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The Church in Asia

1582 - Present

 

Photograph: Icon of the Catholic and Orthodox Christians martyred in China in the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901).  Photo credit:  Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts.  The year 1582 AD is significant because Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci arrived in the Portuguese colony of Macau to begin Catholic missionary work in China.  Meanwhile, the Mongol kingdoms were in decline. Prior to 1582, the Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox Churches were present in Asia.

 

Introduction

The selection of perspectives on church history in this section — Church and Empire — has been guided by three factors: (1) to demonstrate that Christianity has not been a “white man’s religion”; (2) the study of empire as a recurring motif in Scripture by recent biblical studies scholars; and (3) explorations of biblical Christian ethics on issues of power and polity, to understand how Christians were faithful to Christ or not.  Christian relational ethics continues a Christian theological anthropology that began with reflection on the human nature of Jesus, and the human experience of biblical Israel.

This page explores how Christians related to political power in Asia after 1582.

 

Messages and Resources on the Church in Asia Post-1582

The Role of Jesus in Revolution and the Pursuit of Justice this is an evangelistic message that highlights the Christian-led and Christian-influenced non-violent resistance movements throughout the world in the 20th century.  They show the connections and spiritual vitality of Christian faith under empire or empire-like oppression.  Highlights the Korean Independence Movement against Imperial Japan, the Indian Independence Movement against Imperial Britain, and the Filipino People Power Movement against the U.S.-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

 
 
 

Jesus in the Indian & Indian-American Experience (tbd)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Reflections on the Japanese Theology of Jesus' Suffering (TBD)

 

How Jesus Atones for My Shame (Honor-Shame blog, Nov 11, 2015) a short summary of the presentation below

 

Why Penal Substitution Damages Asian-Americans a presentation contrasting guilt-oriented and shame-oriented persons, and how they tend to interact with two different atonement theories:  penal substitution and medical substitution. See the Atonement section for more resources and explanations.

 

Medical Substitutionary Atonement, Personal Healing, and Social Justice a presentation given at the Honor-Shame Conference 2017, a gathering of missionaries, scholars, and ministry practitioners, and short Youtube video (4.5 min)

 

Stories and Spirituality: How the God Engages Human Evil

A comparison of three different views, in table format: transcend it mentally, heal human nature, or external laws

 

Stories and Spirituality: About How the God Relates to Us

A comparison of three different views, in table format: full contact pantheism, centered point of contact in a human being, no point of contact

 
 
 
 

The Church in Asia: Topics:

This page is part of our section on Church and Empire: Asia, which explores the experience and activities of Christians under various regimes in Asia. It is grouped into Asia Pre-1582; Asia Post-1582; and Asian America. The year 1582 AD is significant because Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci arrived in the Portuguese colony of Macau to begin Catholic missionary work in China. Meanwhile, the Mongol kingdoms were in decline. Prior to 1582, the Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox Churches were present in Asia.

Church and Empire: Topics:

This page is part of our section on Church and Empire. These resources begin with a biblical exposition of Empire in Church and Empire and the meaning of Pentecost in Pentecost as Paradigm for Christianity and Cultures, then grouped by region: Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas, then Nation-State, with special attention given to The Shoah of Nazi Germany.