Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/81

Contributor - Will Kroon

Title - The Church in The World

Topic - The Church in The World

Old China vs New China

In order to understand the positions which the present leaders in China have adopted, we must understand the historical situation in which they find themselves. For instance, the stress on the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and their conscious effort to support the building of the New China can not be understood apart from an understanding of the China of the past.

For instance, the Chinese are very much aware that since the 1800, s the Chinese people have been hurt and humiliated by the nations of the West. The British took Hong Kong and Russia, Japan, Germany and France carved out ' for themselves other parts of China. American and British merchants made a great deal of profit selling opium to the Chinese. When the latter sought to top this trade, foreign warships forced on them one more "unequal treaty".

Again and again the Chinese failed in their attempts to free themselves from foreign oppression. The Taiping Rebellion failed, the Boxer Rebellion failed, the Opium War failed and even Sun Yatsen failed to rally enough people behind him to free the nation. They are very much aware that it was Mao and Communist Party who accomplished where others had failed.

Secondly, the Christian leaders in China are very much aware that at one time Christianity was seen as a foreign religion. They know that the Church was identified with those Western powers that had enslaved them. This identification has hindered them in their outreach.

Thirdly, the Christians agree with their fellow countrymen that the New China is much better than the Old. They want to bring this out and support all those who build the New China. One pastor said that at one time there were as many as 3,000 prostitutes in the city of Shanghai alone. I saw the "palace" where they used to cater to the affluent. Now all this is gone and not only that, the people are well-dressed and well-fed which was not the case before. There is no longer the insecurity of starvation and poverty and they are relieved that there is no longer the threat that their children t be sold into brothels or as slaves.

The Three-Self Patriotic Movement

While in Shanghai we visited tastefully decorated offices of the Three-Self Movement. Here we met Bishop K.H. Ting and other leaders of the Movement. Even though the roots of the Movement go back for at least fifty years it was not until about twenty years ago that it began to blossom. It stresses self-government, self-support and self-propagation. It s to convince the Chinese Church want that it is a must for the people to identify with the struggles of the nation. One of the tasks of this Movement is to work out various concerns of the Church with the Religious Affairs Bureau of the government. For instance, it plays a major role in the opening up of the churches and seminaries. It helps with the publishing, of Bibles and hymnals, in the collecting of rent of confiscated properties and in representing the Church at the National People's Congress. The Movement strongly advocates the casting off of all foreign control and the end to all denominationalism.

The China Christian Council

Wherever we travelled in China we met Christian leaders who were involved with the local or national Christian Council. As I mentioned earlier, the Chinese Church has done away with denominationalism. That is, the Anglicans, Orthodox and all Protestants are all one. When we asked how this is working out, they told us frankly that they are facing problems which they have not yet worked out, such as the delicate questions regarding the sacraments and Holy Orders. It seems that they do not know yet who will ordain the students when they graduate from the seminary in a few years. These and countless other issues will be tackled by the members of the Christian Council. This Council also deals with concerns like the training of ministers, Christian Education, the publication of Bibles and Christian literature.

Nanking

During our stay at Nanking we were invited to attend a performance of a Chinese opera. This proved to be a tremendous experience since the faculty members of the seminary helped us with the interpretation. The message of the opera was a revolt against the first Emperor, who persecuted the scholars, burned their books and forced them to work on the Great Wall. We were told that this was at the same time a revolt, against the Cultural Revolution. During that time scholars were also ill-treated, their books burned and they were also forced to do humiliating tasks away from home.

Another striking feature of the opera was that the tragic plot ended with a scene from the after-life. The young couple who had lost their lives in their fight for justice, met each other again in the hereafter. This was rather surprising for the Chinese Communists are not supposed to believe in an after-life and yet we were shown a very moving scene of such an experience.

Another noteworthy occasion was our visit at the first and only seminary in China - the Nanking Seminary. Here we received a tremendous welcome, both from the faculty and students. The seminary had been closed since 1952 and was reopened last February. After a period of worship and fellowship in the Chapel, we visited the classrooms, dormitory and library. The facilities were very sober but adequate.

When the seminary received permission to reopen and a call was sent to the Churches for 'candidates, about 1,000 persons expressed a willingness to come. Three hundred and ten students wrote entrance examinations. Of those, 49 were accepted, with 30 male and 19 female students. We were told that these students came from 22 different provinces of China. Since some of these students came from the more backward parts of China, some changes had to be made in the curriculum to accommodate them.

At present there is only one Protestant Church open at Nanking. However, numerous meetings are held in homes and the leaders of these meetings are in contact with those of the main Church. Before the Cultural Revolution there were 35 church buildings for 500 Protestants, according to a local leader, but now there are 7 full time pastors, 4 evangelists and lay leaders, all working together. No one' gave the impression that they wanted to return to the times of denominationalism.

In Nanking we also met with a group of pastors and lay leaders from the area. This meeting was held in one of the rooms of the former imperial palace, which is now a provincial government, building. Lay leaders from various professions shared how they were involved in the work of the Church. That too was a moving experience for those men and women had a "mind to build" as in the days of Nehemiah. Several lay leaders informed us that a month before our visit a local Christian Council was established. One hundred and fifty delegates had been together for five days. They had come from schools, factories and other places. Many had represented the house churches in the area. It was still evident that these people had been deeply moved when they heard for the first time what was happening at other places of worship.

Peking

On our way to the city of Peking, we stopped for a few days in Kaifeng and met with Christians in that city. This city had been hit by floods, as many as seven times during the centuries, and thousands had died by drowning. No Protestant Church was yet open. However, the Roman Catholic Church was again open for worship, but was in a dismal state of repair.

We also made a brief stop at Zhengzhou, the booming capital of that province. While visiting a popular local landmark, we noticed a church building. It was a rather small building, tucked away behind and between other buildings. The Church was open and we were told that it had been open since last Christmas and that 1,200 people had attended the opening services. Two services are held each Sunday and there is prayer, Bible study and choir practice during the week. Once more we realized that the Chinese are not afraid to worship in a crowded Church and that it is not uncommon to have people stand outside the building during the services of worship.

Our visit to Peking was very eventful, to say the least. We had hot and dry weather during most of our visit but t poured when we visited the Great Wall and one of the Ming Tombs. We also visitied the Forbidden City, where the Chinese Emperors used to live. Many of those places have been built a tremendous cost of lives and resources.

On several occasions we met Bishop Michael Fu and some of the local priests. Bishop Fu was the first Roman Catholic Bishop we had met who was under sixty years of age. He too shared with us the difficult situation the Chinese Catholics are facing since they are no longer in communion with the Vatican. Moreover, many Catholics live too far away to worship regularly in Church but do attend at Christmas and Easter.

The first Protestant Church we visited in Peking was the former Bible Society building. It is now a very attractive place of worship. The worship services are held on the second floor but the over-flow crowd also worships on the first floor. This building was first opened in 1971 at the insistence of Tanzanian' Christians, who happened to be working on the railroad at that time. They had quietly informed the Communists that they wanted a place to worship and pray or else would go home. It took another 8 years before the Chinese were allowed to worship there. At first only a dozen had come to worship but now about 300 attend on Sundays and about 100 on Saturdays.

The second Protestant church was opened last year. An estimated 450 worship there regularly and between 10 to 25 foreigners. A TV crew was waiting for our arrival at that church and stayed for the filming of the informal service of worship.

Official Meetings

While in Peking the Canadian Ambassador invited our group to an informal reception. Here we met other religious leaders, monks from the Buddhist Community, several Roman Catholic Bishops and a few reporters.

On several occasions we rubbed shoulders with the chairman of the Religious Affairs Bureau. He invited us for an interview and dinner. During that interview he informed us that there are five major religions in China: Buddhism, Islam, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Taoism. However, he quickly added that these religions cover only a small portion of the population: only 10 million of an estimated 900 million people. A few days before the end of our visit we also received a formal invitation to meet with the Vice-Premier of Cultural Affairs of China. This meeting was held in a huge reception room of the government building. People from the press were also present and our visit was announced on Chinese television. The Vice-Premier gave us about one hour of his time. We were able to ask questions.

to be continued next issue

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