Chinese Theological Review 18
The Popularization of Theological Reconstruction
Zhang Xiaofa
The Chinese Church needs to have its own theological thinking, but there is a lack of interest in contemplating the construction of theological thinking. Theological reconstruction is not simply a matter for church leadership, clergy and professors at seminaries. Much more, it is a matter for Christians in the churches of China. The clergy are a special group, which at different times has varying responsibility for guarding the faith. The solid construction of theology in the Chinese Church is the responsibility of modern clergy, something which, to a certain degree, also functions to safeguard the faith. Theological reconstruction no doubt requires a group of specialists for research and study, but it requires an even greater number of lay people to be involved, to create a special kind of atmosphere. It may be that those who do the work of theology will arise from among them. Theological contemplation only truly begins when these lay people have awakened to it.
Those who call believers to take part in theological reconstruction play a prophetic role and Bishop K.H. Ting is one of these elders of the Church with a burden for both country and people. If we are to call people to truly take part in theological reconstruction, we need, on the one hand, those who can raise the cry, and on the other, those who can stir things up. Of course, when they are ready, and willing, the theological giants of the Chinese Church will arise.
Five years have passed since the Jinan Conference in 1998, and theological reconstruction has entered deep into the hearts of Christians. Increasing numbers of colleagues and church workers and believers with some knowledge of theological reconstruction praise the development of this ministry, and pray to God the Father, saying: Prosper the work of our hands (Ps. 90:17).
1 Popularization of theological reconstruction means better preaching of the Gospel
The souls of the older generation of believers have been profoundly marked by past experiences. But the younger generation of believers ought to be challenging the issues raised by their times and be brave enough to answer; they must face things head on and not avoid them. We are Chinese born and bred, and it is on this good earth that we want to spread the Gospel, using the language of our faith to respond to the unceasing issues of the times we live in. We must have the armor of Chinese theology in order to have answers for others.
Rev. Cao Shengjie, President of the CCC says: "The Church exists in a specific context, nation and society and churches in every nation develop their theological theories in step with the times and use them to guide the Church in how it should build itself up on this foundation. The theological reconstruction our Church is currently carrying out must integrate with our national essence and culture, setting forth how the basic faith and ethical principles and canons of Christianity can enable us to better spread the Gospel and aid believers in living healthy and uplifted spiritual lives. … Preaching the Gospel is the unchanging mission of the church. But how, in these times, to correctly and effectively spread the Gospel is something that cannot be determined apart from theology." 1 From the spiritual principles of the Bible we see that all believers have the mission to spread the Gospel (Mt. 28: 19-20).
But on the question of preaching the Gospel correctly, of striking a balance between the Christ of faith and the historical Jesus—theology all believers should grasp—we cannot, as in the past, say simply that Jesus is the Great Healer, some God of Wealth for the poor, the savior of the suffering. This may attract people to the church, but in the end, because a foundation has not been laid, because a genuine understanding of the truth is not present, this good result cannot be sustained. "The rain fell, and the floods came. And the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell and great was its fall!" (see Mt. 7: 27). In our culture, we do not go about the streets and byways talking about heaven and hell whenever we wish, or saying that if you believe in Jesus you will go to heaven and if you do not believe in Jesus you will go to hell. Modern people do not like to hear such things and they are not afraid of such scare tactics. We must prepare in a serious manner, study well, make use of the related truths in the Bible in a systematic way and preach Jesus Christ to them in a way that is easily understood and acceptable to people today.
The goal of the shift from three-self to three-well is the effective running of the Church. One of these three-wells is well-propagated, which means Chinese ourselves preaching Christ: this is the very crux of the matter; this requires the guidance of theology. The author believes that preaching Christ requires establishing oneself on the Bible and preaching the Gospel found therein. Christ is the heart of the Gospel. Through an understanding of the Gospel, we can deal with political authority, ourselves, society and the Church in a correct manner. To achieve this, theological reconstruction must be brought to every believer. We must put on the pure Gospel of Christ, the truth of the Bible and a systematic theology as our guides. In order to propagate the Gospel well, theological reconstruction must be popularized.
2 Popularization of theological reconstruction means better adaptation to socialist society
We can see from two thousand years of church history that world Christianity has always adapted to its times. Development and changes in theology have been especially striking. Failure to adapt is self-destructive. How shall we adapt to socialist society? According to Bishop Ting, "effective adaptation must take place on the level of thinking." This is very true. Adaptation in thinking is very important, and includes the political views and moral values of Christians. For every Christian to adapt to socialist society, it is especially important that theological reconstruction be popularized, clarifying for believers that adaptation to socialist society does not mean abandoning or changing the faith, but rather means better safeguarding and interpreting faith. Adaptation is for the existence and development of the Church, that it may move forward with the times. In the Bible, Nehemiah, Moses and Jesus are all good models of those who both love the church and love their country. As Bishop Ting put it: "We know that Christ, the Word incarnate, was a citizen of a particular country, not a man without a country. He did not adopt a nihilistic attitude towards his own people. He studied his national culture and religious traditions. He announced that he came not to abolish these traditions, but to fulfill them. His people were under the political domination of Rome, and because of this, when he looked upon the capital city, he wept. This was patriotism in that situation." 2
The author believes that in popularizing theological reconstruction among believers there must be both direction and principle. Without these, confusion can reign.
1 Founded on biblical truth. The Bible is the Self-revelation of God and so it is eminently suitable that this revelation should be one of the sources of theological knowledge. "The Bible is the quintessence (of the faith) and the foundation of theology. Thus, the explication of Christian theology should be founded on and rely upon the Bible." 3 Theological discussion apart from the Bible is a tree without roots, a stream without water.
2 It must sustain the faith tradition. Any faith with a long history has its tradition, which can neither be avoided nor easily denied. Of course, some things are kept as part of the heritage and others are cast off. We chose the essentials of the "two creeds" (the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed). Whatever is suitable to doing theology in the Chinese Church can be absorbed, can become a requirement of reconstruction.
3 Uphold the three-self path. Theology is the Church thinking. The Chinese Church has its special experience within its particular context, which differs from those of other countries. The three-self path is the starting point of Chinese theological reconstruction. Theology is a dynamic developmental system. It does not leave behind its historical heritage, but keeps the good and discards the bad, reforming and renewing. In addition, the study of theology has a strong concern with reality. Theological exploration must be in touch with current intellectual culture. A living theology is what the Church is thinking in the midst of modern social life, that is, theological reconstruction must clash with, dialogue with and mingle with modern intellectual trends, reflecting the pulse and breath of the times. Additionally, theological topics can clash tremendously with modern society or have far-reaching influence on it, forming a counteraction of thought to existence.
4 Integrate with progressive culture. Traditional Chinese culture cherished unity of heaven and humankind, harmony with nature and unity of thought and action. It thus differed from a dualist separation of body and soul, and hatred for the material. Modern progressive culture can serve as an entry point for theology. Confucianism speaks of the Golden Mean, Taoism of yin and yang; both of these have attracted a great deal of attention in the West and can become important ways of thinking for Chinese theological inquiries, enabling theology to put down genuine roots in the soil of Chinese culture, becoming a theological system initiated by Chinese ourselves, one that is easily accepted and can have an excellent result.4 Dr. Zhuo Xinping states: "For the Chinese Church, there are two facets of Christian theological study. One is combing through and becoming acquainted with theological systems that have matured in western cultures. The other is seeking or creating suitable theological concepts and language within a Chinese cultural atmosphere. These two facets are complementary. Both should be allowed to form as they will, neither being emphasized at the expense of the other. Furthermore, their mutual care and working in concert with each other can serve not only as a starting point for mutual enlightenment for both east and west intellectual culture in exchanges and integration; it has the even greater possibility to serve a positive function for Chinese theological reconstruction of bringing forth the new from the old, a link between past and future." 5
Adaptation does not mean saying whatever everybody else says or following feelings without a goal. Nor is it about mechanically applying the experience of others, trimming the toes to fit the shoes, or limiting the whole truth of the Church. Adaptation is responding to the development of the times, grasping the advanced tide of the times, unearthing the truth and light of the times, being light and salt to the times, and attracting more people to turn to Christ. Thus adaptation is needed for the healthy development of the body of the Church.
The author is promoting the popularization of theological reconstruction because he has discovered that there remain in the Church areas that do not adapt, adjust or harmonize with socialist society:
1 Faith vs. medicine. Some believers think that the sick should avail themselves only of prayer and not seek medical help. Those who seek medical help are not true Christians and do not have a genuine faith. To people outside the Church, this is close to insanity. This believe and be healed mentality has evolved in the wake of religion fever. The Church today cannot resort to casting out devils, or healing as a way to expand its influence or attract "believers." This is out of step with the times, not a way of keeping up with them. There was a believer who fell ill and was persuaded by responsible persons in the Church to rely on faith and not seek medical help. They prayed for him, but only when he was in grave danger and under the strongest urging from family, did he agree to enter hospital. There he fell into a coma and died. The medical staff said sadly that if he had come earlier he could have been saved. Although this is an individual case, its features are familiar, for those who stress faith healing the patterns and sources of thought it exhibits belong to all and its negative effects cannot be underestimated.
2 Belief vs. unbelief. This is a striking and malignant tumor affecting self-propagation. I call it a tumor because it goes against the principles of biblical truth, goes against political unity and works against what draws us together. The Bible clearly teaches that Christians should respect non- Christians (1Pet. 12: 17); should love them (2 Pet. 1: 7); and get along with them (Rom. 12: 18). Therefore, if Christians are unable to correctly handle relations with non- Christians theologically, it will be very difficult for us to walk the path of constructing a socialist society with our fellow Chinese. This is an area of non-adaptation and must be changed. Therefore, theological reconstruction must be popularized.
3 This world vs. the next. There is a fairly large group of Christians, in both urban and rural areas, who mistakenly understand the text that says "Do not love the world" (1 Jn. 2: 15-16) as saying that materialism is evil, or "Do not serve Mammon," and speak of those who grow rich from their labors as loving money. Unwillingness to work, denigrating the creation of wealth; this creates inroads for idlers. Actually the world the Bible is referring to here consists of three things: the desire of the eyes, desires of the flesh, pride in the things of this world.
Paul says: "Do (their) work quietly and (to) earn their own living; … Anyone unwilling to work should not eat" (2 Thess. 3:12, 10). Busy as he was preaching the Gospel and building churches, Paul was still a tent-maker, one who worked with his own hands. Jesus too, during his "hidden period" also worked as a carpenter—are we going to say that Jesus the Lord was corrupted by love for the world? Lydia had a great love for the Lord and was also good at business (Acts 16: 14). So where money is concerned, we must preach a theology of make more, save more, give more, sacrifice or serve more. This will create more wealth for society and increase the potential of the Church for development. "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life" (1Tim. 6:17-19).
3 Popularization of theological reconstruction will serve to better build-up Christian ethics
Strengthening the formation of ethics is an extremely important task within theological reconstruction.
Many Christians mistakenly think that since there is justification by faith, and that once one has faith, everything else goes without saying. They do not stress the Christian search for morality and holiness, so they do not speak of good deeds. Christian doctrine requires every Christian who believes in the Lord to walk in the ways of righteousness and to do what is right, just, good and beautiful in the eyes of God. This is the behavior all Christians should exhibit after repenting and believing in the Lord. As the Bible says: "Bear fruit worthy of repentance" (Mt. 3:8). At the same time, this is an important path and means to raise the moral quality of the church, to glorify God and help people.
Christians should strive for three things: 1) religious knowledge; that is one should constantly strive for knowledge of the Bible, knowledge of faith and doctrine and theological knowledge; 2) religious moral sentiments; one must obey the biblical commandments, keep the Lord' s teachings, being especially careful in matters of ethics, never offending against doctrine or canon. This serves to restrict the individual in thought, word and deed, to purify and sublimate; 3) religious experience; that is, like other religions, Christianity has its own mystery: "Go into your room and shut the door and pray" (Mt. 6: 6), and "Aspire to live quietly" before God (1 Tim. 4: 11). And this is precisely the Christian way (Is. 30:15). The unity of faith and life, harmony in Life and ethics, balance in faith and action. These lie only in taking individual spiritual deeds—that which is before God, that which is secret—and expressing them publicly in service to others. When the three things mentioned above move in concert, the religious experience of the Christian will be deeper and solider, for "the spiritual life is tempered in the realities of everyday life." 6
The strengthening of ethical formation in the Church also aims at making the knowledge and action of believers more perfect, so that we "lead a life worthy of the calling to which (you) have been called" (Eph. 4:1). In these times, especially, the actions of Christians should be better. The author believes that the word good in the phrase "a good Christian should be a good citizen," includes the fact that a Christian should have good morals. After all, preaching the Gospel is not just a matter of words; more often it is the case that actions speak louder than words. To be honest, when the Bible speaks of someone as good or evil, it does not speak of faith but rather whether that person has done what is just, good and righteous before God. Before Cornelius believed in the Lord, his righteous actions were pleasing to and remembered by God (Acts 10: 4, 31, 35). Therefore a true Christian must act in accordance with the teachings of the Lord (Mt. 21: 25-32).
Strengthening ethical formation in the Church can enable individuals to have a witness of good deeds, and attract more people to Christ. Strengthening ethical formation is a constant teaching in the Bible. This being the case, theological reconstruction is a necessity, for everyone needs this kind of formation. Hegel once said that if the agency of morality were to be removed from religion, then religion would become superstition. Bishop K.H. Ting, speaking at the Sixth National Chinese Christian Conference, said, "I hope that this meeting will see new developments in the area of Chinese Christian theological reconstruction, and that it can recover what the Bible teaches us, that is, that Christianity should be a religion that stresses ethics and morality … I hope that in future our Christianity will become a religion which increasingly has a high moral level." The years since have shown these words to be of profound significance.
Faith is the foundation of morality and the Bible is its source. Theological reconstruction is its direction. "The deterrent power of church ethics and morals comes from Christians' faith in the God who is everywhere. Their sense of moral responsibility comes from the strivings of their inner spiritual life. Thus virtue is the fruit of faith." 7 The Bible greatly emphasizes morality; six of the Ten Commandments are concerned with morality. If we look at the letters of Paul to the Ephesians, Colossians and Romans, we find that half of what he says is about doctrine and the other half about life. This latter half is mainly concerned with moral issues. Therefore an emphasis on building up morality and ethics in the church is a return to true biblical teachings and reflects a rise in the quality of the church as a whole. The morality of encouraging goodness is not the equivalent of the Gospel, but the Gospel cannot exclude morality. This is especially true for those who already believe: they must not take justification by faith to mean that there is no need for morality, thus losing sight of the need to work to achieve salvation. If the place of morality is excised from within Christianity, we are left with a secular gospel.
"A Christianity which turns a blind eye to all this [the world], one which thinks all this bears no relation to the Gospel, which believes the Gospel is concerned only with personal salvation, is not a two-legged Christianity, but a lame one." 8 Therefore, "I hope that through greater spiritual formation, more Bible reading and more theological reflection, more fellowship and, especially, through greater practice, we will receive greater revelation, and in this way, have a richer perception of the broad and deep love of God." 9 The Church must walk on two feet, before God and before humanity. Life and everyday life, faith and action, the spiritual life and witness must be in balance. A witness from church history: Consider the reformation in England and Europe and the witness in those times of the great reformer Calvin and the evangelist John Wesley. A theological reconstruction with an emphasis on morality and social responsibility is not unrelated to such examples. If we want Chinese Christianity to walk in health on the broad highway ahead, then we must construct a theology with "a balance between a personal Gospel and social concern."
Theological reconstruction that stresses ethics and morality is the point of convergence between the Church and Chinese culture in social life. As Bishop Ting has written: "It is in lifting high morality that the excellence of Christianity and other religions lies. China is an ancient civilization, a nation or morality and ritual. For Chinese intellectuals especially, a discussion of ethics will be more appreciated than a discussion of paradise and will be more likely to make the religious message heard." 10
4 Popularization of theological reconstruction counteracts heresy
In recent years, there has been a rash of heresies flying the banner of Christianity. Statistics tell us that in the last two decades, more than a thousand self-proclaimed Christs have arisen worldwide. Other kinds of heresies are countless. In China, many heresies have also arisen in these decades. They are like a pestilence, seriously disrupting the Church of God: the Ling Ling Church, whose leader Hua Xuehe proclaims himself the Jehovah for today; the Yellers, whose leader Li Changshou has been called Lord Changshou by adherents; there is Wu Changming, self-appointed Christ, the Anointed King; the self-proclaimed Savior Heir of Christ of the Disciples Sect Xu Sanshu; and Zuo Ken of the Apostles sect, etc.
These heresies and sects have not had a great effect, but recently one called Eastern Lightning has appeared, a sect with a more superstitious, more deeply poisonous message. It began among several women who claimed to have an almighty woman, a so-called Female Christ. This group has established a mysterious and vast organization, their so-called Apostles roam the whole country, beginning from Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shaanxi, and with unprecedented speed, spread everywhere. These apostles specialize in swallowing up local churches which have a pure faith, targeting responsible persons of influence in the church. Wherever they go, they put on an outward show of loving hearts and good deeds that most Christians would have difficulty in achieving. They are extremely hard-working and long suffering. Their heretical teachings lie in their efforts at theorizing, systematization and evangelization. Their organizational structure, joined with these efforts, is unprecedented and thus their activities are widespread and develop rapidly. They are like a cloud of locusts, group after group eating through the countryside. Their work methods are planned out and standardized, aiming first for rural areas and then urban ones. When they enter a district, they first pull in the responsible persons in the church; then, relying on these persons' influence, capture all the churches in the district.
The course of Eastern Lightning can be divided into several stages: 1) It began in Henan, tempting people with gifts; distributing books, often with bills tucked into them. 2) This was followed by intimidation. If people did not follow along they would be threatened, and force-fed doctrine. 3) Sex was often used to tempt people to sin, then forcing them to submit, threatening them with the ruin of their reputation. Many have fallen into this trap.
We know from local churches that this Eastern Lightning is mad. To fall in with them is like being beaten to death. The consequences of trying to leave are unthinkable. Their methods are cruel, even family members are implicated. They teach that Satan is wisdom, that the murder of others is helping God (meaning the Female Christ) in revenge. From their so-called Scriptures, we see that their language is coarse, full of contradictions and poor logic. Basically nothing they say is to be trusted. However, many people have been hoodwinked by just such a strange heresy.
If believers know their Bible and have an understanding of the correct view of God, Christology, the Church, the Christian life, values, money, marriage and worldview, they will not be easily led astray. Thus, the popularization of theological reconstruction is an urgent need for the Church today. To hesitate is tantamount to providing an opportunity for sects and heresies to grow strong and develop. Resisting heresy and sects is an important task facing the Chinese Church in this new century. The Latin church father Lactantius (ca. 250-325) analyzed the origins of heresies and superstitions. He felt that clarifying what is false is the first step toward truth. The next is to define what truth is. He summed up his thinking in four points. First, forgetting reason results in ignorance of the true God; it is only in adversity that people worship the true God, while in good fortune they despise the true God. Second, there is a kind of persistent power which is always opposed to the truth, that spreads darkness, obscures people' s souls and causes humans to fall into repeated error; third, philosophers and doctors have not enabled humanity to cast off error; and fourth, humanity has not discovered true religion.
Why are heresies found in numerous in villages and small towns? Because the educational level and faith quality of most believers there is low and they lack a comprehensive and correct understanding of the truth. There is a serious lack in rural areas of clergy who have received standard theological training. These sober facts tell us we must pay attention to church work in the countryside and stress the promotion of theological reconstruction. If we do not work to raise the quality of believers, it will affect the whole future of the Chinese Church.
5 Popularization of theological reconstruction will better ward off the tendency toward superstition
Some people believe that religion without mystery is not religion. But Christianity is the least mysterious of religions. Seen from the viewpoint of sociology of religion and comparative religion, the simplicity of its faith, the conciseness of its liturgy and the openness of its organization are unmatched.
Superstition is a fairly widespread psycho-sociological phenomenon. The usual understanding of the word superstition is a psychosis founded in ignorance based on self-interest in which cause and effect are mistakenly linked to some mysterious and terrible force. It is a belief, a concept, an act, or a practice. Objectively, superstition brings together mistaken inferences, weak ideas and confused feelings; subjectively, it is a psychological state: a blind belief in cause and effect relationships that whether experientially or logically have not and cannot be substantiated. The superstitious psychology is easily led to mistaken life practices and superstition is one factor in shaping an ignorant character.11
In the past, religion was never mentioned without being linked to ignorance, backwardness, superstition and opium. Nowadays such simple assumptions no longer hold, especially in the consideration of religion among academics and intellectuals. Awareness of the importance of religion is greater than at any other period in our history. We have already rid ourselves of two labels: foreign religion and superstition. But recently what has been happening in rural churches is disquieting and arouses fears that the superstition label is on its way back. This is my fear.
The ratio of rural Christians among the increasing number of people joining the Church is very large. It is an undeniable fact that a great number of rural Christians are illiterate or semi-literate. Moreover, most come to the faith with very strong goals: to be healed; out of curiosity; or because of family contradictions. Of course large numbers of people joining the Church is not the issue; the problem lies in the quality of these believers; in the depth of their faith and whether their faith is genuine, based on right understanding. Moreover there is a shortage in the Church of clergy with regular theological training, which creates an imbalance in pastoral care. Along with the danger of damage from heresies, there are many people with a surfeit of enthusiasm and a deficit of wisdom who one-sidedly stress spreading the gospel. This makes for a great deal of the blind leading the blind. Added to this are divisions, trouble-making, heresy, etc., all of which result in disturbances in the church. The most pressing demand at present is, on the one hand, training clergy of better quality and thereby raising the level of believers while, on the other hand, making a comprehensive effort to promote theological reconstruction. This will aid in raising the quality of faith in the Church.
The true God is the foundation of truth and truth is the foundation of true religion. In this case there can be no doubt that Christianity is true religion. But the issues discussed above sow doubt in some hearts, and some mistakenly equate Christianity with superstition and false religion. Theological reconstruction can correct these inappropriate tendencies in the Church.
We need to assert that:
1 Christianity is universal love, not selfishness. When believers' faith turns to superstition, it will certainly be selfish, lacking the expansiveness of Christ' s universal love which unselfishly serves others. "Take thought for what is noble in the sight of all" (Rom. 12: 17). "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt. 5: 44). "If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Rom. 12: 18). These verses express this truth.
2 Christianity is positive, not negative. When believers' faith turns toward superstition, they will take a negative view of this world. They will think all is vanity, which clashes with the construction of socialist spiritual and material civilization. We should see the world as good: heaven and earth are creations of God, filled with meaning. Christians must enter into the world and bear witness, spread the Gospel and enter into the affairs of the world. The Bible teaches: "Not to be served, but to serve" (see Mk.10: 45); "You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world" (Mt. 5: 13-16).
3 Christianity is based on reason, not on superstition. If the Christian message is out of step with science and advanced information, it will be unable to offer a reasoned explanation to society, unable to promote historical development. Then it would truly be a superstitious and backward religion. But Christianity has an ultimate explanation of the source of creation and history. God is the source of order and ability; God is the one who gave order and regularity to the world and because of this human history has continued to evolve. Furthermore, our faith and doctrine place importance on developing the moral potential of humanity and training people in the life of the spirit. It stresses harmony between human beings and God, between individuals and between humans and nature. And so humans can, through striving after the love of God, be constantly sanctified and sublimated, and finally, in their moral practice, constantly bring forth spiritual and moral fruit (see Gal. 5: 22-23).
The Church has a special responsibility entrusted to it by God to safeguard the purity of the truth of God. Opposing superstition serves not only to promote and popularize theological reconstruction in the Church, but serves to purify the church itself and thus advances the development of the Church in society. Actively popularizing theological reconstruction means leaving no place for superstition. Only in this way can the Church maintain the purity of its faith, adapt to the needs of the age, and mold believers' souls.
Conclusion
We must understand our great mission and take up the great responsibility to reflect and ponder, for the twenty- first century is an age in which science flourishes. It is also an age which will truly realize the potential of the church in society to take up an important social function and play a positive role. To better preach the pure Gospel of Christ, to better serve society, to firmly oppose superstition, to put an end to sects and heresies, we must popularize theological reconstruction.
Nanjing Theological Review 3(2003): 85-98. Zhang Xiaofa is pastor of the Encheng Church in Hangzhou.
1 Nanjing Church Bulletin 1(2002): 12.
2 K.H. Ting, Love Never Ends (Nanjing:Yilin Press, 2000), 94.
3 Xu Zhiwei, Introduction to Guide to Christian Theology (Beijing: AcademicaSinica, 2001), 3.
4 Bulletin of the Liaoning CCC/TSPM 3(2001): 54.
5 Quoted in Xu Zhiwei, 1.
6 Writings from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary (Nanjing: Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, 1992), 202.
7 Newsletter of the Zhejiang CC/TSPM, no. 31 (April 2002): 7.
8 Love Never Ends, 481.
9 Ibid., 265.
10 Ibid., 510.
11 Luo Bingxiang. Christian Thought and the 21st Century.(Beijing: Academica Sinica Press, 2001), 439-440.
