Non western Jesus

Main Argument

  • Christianity in China can only be understood in relation to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

  • The chapter's central theme is mediation between heaven and earth. Each tradition already has figures that resemble Jesus as a mediator.

  • Christianity's success in China has depended on its willingness to adapt, especially to ancestor veneration.

  • China does not yet have a fully developed theology with a Chinese face. Tao Christology is the main exception (p. 57).

Part III Introduction (p. 57)

  • China is a "melting pot" of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

  • Christianity has been present since the 7th century and has seen parallels between Jesus and the Buddhist bodhisattvas.

  • Chinese religion is practical and focused on everyday life rather than detachment.

History of Christianity in China (pp. 59–63)

  • Early arrival: Christianity did not first arrive with the Jesuits. Persian (Nestorian) Christians reached China in the 7th century.

  • Sian-Fu tablet: Discovered in 1623–25 and erected by 781. It records:

    • Bishop Alopen brought Christian writings in 635.

    • Emperor Tang Taizong permitted the faith in 638 and funded the first monastery.

  • Nestorians: They emphasized the distinction between Jesus' divine and human natures and were condemned as heretics in the West.

  • Jesus Messiah Sutra (635): Explained Jesus using Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian terms, with some Manichaean influence.

  • Decline: Christianity spread mostly among Silk Road merchants. Emperor Wuzong banned it, together with Buddhism, in 845.

  • Kuan-Yin parallel: The bodhisattva of compassion, "the one who hears the cries of the poor," closely resembles the New Testament Jesus (p. 61).

  • Battle of Rites:

    • The Jesuits, following Matteo Ricci, viewed ancestor rites as veneration.

    • The Dominicans and Franciscans viewed them as worship of spirits.

    • Rome sided against the Jesuits, and China banned Christianity in 1724.

    • The pope forbade the rites in 1742. This was not reversed until 1939.

  • Author's thesis: Jesus will never be widely accepted in Asia without a positive relationship to the ancestors (p. 62).

  • Unity of the three teachings: The three Chinese religions overlap rather than exclude each other.

Mediation in Confucianism (pp. 63–66)

  • Brinkman relies on scholar Julia Ching as his main guide.

  • Zongjiao: The Chinese word for religion means "lineage teaching," which ties religion to the ancestors.

  • Two souls: One rises and one stays in the grave, which is why graves and offerings matter.

  • Religious humanism:

    • The negative golden rule: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" (Analects 15:24).

    • The five relationships: master–servant, father–son, husband–wife, older–younger brother, and friend–friend.

  • The emperor as mediator: As "Son of Heaven," he alone offered sacrifices to Heaven.

    • Emperor T'ang's prayer in Analects 20:1 asks Heaven to count him, not his people, as the sinner. He acts as a substitute (p. 64).

  • Sin: Understood as the result of environment or bad choices. It is framed as ignorance rather than guilt, so there is little need for a substitute.

  • Mysticism of the heart: The heart connects heaven and earth, and the individual mirrors the cosmos (microcosm and macrocosm).

  • Open question: Without an emperor, who mediates today? Confucian thinkers see Jesus more as a sage than a mediator.

Mediation in Taoism (pp. 66–70)

  • Taoism is a wisdom tradition aimed at restoring the unity of body and spirit, and at a return to nature.

  • Tao means both "word" and "way." Chinese Bibles use it for "the Word" in John 1:1 and "the way" in John 14:6 (p. 67).

  • Tao is indescribable, similar to Christian negative theology.

  • Taoism includes several further ideas:

    • Immortality and the three life principles: breath, vital life-force, and spirit.

    • Written confession of sins.

    • A heavenly, earthly, and great tri-unity, which has been compared to the Trinity.

    • A messianic text about a divine man who brings the Great Peace (Taiping).

  • Taoism is the most (mono)theistic of the three traditions and supports an alternative way of life and social criticism.

  • Chen Yongtao's Tao Christology presents the incarnation as the embodiment of the Tao of God through three metaphors:

    • Bowl: Its emptiness makes it useful, representing kenosis (self-emptying).

    • Sun: It shines on the just and the unjust, representing a cosmic, inclusive Christ.

    • Suffering mother: Chinese uses one word for love and pain. The image draws on mothers during the Cultural Revolution and connects to Kuan-Yin and Mary.

  • Yongtao's goal is tian ren heyi, the unity of Heaven and humankind.

Mediation in Chinese Buddhism (pp. 70–76)

  • Mahayana vs. Theravada:

    • In Theravada, salvation is mostly for monks.

    • In Mahayana, anyone can reach nirvana with the help of bodhisattvas.

  • Adaptation: Chinese Buddhism embraced ancestor veneration by linking it to good karma. This raises the question: "Did Buddhism conquer China, or did China conquer Buddhism?"

  • Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism:

    • Stresses self-development, meditation, and sudden enlightenment.

    • "Kill the Buddha" parallels Bonhoeffer's idea of living as if God did not exist.

    • Its risk is spiritual elitism and pride.

  • Pure Land Buddhism:

    • Teaches grace by calling on Amida Buddha, with Kuan-Yin as mediator.

    • It is compared to the Protestant "grace alone," while Ch'an is compared to the Catholic emphasis on works.

  • Double transformation: Buddhism changed China, and China changed Buddhism (p. 74).

  • The substitution problem:

    • Karma says each person bears their own deeds, so forgiveness "from elsewhere" seemed to threaten morality (p. 75).

    • China's shame culture makes open talk of guilt unusual.

    • The early texts shift: the 635 Sutra stresses Jesus' death for sinners, but the 781 tablet omits it.

    • Possible bridge: Bodhisattvas take the suffering of others upon themselves.

The Current Theological State in China (pp. 76–78)

  • Marxism: An open question is whether communism conquered China or China conquered communism.

  • Growth: Christianity has grown rapidly since the 1980s; the government spoke of a "Christian fever" in 1987.

  • Bishop K. H. Ting:

    • Led the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (self-government, self-finance, self-propagation) to show the church is truly Chinese.

    • Taught a "cosmic Christ" whose love extends to all creation, including communists.

    • Redefined sin socially, focusing on the "sinned against" and social injustice.

  • Critique: Ting stayed silent during the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen, which the author calls a sense of reality but not prophetic courage.

  • No "theology of the wounded": China has not theologically processed the Cultural Revolution.

  • Conclusion: China does not yet have a theology with an explicit Chinese face. Yongtao's Tao Christology is a first example (p. 78).

Key Terms

  • Nestorians: Christians who stressed the two natures of Jesus.

  • Bodhisattva / Kuan-Yin: A compassionate figure who delays nirvana to help others.

  • Battle of Rites: The dispute over whether Christians could take part in ancestor rituals.

  • Zongjiao: The Chinese word for religion, meaning "lineage teaching."

  • Tao: Both "word" and "way."

  • Kenosis: Self-emptying.

  • Double transformation: A religion and the culture it enters each transforming the other.

  • Three-Self Movement: The official Chinese Protestant church.