Pioneer Christian Monthly - December, 1981

Conclusions 2
Will Kroon

However, I don't believe that these bishops have been ordained solely as an act of rebellion against Rome. There are other reasons. Many of the bishops which we had met were in their seventies or eighties, and some were no longer able to give leadership. Something had to be done to deal with this matter.

Since the Chinese Catholics were not present at Vatican 11, they do not feel obliged to adhere to its decisions. From there that its present liturgy books are so archaic and so out of tune with the rest of the Church. It gave us the feeling that they are behind the times and in danger of getting out of tune with the people.

These are some of the reasons why the Roman Catholics in China are in a precarious position. They have a choice of supporting the present leadership and making use of the opportunities that are offered, or to continue to show their allegiance to Rome and worship in the privacy of their homes. Some feel that a large number of the Catholics are doing the latter.

Religious Freedom:

The Christians in China often went out of their way to show us that they had religious freedom and there was no reason for us to doubt what they were saying. We had complete freedom Of speech and we had ample opportunity to ask questions. Our group was invited to preach a sermon and to express greetings to congregations. When we visited factories, a commune, a kindergarten and a place for handicapped children, we were always welcomed as Christians from Canada.

However, I should add that the Chinese may interpret freedom in a different way than we do. For instance, they are not free to slander or to publish pornographic literature.

Bibles:

Last of all I would like to mention something about Bibles. Even though I know that whatever one might write is subject to misinterpretation. The subject of Bibles is such a delicate issue in our discussion with the Chinese for we as Westerners have tie view that every home needs to have a few Bibles, while the Chinese don't yet see it that way. Their church prospered even when most Bibles were destroyed.

The Bible which the Chinese are using was first published in 1919 in vernacular Chinese. Last year 85,000 copies of the New Testament and 50,000 copies of the Old Testament were reprinted and distributed among the churches. This is far from adequate and the church is hoping to print more. It has the funds to do so, but it has not yet received the next allotment of paper. However there are several other matters that need to be dealt with. First, the available at that time, but with the change in language and expressions, this translation needs to be renewed. Further more, the Chinese characters have changed so much in recent years that the Chinese young people can no longer read the print used in the 1919 translations. They can no longer read the old Chinese characters. However, the older people are as much attached to that old translation as many Christians in the West are to the King James Version.

The Chinese are aware of all these problems and are working on a new translation. However, they know that they have to go slow for some delicate decisions will have to be made. For instance, the Roman Catholics in China, as well as some Anglicans, use "Tianju" as the name for God, which means "Lord of Heaven". The mainline Protestants use "Shangdi" instead, which means "the King above". The Evangelicals and the fundamentalists translate God as "Shen" which means "the Spirit". Unless these Christians come to terms as to what word to use for God before the new translation of the Bible is published, a large number will boycott that translation.

Do the Chinese want to receive Bibles from the West? Not at this time. Accepting them would go against the principles which they have set for themselves. They plan to meet their own needs and they resent interference from others. They said: "If we want your help we will ask for it".