In a recent interview in the ChinaSource Quarterly, Purdue professor Yang Fenggang is quoted as saying that "the Chinese Christian church has become an institutional base for passing on transformed Confucian values to younger generations." Dr. Yang, a sociologist and Director of the Center on Religion and Society at Purdue University, does not necessarily see Confucianism and Christianity as being in competition with one another. Rather, he encourages Christians to seek common ground where possible.
Brent Fulton
•
April 14, 2014
•
Ideas
The Spring 2014 issue of ChinaSource Quarterly takes up the topic of Confucianism'S resurgence in China and its implications for the church. Certainly not a new topic, the relationship between China's dominant worldview and the Christian gospel has been a perennial subject of discussion since at least the days of Matteo Ricci. Successive generations of Christians in China have asked the pertinent questions in different ways, some choosing to find accommodation between the two, while others find them to be mutually exclusive.
Brent Fulton
•
April 7, 2014
•
Ideas
Last week I had two meetings in as many days regarding two proposed leadership training efforts aimed at Christians in China. Both were well thought through and grew out of decades of China experience.
Brent Fulton
•
March 29, 2014
•
Ideas
The explosion of China's online Christian community has not only provided believers with a new platform for expressing their faith, it is also helping to meet practical needs within the Christian community. Recently Chinese Church Voices featured an article from the online Christian newspaper Gospel Times about Christian dating websites in China.
Brent Fulton
•
March 3, 2014
•
Stories
Chinese language learning opportunities have mushroomed in recent decades. For those seeking to work specifically with the church in China, however it is still not easy to find a program that covers both the requisite theological vocabulary and is accessible to non-native speakers.
Brent Fulton
•
February 24, 2014
•
Resources
Coming off another Great Wall visit, I am again pondering the paradox of the wall a paradox which is true of both the ancient one as well as the more recently constructed one.
Brent Fulton
•
February 18, 2014
•
Ideas
In a recent post on Chinese Church Voices, a college professor who is a Christian contrasted his own life in China with that experienced by his father. His portrait of these two generations finds interesting parallels in the leadership of China'S church.
Brent Fulton
•
February 13, 2014
•
Stories
It is common journalistic shorthand to attribute any policies, economic action, or military behavior that appears to emanate from Chinese officialdom to "China."
Brent Fulton
•
February 3, 2014
•
Ideas
China's "official" churches (those operating under the auspices of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement) are fairly often associated with terms such as "restrictive," "government-sanctioned," or even "Communist-controlled." Granted, one does not have to look too far within China's religious bureaucracy and its associated policies and practices to find evidence that would justify such notions. Unfortunately, however, the perception of the official church which these labels create tends to mask much of what is actually happening on the ground in TSPM-affiliated churches.
Brent Fulton
•
January 27, 2014
•
Ideas
I'm already two weeks into my current episode of jet lag, so I know there is no excuse. However, I still find myself waking up in the morning and wondering, "What day is this anyway?"
Brent Fulton
•
January 23, 2014
•
Stories
An article that appeared last month in China's official press raises interesting questions about how the church in China is viewed by both the Chinese state and society.
Brent Fulton
•
January 21, 2014
•
Stories
Over the years many foreign faith-based entities have made what might best be described as a "survey trip" to China. The purpose is ostensibly to understand what is happening on the ground and to discern whether, and how, their particular organization could begin a China work.
Brent Fulton
•
January 16, 2014
•
Ideas
