long for the message of power in order to deliver themselves from the threat of fear and fate:
"The presence and power of evil forces
and demonic beings are
reality recognized (by the Chinese).
Many have witnessed demonic manifestations or even personally experienced demonic oppression or possession. Their
superstition and fear of the spirits would have prepared them to receive the 'good news'
of a mighty but merciful
Christ. The classical Christian view of Christ's death and atonement ...setting us
free from evil power, would be better
appreciated than the
rational, logical argument of the existence of God. They want to embrace Christ and experience His victory and love that could set them free from fear and fate..."
(Wan 1995:158)
To them, "the primary message
of the gospel ...is not a hope
to enter heaven 'by and by' and deliverance
from hell in the afterlife. They want to experience the deliverance from curse, fate, fear,
etc. in the 'here and now.'"
(Wan 1995:158) Mere propositional
truth will not do for they are in need of "...the freedom and joy in Christ...a liberating message and life style. It is something that
can be declared
clearly, demonstrated powerfully and experienced daily." (Wan 1995:158)
The above suggestion for evangelizing
the Chinese is definitely different from the "felt need" approach of outreach in the West which emphasizes:
"the promise of prosperity and problem solving, or the gospel of
health and wealth, success and happiness...parade
the newly converted movie star, the professional athlete or the successful
businessman in ... evangelistic rallies, and in their stage show type of program...call for a simplistic or emotional 'acceptance of Christ.'" (Wan 1995:160)
V. APPLICATION
IN EVANGELISM
When evangelizing the Chinese, the method of pre-evangelistic promotion (except in the case of crusade
type of mass evangelism), is
best done through personal contact, private
interaction, network of the extended family, etc. There should
not be an unduly reliance on impersonal information
via the mass media as in the West. This relational
approach (vs. the Western style of marketing the
Gospel) is culturally more
relevant and practically more effective than the Western import. The pervasive
social network of Chinese society (vs. the individualist orientation of the West) should
be utilized when we try
to evangelize Chinese.
General knowledge of Christianity cannot be assumed
when evangelizing the Chinese. The Christian vocabulary
(e.g. incarnation, sin, justification, etc.) may be foreign
to many traditional Chinese (who instead
know well of reincarnation
and human error). Terms such as "heaven," "saved,"
etc. might culturally mean something entirely else to them, totally at
variance with the biblical
usage. Due to the belief in fatalism,
superstition about death, and fear
of "bad luck" caused by merely mentioning these words, the typical opening statement of Evangelism Explosion (i.e. "what
if you should die tonight") and the frequent
mention of "hell, death,
and God's judgment" of
many Western-style evangelistic
methods should be modified for the Chinese.
Instantaneous and individualistic
decision-making (especially telephone evangelism) and public professions of faith
(by coming forward) are not
to be imposed on the Chinese. They are non-committal to salesman-style
pressure, they may have problems in making instantaneous decision out of their fear of social ostracism. Some Chinese may hastily
say "yes" when pressured to receive Christ. They do so out of politeness, being courteous or respectful to the one sharing the Gospel who happens to be his/her
superior. But this kind of conversion is not deeply rooted and stands no test at all.
Even the method of follow-up has to be contextually Chinese as explained below
"An
extensive period of in-depth
follow-up of these ...converts is necessary
to deal with problems such as family opposition,
carry-over superstition and syncretism, social ostracism, lingering demonic entanglement, etc.
The cost of discipleship....,
personally and socially, as
part of a well-developed evangelism program, is not to be underestimated. The
fast-food mentality and quick-fix
methodology...should not be assumed as valid
when evangelizing (Chinese)." (Wan 1995:161)
VI.
CONCLUSION
Practical contextualization for the Chinese is an important but complicated subject for research and implementation.
Three aspects related to evangelizing the contemporary Chinese in Hong Kong are treated
in this brief study, i.e. the conceptualization,
expression and application in evangelism.
Hopefully this brief
paper will stimulate others to engage in further study and conduct fruitful research in this area in the new
millenium.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wan, Enoch:
Missions within reach: Intercultural ministries in
Canada. Hong Kong: China Alliance Press,1995
Banishing the old and
building the new: An exploration of Sino-theology.
Ontario, Canada: Christian Communication Inc. of Canada, 1998
Sino-theology: A survey study. Ontario, Canada: Christian Communication Inc. of
Canada, 1999.
© 1999 Chinese Around the World/Enoch
Wan. Email the author.