DESCRIPTION
The rapidly growing Chinese Protestant Church faces a significant challenge: it must adapt itself to the unique dimensions of Chinese culture, leaving behind the trail of old missionary theology and molding an authentically Chinese approach to biblical interpretation and Christian life -- an approach that works within both the traditional and the contemporary dimensions of Chinese society.
Rising from an extraordinary 2003 Sino-Nordic conference on Chinese contextual theology -- which brought Chinese university scholars and church theologians together for the first time --
Christianity and Chinese Culture addresses ways in which the church in China is responding to that challenge. The essays collected here highlight both the stunning complexities confronting Protestant Christianity in China and its remarkable p o t e n t i a l . < br>
Contributors:- Zhao Dunhua
- Zhang Qingxiong
- Diane B. Obenchain
- Svein Rise
- He Guanghu
- Wan Junren
- Lo Ping-cheung
- You Bin
- He Jianming
- Lai Pan-chiu
- Jorgen Skov Sorensen
- Jyri Komulainen
- Gao Shining
- Zhuo Xinping
- Notto R. Thelle
- Yang Huilin
- Thor Strandenaes
- Li Pingye
- Vladimir Fedorov
- Wang Xiaochao
- Choong Chee Pang
- Zhang Minghui
- Li Qiuling
- Fredrik Fällman
- Birger Nygaard
- Deng Fucun
- Chen Xun
- Gerald H. Anderson
- Zhu Xiaohong
- Sun Yi
- Chen Yongtao
- Lin Manhong
- Wu Xiaoxin
REVIEWS
Daniel Yeung
— Director, Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, Hong Kong
"The church and academia in mainland China are two separate realms. Study in Christianity is an emerging area since the open reform policy has been gradually implemented. This book records a genuine dialogue between scholars from the Chinese church and academia on Chinese Christianity. And it took place in Finland with Scandinavian scholars participating as respondents. It thus denotes not only a new page in the development of Chinese academic discussion but also an ecumenical conversation on a developing theology in an emerging country."
Edmond Tang
— Director, East Asian Christian Studies, University of Birmingham, UK
"This is a most timely publication on the current issues and research on Christianity and Chinese culture in the PRC — previously unavailable in English. The list of scholars in the collection reads like a Who's Who? in Christian studies in China, including both secular academics and Christian theologians. The final part on 'theological reconstruction' is of particular interest, given its importance for the Protestant churches in the last decade. This book should be on the shelf of any scholar interested in the subject."
Reviews in Religion & Theology
"If you care about China and Chinese Christianity, you will want this book."
Religious Studies Review
"Important and wide-ranging. . . . Documents how far Chinese Christian theology has come since the Cultural Revolution."
Evangelical Missions Quarterly
"References and quotes from ancient Chinese writers add value. . . . This book will well serve those who wish to dialogue with scholarly Chinese thinkers."